Mythological queens

biblical figure

thumb|Semiramis, a legendary figure based on the life of Shammuramat, depicted as an armed Amazons|Amazon in an eighteenth-century Italian illustration Semiramis (; Šammīrām, Šamiram, , Samīrāmīs) was the legendary Lydian-Babylonian wife of Onnes and of Ninus, who succeeded the latter on the throne of Assyria, according to Movses Khorenatsi. Legends narrated by Diodorus Siculus, who drew primarily from the works of Ctesias of Cnidus, describe her and her relationships to Onnes and King Ninus.

Nüwa, also read Nügua, is a mother goddess, culture hero, and/or member of the Three Sovereigns of Chinese mythology. She is a goddess in Chinese folk religion, Chinese Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism. She is credited with creating humanity and repairing the Pillar of Heaven.

Guinevere ( ; ; , ), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First mentioned in literature in the early 12th century, nearly 700 years after the purported times of Arthur, Guinevere has since been portrayed as everything from a fatally flawed, villainous, and opportunistic traitor to a noble and virtuous lady. The variably told motif of abduction of Guinevere, or of her being rescued from some other peril, features recurrently and prominently in many versions of the

enchantress in Arthurian legend

In Mesopotamian mythology, Ereshkigal (Sumerian: 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒆠𒃲 [EREŠ.KI.GAL]), lit. "Queen of the Great Earth") was the goddess of Kur, the land of the dead or underworld in Sumerian mythology. In later myths, she was said to rule Irkalla alongside her husband Nergal. Sometimes her name is given as Irkalla, similar to the way the name Hades was used in Greek mythology for both the underworld and its ruler, and sometimes it is given as Ninkigal, lit. "Lady of the Great Earth”.

thumb|"Brunnhild" (1897) by Gaston Bussière

New Testament symbol

ruler of Avalon in the Arthurian legend

deity

Medb (), later spelled Meadhbh (), Méabh(a) () and Méibh (), and often anglicised as Maeve ( ), is queen of Connacht in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Her husband in the core stories of the cycle is Ailill mac Máta, although she had several husbands before him who were also kings of Connacht. She rules from Cruachan (now Rathcroghan, County Roscommon). She is the enemy (and former wife) of Conchobar mac Nessa, king of Ulster, and is best known for starting the Táin Bó Cúailnge ("The Cattle Raid of Cooley") to steal Ulster's prize stud bull Donn Cúailnge.

Aslaug ( ), also called Aslög, Kráka (O.N.: ) or Kraba, is a figure in Norse mythology who appears in Snorri's Edda, the Völsunga saga and in the saga of Ragnar Lodbrok as one of his wives.

thumb|"Macha Curses the Men of Ulster", Stephen Reid (artist)|Stephen Reid's illustration from [[Eleanor Hull's ''The Boys' Cuchulainn (1904)]] Macha () was a sovereignty goddess of ancient Ireland associated with the province of Ulster, particularly the sites of Navan Fort (Eamhain Mhacha) and Armagh (Ard Mhacha''), which are named after her. Several figures called Macha appear in Irish mythology and folklore, all believed to derive from the same goddess. She is said to be one of three sisters known as 'the three Morrígna'. Like other sovereignty goddesses, Macha is associated with the land,

In the Matter of Britain, Igraine () is the mother of King Arthur. Igraine is also known in Latin as Igerna, in Welsh as Eigr (Middle Welsh Eigyr), in French as Ygraine (Old French Ygerne or Igerne), in ''Le Morte d'Arthur as Ygrayne—often modernised as Igraine or Igreine—and in Parzival'' as Arnive. She becomes the wife of Uther Pendragon after the death of her first husband, Gorlois.

