Hippolyta

Hippolyta is a figure in Greek mythology best known as the queen of the Amazons. In surviving sources, her origins and family vary: she is often described as the daughter of Ares, and she rules the Amazon nation in regions associated with the area around the Black Sea. She appears in several myth cycles, including stories connected to Heracles and to broader Trojan War narratives.

Her most famous episode is Heracles’ ninth labor, to obtain the girdle (belt) of Hippolyta, a symbol of Amazon royal authority. In many versions, Heracles wins the belt after a confrontation that begins with negotiation but ends in battle, sometimes prompted by the goddess Hera. Some tellings have the belt given willingly, or Hippolyta killed in the ensuing conflict.

In some traditions Hippolyta is the mother of Hippolytus, a hero noted for his chastity and hunting prowess, with paternity attributed variously to Theseus or to an Amazonian partner. In literature, Hippolyta also appears in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream as the Queen of the Amazons, betrothed to Theseus, whose forthcoming wedding frames the play’s setting.

In modern popular culture, Hippolyta is the name of Wonder Woman’s mother in DC Comics, where she is the queen of Themyscira and a central figure in the Amazon lineage and the heroine’s origin stories.