Amazon

The Amazons of Themyscira are a race of women created by several of the Goddesses of the Olympian pantheon.

Amazons are universally female and superficially diverse, including members derived from virtually every ethnicity or cultural group imaginable. They are extraordinarily hardy and strong, taller and more powerfully built than many humans. Most Amazons can lift twenty tons over their heads and can easily outrun street traffic. They are virtually without peer in the realm of close combat, and most have literally thousands of years of training in sword, spear, bow and unarmed combat. Amazons have enhanced senses and intelligence and most of them have a talent for music, literature, natural philosopy, or the arts. The greatest of gifts comes not just from the goddesses but Gaea herself-- as long as the Amazons stay true to their oaths and to their cause, they will enjoy the immortality normally afforded only to Gaea's progeny.

The Amazons are not a race per se -- rather they are reborn members of many different races. Each was a woman who lived through a life of cruel hardship that tempered their souls into something the goddesses who created them considered ideal for a new life. The patronesses of the Amazons recovered these souls through the Well of Souls under Themyscira and implanted them in new idealized versions of their original bodies brought to life from the clay of Themyscira with the aid of Gaea. In their former lives they had suffered the harshest oppressions, and been the ultimate victims of a society that no longer treated women as equals, but rather property. In their new lives they were to be the ultimate response to that, warriors powerful enough to end the oppression of their sisters, but who would fight with all the compassion their enemies lacked.

History

Origins

After the Convocation of the Gods, the generally wise and moderate rule of the gods of Olympus that had helped maintain a reasonably fair and peaceful society amongst their worshippers in the Aegean gave way to an era of mortal warrior-kings. The leadership of elite warriors which contrasted so starkly to the more egalitarian pastoral society that had preceded it saw an era of warfare as rival warriors fought each other to expand their power and dominion with little consideration to the welfare of the general populous. Athena in particular was appalled by this change. While Ares' harmony was growing, hers was waning. Other goddesses amongst the Olympians sympathized particularly because this new militaristic society had become increasingly misogynistic. Athena conspired with Hestia, Artemis, Demeter, and Aphrodite to do something to repair this situation, and with the aid of Hermes, Hephaestus and Gaea herself created the Amazons as a new superpower to balance the growing power of the Bronze age kingdoms.

They were brought into life approximately 1650 BCE, and their home, the first city of Themyscira, was founded near the mouth of the river Thermodon in Northern Turkey. Concerned that this age of violence might be a forerunner to a new cataclysm such as Ragnarok, the Goddesses of Olympus charged the Amazons with seeking and preserving wisdom, and preparing themselves to aid the Gods in such future battles, as well as to try to counteract the injustices of the Aegean world.

The first five Amazons to be brought back to life were the sisters Queen Hippolyta, Antiope, Melanippe, Penthesilia, and their mother Otera, a daughter of Ares. Otera was to be the queen of the Amazons, a mixed message to Ares that could be interpreted either as an olive branch when the Amazons were so clearly a challenge to his growing ascendency or alternatively as a message intended to indicate that Athena's wisdom would always find a better purpose for warfare than Ares' rage.

Under the leadership of Queen Otrera, the Amazons became the dominant force in the region. While small in number, their strength and wisdom made them unbeatable in war, and for a while they forced the kingdoms around there to limit their ambitions. They had no desire for conquest, but rather would ride to the aid of other nations suffering aggression from their neighbours. They fought wars all around the Mediterranean world and beyond, and for a while they ushered in an age of trade, learning and relative peace in the region. They were not unopposed though -- Ares and Eris in particular often provided aid to their opponents, but were not alone in opposing them in this proxy war of the gods. Other Olympians were concerned the success of the Amazons gave Athena too much power, and though Zeus demurred, Poseiden granted significant power to his son Bellerephon of Corinth to challenge the Amazon hegemony. Though eventually Bellerephon fell out of favor with the gods, he had several successes against the Amazons including slaying queen Otera, after which her four daughters became the co-queens of the Amazons.

The Fall of the Amazons

In 1236 BC under the influence of Eris, the mad Queen of Nimrud, Semiramis, convinced Hercules to steal the Girdle of Queen Hippolyta as part of his 12 Labors for King Eurysthes. Foolishly, he agreed, unaware he was being manipulated. Hercules met Queen Hippolyta in battle and to his shock was defeated. Sensing Eris' touch in this, Queen Hippolyta offered Hercules the chance to earn her forgiveness and the girdle itself, and set him a series of challenges which he was able to meet triumphantly, and earn her respect too. She announced a feast in his honor.

