Amazons of Themyscira
Official Name: Amazons of Themyscira
Origin
The Amazons of Themyscira are a race of immortal warrior women that live on the mystically hidden island of Themyscira. The Amazons were created by a coterie of Olympian gods over three thousand years ago, reincarnated from the souls of women who had been killed through acts of male agression. The youngest and most powerful of the Amazons, Princess Diana, left her protective nation of sisterhood, renouncing her immortality to fight the forces of evil in Man's World as Wonder Woman!
First Appearance:
(Earth-Two) All-Star Comics #8
(Earth-One) Wonder Woman (Volume 1) #98
(Modern) Wonder Woman (Volume 2) #1
Habitat
Habitat: Terrestrial
Gravity: Earth gravity (0.997 32 g)
Atmosphere: Amazons thrive in an oxygen/nitrogen rich atmosphere
Population: Various; at their highest growth, Amazons numbered in the thousands.
History
Around the year 1300 B.C., a small group of female Olympian gods desired to create a nation of warrior women that would help to spread their ideals to the world. Met with disinterest or opposition by most of their male conterparts, the goddesses Hera, Aphrodite, Demeter, Athena and Artemis (Goddess) convened in the land of the Underworld. There, in the Well of Souls, were kept the spirits of all women that had unjustly died at the hands of a man. The five goddesses combined their powers to grant life to all of the souls -- with the exception of one, who they decided would have a special future purpose.
Through their magics, the goddesses formed thousands of super-humanly strong, adult female bodies from the clay bed of a lake in Greece, and imbued them with the spirits from the Well of Souls. The first such crature to emerge from the lake was dubbed Hippolyta by the goddesses, and she was crowned queen of these women, to be henceforth known as Amazons. The second woman to emerge from the lake was called Antiope, and according to the goddesses she was to rule as second in command.
The Amazons were to serve the Olympian gods in proselytical manner, spreading their principles and devotion to a largely barbarian world. They were given a city-state in Greece (the land adjacent to the lake of their birth), and they called it Themyscira. There they thrived for many years before they were attacked by the forces of Heracles, and were saved only through the intervention of the goddesses.
Their home destroyed and prospects for success in their wolrdly mission dashed, Antiope led a portion of the Amazons away from her sister and the influence of the gods, to travel the world in search of a new purpose. The eventually settled in Egypt, becoming known as the the Amazons of Bana Migdhall.
Most Amazons, however, stayed with Hippolyta. To repay the gods for their rescue, the remaining Amazons were sent far away from their home in Greece to a mystical, paradisal island in uncharted oceans. There the Amazons took up a new gods-given purpose -- to guard the Earth from a terrible evil buried beneath the island.
For thousands of years the Amazons of Themyscira stayed islolated from humanity, until about 40 years ago, when Diana Trevor, an American airplane pilot, crash-landed off-shore. Diana Trevor became friends with the inhabitants of Themyscira and taught them of the changes in the world beyond their proctected shores. Shortly thereafter the demons locked beneath the island almost escaped, but through the bravery and ultimate sacrifice of Trevor, the threat was averted. She was given an Amazon's burial and hailed as one of the greatest of all Amazon warriors.
The gods of Olympus were greatly disturbed by Trevor's entrance through the mystical barriers that guarded Themyscira, and recognized it as a sign of their weakening powers. When Hippolyta soon followed her mounting desire to ask the gods to grant her a child, they easily agreed, and took it as an opportunity to create a super-warrior who would champion their causes as the Amazons had originally been intended to. Telling Hippolyta to sculpt a baby out of clay, the gods that created the Amazons brought life to the earthen baby, and the first child of Themyscira was born. She was named Diana, in honor of Trevor, and her soul was that of the last remaining spirit from the Well of Souls. When she grew to adulthood, Princess Diana left Themyscira and became known to the world as Wonder Woman.
Since Diana left the protective shores of Themyscira, many adventures and tragedies have befallen the mighty Amazons, including: the eradication of the evil beneath the island ; visits to Man's world ; a long period of banishment to a demonic dimension by the witch Circe ; murder of over half their population by the evil Darkseid ; the discovery and reintegration of the Amazons of Bana Migdhall, and an ensuing Civil War ; the death of Hippolyta at the hand of Imperiex, and the destruction of the entire island in its use as a weapon against him ; the rebuilding of Themyscira by the sentient being within Wonder Woman's Invisible Plane as a floating, crytalline center dedicated to the realization of world peace ; the destruction of that version of Themyscira by a jealous Hera, and the effort to rebuild.
Most recently, the Amazons, during the event known as the Infinite Crisis, engaged in a seemingly unwinnable battle with the death-dealing cyborgs known as Omacs. To avoid their own destruction and to avoid murdering the innocent people inside the Omac constructs, the Amazons prayed to their gods to be delivered from the terrible situation. They, and the entire battle-scarred island of Themysicira disappeared instantly to an unknown location or dimenion, leaving Wonder Woman as the only remaining Amazon on Earth. When and how the Amazons might return remains to be seen.
Characteristics
Amazons of Bana-Migdahl
Body Type: Human Female
Avg Height: Between 5'8"-6'0"
Avg Weight: Approximately 130-150 lbs.
Eyes: Two eyes of various color
Hair: Various
Special Adaptations: So long as Amazons remain on Themyscira they do not age. Whenever an Amazon leaves Themyscira, however, she will age at the rate of an average human of relative age. The aging process will retard itself once again upon returning to the island.
Powers
The average Amazon posesses great strength by human standards -- about three to five times that of a normal human women in top physical shape. Amazons also posess heightened speed and endurance.
Amazons have a stronger line of communication with the Gods of Olympus, and can call upon their benefactors for specific kinds of help as needed. Their gods are, however, quite fickle, and Amazon prayers are not always answered.
Ceartain members of the Amazon nation have various limited mystical capabilities gleaned form study of the arcane arts.
Miscellaneous
Type of Government:
Originally a monarchy, Themyscira became a democratic nation following the death of Hippolyte.
Level of Technology:
The levels of technology of the Amazons is the point that most distinguishes the Amazons of various Earths. The Amazons of Earth One and Earth-Two used the Magic Sphere to enhance their knowledge of Earth's technological achievements, and in many arenas, they surpassed their contemporaries, developing technology greatly advanced from that of the rest of the world. Some examples of their technollogical feats include the Purple Healing Ray and Wonder Woman's Invisible Plane.
The Amazons of the Post-Crisis earth, though highly skilled in various forms of combat, lack the technological advancement of the other-worldy counterparts. They showed great ingenuity upon being introduced to various alien technologies brought to them through the machinations of Wonder Woman, but never were depicted as having been responsible for the creation of advanced technologies.
Cultural Traits:
A society of only one sex, the concept of gender among Amazons is very different from most places in Man's World. There are, in fact, variations in gendered behavior among the Amazons -- some exhibit highly "masculine" traits, while others are more "feminine." Over their years of seclusion from men, some Amazons had dalliances with various major and minor gods, some took lovers among their own people, and some lived lives of celibacy. For the most part, the Amazons struggle to divest themselves of the centuries-long equation of "men" with ideas of "outsider" or "enemy."
Known Amazons
Golden Age
Silver Age
- Alpha
- Hippolyta (Silver Age)
- Inventa
- Mala
- Paula
- Rega
- Tara
- Torcha
- Wonder Tot
- Wonder Girl (Diana)
- Wonder Woman (Silver Age)
Modern Age
Notes
- No special notes.
Trivia
- None
Recommended Readings
- Sensation Comics
- Wonder Woman (Volume 1)
- Wonder Woman (Volume 2)
Related Articles
External Links
References
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