Hippolyta held her little Diana, finally asleep after a long day of lessons and training. The angelic looking seven-year-old had a slight smile on her face, resting with her head in the lap of her mother. Gazing down at her, Hippolyta reflected on the mystery of her child, formed from clay and given breath by the gods, who had scarcely interacted with humans or Amazons for centuries. She wondered what was awaiting Diana; what would her destiny be? The pride Hippolyta felt over her daughter and her incredible abilities at such a young age and her adoration for the child were tempered by a constant uneasiness at the thought of Diana's destiny, still unknown.
The Amazons were a proud race of women, all fierce and as loyal to each other as sisters, and all more accomplished in every way than even the most powerful of men in the world outside of Themyscira. They were given their many gifts, including Themyscira itself, by the gods - before the declining adoration of men drove the once-social deities to become reclusive in their paradise. Isolated on their hidden island for centuries, the women had spent the time training in the art of war, but also expanding their understanding of the universe through the most advanced scholarship in the world. From ancient languages and philosophy, advanced math and physics, and the fine arts to the crafting of weapons, tactical strategy, and combat, the Amazons had mastered all. Hippolyta, as their leader, far surpassed everyone in accomplishment and wisdom, but had still felt something was missing.
She often walked along the shore of their island, imagining the world of men that lay across the water - the world that couldn't see her perfect island. On one of her walks, she was inspired to kneel down and start to shape the form of a baby out of clay. She had never even seen a baby in person, but had spent the last ten years poring over every text she could find talking about babies and children. She had not, up until now, understood her sudden obsession. Now it became clear - although there were never children on their sacred island, as Amazons were separate from the world of men, Hippolyta was meant to be a mother.
As she crafted her daughter out of clay, she started to feel the presence of the gods - a feeling she had almost forgotten in the time that had passed since her last audience with them. One by one they appeared, each in their own way, but all of them were solemn. Hippolyta looked up at them as they joined her on the shore, but kept working at the clay, fashioning each fine detail of the child. She would normally pay them the respects due, but the gravity of this task came before everything else, and she knew that her crafting of the baby was the reason they were there. She had no concept of how long it took her to craft each meticulous detail of the baby, but she had to keep going until everything was perfect. Finally she was finished, and she picked up the form, gazing at the delicate features as the power of the gods filled the air, breathing life into the clay.
On the day Diana was granted life by the gods, Hippolyta was overjoyed to hear each gift given to her precious daughter by all of the deities present: beauty comparable to Aphrodite, the strength of Demeter, Athena's wit and wisdom, speed and the power to fly from Hermes, the hunter's eyes of Artemis along with her unity of spirit with animals, and from Hestia a sisterhood with fire and the ability to always find the truth. All of these combined led to Diana becoming the prodigious child she was today, but as the years progressed, Hippolyta's joy mixed with apprehension, knowing the gods would not have been so generous if they did not have some greater purpose for the girl.
And yet... she was still just a child. Endlessly curious and stronger than she knew, she was still vulnerable to the pain of the constant scrapes she was getting herself into. She still had a need for her mother, and would for years to come. Gazing at her little gift from the gods, Hippolyta marveled at the power within her daughter that should have been at odds with the elements of her humanity that still made her vulnerable. But those elements only seemed to make her stronger - they taught her to be cautious and wise, more considerate of others. Hippolyta knew the day would come when Diana would realize she was set apart. When she would be called to whatever purpose was meant to be her destiny. But for now, the Amazonian queen relished the ability to hold her child, stroking her cheek and guarding her as she slept.
Author's Note:
My imagination was captured in the reading about the origins of Krishna as portrayed in Cradle Tales of Hinduism. Especially the difficulties and uniqueness of a mother raising a child she knows is more powerful than she is, but still needs her. In my reading notes on that chapter, I talked about the parallels between the origin story of Krishna and the story of Christ's birth and early childhood, which made me consider what other parallels in other myths there were. Our modern superheroes are, I think, a 21st century equivalent of the supernatural myths of old, so Wonder Woman came to mind. She is the child of the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta, and depending on which origin story you read, was formed by Hippolyta in clay, and given life and all of her special abilities by the Greek gods. The Amazons were themselves set apart from the human race and possessed greater abilities, but as Diana was given all of her gifts, including life itself, from the gods, I imagine that Hippolyta would have still sensed her daughter was beyond all of the other Amazons both in ability and destiny. What would be going though a mother's mind as she faces caring for a being that would one day be called to a destiny beyond anything she had previously known?
I got the photo from here.
I got the information about which powers Diana received from each Greek god from this page.
All other information I knew (from being a complete Wonder Woman nerd).
Here is a link to the Comment Wall.