The Amazons as depicted in the 2017 Hollywood hit Wonder Woman are female warriors created by the Olympian gods to protect mortals. They are based on ancient Greek mythology, but how true is the movie’s narrative to the original source?
Wonder Woman’s Amazons
In 2017’s Wonder Woman, Ares, the god of war, was jealous of humans, so he schemed to destroy humankind. The other gods objected, so Ares slew them all, except for Zeus, whom he mortally wounded. With the last ounce of his power, the chief Olympian wounded Ares, who was forced to retreat. The god of war did not abandon his plans to destroy humans, however. Fast forward to the twentieth century, when Queen Hippolyta of the Amazons tells her daughter Diana that just before he died, Zeus gave mankind a final gift.
In the movie narrative, Zeus had given the Amazons the god-killer, a weapon to use against Ares when he came back. Diana eventually leaves the Amazons’ secluded island paradise, and gets involved in World War I, convinced that the global conflict is part of Ares’ plot to destroy humans. It is a great movie, but far as fidelity to source mythology goes, its depiction of the Amazons and their relationship with Ares contradicts the original Greek mythology version in some major ways.
The Amazons in Ancient Greek Mythology
The Amazons in ancient Greek mythology were a mythical nation of warrior women who came into existence before the Trojan War. They lived at the outer edge of the ancient Greek world, north and east of the Black Sea. A female-only society, they welcomed men rarely, and then only for procreation. Of the resultant babies, only the females were kept: male babies were killed. Horsemanship, courage, and pride, were hallmarks of the Amazons. Homer described them as “the equal of men”. They went toe to toe against many famous Greek heroes, including Bellerophon, Heracles, and nearly destroyed Athens before Theseus fought them to a draw.
2017’s Wonder Woman revolves around the unceasing enmity between the Amazons and the ancient Greek god of war, Ares. In ancient Greek mythology, however, the Amazons were far from Ares’ undying foes: they were his daughters and descendants. In the original source mythology, the queen and founding mother of the Amazon nation was Otrera, a consort of Ares. She bore the god of war two daughters, one of whom was Hippolyta, mother of Princess Diana, or Wonder Woman. So if the movie had stayed true to original source mythology, Wonder Woman would be Ares’ granddaughter.
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Some Sources & Further Reading
Bulfinch, Thomas – Bulfinch’s Mythology (1998)
Fry, Stephen – Heroes: The Greek Myths Reimagined (2018)
History Halls – Folklore and Mythology: The Origin of Mermaids
Mayor, Adrienne – The Amazons: Lives and Legends of Warrior Women Across the Ancient World (2014)
