The Belt of Hippolyta
Heracles travels to the land of the Amazons to obtain the war belt of Queen Hippolyta.
The Story
Eurystheus next demanded the belt of Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons.
The Amazons were imagined as a society of formidable warrior women living beyond the familiar Greek world.
Heracles travelled to meet their queen.
In some traditions the encounter initially went peacefully.
Hippolyta was impressed by Heracles and agreed to give him the belt.
But Hera intervened.
Disguised among the Amazons, she spread the rumour that Heracles intended to abduct their queen.
The situation became violent.
A battle followed, and Hippolyta was killed in many versions of the story.
Heracles took the belt and returned with it.
The Labour is unusual because the violence is not always presented as inevitable.
It begins, in some traditions, with the possibility of peaceful agreement.
Divine interference turns cooperation into conflict.
This makes the episode another example of Heracles being drawn into disaster by forces beyond simple heroic combat.
Key Figures
Why It Matters
The belt of Hippolyta links Heracles with the Amazon tradition and highlights the repeated role of Hera in complicating his life. It also shows how misunderstanding can transform negotiation into violence.
Traditions & Variations
Ancient sources differ substantially over whether Hippolyta willingly gives Heracles the belt, whether she dies, and exactly how the conflict with the Amazons begins.