Hippolyta

Half-divine daughter of Ares by the Amazon-queen Otrera; Amazon queen and possessor of the war-belt of Ares. Heracles's Ninth Labor was to acquire her belt — in the dominant tradition she gave it freely until Hera, disguised as an Amazon, instigated the battle in which Heracles killed her. The variant Athenian tradition (Plutarch Theseus 26-28) has her survive to be abducted (or befriended) by Theseus, bear him Hippolytus, and die in the Amazonomachy at Athens. The Athenian tradition is structurally tied to Theseus's Amazonomachy episode and the Hippolytus-Phaedra tragedy; the Apollodoran tradition keeps her death contained within the Heracles-labor frame. Sister of Penthesilea per the standard parentage-assignment.

Parentage

• paternal: Ares
• maternal: Otrera

Variant accounts

• death-variant
• death-variant
• death-variant

Domains

• amazon queenship
• war belt of ares

Powers

• Lead the Amazons in battle as warrior-queen

Relations

• sibling: PenthesileaFull sister — both daughters of Ares and Otrera. The variant tradition that has Penthesilea accidentally kill Hippolyta (motivating the Trojan-purification trip) treats them as full sisters by the dominant assignment.Apollod. Epit. 5.1; Apollon. 2.385-389 (primary)
• sibling: Antiope the AmazonApollod. Epit. 5.2 (primary)
• sibling: MelanippeApollod. Epit. 5.2; Justin 2.4 (primary)
• killed by: HeraclesApollod. 2.5.9 (primary)

Sources

• existence: Apollodorus 2.5.9, Epitome 1.16, 5.1; Apollonius Argonautica 2.385-389, 2.966-969; Diodorus 4.16; Plutarch Theseus 26-28; Pausanias 1.41.7, 5.10.9; Hyginus Fabulae 30, 241; Quintus Smyrnaeus Posthomerica 1.18 (primary)
• parentage: Apollod. 2.5.9; Apollon. 2.385-389 (primary)