Wonder Woman And The Myth Of The Mighty Amazons
The names Thessalia, Hippolyta, Antiope, and even Princess Diana of Themyscira, better known as Wonder Woman are not unknown, even though up until recently only the romantics believed in their existence. They are Amazons, women warriors who were given mythological immortality by the Greeks. Every Greek warrior, from Hercules on down, had to prove his mettle by going up against an Amazon and emerging victorious from the battle. It was a rite of passage. But no one really believed they ever really existed. Until now.
Battle of the Amazons by Peter Paul Rubens (1617) Web Gallery of Art (Public Domain)
Adrienne Mayor, in her book, The Amazons: Lives and Legends of Warrior Women across the Ancient World, has drawn attention to recent archaeological discoveries that seem to prove, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that something like Amazons existed and may have been every bit as fierce as their reputations suggested. “As Princess Diana of Themyscira, Wonder Woman is of Amazonian blue-blood. Formed from clay by her mother, Queen Hippolyta, and given life by the breath of Aphrodite, she is a demi-god. The gifts she receives from the gods of the Greek pantheon explain her superhero powers, which become evident when she transforms into Wonder Woman…Overwhelming evidence now shows that the Amazon traditions of the Greeks and other ancient societies derived in part from historical facts.”
