Mausolus, king of Caria, subdued Rhodes. After his death, the Rhodians revolted, and besieged Artemisia, his widow, in Halicarnassus. This king and queen are rendered immortal in the European word _mausoleum_, derived from the splendid monument so called, one of the seven wonders of the world, which she built to his memory. She gave prizes to poets for panegyrics written to commemorate his virtues; but still further did her grief carry her,--she resolved to give him a yet more extraordinary tomb. Having collected his ashes left by the burning of his body, and caused the bones to be beaten in a mortar, she mingled some of the powder every day in her drink, till she had consumed it all, meaning by this to make her own body the sepulchre of her husband. Notwithstanding her active, energetic spirit, her grief proved too strong for her, and she died lamenting him, two years after his decease. This princess ordered the inhabitants of Halicarnassus to meet the Rhodians with open arms, as if they meant to deliver up their city to them. The deceived Rhodians landed their men, and left their ships empty, for the purpose of entering the place. In the mean time, Artemisia ordered out her own galleys, which seized the fleet of the enemy, and, having thus deprived them of the means of retreat, she surrounded the Rhodians and made a general slaughter of them. This intrepid queen then sailed towards Rhodes. The citizens, perceiving their vessels coming home crowned with flowers, admitted the Carian fleet into their port, amidst cries and exclamations of joy. Their surprise may be supposed when they recognised their unwelcome visitors. Artemisia insisted upon having the authors of the revolt put to death, and returned home in triumph. We cannot leave this remarkable princess without mentioning the extraordinary part she played in the immortal battle of Salamis. She, from her country, was of course against the Greeks, and, with her vessels, formed part of the fleet of Xerxes. She strongly advised Xerxes to avoid a naval engagement; the Greeks, she said, were more accustomed to the sea than the Persians were, and would have a great advantage upon that element. Although her advice was not listened to, she did her duty so nobly in the fight, that Xerxes exclaimed,--“That if the men appeared like women before the Greeks, the women fought like heroes.” In order to escape the Greeks, who pursued her warmly, she hoisted a Greek flag, and to complete the deception, attacked a Persian vessel commanded by Clamasithymus, king of Calydna, her personal enemy, and sunk it. After this, the Greeks, believing her to be of their party, offered her no more molestation. SECOND SIEGE.