#girdle of hippolyte

[mythological-art]

Hercules Obtaining the Girdle of Hippolyte

Artist: Nikolaus Knüpfer (Dutch, 1609 - 1655)

Genre: Mythological Painting

Date: First Half of 17th Century

Medium: Oil on Panel

Collection: Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg

In Greek mythology, Hercules obtained the Girdle of Hippolyte as part of his ninth labor, which was to retrieve it for Admete, the daughter of King Eurystheus.

[tylermileslockett]

ARGONAUTICA 7: The Island of Ares Book 2 continues with the argonauts rowing to exhaustion and camping upon an island where the god Apollo, with golden curls and silver bow, suddenly stomps past , journeying out to sea. quote they build an altar, sacrifice meat, and danced in celebration of the god. The next day the row out, passing the cave of Hades near the river Acheron, where they moor and are met and entertained in the palace of king Lykos, who tells them that their abandoned comrade, Herakles, passed by previous on his labor to retrieve the girdle of Hippolyte. Here the argonaut prophet Idmon, is gorged and killed by a boar. And 2 others die to illness. They embark out and pass by an island with the recent tomb of Sthenelous, who died while returning from the expedition with Herakles against the Amazons. Persephone, queen of the underworld, sends up Sthenelous’s shade (spirit) so that the argonauts see their compatriot one last time in ghost form. The men moor the ship and pour libations and sacrifice sheep in the dead hero’s honor. Next the crew pass by the cape of the Amazons, descendants of Ares, at the Thermodon River. Eventually they come across the island of Ares, where the Stymphalian birds shoot down sharp feathers like arrows. But the men, with shields held high in defense, come ashore screaming in loud fury, scaring the birds off into the sky. After leaving the island of Ares, they pass the Caucasian mountains where they hear the screams of the titan Prometheus who is doomed to have his regenerating liver eaten out by Zeus’s giant Caucasian eagle, which they spy flying amongst the peaks. Book 2 ends with the crew finally reaching Colchis, the land where the Colchian Dragon guards the golden fleece in Ares’ sacred grove. But before they can attempt such a feat, they must find king Aites for assistance. But will the king help the argonauts, or plot to poison their intentions?

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[fancyfade]

Comparisons of the origin of Themyscira/Paradise Island

I do not claim this to be a comprehensive guide, these are just focusing on the origins I have read recently and am most familiar with. Comparison of Golden age (All Star Comics #8 and Wonder Woman vol 1#1) tellings, silver age telling (wonder woman vol1 #105), and New Earth telling (Wonder Woman vol2 #1)

All Star Comics and Wonder Woman vol1 #1 are pretty similar. the main difference is Wonder Woman #1 goes into more detail, and in All Star Comics, men are not explicitly forbidden from entering the amazonian city.*

Here you can see in All Star #8, they take him to a hospital in the city.

After that, we have some basics that are established:

Amazonia is the most powerful nation in ancient Greece and women rule.

Heracles sees this as a challenge and tries to conquer them. HIppolyte challenges him to single combat b/c she knows she is undefeatable due to her magic girdle that Aphrodite gave her.

Heracles tricks Hippolyte out of her girdle after being defeated - but we don't see how. Then, the Amazons are enslaved by Heracles' men and Aphrodite does not help, because she is mad at HIppolyte for "having succumbed to the wiles of men".

Eventually, Aphrodite agrees to help and they overthrow the men, take their fleet, and leave for another shore because Aphrodite wants them to establish a new world of their own and always wear the bracelets fashioned by their captors as a reminder to keep aloof from omen.

Okay, next origin. most of the details will be the same, because it's the same author, just more in detail

This builds on. We get why Amazons were created:

Aphrodite and Ares were at war. Ares has his men who kill weaker men and keep women in slavery, Aphrodite makes the Amazons to be stronger than men and have the power of love. She gives her magic girdle to their queen so they will be unconquerable.

Ares has Heracles go after the amazons and heracles challenges the queen to personal combat. she defeats him and says she will spare his life if he promises to leave and he invites them to a banquet in friendship. After the banquet, he asks Hippolyte to hold her girdle and she says she knows she shouldn't but she can't resist him, and he and his men capture the Amazons.

in this one, Aphrodite comes to Hippolyte the first time she pleads to her, but says she must wear the wrist bands always to teach her the folly of submitting to men's domination.

the silver age comic, Wonder Woman #105, is super weird. It starts with Aphrodite, Athena, Hermes (Mercury), and Heracles visiting baby Diana and giving her powers.

We don't get a ton of explanation but it seems as if the Amazons were just like any other Greek nation and then all the men died?

Anyway, because of this they decide to start building a stout ship that will take them away from terrible wars. they sail around a bunch and young diana uses her powers to save people from disaster, then when getting to Paradise Island they sail through the mists of eternal youth, which Athena tells them will keep them young provided they never leave Pardise Island.

It does not fit well with Golden age or New Earth telling

OK so New Earth telling, Wonder Woman #1 (vol 2).

It starts with Ares and Artemis each proposing ways to make man worship the Greek gods. Ares says through force, Artemis proposes making a new race of mortals, the Amazons, brave, strong, compassionate, to show men and women their place with each other.

The characters involved in the creation of the amazons are: demeter, artemis, athena, aprhodite, hestia, and hermes. they reincarnate the souls of women whose lives were cut short by man's fear and ignorance to create the amazons

artemis tells them their job is to lead humanity, and athena grants them wisdom, she grants them skill in the hunt, demeter makes their fields always fruitful, hestia builds them a city, and aphrodite grants them love. she gives them both gaea's girdle (so there are two copies) which represent the trust the goddesses place in them

man fears the amazons, because they do not control them.

