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Antiope (comics)
Encyclopedia
Antiope, is a fictional character owned by DC Comics
and is based on the mythological character Antiope
. In the comics she was the Amazon sister of Queen Hippolyta
, and aunt to Wonder Woman
. She is the founding member of the Amazons
of Bana-Mighdall, whom they worship as a sacred ancestor.
Amazons were first created by a select few of the Greek Gods
, which included Artemis
, Athena
, Hestia
, Demeter
and Aphrodite
. They took the souls of women slain throughout time by the hands of men and sent them to the bottom of the Aegean Sea
. The souls then began to form bodies with the clay on the sea bed. Once they reached the surface the clay bodies became living flesh and blood Amazons.
The first one to break surface was Hippolyta and thus she was elected Queen of the new race. The second Amazon to break surface was her sister Antiope, and she ruled as a second to Hippolyta in all affairs.
Each of the goddesses that created the Amazons blessed them with personalized gifts: hunting skills (Artemis'), wisdom (Athena's), warm homes/skills of domesticity (Hestia's), plentiful harvests (Demeter's), and beauty inside and out (Aphrodite's). As a symbol of their leadership titles, the gods gave Hippolyta and Antiope each a Golden Girdle of Gaea
which enhanced their strength and abilities significantly. The Amazons eventually founded the city of Themyscira
in Anatolia
and became known as fierce warriors of peace in Turkey
, Greece
and Rome
.
, and her daughter as Princess Phthia. They ruled the island of Lemnos
in a matriarchal society similar to the Amazons of Themyscira.
They explain that the Argonaut
Jason
landed his ship Argo
on their island and eventually fathered twins to the queen, a son and daughter. Phthia was their daughter. After Jason continued with his adventures, leaving the Queen to her own devices, the Queen's subjects rebelled against her rule. They killed her infant son Euneus
and cursed her with leprosy
. They then banished the former Queen and Princess from Lemnos and they wandered the land, eventually settling in Nemea
.
Eventually the soothsayer
Calchas
met up with the queen telling her that she must return to Lemnos, escorted by a Warrior Queen, so that a lesson could be learned. Antiope and a group of Amazons agreed to escort the former Queen in order to discover what truth would be revealed for Antiope as well. Her sister Hippolyta returned to Themyscira. When they arrived they discovered that the women of Lemnos had long since died, perishing by their own hands as internal wars consumed the Lemnos women. At discovering this Hypsipyle died of grief. Antiope adopted Phthia as her daughter, and the two of them formed a bond as strong as blood-relations.
tried to discredit
Antiope's and Phthia's names by having his half-brother, demi-god Hercules
, invade the Amazons and demean them, stealing their Golden Girdles of Gaea in the process.
When Hercules first approached the Amazons seeking battle, Hippolyta and Antiope met him outside the city gates and tried to reason with him for peaceful negotiations. When this did not work and Hercules attacked Queen Hippolyta using his strength to his advantage, Hippolyta easily turned the tables on him by using her wisdom and battle skills to subdue him. Still wishing peace, Hippolyta invited Hercules and his men into their city to celebrate a potential friendship with a feast. Hiding his anger and humiliation at being forced to surrender to a woman, Hercules accepted the invitation.
Once in their stronghold, Hercules and his men drugged the Amazons' wine and took them prisoner. After stealing Hippolyta's Golden Girdle, and abusing and raping the Amazons, Hippolyta cried out to Athena to help them escape their bonds. Athena said that she would only aid them on the condition that the Amazons not seek retribution against Hercules and his men, as that would be beneath the ideals they were created to stand for. Hippolyta hastily agreed, and the Amazons' bonds were broken and they were restored to sobriety. Once out of their drugged state, the Amazons were filled with hate and vengeance. Breaking Hippolyta's oath to Athena, the Amazons began slaughtering their captors, but were dismayed to find that Hercules and his general, Theseus
, had already left for their homelands.
