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| Tomyris | |
|---|---|
 Tomyris as imagined by Castagno, 15th century | |
| Queen of the Massagetae | |
| Reign | unknown – c. 520s BCE |
| Predecessor | unnamed husband |
| Successor | Skunkha (?) |
| Died | c. 520s BCE |
| Spouse | unnamed husband |
| Issue | Spargapises |
| Religion | Scythian religion |
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Tomyris (/ˈtɒmɪrɪs/; Saka: *Taumuriya; Ancient Greek: Τομυρις, romanized: Tomuris; Latin: Tomyris[1][2]) also called Thomyris, Tomris, or Tomiride, was a queen of the Massagetae who ruled in the 6th century BCE. Tomyris is known only from the writings of the Greek historian Herodotus of Halicarnassus, according to whom Tomyris led her armies to defend against an attack by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid Empire, and defeated and killed him in 530 BC.[3]
She is not mentioned in the few other early sources covering the period, especially Ctesias.
Tomyris became a fairly popular subject in European art and literature during the Renaissance. In art the usual subject was her receiving the head of Cyrus, or putting it into the blood-filled container. This became part of the Power of Women group of women subjects who triumphed in various ways over men.