Artemisia of Caria

the long version

Thousands of years ago, in the world of the Ancient Greeks where women were expected to obey their husbands in all matters, to play no part in public life, and to stay inside the house, a princess grew up to be not only a sailor and a ship’s captain, but a famous admiral. Her name was Artemisia, and among all the commanders fighting on the Persian side during the great Persian Wars, she alone dared to give Xerxes an honest opinion that could have saved his entire fleet. This is the story of a real and remarkable princess whose spirit prompted the Persian Great King, Xerxes, to declare, "My men have become women, and my women men!"