Diana was an Athenian infant that was abandoned and later reincarnated by Hera as the daughter of Hippolyta.
History
Diana in her previous life was born in ancient Athens by a woman named Nyssa but was not given a name. As Nyssa and her husband George already had three daughters and were short on money, they decided another daughter was not worth keeping. The new-born girl was given to the mid-wife's assistant, Hippolyta, who was ordered to expose her, as was common in ancient Greece. This worked by leaving the baby in the wilds with a coin as an offering to the gods; then, the baby's survival was matter of the gods decision rather than the parents. After sending the baby down the stream Hippolyta almost immediately regrated her actions and went mad trying to search for the child for days, but she was too late. The child had already died and her soul in the form of a bird was gathered by the goddess Hera who kept it safe for later use.[1]
The following events would eventually lead to Hippolyta becoming recognised as the Queen of the Amazons who had been imprisoned on the paradise island of Themyscira. As the path to such events was long and full of heartache, Hippolyta formed a model baby out of the sand on the island before consigning herself to suicide by wading into the ocean. In the short time she was absent the goddess Hera appeared before the sand baby and used the soul-bird she had kept to bring the model to life. The other goddesses Demeter, Athena, Hestia, Hecate, Aphrodite and Artemis all joined in giving their blessing to the newly-reborn baby and swiftly left. The crying of the child was heard by Hippolyta and drew her away from her suicide attempt. She climbed out of the ocean to find the baby in a basket alongside the coin she had left with her long ago, and embraced the child, the first born on the island. Left written in the sand next to the pair was the name "Diana", one of Artemis' many names that the goddess gave her.[2]
Powers and Abilities
Powers
Notes
- Diana of Themyscira was originally introduced in Earth-Two continuity in All-Star Comics #8 by William Moulton Marston and Harry G. Peter. She first appeared in Wonder Woman Historia continuity in Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons #1 by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Phil Jimenez.
Related
- 3 Appearances of Diana of Themyscira (Wonder Woman Historia)
- 3 Images featuring Diana of Themyscira (Wonder Woman Historia)
- Quotations by or about Diana of Themyscira (Wonder Woman Historia)
- Character Gallery: Diana of Themyscira (Wonder Woman Historia)
Footnotes