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Are there any Talmudic sources that back up the claim that Cyrus was really the son of Queen Esther?

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  • First of all, I assume you mean Cyrus II, aka Darius II. I believe there is a source, not sure where; but I also heard a midrash that an angel appeared in the form of esther and gave birth to him.
    – user613
    Commented Aug 11, 2015 at 7:35
  • Who makes the claim?
    – Menachem
    Commented Aug 11, 2015 at 12:48
  • Was this claim made as Midrash or History? The two are often not the same.
    – Double AA ♦
    Commented Aug 11, 2015 at 15:10
  • @user613 I see no evidence that Darius II was also called Cyrus II.
    – Double AA ♦
    Commented Aug 11, 2015 at 17:32
  • At least according to the Zohar, King Darius wasn't Queen Esther's son: judaism.stackexchange.com/a/13123/11486
    – ezra
    Commented Mar 12, 2018 at 16:42

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The Gemara in Rosh Hashana 3b(which talks about when to start the counting of a kings reign) writes that Koresh(he was a kosher king),Daryavesh(his actual name),and Artachasasta(name of his kingdom) are one in the same.

The question is was Daryavish Esther's son. The simple answer is that its a machlokes. Tosfos on that Daf explains that Daryavish was Eshter's son based of the Midrash Va'yikra Rabah 13:5. However, Rashi holds on 4a that Daryavish was a ben noach, seemingly Rashi did not go with the opinion of the midrash.

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  • Some Rishonim take that whole Gemara as non-literal, fwiw.
    – Double AA ♦
    Commented Aug 11, 2015 at 17:26
  • Good answer. Just pointing out, the gemara says he went bad later (I think the one you referenced). But that's not a problem with the answer
    – user613
    Commented Aug 11, 2015 at 21:54
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Rashi says that Cyrus was the son of Esther. I have a source at home, I'll have to dig it up.

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The Kalla Rabbasi 2:15 seems to indicate this.

מה בנה של אסתר כתיב (ישעיה מה) אני לפניך אלך והדורים אישר דלתות נחושה אשבר ובריחי ברזל אגדע...

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Don't know if you mean Cyrus 1 or 2 (just found out from another commenter that there was more than one), but at least one seems to have preceded the megillah: http://www.chabad.org/holidays/in-depth/default_cdo/aid/39643/jewish/Megillah-with-Commentary.htm And it came to pass in the days of Achashverosh (Esther 1:1) Achashverosh succeeded Cyrus as ruler of the Persian Empire, toward the end of the Jews' seventy-year exile in Babylon (Rashi)

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