Back on the outskirts of the enchanted gardens, Queen Hippolyta and her oldest daughter, Diana, sat. The gentle winds ran along the wild grass like waves and made the tree filled field look like a churning green sea. Diana watched her mother’s face light up as Hippolyta began her story...
<“I have lived for nearly 3,000 years, Daughter, much of that time on this island. Even though I’ve had many adventures in my life and shared Themyscira with almost 2,000 other women, something was missing. A part of me felt incomplete. With my blood sister, Antiope, no longer with me, I thought that void would never be filled. I was wrong.
<“Almost twenty-four years and six months from this day is when my prayers would be answered. When the ache in my heart would cease. I remember it quite vividly.
<“It was the early morning when Menalippe rushed into my bed chambers with the news. She had a vision... directly from the gods. You have to realize, Daughter, that as the centuries went on and on, the Olympians calls and signs became quiet and dim. So to receive a message, a clear one at that, after so many years was surprising to us all.
<“Apollo’s words to Menalippe were that I would be given what I longed for. For my devoted service as queen of the Amazons, I would receive an heir to the throne. I would finally have a daughter!
<“The divine message sent to Menalippe had specific instructions for me. Several steps I had to take before I was ready.
<“A cleansing ritual. For three days I fasted, prayed, and was prayed upon by the high priestess and her mistresses. I was painted with ancient symbols of purity and strength.
<“The great sacrifice. All the Amazons, including myself, were instructed to offer sacrifice to the Greek gods. Deer, lambs, fruit, flowers; it was the largest offering we’ve ever given.
<“The rite of solitude. The last part of the vision told Menalippe that I was to go to the sacred clay pits, alone. No additional message was given. After all the other steps were completed, this was the final task.
<“As instructed, I went and kneeled in the clay pits in silence, just when the evening was ending and dawn was beginning. The moment when it was neither day nor night. When the full moon still shined and the emerging sun was a glowing red.
<“I can still recall the sensation of the cool clay as it covered my legs. It tingled as if laced with magic. For the longest time there was silence. Nothing stirring. No sign. Did I do something wrong? Did I not follow the instructions properly?
<“Just when I began to doubt, my faith was instantly renewed. High overhead, in the twinkling skies above our island home I heard them. The most beautiful voices to grace my ears. The Greek gods, the Olympians, were talking to me... directly to me!
<“I bowed at once. By now most of my body was covered with the silky, light gray earth. In a radiant tone, Athena herself told me to lift my head up high once more and I did. ‘Hold out your hands and your daughter will be given to you,’ she instructed. I did as I was ordered, but what was I to hold? There was nothing around me but pools of clay.
<“At first I thought it to be a hallucination or perhaps a trance induced by the gods, for directly in front of me the clay itself began to stir and shimmer! But it was real, so very real. A small patch of clay near me softly swirled and seemed to try and take on a shape of some kind. The liquid gray earth glowed, sparked, and snapped before my astonished eyes.
<“Overhead, six Olympians spoke to me during this dazzling display.
<“Athena went first and said, ‘I give the child great wisdom!’
<“Demeter spoke next and added, ‘I give the child great strength and power, like that of the earth itself!’
<“Aphrodite followed and said, ‘I give the child great beauty and a loving heart!’
<“Hestia went next and said, ‘Mankind’s hearts will be open to the child, and her words and presence will warm and soothe like that of the hearth!’
<“Artemis followed her and added, ‘I give the child the eyes and senses of the hunter, and she will be one with the beasts of nature!’
<“Hermes, the only male Olympian present, finished and said, ‘I give the child great speed and the gift of flight!’
<“By now the lively patch of clay that gleamed in front of me had taken on a more infant-like form. It hovered gently above the immediate ground and I took hold of it. I felt it vibrate and pulse, its warmth, like a thing alive! I could not take my eyes of it.
<“In the skies, in a fading voice, Athena said to me, ‘This child shall be your heir... your princess... your daughter.’
<“Instantly a blinding flash engulfed me and the infant-like clay all at once. My eyes closed tight, I no longer felt the gods’ presence. No voices overhead. I heard only crying. That of a baby, taking breath for the first time.
<“It was as if I opened my eyes in slow motion. My clay-covered arms were now covered in blood. A sure sign life had taken place. In my hands was now a healthy baby girl... my daughter... you.
<“That evening was the largest celebration in the island’s history. Every one of your sisters kissed you on the forehead and kneeled before their new princess.
<“It was exactly three days after your birth that I finally decided on a name for you. One that would befit a child of royalty and the gods themselves. Since Athena and Artemis were our patron gods I thought it would be appropriate to name you after one of them. But I felt that might be slightly sacrilegious so I chose Artemis’ Roman counterpart instead. The hunter-moon goddess, Diana. The perfect name for my perfect daughter.”>
Diana watched her mother proudly finish her story. At that moment the Princess didn't feel so bored or embarrassed anymore. She knew she was part of something bigger.
Not wanting anyone to be left out, Diana uncrossed her long legs, tilted forward and asked, <“What about Drusilla? Certainly she came to our island with the help of the gods, too.”>
<“That’s not the same, Daughter. Your younger sister was saved from a deadly fire in Man’s World by the Titan Rhea. Rhea knew there was a growing tension between the Titans and the Olympians. She thought to quell that conflict by giving the orphaned child to me, since the Amazons are the Greek gods’ chosen people. A sort of peace offering. I gladly accepted the little girl and raised her as my own.
<“You see, Daughter, it’s a completely different situation entirely. Your younger sister, Drusilla, was a gift.”>
Diana’s extremely attractive face took on an angered look. <“You said I was a gift!”> the Princess annoyingly replied.
Queen Hippolyta didn’t seem to have a response.
Diana once again leaned back against the oak tree’s trunk and crossed her toned, lightly tanned arms. Still a bit irritated she added, <“I still don’t see why the gods have made us immortal, only to be doomed to stay on this island forever.”>
Hippolyta now was the one who took on an angered look. <“Doomed? Who told you such things?”> the Queen sternly asked.
Diana looked away and did not answer.
<“We are not ‘doomed’, Daughter. We are all here because we want to be.”> Queen Hippolyta gave her oldest daughter a sharp look and added, <“Almost all of us.”>
Diana knew her mother was talking about her. The Princess is the only one never to have seen the outside world and over the last several years her yearning to do so has grown increasingly stronger.
Hippolyta slowly stood up from the shaded, grassy ground, stretched out her athletic body, and readjusted her robes. She turned to her daughter with these final words. <“I do not want to have another argument, Daughter. Just remember I am the Queen and you are the Princess. It is our duty to protect our people. To serve them. Any desires or wishes we may have for ourselves do not take precedence. Our lives are dedicated to our Amazon sisters so long as we live. Your place is here on Themyscira, as it should be.”>
~*~