After the slaughter, Athena reprimanded the Amazons for disobeying her orders. She demanded the Amazons serve penance for their actions. Though Hippolyta agreed to the goddess' wishes, Antiope scoffed at Athena for being angry at them for killing their captors. Antiope then denounced all ties to the Olympian gods and said goodbye to her sister Hippolyta, giving Hippolyta her Golden Girdle of Gaea to replace the one stolen by Hercules. She left for Greece, along with half of the Amazon Nation who supported Antiope in her new quest to continue the battle against Hercules and Theseus to regain their honor, and to recapture Antiope's girdle.
Upon her arrival in Greece, Antiope encountered Theseus who, surprisingly, had fallen in love with the Amazon Queen. Though it angered her faithful Amazons, Antiope had a change of heart for Theseus, as well, and fell in love with him in return. The two married, combining both Theseus' forces with Antiope's Amazons. Though together they formed a mighty army, the alliance did not sit well with the Amazons as they were the same men who had imprisoned and raped them in their home city of Themyscira, and as they did not receive respect from Theseus' men. Phthia especially was against the marriage, as it resembled the beginning of the cursed life her own birth-mother experienced with her husband, Jason. Still, she respected her adopted mother's wishes, and grudgingly accepted their marriage.
During their marriage, Antiope gave birth to a son Hippolytus
. As Antiope was able to provide Theseus with a male heir, Theseus' former wife, Ariadne
, became very jealous and bitter. She sought out the help of the witch, Circe
, for revenge. Circe transported Ariadne into the Queen's bedchamber, where she stabbed Queen Antiope in her sleep. Seeking to further tarnish Antiope's name, Ariadne made it look as if Antiope was killed by her adopted daughter, Phthia, who happened upon the scene. Phthia was then captured, and thrown into the grieving Theseus' dungeons until she could be executed for her "crimes."
Word of Antiope's death, and the false accusation of Phthia reached the Amazons, and they freed their princess from Theseus' dungeon, leaving Greece forever along with Hippolyta's previously stolen Golden Girdle of Gaea taken by Heracles. Phthia carried on as ruler of the Amazons in Antiope's place, and the tribe of warriors went on to become the Amazons of Bana-Mighdall.
Over the centuries the Amazons of Bana-Mighdall have kept both Hippolyta's Golden Girdle of Gaea
retrieved by Antiope as well as a bust made of Antiope during her lifetime as sacred relics. When Hippolyta created her own daughter, Diana, she molded the infant in the likeness of her fallen sister. Thus, when Diana finally met her aunt in spirit form many centuries after Antiope's death, the two proved to look identical outside of hair color.
Upon the death of her sister Hippolyta, Antiope appeared in ghost form to her niece Diana
. Antiope told her, "There are other Amazons out there. Descendants of my tribe. Other offshoots — Diana, you must seek them out, and guide them—and represent them in the world of man." Antiope and Hippolyta revealed that they would remain as ghostly watchers over Diana, guiding and protecting her spirit despite being servants to the god of the dead Hades
.
In the Wonder Woman television series
Diana was shown to have had a cousin named Evadne
played by actress Dorrie Thomson who also competed in the Contest to become Wonder Woman. This was the only reference to Diana having an aunt in that series.
Themyscirian Amazons also possess the ability to relieve their bodies of physical injury and toxins by becoming one with the Earth's soil and then reforming their bodies whole again. The first time Diana does this she prays to her god Gaea
saying: "Gaea, I pray to you. Grant me your strength. You are the Earth who suckled me, who nurtured and bred me. Through you all life is renewed. The circle which never ends. I pray you, mother Gaea, take me into your bosom. Please, let me be worthy." During writer John Byrne's time on the comic it was stated that this is a very sacred ritual, to be used only in the most dire of circumstances.