The night before the feast, Ares convinced Hercules that the Amazons themselves would make a better gift for his half-brother King Eurysthes than the girdle. Akhlys, Goddess of Poisons, gave Hercules a sleeping draught and he drugged the Amazons during a farewell feast. They awoke in chains and were forced to watch as the armies of Hercules and his companion Theseus sacked the city of Old Themyscira and razed it.

Hippolyta prayed to Athena for the strength to escape, and broke her chains. Fired by the cruelty and injustices they had suffered at the hands of their captors, the Amazons slew many of Hercules' and Theseus' men as they escaped. When they had regathered their forces, voices amongst the Amazons were raised in favor of dealing firmly with their oppressors to ensure it would never happen again. Hippolyta of the four queens had always been the diplomatic one and counselled forgiveness, but the impetuous Antiope lead a force of Amazons to assail Theseus' camp at night. Forewarned by Ares, Theseus was able to capture Antiope, and took her back to Athens.

This final outrage was too much for the Amazons -- while Hippolyta continued to argue for peace and diplomacy, Menalippe and Penthesilia outvoted her and lead the bulk of the Amazons on a war to destroy the power of the warrior-kings for once and for all. For several years the Amazons rampaged across the Mediterranean, destroying many cities and displacing whole nations. The war was ended, surprisingly, by Antiope herself. When the Amazon forces reached and besieged Athens, Antiope came out from the city to treat with them. In the intervening period she and Theseus had concluded they were both victims of divine manipulation, settled their differences, and indeed become friends and lovers. The war had been for nothing.

Athena was forced by these events to rethink her policy. The destruction wrought by this Amazon rampage was greater than even Ares had dreamed his manipulations would cause, and was the trigger for the cascade of events known to historians today as the Late Bronze Age Collapse. More through luck than planning, Ares had managed to engineer a way to use Athena's answer to him, the Amazons themselves, for his own ends. Athena offered the Amazons her forgiveness for the destruction they had wrought, but under strict conditions. They would be relocated to the mystical island of Themyscira where they had been reborn and from whence their old home had taken its name. As a punishment for their actions, they would accept a new and dangerous duty, to protect the world as guardians of Doom's Gate against anyone, mortal or magical, who attempted to pass through it. Athena declared that the Amazons must accept Queen Hippolyta's judgement above that of her co-ruling sisters, as had they done so the war would never have been fought. Though the counsel of her sisters, each providing their own perspective, continued to influence the course of the Amazons, it was Hippolyta's more cautious approach that lead the Amazons from then on. They would no longer take a direct role in the affairs of men but be a bulwark for humankind reserved for when they were truly needed.

From then on, every Amazon would wear armored metal bracelets on her wrists. These would be a symbol to serve as an eternal reminder of their time in captivity to give them humility, but could be extended with forearm bracers as an item of armor to also remind them that their duty was to be the shield for humankind, never a sword at its heart. She gifted the Amazons with metal from the shield Aegis, which alloyed into Amazonian steel would be used to make those bracers virtually indestructible.

On Themyscira

The retreat to Themyscira lead the Amazons to become increasingly distant to the world outside, though this was a slow process. They would occasionally leave the island to fight in the wars of men. In 1185 BC Queen Penthesilia lead twelve companions, Clonia, Polemousa, Derinoe, Euandre, Antandre, Bremusa, Hippothoe, Harmothoe, Alcibia, Derimakheia, Antibrote and Thermodosa , fought in the siege of Troy to counter the involvement of the witch-queen Semiramis. There Penthiselia lost her life, killed by Achilles.

Though the truth of who the Amazons had been became increasingly mythologized by the people outside, significant contacts were retained. Themyscira became a byword for wisdom and knowledge, and many scholars of the ancient world sought the opportunity to go there to study. Many innovations of of the classical era had their start on Themyscira -- Plato's natural philosophy was heavily influenced by Amazon thinkers, the Antikythera mechanism was built using knowledge of the Amazonian science of analogue computers recorded by Archimedes in his book On Sphere Making, and the Library of Alexandria had many volumes gifted to them by the Amazons. Hypatia of Alexandria was a frequent visitor to Themyscira during her life, but the Amazons never got on well with the Romans and the onset of the European Dark Ages saw Themyscira become essentially isolated and mostly remembered only as myth.

