Parysatis (/pəˈrɪsətɪs/; Old Persian: Parušyātiš, Ancient Greek: Παρύσατις; 5th-century BC) was a Persian queen, consort of Darius II, who had a large influence during the reign of her son Artaxerxes II.

Parysatis was a Persian noblewoman of the Achaemenid dynasty. She was the daughter of Artanes, the brother of King Xerxes I. She married Darius II, with whom she had several children, including Artaxerxes II and Cyrus the Younger. Ancient sources sometimes mistakenly describe her as a daughter of Artaxerxes I, but modern scholarship identifies her as the daughter of Artanes, not a royal princess of Artaxerxes I.

She and Darius II had many children, possibly thirteen in total, but only a few are known by name. Their sons included Artaxerxes II, Cyrus the Younger, Ostanes, and Oxathres. They also had at least two daughters, Amestris and Stateira.

Parysatis was a politically very powerful woman and possessed an extensive network of spies and informants throughout the empire, particularly within the court. In addition, she relied on a network of supporters and political clients who played a crucial role in advancing her political aims and projects. Ctesias, who was her physician, notes in his works and books that she used her intelligence network to identify individuals who posed potential threats to the throne and then, with the assistance of her loyal followers and supporters, ordered their removal and execution. Parysatis was very savvy and succeeded in assisting Darius II's ascent to the throne, even though he was a bastard and not a legitimate child. Ctesias records that Darius was very dependent on her counsel. With the help of her nationwide networks and the king's support, she effectively ruled.

In addition, she is mentioned to have held a lot of land and villages in Syria, Media and Babylon. There also remains a record of the taxes paid directly to her and to Ea-bullissu, the servant who was in charge of managing her holdings and tax collections.

Her favorite son was Cyrus, and it was on account of her influence that he was given supreme command in western Anatolia as a teenager in around 407 BC. When her husband died, she supported Cyrus. When Cyrus was defeated in the Battle of Cunaxa, she blamed the satrap Tissaphernes for his death, and thus had him assassinated not long after.

According to the chapter on Artaxerxes II in Plutarch's Life, a young Persian soldier named Mithridates unknowingly struck Cyrus the Younger during the Battle of Cunaxa, making him fall from his horse, dazed. Some eunuchs found Cyrus and tried to bring him to safety, but a Caunian among the king's camp followers struck a vein behind his knee with a dart, making him fall and strike his head on a stone, whereupon he died. Unwisely, Mithridates boasted of killing Cyrus in the court, and Parysatis had him executed by scaphism. She likewise got vengeance on Masabates, the king's eunuch, who had cut off Cyrus's hand and head, by winning him from her son Artaxerxes in a game of dice and having him flayed alive. It is difficult to determine if Parysatis's action against the Caunian was an ordeal practice or a distortedly reported mirror punishment. The sadistic acts reported by Ctesias are historically doubtful.

Stateira was the wife of Artaxerxes II. Her brother, Terituchmes, loved one of his half-sisters more than his intended bride: Amestris, Darius II and Parysatis's daughter. Terituchmes tried to start a rebellion, and Parysatis had all the family killed and only spared the life of Stateira at the request of her husband.