Steve Korté - Wonder Woman and the Heroes of Myth

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Zeus was the incredibly powerful king of the Greek gods. He ruled Mount Olympus, the tall mountain above Greece where the gods lived. Zeus had claimed the throne atop Olympus after he and his brothers and sisters led a war against their evil father, Cronus. They defeated Cronus, and then Zeus and his brothers divided the realm between themselves. Zeus ruled the sky, Poseidon took the sea, and Hades ruled the underworld.

Zeus also ruled the weather. He would hurl thunderbolts down at the mortals below when they displeased him. In addition, Zeus was the god of hospitality and oaths. He watched over the bonds between hosts and guests, and the promises between people. He punished anyone that broke these bonds or oaths. Most importantly, he was the god who gave kings on Earth the authority to rule.

In the stories of Wonder Woman, Zeus did not take part in the creation of the Amazons. Instead, five goddesses gave life to the peace-loving tribe. Eventually, Zeus came to appreciate the Amazons and their mission to inspire Earths mortals to pursue truth and justice. Centuries later, when Princess Diana became Wonder Woman, she received indestructible bracelets. They were from pieces of Zeus magic shield.

forge to form something from metal using heat or a hammer

FACT

In Roman mythology, Zeus was known as Jupiter.

Hera was the Greek goddess of women, marriage, and childbirth. Although she held a lofty position, Hera was always jealous of Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. Despite her feelings, Hera sat beside Zeus throne as his queen and wife. They even had several children, including the war god Ares.

However, their marriage was not a happy one. Zeus fell in love with many other women, which always drove Hera into a jealous frenzy. For most of their time together, Hera kept busy plotting on Zeus.

In Wonder Womans world, Hera was against the creation of the Amazons at first, perhaps because it was not her idea. Centuries later, though, she grew impressed with Dianas skills and often came to her aid. Most remarkably, she brought Diana back to life after she was murdered by the demon Neron. Hera even offered to make Diana the goddess of truth on Mount Olympus. Though flattered by the offer, Diana returned to the world of mortals to continue in her role as Wonder Woman.

FACT

When Wonder Woman was excited, she would often exclaim, Great Hera!

FACT

In ancient Greece, artists often showed Hera carrying a scepter. Perched on top of this staff was a cuckoo bird, which was Heras favorite bird.

revenge an action taken to repay harm done

Athena was the Greek goddess of war, wisdom, and the arts. She was a powerful goddess of battle strategy who dressed in fine armor. She also enjoyed a special status as the favorite child of the great god Zeus. In fact, Zeus loved Athena as deeply as he despised his son, the war god Ares.

Athena and her brother, Ares, were bitter . Yet, whenever they met in combat, Athena always easily defeated her brother. As the god of battle strategy, she always had the upper hand on Ares, the god of battle frenzy. One example of this was in the Iliad by the poet Homer. It told of a battle between Ares and the warrior Diomedes. Athena came to the aid of Diomedes and helped guide his spear into Ares stomach. This sent the war god running away in pain.

Long before Wonder Woman was born, Ares tricked the hero Hercules. Ares convinced Hercules and his army to attack and destroy the Amazon city of Themyscira. Half of the Amazons declared war on Hercules. The other half, led by Queen Hippolyta, moved to a secret island, where they built a perfect, peaceful society. Athena rewarded the peace-loving Amazons with immortality. Centuries later, Athena granted wisdom to the newborn Princess Diana. She even crafted Wonder Womans ceremonial golden suit of armor.

rival someone whom a person competes against

A HOLLOW HORSE

Athena sometimes whispered battle advice to mortals. During the Trojan War, Athena suggested that the Greeks present a giant wooden horse to their foes, the Trojans. The Greeks claimed that it was a peace offering. When the Trojans brought the horse inside their city walls, Greek soldiers sprang from the horses hollow belly to defeat their enemy.

Hestia was the goddess of home and family in Greek mythology. Although she did not appear in as many myths as some of the other on Mount Olympus, Hestia was widely worshipped by families in ancient Greece.

Hestia valued peace above all. Although Athena fought in some wars, Hestia refused to get involved in any type of conflict. Her strong desire for peace also led her to turn her back on marriage a surprising choice for the goddess of family. Her decision came after two gods started fighting for her hand in marriage. One was the sea god Poseidon, and the other was Apollo, the god of music. Hestia feared their fight could lead to a full-scale war, so she asked Zeus for help. The mighty god allowed Hestia to reject marriage forever.

When Princess Diana became Wonder Woman, she received many priceless gifts. These included her bullet-deflecting bracelets and a golden suit of armor. The most important gift of all came from Hestia. It was the magical Lasso of Truth. The golden lasso was indestructible. Even better, anyone that Wonder Woman bound within the lasso was forced to tell the truth.