Life for the Amazons settled into one of peace, learning, and constant training. Through a magical viewing-orb Queen Hippolyta watched the developments of the world outside from afar, but Amazon policy became increasingly one of isolation. They viewed themselves as the safe harbor of ancient knowledge, preserving the wisdom and compassion of the gods for humankind's future. There were occasional interventions in the affairs of men, but always rather secretive. There were several break-outs from Doom's Gate, but all eventually dealt with. No more Amazons were born from the Well of Souls since they returned to Themyscira and the numbers of Amazons dwindled slowly. Little changed until the 12th century AD.

In 1118AD, Queen Queen Hippolyta had a daughter, Diana. The first new Amazon in two and a half thousand years, her birth gave great joy to the whole nation, but also inspired old debates to come to the fore. The exile of the Amazons had never sat well with Melanippe, who believed Athena's offer should never have been accepted and that the Amazons had work to do in the world outside.

Melanippe and almost three hundred supporters rebelled, inspired by a dream Melanippe had where she believed she had been visited by her dead sister Penthesilia. An attempt to kidnap the baby princess to set her up as a puppet queen was uncovered by General Philippus and foiled, but Menalippe's forces fled Themyscira to retake their place in the world outside. For years they wandered the Mediterranean area as a mercenary force and suffered losses in the Siege of Sozopolis. While near Delphi, Menalippe consulted the oracle of Apollo, where she learned her dream vision had been a trick of Ares. Heartbroken she called on Athena for forgiveness, but it was too late. Athena repudiated the rebel Amazons, and withdrew her patronage.

Eventually the rebel Amazons made their way into Africa. There they were offered a return to power by the panther-goddess Bastet if they accept a new pantheon as their patrons. They agreed, settling in a long-abandoned fortress-city in the highlands north of the Great Rift Valley. They settled there and named it Bana-Mighdall. They clashed with their neighbors in Wakanda, but after aiding the winning side during the Wakanda Civil War the Bana and Wakandans became allies. When King Azzuri the Wise of Wakanda took a Bana Amazon as his queen, that alliance became firmly cemented. The Bana would take two daughters of each Wakandan tribe in each generation to train in the Amazon way. These became the Dora Milaje.

In 1918 with the Great War in Europe fuelling Ares' power to new heights, he briefly pierced the protective veil surrounding Themyscira, allowing a fleeing American pilot to lead a German navy force to its shores. So accustomed the Amazons had become to being hidden from the world, they were unprepared for the sudden arrival of troops with modern weaponry. While the German forces were quickly destroyed, the Amazons took several losses, including Queen Antiope. In the aftermath Diana accompanied Steve Trevor to Man's World, where she remained for almost a century. Queen Hippolyta, now the last surviving sister (as far as she knew at least), now ruled alone.

A New Beginning?

Recent years have seen a seismic change for the Amazons. Since returning to the Island, Diana has championed opening up to the rest of the world again, strongly supported by her new sister Troia. Although Hippolyta is slow to be persuaded, she sees the wisdom in her daughters and is starting to accept change. Originally the queen's daughters had been instructed to keep Themyscira a secret to the world outside, but when Diana became widely known in the wake of Doomsday in 2017 she finally revealed the existence of the Amazons to the world. In 2020 an Embassy to the United Nations was opened in New York city.

In Cassie Sandsmark and Caitlin Fairchild the Amazons gained two new members from outside, and after helping defeat a break-out from Doom's Gate, members of the Titans became the first male visitors to Themyscira in over 2000 years. In the light of the experiences with alien invasion of the princesses Diana and Troia, the Amazons entered into cooperation with Atlantis and Wakanda to build the Atlantic Starport to help protect Earth from the new threats it was facing from the greater galaxy.

These changes have been controversial in Amazon society. Amazon politics is split between the Reformist faction lead by Senator Acantha, and the Traditionalist faction lead by Senator Helene. The high priestess Menalippe has stated that the goddesses have chosen to remain silent on this topic, but actions speak louder than words. In recent months the Well of Souls has become active again, and the ranks of the Amazons have grown with hundreds new sisters for the first time since the start of their exile.