Ares manipulates Heracles into going after the Amazons by offending his ego. Heracles and Hippoltye fight after Hippolyte tries to give Heracles the opportunity to embrace peace, he refuses and gets his ass kicked, she tells him to surrender or die and he pretends to be won over. he and his men trick the amazons and drug them and capture them.

Athena shows up to Hippolyte to say she has failed herself by withdrawing from mankind rather than leading it. Hippolyte says she wants bloody vengeance on Heracles, Athena says not to take vengeance and to cleanse her soul and rededicate herself to "that which gaea gave you" and then she will be free. Hippolyte leads teh amazons against Heracles' men and they kill them all. Hippolyte says no more vengeance after this, Athena has a ship for them to leave on, Antiope, her sister, says she takes nothing from the gods.

The amazons are tasked with guarding the unspeakable evil that lies beneath themyscira due to having forgotten their purpose, and they have to wear the symbols of their bondage as a sign never to err again. the amazons are told to let no mortal man trespass on themyscira.

Anyway, both WW vol 1 #1 and WW vol 2 #1 had the theme of Ares vs one of the goddesses of the Amazons, but it changed which goddess it was. the silver age is the odd one out in the basic set up, but the new earth one is the odd one out in that themyscira has some element of punishment for the amazons.

*even in WW#1, Men are not forbidden from setting foot on Paradise Island and it's not like anything bad happens if they do.

[arieso226]

Warrior Women!

NO. 1

Many women were able to fight in battles, defend their kingdoms, and take up leadership roles, titled ‘warrior women,’ throughout the centuries. Their stories are inspiring and motivational for women everywhere to continue to be independent, strong, and courageous. The Dahomey Amazons were a real-life all-female warrior militia that existed from the 17th century to the 19th in the kingdom of Dahomey, today Benin of West Africa. They resulted from the male population facing high casualties from war and frequent violence from neighboring West African states, and the king at the time, King Houegbadja, implemented them. They called themselves the Mino, meaning ‘Our Mothers,’ in the Fon language, and were recruited as young as eight. Some voluntarily enrolled, while others involuntarily by their fathers or fathers. The Dahomey women warriors earned their reputation as fierce warriors, often earning the praise of enemies that they defeated in battle.

NO. 2

For the Greeks, they had the Amazonians; several tales from Greek mythology have been written about them. They were raised to fight from birth, where they would defeat and kidnap male warriors and keep them as enslaved peoples, mated with them, and kept their daughters raised as Amazons while having their sons be returned to their fathers. In one tale, the fight against the mythical Heracles, where one of his labors was to obtain the girdle from queen Hippolyte, the queen of the Amazons. They weren’t just mythical though; they were just real as well. Many burial sites revealed that ‘‘In the grasslands of inner Asia, from the Black Sea to western China, Scythian women had the same skills as their men: wielding bows, riding and herding animals, fighting – and dying from their injuries. Their remains have been found in tomb mounds from Crimea to western China.’’

NO. 3

The Valkyries were the Norse equivalent of female warriors, who, in mythology, guide the souls of the noblest of the dead to Valhall. Many famous poems and Eddas are centered around these famous warriors of Odin, king of the gods. Still, we’re not talking about mythology but actual female Viking warriors. In 2019, archaeologists uncovered the remains of a decorated female warrior from the 10th century, proving women held high-status positions in Viking culture. ‘‘Several weapons were buried alongside the body, including a sword, armor-piercing arrows, a battle knife, an axe, a spear, and two shields, indicating that the skeleton was likely that of a warrior. Accompanying the wide array of weapons were two horses, a full set of game pieces, and a gaming board. The gaming pieces suggest that the person buried was a high-ranking combatant who was knowledgeable of strategies and tactics.’’

[nerds-yearbook]

The anthology comic All Star Comics 8#, cover date January, 1942, introduced Wonder Woman with her bracelets, magic girdle, and tiara, Paradise Island, Amazonia, Col Darnell, Steve Trevor, Hippolyte, Mala, Amazonian Doctor, and Aphrodite. They were created by William Moulton Marston (one of the creators of the lie detector) and Harry G Peter. In the issue, Dr Mid-Nite and Starman joined the Justice Society of America. ("Justice Society of America: Two New Members Earn Their Spurs, Introduction", "Chapter 1: Dr Mid-Nite", "Interlude", "Chapter 2: Dr Fate", "Chapter 3: The Atom", "Chapter 4: The Sandman", "Chapter 5: Starman", "Chapter 6: Hawkman", "Chapter 7: The Spectre", "Hop Harrigan: Sky Cutups", "Chapter 8: Johnny Thunder", "Justice Society of America: Two New Members Earn Their Spurs, Conclusion", "Wonder Woman: Introducing Wonder Woman")

[seewetter]

Mythic Creatures by Culture & Region

Part 4: Greek

Full list & overview here.

This link leads to a website that documents even more Greek creatures than Wikipedia:

