After the goddess of love Aphrodite created the Amazons to curb the injustices of the warrior men of the god of war Mars, the warrior women built the magnificent city of Amazonia; thanks to the power of Aphrodite's Magic Girdle worn by [[Hippolyta (
For the Elseworlds story, see Wonder Woman: Amazonia.For the Amazon jungle, see Amazon Rainforest.The ancient city of Amazonia,[1] also called Themiscyra[7] and Themyscira,[5] was the original home of the Amazons.[9]
History
Earth-Two
After the goddess of love Aphrodite created the Amazons to curb the injustices of the warrior men of the god of war Mars, the warrior women built the magnificent city of Amazonia; thanks to the power of Aphrodite's Magic Girdle worn by Queen Hippolyte, the Amazons were invincible and defeated all the armies that attacked them.[1]
Enraged by Aphrodite, Mars inspired Hercules, the strongest man in the world, to wage war against the Amazons. Leading a mighty army to Amazonia, the son of Zeus challenged Queen Hippolyte to personal combat; even though he was defeated, Hippolyte could not resist Hercules' charms. Inviting him and his men to a banquet in Amazonia, he seduced her and took her magical girdle, stealing the power that made the Amazons invincible and enslaving them. Praying to Aphrodite to free them from this torture and help her retrieve the girdle, Hippolyte was granted her wish, but on the condition that they continue to wear the wristbands as a reminder of their error in submitting to men.[1]
Having finally achieved freedom after defeating Hercules and his men, the Amazons abandoned Amazonia and sailed, guided by Aphrodite, to Paradise Isle, where they built a splendid city that no man could enter — a paradise for women only.[1]
Some time before that, the famous hero Achilles gathered a huge army of Greek warriors to fight Amazons in Amazonia because Amazons were allies of the Trojans against the Greeks in the Trojan War. To further complicate, the Amazons were away hunting husbands (a yearly custom). Until they return, it would not be possible to defend the city walls.[2]
Wonder Woman met Amazon queen and her mother Hippolyte when she was not born yet. She was back in ancient times long before the Amazons went to Paradise Island. Diana proposed that Hippolyte send the Amazons back while she would delay Achilles until the queen was ready. In the meantime, Diana rode alone to the Greeks, daring Achilles to fight her. Odysseus, friend of Achilles, suspected Diana and ordered her to be tied up and carried to Achilles. Achilles mocked the princess's boldness, but she broke free from her bonds, surprised him, who considered her stronger than Hercules.[2]
Diana challenged him to a duel of swords before the walls of Amazonia, which Achilles accepted, but was defeated in combat. This left Achilles' men furious and they attacked Wonder Woman, but the Amazons, summoned by Queen's messengers, hurried home with their reluctant husbands, joining the battle. The women defeated the Greek warriors, and they, along with Achilles, fled Amazonia.[2]
Earth-One
Thousands of years ago, before the days of the great city states and before the Amazons settled on Paradise Island, the mythical warrior women lived on a small isle in the Aegean Sea called Themiscyra. It was there that Hippolyta became their queen, and her best friend, Artemis, was chosen by the goddesses Athena and Aphrodite, who sent her off into Man's World where she would be known as Wonder Woman.[3]
New Earth
The magnificent original Amazon city of Themyscira was located at the mouth of the river Thermodon on the Black Sea, in modern day Turkey,[4] and was built by the goddess Hestia as her gift to the race of warrior women newly created by the Goddesses of Olympus.[5]
Some time later, by inspiration of the god of war Ares, disgusted with the existence of the Amazons, the demigod Heracles of Thebes (also called Hercules) and his friend Theseus of Athens gathered an army and invaded the hitherto impenetrable Themyscira, leading to the defeat and slavery of the Amazons.[1][5]
With the aid of the Goddesses, Queen Hippolyta was able to break free, and, together with her sisters, subdued the men of Heracles, putting an end to their suffering.[5]
By punishment of the Goddesses, the Amazons left old Themyscira and found a new home on an island hidden from the rest of the world, a Paradise Island for women only, where they would live in peace and protection, where they built a new city, which was named Themyscira after their original home.[1][5]
Prime Earth
When the Goddesses created the Amazons, their fellow Gods looked down on them for it. The hardships in their creation didn't end there — they had to battle Hercules and his army. The original Themyscira fell, the Amazons were forced to be slaves, and then the goddess of wisdom Athena freed them. The Amazons made a commitment to live a better, truer life on Paradise Island, where they now guard the world from all the great horrors behind Doom's Doorway.[6]
Points of Interest
Residents
- Amazons (Formerly)
Notes
- In the real world, Themiscyra was an ancient Greek city in northeastern Anatolia on the Black Sea, located near the mouth of the Thermodon River, near the present-day Turkish city of Terme. According to Greek mythology, it was the capital of the legendary Amazons; it was also the original home of the Gargareans before they and the Amazons split up.
- The hidden island of the Amazons of Earth-34 was called Amazonia and Kera Island.[11]
- Apparently in Earth-1 reality Amazonia was always an island, later isolated from the world by the goddess Aphrodite after the Amazons were freed from the men of Hercules, now being called Paradise Island as well.[12]
- In Wonder Woman: The True Amazon the original kingdom of the Amazons was called Amazonium.
- On Earth 118, the kingdom of the Amazons is called Amazonia.[13]
- On Earth 19 it was still possible to see the ruins of old Themyscira at the end of the 19th century in the region of the city of Terme in Anatolia, present-day Turkey.[10]
See Also
Links and References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Wonder Woman #1
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Wonder Woman #9
- ↑ Wonder Woman #310
- ↑ Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #17
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 Wonder Woman (Volume 2) #1
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Wonder Woman #771
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Wonder Woman #298
- ↑ Wonder Woman: The True Amazon
- ↑ All-Star Comics #8
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Batman: Gotham by Gaslight: A League for Justice #3
- ↑ Wonder Woman: Amazonia
- ↑ Wonder Woman: Earth One #1
- ↑ Dark Knights of Steel #5