Hippolyta was an Athenian mid-wife that became the first mortal born Amazon and eventually ruled as one of their Queens.
History
Hippolyta lived in ancient Athens as a widowed assistant midwife who eventually suffered a breakdown after she was ordered to abandon an unwanted new-born girl. While she sent the girl down a river in a basket she later regretted her action and desperately ran into the wilds in a hopeless attempt to find the abandoned child. After months of wandering, on the verge of death, she was encountered by a group of men who attempted to assault her but where killed before they could. Hippolyta's rescuer introduced herself as Antiope of the Amazons, a group of women sent by the goddesses to protect other women. Hippolyta wanted to join the Amazons but Antiope refused and instead left her with food and a horse to return to civilization.[1]
Rather than return to her home, Hippolyta continued to try and track the Amazons down. In her searches she instead found their patron Artemis who she asked to make her an Amazon, but the goddess claimed the alchemy involved made it to difficult and marked her face instead. She suggested Hippolyta seek out a nearby group of slave traders if she wished to find the Amazons. Sure enough, Hippolyta found the slavers who were quickly killed by Antiope and her people. Hippolyta grouped together the freed slave girls and persuaded a reluctant Antiope to let them join the Amazon's company. Eventually Antiope brought Hippolyta and the freed slaves to the other five Amazon Queens who debated which tribe should care for them. Amongst the indecision the freed slaves decided to form their own seventh tribe and elected Hippolyta as their Queen. Afterwards they settled in a camp and were taught in combat, medicine, art and mathematics from the original six Amazon tribes. The seventh tribe quickly grew with the influx of mortal women rescued by the Amazons.[2]
All the Amazons were put at risk after Tarpeia, one of Hippolyta's tribe, killed a boy in the temple of Apollo. Zeus retaliated by sending his son Heracles to battle the Amazon Queens but the demigod was killed when Hippolyta rallied all the Amazons to overwhelm him, which only enraged Zeus further. A great conflict ensued which killed most the Amazons, the surviving Hippolyta was brought before the gods by Artemis where the other gods persuaded Zeus that death in battle was too good a fate for the Amazons, and that a better punishment was to rob them of their freedom. Zeus let Hippolyta decided the Amazons' fate, either to be utterly exterminated, or for all Amazons to be resurrected and remain imprisoned on an island for eternity, except for Tarpeia who would remain dead in Apollo' hands.
Hippolyta reluctantly sacrificed Tarpeia with the hope that the memories of the Amazons live on. Heartbroken from the events, Hippolyta moulded a baby girl out of sand on the beach of her new prison island before consigning to drown herself. Before she lost conscious however, Hippolyta was brought back to shore by the sounds of a baby crying and found her sand baby had become a live child whom she named Diana.[3]
Powers and Abilities
Powers
Abilities
- Amazonian Training: The Amazons honed their skills in many fields, aided by the gifts from Athena and Artemis.
Notes
- This character or object is an adaptation of Hippolyta, a character or object in traditional stories. These include, but may not be limited to religious texts, myth, and/or folk lore. More information on the original can be found at Wikipedia.org.
- Hippolyta 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 Hippolyta (Wonder Woman Historia)
- 1 Images featuring Hippolyta (Wonder Woman Historia)
- Quotations by or about Hippolyta (Wonder Woman Historia)
- Character Gallery: Hippolyta (Wonder Woman Historia)
External Links
Footnotes
  This character is or was an ally of Wonder Woman. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Wonder Woman Supporting Cast" category. |