| Amytis | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Nebuchadnezzar and his wife watching the construction of the hanging gardens | |
| Born | Ecbatana |
| Died | c. 565 BCE Babylon |
| Spouse | Nebuchadnezzar II (?) |
| Issue | Kaššaya (?) Amel-Marduk (?) Nitocris (?) |
| Median | *ᴴumati |
| House | Median |
| Father | Cyaxares |
Amytis of Media (c. 630-565 BCE;Median:*ᴴumati;Ancient Greek:Ancient Greek:Αμυτις,romanized: Amutis;Latin:Amytis)[1][2] was a queen of Babylon, wife ofNebuchadnezzar II and daughter of the Median kingCyaxares.
The female nameAmytis is theLatinised form of theGreek nameAmutis (Αμυτις), which perhaps may reflect (with vowelmetathesis) an originalMedian name*ᴴumati, meaning "having good thought," and which is an equivalent of theAvestan termhumaⁱti (𐬵𐬎𐬨𐬀𐬌𐬙𐬌) orhumata (𐬵𐬎𐬨𐬀𐬙𐬀).[1][2]
Amytis was the daughter ofCyaxares, and the sister ofAstyages.[3] Amytis had a niece, also namedAmytis, from her brother Astyages.[1]
Amytis married Nebuchadnezzar to formalize the alliance between theBabylonian andMedian dynasties.
Tradition relates that Amytis' yearning for the forested mountains ofMedia led to the construction of theHanging Gardens of Babylon, as Nebuchadnezzar attempted to please her by planting the trees and plants of her homeland.[4]Historical evidence, however, does not lend support to this tradition.