By Alyson Trager
June 7, 2017


Behind every Wonder Woman is an Antiope... or should we say "Auntie Ope?" 

Wonder Woman hit the big screen with the full force as a superhero should. The movie follows the story of Diana, the Amazonian-warrior-turned-superhero. But Wonder Woman couldn’t have done it without her aunt, Antiope.

While most well-known superheroes have backstories that comic book fans can recite in their sleep, Wonder Woman’s backstory has been more mysterious. Diana was born to Queen Hippolyta in Themyscira, the city her mother and aunt founded. Hippolyta and her sister - and Diana's aunt - Antiope were created by Zeus and the Greek goddesses who wanted to create strong women to spread peace and love. The goddesses gave their Amazonian women their hunting skills, wisdom, warm personalities, beauty of the body and soul, and lots of harvests.

As a child, Diana was punching and kicking her way into the spotlight to become a warrior, like her mother and aunt. While Hippolyta was protective of her daughter’s passion and forbid her from fighting like the other women in Themyscira, her Aunt Antiope stepped up to train Diana to be just as fierce as the rest of the Amazonians – while Hippolyta orchestrated in the background. It took just a smirk or wink, and Antiope and Diana knew to meet up for training late at night or in the forest.

See also: Barbie Wonder Woman Live-Action Antiope Doll

Antiope had all the faith in the world in Diana, and she always let her know. Every time Diana fell or lost her footing, her aunt was there to tell her she was stronger than that - even if a little forcefully sometimes. Still, Antiope never fully disobeyed Diana’s mother by revealing the world’s secrets which was something Hippolyta and Antiope probably agreed to when Diana was young. Antiope rarely overstepped her boundaries.

Traveling on horse and wielding a sword, Antiope was the one who helped Diana discover her true powers as Wonder Woman. General Antiope had heaps of superhuman abilities. Between her strength, durability, stamina, and agility it’s clear how Wonder Woman turned out to be such an incredibly strong warrior.

This clip from Wonder Woman shows how all that training went down.



To Diana, Antiope was the cool aunt that believed in her when her mother seemed not to. Whether it was defending Diana from her mother, or on the battlefield, Antiope always had Diana’s back. In turn, Diana looked up to her aunt and used what she was taught to save the world against evil. In the end, it was Antiope’s training that turned Diana into Wonder Woman, which makes both of them pretty super.

Photo: Wonder Woman