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
and is based on the mythological character Antiope
Antiope (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Antiope was an Amazon, daughter of Ares and sister to Melanippe and Hippolyte and possibly Orithyia, queens of the Amazons,. She was the wife of Theseus, and the only Amazon known to have married...
. In the comics she was the Amazon sister of Queen Hippolyta
Queen Hippolyta (comics)
Queen Hippolyta is a fictional character and DC Comics superhero, based on Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons in Greek mythology. She is also the mother of Wonder Woman and Donna Troy.-Golden and Silver Age versions:...
, and aunt to Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986....
. She is the founding member of the Amazons
Amazons (comics)
The Amazons of DC Comics are a fictional all-female society of superhumans, based on the Amazons of Greek mythology. There have been three major incarnations of these Amazons, one before the Crisis, and two after. What two of these groups have in common is that they are the race which produced...
of Bana-Mighdall, whom they worship as a sacred ancestor.
Origin
In current continuity, Antiope and the rest of the ThemyscirianThemyscira
Themyscira is a fictional island nation in the DC Comics universe that is the place of origin of Wonder Woman and her sister Amazons. Known as Paradise Island since Wonder Woman and the island's first appearance in All Star Comics #8 , it was renamed "Themyscira" with the character's February...
Amazons were first created by a select few of the Greek Gods
Olympian Gods (comics)
The Olympian Gods are mythological deities who appear in the Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel and Aquaman comics.-Ancient Times:When a Godwave spilled forth from the creation of the Fourth World, the Earth was seeded with great power. It first manifested in the form of old gods, then of metahumans...
, which included Artemis
Artemis
Artemis was one of the most widely venerated of the Ancient Greek deities. Her Roman equivalent is Diana. Some scholars believe that the name and indeed the goddess herself was originally pre-Greek. Homer refers to her as Artemis Agrotera, Potnia Theron: "Artemis of the wildland, Mistress of Animals"...
, Athena
Athena
In Greek mythology, Athena, Athenê, or Athene , also referred to as Pallas Athena/Athene , is the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, warfare, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, justice, and skill. Minerva, Athena's Roman incarnation, embodies similar attributes. Athena is...
, Hestia
Hestia
In Greek mythology Hestia , first daughter of Cronus and Rhea , is the virgin goddess of the hearth, architecture, and of the right ordering of domesticity and the family. She received the first offering at every sacrifice in the household. In the public domain, the hearth of the prytaneum...
, Demeter
Demeter
In Greek mythology, Demeter is the goddess of the harvest, who presided over grains, the fertility of the earth, and the seasons . Her common surnames are Sito as the giver of food or corn/grain and Thesmophoros as a mark of the civilized existence of agricultural society...
and Aphrodite
Aphrodite
Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation.Her Roman equivalent is the goddess .Historically, her cult in Greece was imported from, or influenced by, the cult of Astarte in Phoenicia....
. They took the souls of women slain throughout time by the hands of men and sent them to the bottom of the Aegean Sea
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
. The souls then began to form bodies with the clay on the sea bed. Once they reached the surface the clay bodies became living flesh and blood Amazons.
The first one to break surface was Hippolyta and thus she was elected Queen of the new race. The second Amazon to break surface was her sister Antiope, and she ruled as a second to Hippolyta in all affairs.
Each of the goddesses that created the Amazons blessed them with personalized gifts: hunting skills (Artemis'), wisdom (Athena's), warm homes/skills of domesticity (Hestia's), plentiful harvests (Demeter's), and beauty inside and out (Aphrodite's). As a symbol of their leadership titles, the gods gave Hippolyta and Antiope each a Golden Girdle of Gaea
Golden Girdle of Gaea
The Golden Girdle of Gaea is a fictional object depicted in the DC Comics book Wonder Woman. It is based on the mythological girdle stolen by Heracles as part of his Twelve Labors.-Comic book history:...
which enhanced their strength and abilities significantly. The Amazons eventually founded the city of Themyscira
Themyscira
Themyscira is a fictional island nation in the DC Comics universe that is the place of origin of Wonder Woman and her sister Amazons. Known as Paradise Island since Wonder Woman and the island's first appearance in All Star Comics #8 , it was renamed "Themyscira" with the character's February...
in Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
and became known as fierce warriors of peace in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
.