Abarimon (the Roman Pliny the Elder, whose source is supposedly a land surveyor of Alexander the Great); Abii, Iliad (and Greeks Ptolemy, Strabo) describes this people as hailing from Scythia; Achilleus, son of Zeus and Lamia; Achlys, Homeric, on Heracles shield, "dark fog"; Acmon (Dactyl) a dactyl in Dionysus campaign in India; Aegipan; Aerico, disease spirit; Aeternae, horned beats fought in India by Alexander the Great's men; Agathodaemon, household god, later snake form; woman's name for Amazons, Nereids, regular Greek women: Agave; Alastor see Goetia, also a name for Zeus (Zeus Alastor) & horse of Hades, as well as Greek heroes; Alcibie Amazon in the Trojan war; Alcippe: (1) Amazon killed by Heracles. (2) Daughter of Ares. (3) Daughter of Poseidon. (4) Mother of Daedalos. (5) Daughter of the gigant Alcyoneus (father slain by Heracles). (6) An attendant of Helen of Troy. (7) A princess of Elis, the kingdom in northwestern Peloppones. ; Alcyoneus a gigant; Alke (1) Amazon (2) granddaughter of Hercules (3) one of Actaion's dogs (4) personification and spirit of battle-courage and strength; Almops a gigant, son of Poseidon and a nymph; Aloadae twins (Otus "insatiate" and Ephialtus "nightmare") who grew nine fingers every month, nine fathoms (1.8m) at age 9, stormed Mt. Olympus to own Artemis and Hera, bound in the Underworld with snakes; Alphito, Plutarch says this is a boogeyman to scare children, perhaps a "corn mother"; Alpos many arms, hair covered in snakes like Medusa; Alseid nymphs of groves and glens (glen = valley with gentle slope), in Homer alseids are "alsea"; Amazons, Amazons (List) (see also Roman and Scythian); Amphisbaena, in Greek myth, Perseus flies over Libya with head of Medusa…blood creates Amphisbaene; Amycus (centaur); Amykos; Ananke, Orphic goddess of fate, partner to Chronos; Anemoi 4 wind gods; Anguiped see Abraxas. Also Roman and Iranian.; Antaeus; Antandre, Amazon; Anthelioi; Anthousai; Antibrote; Antichthones; Antiope (Amazon Queen); Apollo Amazonius the Apollo of the Amazons?; Arae; Areto Amazon; Argus; Arimaspi; Arion; Arktos (centaur); Asbolus (centaur); Aspalis; Asteria (1) minor goddess (2) daughter of Helios and a sea nymph (3) lady who murdered her husband (4) daughter of giant Alcyoneus (5) mother of a child (the seer Idmon) with Apollo (6) mother of a child (a city founder) with Bellerophon (7) Amazon killed by Heracles in defense of Hippolyte's girdle, which Heracles came to steal (8) a maiden saved from being sacrificed to the Minotaur (9) a daughter of Teucer, the half-brother of Trojan villain Ajax (10) a mother to Crisus and Panopeus by Phocus… they are connected to the myths of both Theseus and Agammemnon is somewhat convoluted ways; Astomi Pliny the Elder; Astraeus (1) titan and father of the anemoi (4 winds), (2) chief of satyrs in Dionysus Indian war (3) son of Poseidon who bedded his sister by accident, followed by suicide; Athos gigant, foe of Poseidon; Auloniad; Aura; Azone; Babys (a satyr's brother);

Bacchae; Bacchantes; Baubo; Bebryces; Bonnacon (Roman writer Pliny the Elder); Bremusa Amazon; Cabeiri; Cacodaemon; Cacus; Callicantzaroi; Calliste; Callithyia of Argos; Calydonian Boar; Campe; Cancer; Cattle of Helios; Caucones; Celaeno (1) one of the Pleiades (2) a harpy (3) princess who got with Poseidon (4) princess who got with Apollo (5) daughter of Poseidon who got with Prometheus (6) Amazon killed by Heracles;

Centaur ; Centaurs and Centaur_Early Art and Centaurides; Cerastes; Cerberus; Cercopes; Ceryneian Hind; Ceto; Cetus; Ceuthonymus; Chalkydri; Chalybes; Charybdis; Chimera; Chiron; Chrysanthis; Chrysaor; Chrysopeleia; Cinnamologus; Cissus; Clonie (Amazon); Colossus; Corus; Corybantes; Cretan Bull_minotaur's sire; Creusa; Crinaeae; Crommyonian Sow; Curetes; Cychreides; Cyclops; Cyllarus; Cynocephali;

Daimon; Dactyls; Damasen; Daphnaie; Darrhon; Deianeira; Delphyne; Derimacheia Amazon; Derinoe Amazon; Despoina_Goddess; Dioxippe (1) daughter of Helios and ocean nymph (2) princess who must eternally carry water in the afterlife with her sisters (3) Amazon (4) woman killed by her son Sipylus by accident, married to one of many men called Agenor in Greek myth (5) dog of Actaeon; Doliones; Dragon's Teeth; Drakaina; Dryad; Dysnomia;

Echidna; Eidolon; Elate; Eleionomae; Ellefolk; Empusa; Enceladus; Enorches; Epiales; Epimeliad; Epiphron; Eriboea; Erinyes; Erotes; Erymanthian boar; Euryale (1) gorgon (2) Orion's mother (3) Amazon; Eurybius; Eurymedon; Eurynome; Eurynomos; Eurypyle; Euxantius; Evandre;

Faun, Faunus ; Faunae, Fauni; Fury;

Galatea; Gale; Gargarians; Gello; Gerana Pygmy Queen; Geryon; Gigantes; Glauce (1) nymph who nursed Zeus (2) Pluto's twin sister (3) Ash tree nymph ("Melian nymph") nereid (4) hamadryad (5) Amazon (6) a daughter of Creon killed with him by Medea (7) and others; Gold-digging ant; Gorgon ; Gorgons; Gorgophone; Graeae; Gration; Griffon;

Halizones; Hamadryad; Harpy; Hecatoncheires; Hermaphroditus; Hesperides; Hippalectryon; Hippe; Hippocampus; Hippolyta; Hippopodes; Hircocervus also Roman; Homados; Horae; Hyades; Hybris; Hydra; Hylonome;

Ichthyocentaur; Ichthyophagoi; Ioke; Iphis; Iphito Amazon;

Kallikantzaros; Kallikantzaroi; Kallone; Keres; Khalkotauroi; Koalemos; Kobalos; Kydoimos; Kymopoleia;

