Artaynte

Artaynte (f. 478 BC), was the wife of the Crown Prince Darius, son of the king Xerxes I.

Life

What we know of Artaynte primarily comes from the writings of Herodotus. She was the daughter of an unnamed woman and Prince Masistes, who was a marshall of the armies during the invasion of Greece in 480-479 BC, and was also the brother of King Xerxes I.

During the Greek campaign Xerxes developed a passionate desire for the wife of his brother Masistes, but she would constantly resist and would not bend to his will.