Phthia
During the height of their reign, Antiope and Hippolyta came across a mother and daughter on horseback. The older diseased woman introduced herself as Queen HypsipyleHypsipyle
In Greek mythology, Hypsipyle was the Queen of Lemnos, daughter of Thoas and Myrina.During her reign, Aphrodite cursed the women of the island for having neglected her shrines. All the women developed extreme body odor that made them repugnant to the men of the nation. The men took up with...
, and her daughter as Princess Phthia. They ruled the island of Lemnos
Lemnos
Lemnos is an island of Greece in the northern part of the Aegean Sea. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Lemnos peripheral unit, which is part of the North Aegean Periphery. The principal town of the island and seat of the municipality is Myrina...
in a matriarchal society similar to the Amazons of Themyscira.
They explain that the Argonaut
Argonauts
The Argonauts ) were a band of heroes in Greek mythology who, in the years before the Trojan War, accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Their name comes from their ship, the Argo, which was named after its builder, Argus. "Argonauts", therefore, literally means...
Jason
Jason
Jason was a late ancient Greek mythological hero from the late 10th Century BC, famous as the leader of the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcus...
landed his ship Argo
Argo
In Greek mythology, the Argo was the ship on which Jason and the Argonauts sailed from Iolcos to retrieve the Golden Fleece. It was named after its builder, Argus.-Legend:...
on their island and eventually fathered twins to the queen, a son and daughter. Phthia was their daughter. After Jason continued with his adventures, leaving the Queen to her own devices, the Queen's subjects rebelled against her rule. They killed her infant son Euneus
Euneus
In Greek mythology, Euneus was a son of Jason and Queen Hypsipyle of Lemnos; he had a twin brother whose name is variously given as Nebrophon, Thoas or Deipylus. They were separated from their mother after she was exiled from the island for having spared her own father Thoas...
and cursed her with leprosy
Leprosy
Leprosy or Hansen's disease is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Named after physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen, leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions...
. They then banished the former Queen and Princess from Lemnos and they wandered the land, eventually settling in Nemea
Nemea
Nemea is an ancient site near the head of the valley of the River Elissos in the northeastern part of the Peloponnese, in Greece. Formerly part of the territory of Cleonae in Argolis, it is today part of the prefecture of Corinthia...
.
Eventually the soothsayer
Haruspex
In Roman and Etruscan religious practice, a haruspex was a man trained to practice a form of divination called haruspicy, hepatoscopy or hepatomancy. Haruspicy is the inspection of the entrails of sacrificed animals, especially the livers of sacrificed sheep and poultry...
Calchas
Calchas
In Greek mythology, Calchas , son of Thestor, was an Argive seer, with a gift for interpreting the flight of birds that he received of Apollo: "as an augur, Calchas had no rival in the camp"...
met up with the queen telling her that she must return to Lemnos, escorted by a Warrior Queen, so that a lesson could be learned. Antiope and a group of Amazons agreed to escort the former Queen in order to discover what truth would be revealed for Antiope as well. Her sister Hippolyta returned to Themyscira. When they arrived they discovered that the women of Lemnos had long since died, perishing by their own hands as internal wars consumed the Lemnos women. At discovering this Hypsipyle died of grief. Antiope adopted Phthia as her daughter, and the two of them formed a bond as strong as blood-relations.
Fall from grace
Soon after, the jealous and vengeful god AresAres (DC Comics)
Ares is a fictional character, a supervillainous God appearing in DC Comics publications and related media. Based upon the Greek mythological figure of the same name, he is the god of War and one of the major adversaries of Wonder Woman. He first appeared in Wonder Woman #1, volume 1, published in...
tried to discredit
Antiope's and Phthia's names by having his half-brother, demi-god Hercules
Hercules (DC Comics)
Hercules is a fictional Olympian god in the DC Universe based on the Greek demigod and hero of the same name....