Ladon; Laelaps; Laestrygonians; Lamia; Lampades; Lampetia; Lapiths; Leimakid; Leleges; Leuce; Leucippus; Limnad; Limos; Lip (Moerae); Lysippe (1) Amazon (2) one of 50 women who slept with Heracles in a night (3) a bunch of other people;

Macaria; Macelo (Telchine); Tecmessa; Macrobian; Maenad; Manticore; Mares of Diomedes; Marpesia Amazon Queen; Medusa; Meilichios; Melanippe; Meliae; Melinoë; Melisseus; Menippe; Menoetius; Mestra; Mimas (gigantes); Minotaur; Minthe; Minyans; Moera ; Moirai, Moerae; Molpadia; Monopod; Mormo; Moros; Myrina; Myrmekes; Myrmidon ; Myrmidones; Myrto; Mytilene;

Naiad ; Naiads; Neades; Nemean Lion; Nephele; Nereids aka Nereides; Nessus; Nomos; Nose (Moerae); Nuli Megasthenes; Nymph;

Oceanids; Onocentaur; Ophiotaurus; Oreads aka Oreades, Orestiades; Orion; Orithyia Amazon; Orthrus; Otrera Amazon; Ouroborous Ancient Egypt, Greece, Alchemy, Medieval, Norse (and check that book about different forms of the world because it has other snakes encircling the world);

Palioxis; Pallas; Pallas (gigantes); Pan; Pandi; Panotti; Pantariste Amazon; Panther; Pegaeae; Pegasus; Peleiades; Penthesilea; Persephone; Phaethusa; Philotes; Phobetor; Phoebe; Phoenix; Pholus; Phorcys; Phthisis; Picolous; Pleiades; Polemos; Polemusa Amazon; Polybotes (gigantes); Polydora; Potamides; Proioxis; Pronomus; Propoetides; Proteus; Protoplast; Psychai; Psychopomp; Pygmies; Python;

Remora;

Salamander; Satyr but not Satyress; Sciritae; Scitalis; Scylla; Semystra; Seps; Shade; Silenus; Sinoe; Siproeta; Siren; Sithon; Smilax; Soter; Soteria; Sphinx; Stheno and Euryale; Strix; Stymphalian birds; Sybaris;

Talos; Tarand; Taraxippus; Telchines; Teleboans; Telemus; Teumessian fox; Thalestris Amazon ("And where was I, then?"); Theomachy; Thermodosa; Thiasos; Thiasus; Thoe; Thrasos; Thriae; Titania; Titanis; Titans; Tityos; Triteia; Triton; Tritopatores; Troglodytae; Trojan Leaders; Trojan War characters; Typhon;

Unicorn (check the wiki page for the Greek authors);

Vrykolakas (also Slavic);

Werehyena; Werewolf; Wild Man, Wild Woman ; Wild Men, Wild Women (continuity between satyr myths and wild man myths);

Xanthippe; Xanthus;

Zelus

allegedly Greek

Aegea listed in the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica as an Amazon Queen; Demogorgon; Ipotane first attested with John de Mandeville; Odontotyrannus

Minoan

Minoan Genius; Minotaur allegedly Minoan

[phoenix-joy]

Author & Timestamp: Dalya Alberge Sun 24 Mar 2024, 07.00 GMT Extract:

In Greek legends, the Amazons were feared and formidable women warriors who lived on the edge of the known world. Hercules had to obtain the magic girdle of the Amazonian queen Hippolyte in one of his 12 labours, and Achilles killed another queen, Penthesilea, only to fall in love with her as her beautiful face emerged from her helmet.

[...] archaeologists are discovering increasing evidence [suggesting that Amazonian women] did exist.

Excavations of graves within a bronze age necropolis in Nakhchivan in Azerbaijan revealed that women had been buried with weapons such as razor-sharp arrowheads, a bronze dagger and a mace, as well as jewellery.

Archaeologists have concluded that they could have been Amazon women who lived 4,000 years ago. These fearsome women were famed for their male-free society and their prowess on the battlefield, particularly with a bow and arrow.

Historian Bettany Hughes told the Observer: “It shows that there’s truth behind the myths and legends of ancient Greece.”

[...]

Some of the skeletons reveal that the women had used bows and arrows extensively, Hughes observed: “Their fingers are warped because they’re using arrows so much. Changes on the finger joints wouldn’t just happen from hunting. That is some sustained, big practice. [There is also] bone evidence [...] of sustained time in the saddle. Women’s pelvises [...] opened up because they’re riding horses. [Their] bones are just shaped by their lifestyle.”

Penthesilea, an Amazon queen, and Achilles fight to the death.  Photograph: Ivy Close Images/Alamy

/endofextract

[antonio-m]

Sarcophagus decorated with the Labors of Hercules. Detail with Hercules and the Stymphalid birds and Hercules conquering the girdle of the Amazon Hippolyte.

[captainkurosolaire]

~ Heracles & 12 Labors ~

Labor Nine: Take the Girdle of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons

Heracles went to the land of the Amazons, where the queen Hippolyta (or Hippolyte) welcomed him and agreed to give him her girdle for Eurystheus's daughter. But Hera spread the rumor that Heracles came as an enemy. In the end he had to conquer the Amazons and steal the golden belt.

[therockymarrow]

Starting to create visuals/ideas for that homebrew Minotaur themed DnD campaign. This is a rough idea for the “Goddess of Feast and Famine”. So followers of her would be focused on balance and maintaining equality in the world.

They'll be probably 3 or 4 Gods for this pantheon. Only 1 is really dependant the story - the Goddess of Agriculture, Fertility and Invention (she'll probably be the next one I draw) and so far there's also a male God of Family, Health and Culture (music, art, etc) and a Genderless god of War, Knowledge and Navigation. I may make a few more if they feel to clunky idk yet, need to decide how home-brew-ish I want the race to be away from DnD Minotaur current rules.

