Smallville: Annual

Chapter 17

This story recounts several instances of rape and other content that are vaguely described in the past tense.  For those of you familiar with the story of Hercules and the attack towards the Amazons as well as any sharp depiction of Hellenist culture, this is slightly difficult to remove. For fans of Wonder Woman and the DC Universe most of these stories attempt to be as brief about it as possible so this shouldn't be too surprising, especially for the Post-Crisis era.   Thank You and enjoy.  Vote and respond.

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4/16/05 - 4:00PM  - Crowe Forest - Kansas

        Diana had said a small prayer before telling Clark everything.  Which Clark found interesting because it was a prayer to the Greek goddess Athena.  To him It was odd that someone would pray to the mythical gods and goddesses of the Greco-Roman times.  As far as Clark was concerned they were not real.  Some people even believe the Abrahamic God wasn't real, but were allowed to be prayed to because mankind accepts religion and those that did believe there was something greater in the universe than science could explain. His parents were Episcopal and took him to Church on occasion, celebrating the holidays like Christmas and Easter. He even learned from some Kryptonian history that there was the belief in the red sun Rao was a deity in many ways similar to that of the ancient Egyptians.

        But Diana told him that Athena and the others were real because she not only met them but was related to them.  She started with the story of Hercules, one of the many of Zeus' bastard children whose stories were legendary.  Hercules after having his life ruined by the vindictive Hera had gone mad and had done awful things that consigned his soul to Hades when he died.  But because of his father's power, Zeus would promise immortality if Hercules completed twelve tasks that would make him seen as the greatest hero.  Known as the twelve labors Hercules sought out these tasks to save his soul.

        Clark was fascinated by Diana's recounting of what he once believed was a myth until she mentioned the words hero and Hercules in the same sentence and learned from her that it was not the truth for her, her mother and the rest of her people.  For Diana's mother was the Queen of Themiscyra and host of the Golden Girdle and it was Hercules duty to take it to complete the ninth task.  Hercules attempted to negotiate with Hippolyta for it at first, but Hera tricked them both so Hercules decided to lay siege to Themiscyra. Taking not just the girdle, but unleashed a rampage of violence, rape and enslavement upon the women of Themiscyra.  It wasn't the heroic adventure one learns in high school, but it wasn't the end.  After Hercules left, his army was left alone on Themiscyra as he left to complete his following trial. On Themiscyra, Queen Hippolyta prayed to all the goddesses even Zeus to free them from bondage and seek justice.  They were blessed with the strength and speed beyond that of mortal men not to mention ordinary women. Hercules men were put down, those that were not killed in the renewed fighting were put on trial and the most vile where sentenced to death, yet some were pardoned.  Others who had wives and children were forced under magic to confess to their families that they were a violent, perverted rapist.  Honored by her promise to bring justice and not vengeance, Zeus had rewarded her by promising to protect her island from all mankind allowing the women of Themiscyra in peace for the rest of their lives.  However, there would come a time when men will be worthy of returning to the island so her warriors should prepare for war but that day will be a long time coming.

        But Diana told Clark that after what her mother and every other Amazon had endured they believed that the day was never going to arrive and that they would live in peace for the rest of their existence shut of from the evils of mankind.  They would still prepare for war because that was their nature.  To be warriors is what it meant to be an Amazon and they took it with pride.  Because they lived in peace they had technologies far superior to those of the Patriarch's world.  They were smarter, stronger than any other man in the world but they would never share their success with them.  Clark found it strange that such women could keep such power to themselves.  What about other unfortunate women?  Diana said the path was always open, but it was they who had to give up everything to share in the Amazon life.  Those that clung to men, having children, to subservience to a man in any way where denied.  As for sharing with the world, Diana explained that the Golden Girdle was once to have been only theirs, even though Hercules tried to negotiate despite the trickery of Hera.  He had a choice, leave and come back risking his soul by coming up short or take the violent road and risk his own men and an innocent tribe of women.  Amazons learned to mistrust men as long as they lived.  She then touched a finer point by telling him he had no right to judge.  He might be a man, but he saw himself separate from Krypton and felt that only humanity was worthy of his attention.  Was not his intolerance for Krypton not the same then as the intolerance of the Amazons for men?