1. Biography -Activity

Thargelia was blessed with exceptional beauty, grace and nimble wits. She lived with many men, while, according to one version, she got married fourteen times.¹ Her manner of connecting with famous and powerful men is thought to have influenced Aspasia, the other renowned Milesian hetaera and Pericles’ courtesan. Furthermore, Thargelia is thought to have promoted medism in the Greek city-states, trying to make her lovers adopt a sympathetic stance toward the Persian king.² Through her personal radiance and political shrewdness she managed to control rulers and determine the fate of entire cities.³ A later source informs us that Thargelia, like Aspasia, studied philosophy.⁴

During the reign of Antiochus she travelled to Thessaly. Antiochus was king of Pharsalus, but it appears that by the arrival of Thargelia he had already been proclaimed tagos of the entire area of Thessaly. Thargelia married Antiochus, thus expanding her fame and influence, and probably acted as his co-ruler; she finally succeeded him in the throne after his death.⁵ Some sources explicitly designate Thargelia as queen of Thessaly. Although she probably succeeded Antiochus in the throne of Pharsalus, we should not suppose that she also assumed the responsibilities of a tagos. In all likelihood her ‘reign’ in Thessaly did not constitute a monarchy; Thargelia simply maintained the venerable and powerful position she had before her husband’s death as queen consort even during the reign of the Alevades.

There are reports that Thargelia remained in power for thirty years after Antiochus’ death.⁶ This figure may, however, be fictitious as in other narrations concerning queens as well we can discern a tendency towards attributing long periods of rule to queens. The precise dates of Antiochus’ life and reign are uncertain.⁷ Most scholars tend to agree on placing his death around 520-510 BC.

During her reign Thargelia seems to have followed a pro-Persian policy. This policy should be understood in the context of the generalized tendency towards medism which characterized the Thessalian tagoi during this period. We should note that when Xerxes campaigned in Greece, Thargelia welcomed him and thus secured that no harm was to befall on her kingdom.⁸ The date of Xerxes' reception by Thargelia, 480 BC, is the only certain date concerning her life. If indeed she was in Thessaly many years before the turn of the century and succeeded Antiochus in around 510 BC, the reported 30 years of her reign bring us exactly to 480 BC. It is said that Thargelia found violent death at the hands of an Argive, whom she had once incarcerated.⁹