The beginning of the campaign is that adventures have been summoned by a group of elders within the Goddess’s temple, an ancient relic has been stolen by a junior member and lost (with the junior) inside the maze-like catacombs. The elders are afraid that they could be forsaken by their Goddess for losing her sacred relic. They also believe that the relics power has began to drive the young minotaur mad, as the catacombs shift to reflect his increasingly twisting mindset. It takes a team of at least 3 to break apart and carry the relic in separate pieces, lest the new holder also be driven mad.

This setting and story will be heavily based on my limited understanding of Greek mythology, with the relic so far being a girdle based on the one held by Hippolyte in mythology (+3 strength to wearer, but with some major cursed item drawbacks) but that doesn’t really feel like it fits that goddess for me atm, so still very much a work in progress… rant over lol sorry.

[michael-svetbird]

: • My old sketch, 'Hippolyta’s Magical Girdle', redesigned, resized and converted to Hi-Res|HD getting ready for off-line publication [details to follow in Aug | Sept]. MSP 07|21 4840X6490 . . #hippolyta #ιππόλυτα #hippolyte #ипполита #greekmythology #ancientgreece #antiquity #ancient #classicalmythology #mythology #queenhippolyta #queenofamazons #amazonqueen #amazonwarrior #warrioress #oiorpata #illustration #publication #amazon #amazzone #amazone #αμαζόνα #amazonka #амазонка #amazonomachy #amazzonomachia #αμαζονομαχίαι #амазономахия #womeninhistory #michaelsvetbird ©msp 07|21 @michael_svetbird (at Milan, Italy) https://www.instagram.com/p/CQ-ngQUHwKI/?utm_medium=tumblr

[docgold13]

365 DC Comics Paper Cut-Out Villains - One Villain, Every Day, All Year…

August 11th - Ares

Also known as Mars, Ares is the Greco-Roman God of War who sought to maintain an eternal state of war and conflict in the world of man. He was chiefly opposed by Aphrodite, the Goddess of love, who sought to realize a contrary vision of a loving civilization. To this end, Aphrodite created a new race of women whom she modeled from clay and who built for them the city-state of Amazonia.  These Amazons spread Aphrodite's gospel and battled the armies of Ares.  When Diana, the daughter of Hippolyte, was granted the golden girdle and became Wonder Woman, Ares was chief among her rivals.  Wonder Woman has had many altercations with Ares, sometimes aided by The Justice League.  Although Ares vision of eternal conflict still pervades throughout the world, Wonder Woman has remained steadfast in her efforts to thwart him.  Ares featured in the Wonder Woman movie where the character was portrayed by actor David Thewlis.  The villain first appeared in the pages of Wonder Woman #1 (1941).  

[tylermileslockett]

ARGONAUTICA 7: The Island of Ares

COLOR SKETCH process

Book 2 continues with the argonauts rowing to exhaustion and camping upon an island where the god Apollo, with golden curls and silver bow, suddenly stomps past , journeying out to sea. quote they build an altar, sacrifice meat, and danced in celebration of the god. The next day the row out, passing the cave of Hades near the river Acheron, where they moor and are met and entertained in the palace of king Lykos, who tells them that their abandoned comrade, Herakles, passed by previous on his labor to retrieve the girdle of Hippolyte. Here the argonaut prophet Idmon, is gorged and killed by a boar. And 2 others die to illness.

They embark out and pass by an island with the recent tomb of Sthenelous, who died while returning from the expedition with Herakles against the Amazons. Persephone, queen of the underworld, sends up Sthenelous’s shade (spirit) so that the argonauts see their compatriot one last time in ghost form. The men moor the ship and pour libations and sacrifice sheep in the dead hero’s honor.

Next the crew pass by the cape of the Amazons, descendants of Ares, at the Thermodon River. Eventually they come across the island of Ares, where the Stymphalian birds shoot down sharp feathers like arrows. But the men, with shields held high in defense, come ashore screaming in loud fury, scaring the birds off into the sky.

After leaving the island of Ares, they pass the Caucasian mountains where they hear the screams of the titan Prometheus who is doomed to have his regenerating liver eaten out by Zeus’s giant Caucasian eagle, which they spy flying amongst the peaks.

Book 2 ends with the crew finally reaching Colchis, the land where the Colchian Dragon guards the golden fleece in Ares’ sacred grove. But before they can attempt such a feat, they must find king Aites for assistance. But will the king help the argonauts, or plot to poison their intentions?

Like this art? My kickstarter book is coming in June: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/535a929d-4fc2-4be0-9b49-9656b0922754/landing

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[fancyfade]

Recently read golden age wonder woman TPB so random factoids:

Diana DOES buy a nurse's Identity (the nurse is sobbing about not being able to go to her boyfriend who is on another continent, she's a dead ringer for diana appearance wise. diana offers her to give her money to go to her boyfriend if she can take the nurse's place). HOWEVER Diana clearly is trained in medical care and in Wonder Woman 1 invents the purple healing ray that brings steve back from the dead, so I guess at least she presumably doesn't kill anyone?

The principle goddess of the Amazons seems to be Aphrodite, rather than Athena (tho they still do mention Athena and she is the other goddess for the Amazons). Demeter, Hestia, and Artemis are not mentioned at all as they are in post 1986 continuity.