Notable Amazons

The Royal Family:

• Queen Hippolyta - Queen and leader of the Amazons
• Penthesilia - Former joint Queen, sister to Hippolyta. Deceased (1185 BC)
• Melanippe - Former joint Queen, sister to Hippolyta, rebel. Deceased (c.1130 AD)
• Antiope - Former joint Queen, sister to Hippolyta. Deceased...? (1918 AD)
• Diana and Troia - The Princesses
• Aikaterine and Cassie Sandsmark - The American Amazons

The Queen's Council:

• General Philippus - Leader of the armies of Themyscira
• Io - Chief engineer of Themyscira
• Pallas - Chief smith of Themyscira
• Charikeleia - Chief Scientist of Themyscira
• Magala - Chief sorceress of Themyscira
• Menalippe - High Priestess of Themyscira
• Epione - Mistress of the Houses of Healing
• Helene - Leader of the Traditionalist faction in the senate
• Acanthe - Leader of the Reformist faction in the senate

Others:

• Galataea and Adrastea - Diana's aides at the Themysciran embassy
• Nubia - A former Amazon Champion who went missing in Tartarus long ago
• Mala - An Amazon warrior and old friend of Diana
• Chara - Once a particularly fierce warrior, after a near-fatal injury centuries ago Chara is now considered one of the most light-hearted and gentle of Amazons.
• Althea - Epione's assistant, second healer of Themyscira
• Psala - Chief cook at the palace
• Polemusa - Leader of the royal hunt
• Akantha, Glykeria and Spyridoula - famous Amazon musicians, players of the kithera, koudonia and aolus respectively
• Marpesia - A famous Amazon kithera player and composer
• Asterope - An amazon warrior and specialist in lasso combat
• Antipatha - An amazon combat and fitness trainer
• Eophi - Captain of the Kanga cavalry
• Timandra - Cavalry captain
• Aella - Infantry Captain
• Niobe - Sergeant of the palace guard
• Egeria, Alcimione, Aella, Polymusa - Soldiers
• Areto and Castalia - Senators
• Mnemosyne - Historian and Educator
• Melantha - Palace Librarian

Timeline

c1650 BC - The Amazons are brought out of the Well of Souls and settled in the city of New Themyscira on the river Thermodon.

1236 BC - During his 12 tasks, Hercules comes into conflict with the Amazons. Through Ares' manipulation the Amazons are captured. Athena frees them, and they start a war of revenge that burns the Aegean and beyond.

1234 BC - The war ends and the Amazons go into effective exile on the island of Themyscira. There is still travel to and from Themyscira, but it's very limited.

1185 BC - Queen Penthesilia dies during the siege of Troy.

c50 BC - With the decline of Greece and the ascent of Rome, Themyscira becomes more closed off from the world, and stops accepting male visitors.

c400 AD - Themyscira stops accepting any visitors and the Amazons becoming effectively fully shut off from the world. Hypatia of Alexandria is one of the last people to visit Themyscira from the world outside. To maintain contact with the outside world in secret, the Amazons adopt the rites of the 'Sending Forth' -- young girls shipwrecked around the Mediterranean are taken by the Oceanids to be raised and educated on Themyscira and then sent back to Man's World as adults, to be agents of the Amazons.

1118 AD - Princess [Diana Prince|Diana] is born to Queen Hippolyta after a dalliance with Zeus.

1120 AD - Rebellion of Queen Melanippe

1130 AD - Melanippe's Amazons forsake the Olympians and take their power from Bastet instead. They become the Bana-Mighdall

1918 AD - Steve Trevor crashes on Themyscira. Queen Antiope is killed fighting German soldiers. Princess Diana returns Trevor to Man's World, fights in the First World War, and stays there.

1944 AD - Azzuri the Wise, King of [Wakanda]] marries Nanali of the Bana-Mighdall

1994 AD - To forestall a new Titanomachy, Aphrodite and Hekate bring the child of the Titaness Phoebe to the Amazons to raise as one of their own. Hippolyta adopts her as the new princess, Troia

2011 AD - [Diana Prince|Diana] returns to Themyscira where she is officially granted the status of an Amazon by her mother.

2017 AD - [Diana Prince|Diana] helps defeat Doomsday and the world learns of Wonder Woman and the existence of the Amazons. She opens an embassy to the United Nations in New York.

2019 AD - Diana brings her half-sister Cassie Sandsmark to Themyscira. Although she is made an Amazon due to her heritage as a daughter of Zeus, she is the first Amazon not raised on Themyscira.

2021 AD - Caitlin Fairchild becomes an Amazon, the first person with no links to be accepted by them, the 'Amazon of Man's World.' Several male members of the Titans are allowed to visit the island as a reward for their heroism helping to fend off an attack on Doom's Gate, the first men to visit Themyscira in over 2000 years.

2022 AD - The Atlantic Starport is opened.

2023 AD - The Well of Souls becomes active again for the first time since the exile of the Amazons, and 700 new Amazons are born