, invade the Amazons and demean them, stealing their Golden Girdles of Gaea in the process.
When Hercules first approached the Amazons seeking battle, Hippolyta and Antiope met him outside the city gates and tried to reason with him for peaceful negotiations. When this did not work and Hercules attacked Queen Hippolyta using his strength to his advantage, Hippolyta easily turned the tables on him by using her wisdom and battle skills to subdue him. Still wishing peace, Hippolyta invited Hercules and his men into their city to celebrate a potential friendship with a feast. Hiding his anger and humiliation at being forced to surrender to a woman, Hercules accepted the invitation.
Once in their stronghold, Hercules and his men drugged the Amazons' wine and took them prisoner. After stealing Hippolyta's Golden Girdle, and abusing and raping the Amazons, Hippolyta cried out to Athena to help them escape their bonds. Athena said that she would only aid them on the condition that the Amazons not seek retribution against Hercules and his men, as that would be beneath the ideals they were created to stand for. Hippolyta hastily agreed, and the Amazons' bonds were broken and they were restored to sobriety. Once out of their drugged state, the Amazons were filled with hate and vengeance. Breaking Hippolyta's oath to Athena, the Amazons began slaughtering their captors, but were dismayed to find that Hercules and his general, Theseus
Theseus
For other uses, see Theseus Theseus was the mythical founder-king of Athens, son of Aethra, and fathered by Aegeus and Poseidon, both of whom Aethra had slept with in one night. Theseus was a founder-hero, like Perseus, Cadmus, or Heracles, all of whom battled and overcame foes that were...
, had already left for their homelands.
After the slaughter, Athena reprimanded the Amazons for disobeying her orders. She demanded the Amazons serve penance for their actions. Though Hippolyta agreed to the goddess' wishes, Antiope scoffed at Athena for being angry at them for killing their captors. Antiope then denounced all ties to the Olympian gods and said goodbye to her sister Hippolyta, giving Hippolyta her Golden Girdle of Gaea to replace the one stolen by Hercules. She left for Greece, along with half of the Amazon Nation who supported Antiope in her new quest to continue the battle against Hercules and Theseus to regain their honor, and to recapture Antiope's girdle.
Life in Greece
During their marriage, Antiope gave birth to a son Hippolytus
Hippolytus (mythology)
thumb|260px|The Death of Hippolytus, by [[Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema]] .In Greek mythology, Hippolytus was a son of Theseus and either Antiope or Hippolyte...
. As Antiope was able to provide Theseus with a male heir, Theseus' former wife, Ariadne
Ariadne
Ariadne , in Greek mythology, was the daughter of King Minos of Crete, and his queen Pasiphaë, daughter of Helios, the Sun-titan. She aided Theseus in overcoming the Minotaur and was the bride of the god Dionysus.-Minos and Theseus:...
, became very jealous and bitter. She sought out the help of the witch, Circe
Circe (comics)
Circe is a fictional character, a villainous sorceress and a major adversary of Wonder Woman appearing in DC Comics publications and related media. Based upon the Greek mythological character of the same name who imprisoned Odysseus in Homer's Odyssey, the comic book incarnation of Circe first...
, for revenge. Circe transported Ariadne into the Queen's bedchamber, where she stabbed Queen Antiope in her sleep. Seeking to further tarnish Antiope's name, Ariadne made it look as if Antiope was killed by her adopted daughter, Phthia, who happened upon the scene. Phthia was then captured, and thrown into the grieving Theseus' dungeons until she could be executed for her "crimes."