Aphrodite is at war with Mars (ares). many of the greek gods are referred to as their roman names including artemis, who is diana in roman mythology, who pre 1986 diana is named after (post 1986 diana is named after steve trevors mother. obviously).

the magic lasso is initially something that makes whoever is ensared obey what the person who is holding it tells them to do. however in practice it seems like diana uses it to get info, so im not surprised it was later turned into a lasso of truth.

the girdle that hippolyte wears is what makes her unconquerable - I do like the perez version better here, where she is just better than heracles, no magic girdle required. 1986 hippolyte is drugged by heracles, 1942 hippolyte defeats heracles then he acts like theyre friends and she gives him the girdle when he asks for it. golden age hippolyte and the amazons are enslaved by hercules and his men and then break out and they wear their bracelets as a reminder to never fall folly to man's tricks again, 1986 hippolyte leads the amazons to slaughter heracles' men and they wear their bracelets as a reminder to never err again. in general so far perez's run had a lot more harmful rhetoric around heracles and it was pushed as a moral obligation to forgive your rapist - Hellene's doubts give some alternate viewpoints, but she never deviates from the idea that it is not amazonian to forgive heracles and she feels less of an amazon for not being able to do so, so I think the forgiveness narrative is still pushed pretty heavily. that is not pushed as much (or at all) in the golden age WW comcs ive read, but also I read like. all of perez's 50 or 60 issue run and 16 or so golden age comics.

however this is not to say that moulton doesn't also really like forgiveness and reform narratives, its just normally women who do bad that get reformed XD In fact he never really lets women be honestly evil which I find kind of boring. like they always are doing bad stuff because someone has a beloved family member captive and is threatening them. which kind of weakens the reform narrative IMO because like ? they didn't even wanna do whatever bad thing in the first place?

Aphrodite sculpted the Amazons to be stronger than men and win her war against mars. all amazons have powers, Diana is just the strongest

Amazons speak all human languages. Diana can also speak tree language. for some reason.

Amazons have perfect memories

anyway it was interesting overall. some consistent parts are Amazons initial conflict with Hercules/Heracles and Hippolyte defeating Heracles in combat, the Amazons being enslaved, and then breaking out and going to paradise island. Perez's narrative was a lot more punitive in that the Amazons have to guard Dooms Doorway to purify their souls for having killed the men who enslaved them, whereas in the golden age paradise island is treated as a refuge for Amazons and so far is not on top of dooms doorway.

[thedcdunce]

Queen Hippolyta

“Whatever fates we are to meet, we shall face them together, as sisters and Amazons!” - Queen Hippolyta

Real Name: Hippolyta

Aliases:

Wonder Woman

Hippolyte

Shim'Tar

Gender: Female

Height: 5′ 9″

Weight: 150 lbs (68 kg)

Eyes: Blue

Hair: Black

Race: Demigod

Powers:

Amazonian Physiology

Abilities:

Amazonian training

Gift of Athena

Equipment:

Invisible Plane

Amazonian Weapons

Universe: New Earth

Citizenship: Amazon

Base of Operations: Themyscira

Parents: Ares; father

Marital Status: Single

Occupation: Queen

First Appearance: Wonder Woman Vol 2 #1 (February, 1987)

Last Appearance: Wonder Woman #614 (October, 2011)

Powers

Amazonian Physiology: The Amazons are a race of warrior women that have received gifts and blessings from five Olympian goddesses: Artemis, Athena, Demeter, Hestia and Aphrodite. Hippolyta possesses the same potential powers as an average Amazon. These include:

Enhanced Intellect: A gift from Athena, the Amazons have the wisdom to be guided by peace and justice.

Superhuman Strength

Superhuman Durability

Superhuman Stamina

Superhuman Agility

Immortality: The Amazons were gifted immortality. The people of Themyscira lived forever, though could be killed in war or in an accident. Those who followed Antiope and Phthia and became the Bana-Mighdall lost their immortality.

Self-Sustenance: So long as Hippolyta stays on Themyscira, she does not require food, water or any other form of nourishment to maintain her health and vitality. Although they are not susceptible to the throes of hunger, this does not mean that Amazons don't consume food for enjoyment. The Amazons frequently hold great festivals whereupon food is served.

Abilities

Amazonian training: The Amazons honed their skills in many fields, aided by the gifts from Athena and Artemis.

Archery

Equestrianism

Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced)

Swordsmanship

Gift of Athena: Athena declared Hippolyta the ruler of the Amazons, and granted her additional insights:

Diplomacy: Queen Hippolyta is practiced at conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states. She has often been called upon to use these skills at times of war.

Leadership: Queen Hippolyta was a born leader and strategist and is excellent in the arts of persuasion and diplomacy.

Equipment

Invisible Plane: As Wonder Woman, Hippolyta had access to the Invisible Jet. She has since given the disk to her daughter.

Amazonian Weapons

Origins

Hippolyta's history begins tens of thousands of years ago. In ancient times, there was a caveman who--embittered over being maimed by a tiger and driven from his tribe--encountered a woman in a cave and brutally murdered her after she offered him some compassion: the first woman murdered by a man's hatred.

Thousands of years later, the Greek pantheon held a meeting around 1,300 B.C., convened by the goddesses. They desired to create a race of humans that would champion their ideals. Zeus, in his arrogance, decreed that mankind would never forget the gods, and that it did not matter if there were champions or not. Ares, being the god of war, did not desire anyone promoting peace. The other male gods did not seem interested, and Hera did not wish to go against her husband. Therefore, it fell to the other five primary Greek goddesses. Traveling into the Underworld, the goddess came to the Well of Souls, the place where the souls of all the women murdered by mans hatred were gathered. They drew forth these souls, dropping them like great tears into a lake in Greece--all save one, a very special soul. The souls mixed with the clay and stone of the lake bed to form the Amazons, women reborn. The first to emerge from the waters was Hippolyta--the second would be her sister, Antiope. The goddesses made themselves known to the Amazons, appointing Hippolyta and Antiope to be the two queens of them. They decreed that the Amazons were to spread the message of Gaea: a message of peace, tolerance, and equality. As a symbol of their devotion, Hippolyta and Antiope were each given a Golden Girdle.