Vashti (; ; ) was a queen of Persia and the first wife of Persian king Ahasuerus in the Book of Esther, a book included within the Tanakh and the Old Testament which is read on the Jewish holiday of Purim. She was either executed or banished for her refusal to appear at the king's banquet to show her beauty as Ahasuerus wished, and was succeeded as queen by Esther, a Jew. That refusal might be better understood via the Jewish tradition that she was ordered to appear naked. In the Midrash, Vashti is described as beautiful but wicked and vain; she is viewed as an independent-minded heroine in fe

daughter of Krakus, legendary founder of Kraków; upon her father's death, she became queen of the Poles, but committed suicide to avoid an unwanted marriage to a German

thumb|Woodcut by Edward Burne-Jones, for [[William Morris' work, Sigurd the Volsung. (London: Kelmscott Press, 1898).]] thumb|Kriemhild discovers Siegfried's corpse. Painting by Johann Heinrich Füssli, 1817. thumb|Kriemhild accuses Hagen of murdering Siegfried. Painting by Emil Lauffer, 1879 right|thumb|Kriemhild and Gunther, Johann Heinrich Füssli, 1807 thumb|Kriemhild's Death, Karl Schmoll von Eisenwerth, 1911 Gudrun ( ; ) or Kriemhild ( ; ) is the wife of Sigurd/Siegfried and a major figure in Germanic heroic legend and literature. She is believed to have her origins in Ildico, last wife of

According to Roman mythology, Amata (also called Palanto) was the wife of Latinus, king of the Latins, and the mother of their only child, Lavinia. In the Aeneid of Virgil, she commits suicide during the conflict between Aeneas and Turnus over which of them would marry Lavinia.

legendary Queen of the Britons

Rhiannon () is a female figure in Welsh mythology and a protagonist of the Mabinogi, in its First and Third Branches. She has been described by Ronald Hutton as "one of the great female personalities in World literature", adding that "there is in fact, nobody quite like her in previous human literature". Rhiannon also appears as a character in 14th century Medieval Welsh poetry.

legendary figure

female figure in Irish mythology

thumb|upright|Illustration of Clíodhna in R.D. Joyce's Ballads of Irish Chivalry (1872) In Irish mythology, Clíodhna (Clídna, Clionadh, Clíodna, Clíona, transliterated to Cleena in English) is a Queen of the Banshees of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Clíodna of Carrigcleena is the potent banshee that rules as queen over the sióga (fairies) of South Munster, or Desmond.

Branwen, Daughter of Llŷr is a major character in the medieval Welsh story known as the Second Branch of the Mabinogi, which is sometimes called the "Mabinogi of Branwen" after her.

thumb|La Belle Iseult by William Morris (1858)

Queen Arawelo (; also spelled Arrawelo, Araweelo, Arraweelo, or Arawailo), also known as Ebla Awad, was a proto-Somali Queen in traditional folklore. Her story is found in folklore across the Horn of Africa —such as in the stories of Queen Gudit in Ethiopian and Eritrean folklore and Queen Furra in Sidama folklore. The person behind these various alternative names is portrayed as a powerful female ruler, probably identical to Māsobā Wārq, the daughter of the last Aksumite king, Dil Na'ad, mentioned in an early Arabic source.

character in Slavic mythology

Glöð ("glad" or "glowing embers"; sometimes anglicized as Glod or Glut) is a legendary queen who figures in the Norse Þorsteins saga Víkingssonar.

Cigfa ferch Gwyn Glohoyw (Middle Welsh: Kigua) is a minor character in Welsh mythology, the wife of King Pryderi of Dyfed. She is mentioned briefly in the First Branch of the Mabinogi, and appears more prominently in the third. Describing the character, Proinsias Mac Cana writes: "Cigfa strikes one as a slight though effective vignette of a contemporary bourgeois snob while William John Gruffydd hypothesises that the character was a later addition to the tale. John Rhys suggested a connection between Cigfa and the Irish character Ciochba.

Furra or Fura was a medieval queen (Nigist) of the Sidama region in southern Ethiopia. Her story is found in folklore across the Horn of Africa—such as in the stories of Queen Gudit in Northern Ethiopian and Eritean folklore and Queen Araweelo in Somali folklore. The person behind these various alternative names is portrayed as a powerful female ruler, probably identical to Māsobā Wārq, the daughter of the last Aksumite king, Dil Na'ad, mentioned in an early Arabic source.

Mythological queen of Galicia