Chrysis (died 429 BC) was a priestess of Hera from Argos from 479 to 431 BC and a prominent member of the Cult of Kosmos.
Biography[]
Chrysis was an orphaned child, and she was left at the Sanctuary of Askleipos before being raised by the priests as one of their own. She was a fast learned and strong-willed, and she was well-loved by the priests. Chrysis became a priestess of Hera serving at the nearby Heraion of Argos, and she later became the best priestess there. Chrysis joined the Cult of Kosmos, and she worshiped King Leonidas I's bloodline due to their descent from the Greek gods, while also supporting the unification of the Greek world under a strong single state. In 448 BC, after the Spartan woman Myrrine left her sickly baby Alexios at Argos to leave him in the hands of the gods, Chrysis healed him and raised him as her own son. She was abusive, beating him and teaching him that the world is pain. She forced the priest Mydon to cut out his own tongue to prevent him from telling anyone else about her secret raising of Alexios; she also had an illegitimate son, Dolops.
Hunted[]
Chrysis holding the baby.
By 431 BC, when rumors of an eagle-bearing mercenary frightened the Cult, Chrysis tightened her hold on the priests, forcing them to remain silent about the Spartan woman and her baby, or face death. Some priests like Pleistos allied themselves with her, while some like Timoxenos protested. She also publicly accused the healer Hippocrates of impiety, claiming that he was attempting to become a demigod who could heal men by himself. After the mercenary Kassandra found out about Chrysis' affiliation with the Cult, she hunted her down to the Altar of Apollo Maleatas, where Chrysis warned Kassandra by leaving behind a dead eagle. Kassandra found a small shrine nearby, and she found Chrysis holding a baby. Chrysis invited Kassandra to join her "family", but Kassandra instead announced her intention to kill Chrysis, who placed the baby down and set the altar on fire. Kassandra was forced to rescue the baby as Chrysis fled.
Death[]
Chrysis dying.
In 429 BC, Kassandra was halted by Kybele as she left Argos, as the woman begged for Kassandra's help with rescuing her husband from bandits in the woods. When Kassandra went to investigate, she found the man's body, and Chrysis and her guards emerged. Chrysis revealed that the man had sacrificed himself to help trap Kassandra, and Chrysis offered Kassandra a placed on her council. However, Kassandra was bent on avenging her brother, and she killed the guards before wounding Chrysis. Chrysis laughed in the face of Kassandra's rage, and Kassandra promised to avenge her family and every other family that Chrysis had destroyed. She then proceeded to slit her throat using the Spear of Leonidas, leaving her to choke to death on her own blood.