Hippolyta and Antiope lead the Amazons for years, creating a great city called Themyscira. It's unclear if the Amazons aged at first, or how much time elapsed, but it seems from the evidence that perhaps twenty years go by, as Antiope has a daughter, Pythia. Their efforts to spread peace and equality were frustrated, however, as few men trusted them. As the years went by, more and more they remained isolated in their city. Their numbers increased by freeing women from slavery.

Doom would come to the city in the form of Heracles, the Son of Zeus. In the midst of his Twelve Labors, still suffering from Hera's madness upon him, Heracles and his friend Theseus came to the Amazons. One of Heracles's Labors was to retrieve the Girdle of Hippolyta. Arriving at the Amazon city with an army behind them, Heracles demanded Hippolyta surrender the Girdle. Hippolyta refused, marching out of the city and offering to fight Heracles for it. Heracles was defeated by the Amazon Queen, and the humbled demi-god offered peace and to unite with the Amazons in an alliance. The Amazons let Heracles and his men into the city, and a night of revelry ensued. Antiope fell helplessly in love with Theseus, and Hippolyta fell for Heracles pretty hard--too hard. In his madness, Heracles drugged Hippolyta, raping and assaulting her in her slumber. And when she awoke she was in chains. Heracles' army bound, beat, and raped the Amazons, tearing down their city and stealing their treasures. Heracles left the city with Hippolyta's girdle and some of his men, leaving the majority behind to guard the Amazons. Theseus was gone as well, although it's not clear if he participated in the raping and pillaging or if he left beforehand.

After a vision of one of the goddesses let her find her strength, Hippolyta broke out of her cell and set to work freeing her sisters. More and more Amazons were freed, and a running battle began all over the city. Hippolyta watched as many of her sisters succumbed to bloodlust, enjoying the bloody slaughter of the men. They fought until all the men lie dead. Afterwards, Antiope was still enraged--she insisted that they march on Athens itself, killing all in their path until they reached Athens where they could take back the Girdle from Heracles' dead hand.

But Hippolyta said no--she said that such a path of bloody revenge was not the Amazon way, and that to go down that way would lead only to destruction. Antiope could not be strayed--feeling betrayed by not only her lover but by her gods, she cast her Girdle at Hippolyta's feet, declaring that henceforth she asked nothing of Olympus. Half the Amazons left with her--the other half stayed with Hippolyta. It was the last time the sisters would ever see each other.

In the midst of the ruins, the goddesses now appeared again. They were displeased with the Amazons, declaring that they had failed in their sacred mission--now the very name "Amazon" would be associated with death and destruction, not peace and equality. The Amazons must have a penance. They were each given a pair of steel "bracelets" to wear at all times, forever a reminder of their capture and humiliation. Then their bodies and souls were purified, and they began their journey. Poseidon himself parted the sea, and the Amazons walked along the bottom until they came to an island that the gods had removed from the circles of the world--Paradise Island. There they built the new city-state of Themyscira, and were to be the guardians of a great evil that lay beneath the Island. As long as they remained on the island, they would be immortal--though they could be killed, and some were over the many long years and the many battles they had to fight against the evil that would try to escape. For over 3,000 years, here they remained, with Hippolyta their queen all that time.

From time to time, there would be a visitor who breached the mists that shielded the island. One of these would be Diana Trevor, a woman who crash landed her small plane on the shores of the island some time after World War II. Diana Tevor arrived while the Amazons were in the midst of a battle with the evil from the Pits beneath the island, and she valiantly fought at their side. She fired the crucial shot from her firearm that won the battle, although she lost her life in the process.

Not long after Diana Trevor came to the island, Hippolyta began to feel a deep yearning she could not explain. The Oracle of the Island had the answer--Hippolyta was the reincarnation of the first woman who had been murdered, and that woman was pregnant with a daughter. The longing Hippolyta felt was for her unborn child. The Oracle told her that the goddesses would grant her longing. Hippolyta went to the beach, and molded a baby from the sand and clay of the island. Then five goddesses and one god went back into the Underworld, drawing out the last soul that remained in the Well and giving it incredible powers. The soul was merged with the clay and became flesh. Hippolyta had her daughter, and named her in honor of Diana Trevor--Diana, Princess of the Amazons.

Diana grew up with one mother and thousands of sisters--but no children her own age. When she was young, the sorceress Magala used her magic to create a magical copy of Diana to be her playmate. Unfortunately, one of Hippolyta's enemies, Dark Angel, came to the island planning to kidnap Diana. She found the copy instead, and thinking that was Diana, she kidnapped her instead. That child was Donna Troy. After Donna's disappearance, Hippolyta became more protective of her daughter, often coming to check on her at random, even after Diana had fully grown up.

After Diana turned twenty-two, the Oracle of the Island came to Hippolyta with a new message. The gods demanded that the Amazons send a champion to what the Amazons' called "Man's World". Hippolyta called for a contest to determine who would go, but she forbid Diana from competing. Diana did it anyway, and no one knew until the Contest was over, as all the contestants were required to wear masks during the tests. Hippolyta could not deny Diana's place, and so after passing one final test, Diana was given a costume.

The NEW Golden Age Wonder Woman

The Crisis on Infinite Earths leaves many problems for the resulting survivors of the singular earth. Even the Amazons are not protected as Donna Troy, Wonder Woman's younger sister, has been erased from history but still exists in the reformatted new Earth. Wally West and Wonder Woman confront the woman who they know but no one else does and begin a quest to restore the Donna Troy they knew. Confronting Hippolyta on the events of Donna, Hippolyta reveals Donna's true origin as a mystically created twin playmate for Princess Diana. The alternate warped version of Troy known as Dark Angel abducted Donna thinking her to be the original Diana and cursed her to live multiple tragic lives, one of which was as Donna Troy.