Word of Antiope's death, and the false accusation of Phthia reached the Amazons, and they freed their princess from Theseus' dungeon, leaving Greece forever along with Hippolyta's previously stolen Golden Girdle of Gaea taken by Heracles. Phthia carried on as ruler of the Amazons in Antiope's place, and the tribe of warriors went on to become the Amazons of Bana-Mighdall.
Antiope's legacy
Because of Ariadne's betrayal of Antiope, the Amazons of Bana-Mighdall used the name ariadna to describe any person who could not be trusted. In addition, because of all of the previous transgressions made by mankind against the Amazons, the Bana-Mighdall Amazons despised men from the point of their separation and centuries after. The only exception to this was Antiope's son Hippolytus, whom the Amazons of Bana-Mighdall held in high regard within their culture.Over the centuries the Amazons of Bana-Mighdall have kept both Hippolyta's Golden Girdle of Gaea
Golden Girdle of Gaea
The Golden Girdle of Gaea is a fictional object depicted in the DC Comics book Wonder Woman. It is based on the mythological girdle stolen by Heracles as part of his Twelve Labors.-Comic book history:...
retrieved by Antiope as well as a bust made of Antiope during her lifetime as sacred relics. When Hippolyta created her own daughter, Diana, she molded the infant in the likeness of her fallen sister. Thus, when Diana finally met her aunt in spirit form many centuries after Antiope's death, the two proved to look identical outside of hair color.
Upon the death of her sister Hippolyta, Antiope appeared in ghost form to her niece Diana
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986....
. Antiope told her, "There are other Amazons out there. Descendants of my tribe. Other offshoots — Diana, you must seek them out, and guide them—and represent them in the world of man." Antiope and Hippolyta revealed that they would remain as ghostly watchers over Diana, guiding and protecting her spirit despite being servants to the god of the dead Hades
Hades (DC Comics)
Hades is a fictional character, a god in the DC Comics universe based on the actual Hades from Greek mythology. He is primarily featured in the Wonder Woman series, alternately as a divine benefactor and enemy of the heroine.-Fictional character biography:...
.
In the Wonder Woman television series
Wonder Woman (TV series)
Wonder Woman is an American television series based on the DC Comics comic book superhero of the same name. Starring Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman/Diana Prince and Lyle Waggoner as Steve Trevor, the show originally aired from 1975 to 1979....
Diana was shown to have had a cousin named Evadne
Evadne
In Greek mythology, Evadne was a name attributed to the following individuals:#A daughter of Poseidon and Pitane who was brought up by Aepytus of Arcadia and became the mother of Iamus by Apollo. She was ashamed of her pregnancy and exposed the child to the elements...
played by actress Dorrie Thomson who also competed in the Contest to become Wonder Woman. This was the only reference to Diana having an aunt in that series.
Abilities
All Themyscirian Amazons possess various degrees of superhuman strength, speed, stamina and extraordinarily acute senses which were gifts they were blessed with by their gods. As shown by various tribe members, they have the capability to break apart steel and concrete with their bare hands, jump over 12 feet from a standing position, have a high durability factor, enhanced healing, and the ability to absorb and process a vast amount of knowledge in a short period of time.Themyscirian Amazons also possess the ability to relieve their bodies of physical injury and toxins by becoming one with the Earth's soil and then reforming their bodies whole again. The first time Diana does this she prays to her god Gaea
Gaia (mythology)
Gaia was the primordial Earth-goddess in ancient Greek religion. Gaia was the great mother of all: the heavenly gods and Titans were descended from her union with Uranus , the sea-gods from her union with Pontus , the Giants from her mating with Tartarus and mortal creatures were sprung or born...
saying: "Gaea, I pray to you. Grant me your strength. You are the Earth who suckled me, who nurtured and bred me. Through you all life is renewed. The circle which never ends. I pray you, mother Gaea, take me into your bosom. Please, let me be worthy." During writer John Byrne's time on the comic it was stated that this is a very sacred ritual, to be used only in the most dire of circumstances.