Hippolyta, along with Jay Garrick, travels back into the past to stabilize the current reality of Troy as Wonder Girl and correct some of the problems of the time stream caused by Dark Angel's presence in the past. It was during this time that Hippolyta becomes the Golden Age Wonder Woman native to the new reality and joins the Justice Society of America during the team's original days. Hippolyta, as the "new" Golden Age Wonder Woman, along with the Justice Society, defeats Dark Angel. Hippolyta remains there until approximately 1950 when she returns to the present with the help of a Jay Garrick from the future.

Dethronement and Death

Upon Hippolyta's return to the present time, she had found her time away from the Amazon and her royal duties had allowed a break to happen between the Amazon groups. While many outsiders had thought of the Amazons as one singular group of women, the truth of the Amazonian society did have individual groups. One of those groups, the Bana Mighdall Amazons, felt that Hippolyta had given up her right to rule by willingly abandon her throne to fight in Man's world, even though she was originally forced into the role by the Olympian gods. Even her direct Themyscira Amazons couldn't justify her continuing neglect of her royal duties as the Queen of the Amazons for the length of time that Hippolyta had remained away from the Amazons and began to turn away from her. Seeing that she was losing support and her own desire for battle increasing, Hippolyta relinquished her throne and went back into the outside to fight alongside her daughter as a second Wonder Woman, after suggesting that Diana and her saved sister, Donna Troy, rule over the Amazons. Hippolyta's two daughters refused to rule and the various factions were not able to choose and successor satisfactory to all the groups. Ultimately the Amazons decided to abolish the Amazon monarchy system for individual self-rule.

Finding her place as an active warrior and part-time member of the reformed Justice Society, Hippolyta carried on as the "other" Wonder Woman until the "Worlds at War" happened. During one of the cosmic invader Imperiex's attempts to destroy Earth, the Amazons became involved in the planet's defense. Hippolyta fought against an Imperiex probe and was barely able to stop it by herself. When Diana arrived at the battle scene she rescued her mother and ordered the weaker Wonder Woman to leave. But Hippolyta remained defiant despite her weaker power and safeguarded her daughter by throwing Diana out of the way when the Imperiex probe threaten to destroy Diana and all around them. The probe exploded killing only Hippolyta.

One Year Later revival

Hippolyta is brought back to life by the immortal witch Circe who shows the revived Hippolyta that the USA has kidnapped her daughter Diana and was being tortured until she gave over the plans on how the U.S. government could create their own Purple Ray to be used as a weapon. Enraged by Circe's vision and accepting them as real, Hippolyta declared control over all of the Amazons to rescue Diana and attain vengeance on the outside world she had once cherished. Confronting her daughter who had gone underground, Hippolyta decided to continue the battle regardless and slaughtered many males, even unarmed boys. Finding her actions completely out of character for the former Wonder Woman, Diana and Donna Troy discovered that Circe had revived Hippolyta as an extension of herself by placing a portion of her own soul into Hippolyta.

As Hippolyta's persona was modified to now be a composite of her former self and that of Circe, the revived Hippolyta was far more destructive than ever before even to the point that she defended Circe against her daughters. It is not until Circe was rendered impotent temporarily, and the magical influence over Hippolyta's mind is removed does Hippolyta regain her more calm center and end the Amazonian war. Athena makes herself known to Hippolyta and the Amazons and decides to punish them all for their part in the war by removing all the Amazons' powers and memories and scattering them across the Earth to live out their shortened lives as human women.

Hippolyta also stripped of her powers but restored to immortality for an unending punishment is forced to rule over an empty Paradise Island except for four bound Amazons who unless all forgive her will never be able to reclaim their memory and powers. Currently, Hippolyta spends her days seeking their redemption in the hopes of rebuilding Paradise Island and returning the Amazons to their previous status. It has been revealed that the current Athena is in reality Granny Goodness who has succeeded the original Athena after the fall of the New Gods.

Fun Facts

This character is an adaptation of Hippolyta, a character in traditional stories. These include, but may not be limited to religious texts, myth, and/or folk lore.

[thisdayincomics]

October 25

In the Golden Age Hercules was mentioned in the origin of the Amazons as having enslaved them by tricking Hippolyta (spelled 'Hippolyte' in the original issue) into giving him her golden girdle on the bequest of Ares (spelled 'Mars') who hated the Amazons. Hercules was shown as an archetypal muscle-bound man wearing a lion-skin, and only appeared in flashbacks. Hercules is depicted as a brutish 'hero,' who represented masculine violence, and one of his 12 labors is deconstructed as a treacherous act to enslave the Amazons under Queen Hippolyte. "In the days of Ancient Greece," relates Hyppolyte to her daughter, "we Amazons were the foremost nation in the world. In Amazonia, women ruled and all was well. Then one day, Hercules, the strongest man in the world, stung by taunts that he couldn't conquer the Amazon women, selected his strongest and fiercest warriors and landed on our shores. I challenged him to personal combat -- because I knew that with my MAGIC GIRDLE, given me by Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, I could not lose. And win I did! But Hercules, by deceit and trickery, managed to secure my MAGIC GIRDLE--and soon we Amazons were taken into slavery. And Aphrodite, angry at me for having succumbed to the wiles of men, would do naught to help us! Finally our submission to men became unbearable -- we could stand it no longer -- and I appealed to the Goddess Aphrodite again. This time not in vain, for she relented and with her help, I secured the MAGIC GIRDLE from Hercules. With the Magic Girdle in my possession, it didn't take us long to overcome our masters, the MEN -- and taking from them their entire fleet, we set sail for another shore, for it was Aphrodite's condition that we leave the man-made world and establish a new world of our own!" Hercules first appears in All Star Comics #8 (October 25, 1941).