Does the fog obscuring Themyscira do anything except hide the island?

Question

In Wonder Woman (2017), the Amazonian island of Themyscira is obscured from the world by a mystical fog. After being hidden away for apparently thousands of years, this fog is penetrated first by Steve Trevor's crashing plane, then by multiple German boats.

It would seem unlikely that this could be the first intrusion into their hidden world, especially if we accept the idea that the island is located somewhere in the Aegean Sea (as opposed to a floating island). Is the fog merely physical cover or does it possess more mystical powers, acting as a shield to prevent intruders? And if the latter, why are Steve and the Germans able to suddenly happen upon and see the island?

(Two fellow filmgoers suggested that the impenetrability of the fog was damaged

when Diana accidently triggers the first energy blast from her bracelets, but I don't see anything in the film that indicates that those two things are connected.)

Answer 1

Actually, the fog doesn't seem to hide the island - there is a dome-shaped "shield" concealing the island from sight. The fog is likely a device meant to discourage boats from travelling too close to the shield. We know this because there is no other mechanism preventing passage through the shield, and as we clearly see in the scene with the German soldier, there is a defined "barrier" in place that is NOT the fog.

In that scene, the soldier sticks first his hand, then his head, through the barrier, the fog instantly disappears. This tells us that the fog itself is merely surrounding the shield. And we know it is dome-shaped because the point at which the German boats enter is further back from the beach than the point up high where Steve's plane fell through.

Without the fog, it's possible that the shield or barrier would appear as a shimmering effect on the horizon, which might actually attract attention instead of discourage it.

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Note that this wasn't the case in the comics. The island itself wasn't hidden from sight, just small & remote. The only "magic spell" protecting it from invasion was that no man could set foot upon it unless invited. In fact, some ancient cultures would bring their orphaned girls to the Amazons, believing it a great honor for them to be raised by the women.

It should also be noted that the comics version of the island has gone through numerous changes over the years. At various points in its history, it's been moved around, even to space at one time. There was also a version where it floated around like a giant iceberg instead of having a fixed location on the map. The idea of it being invisible from the outside is not unique to the 2017 movie - that idea was also used in the animated film from 2009, where the island was not visible to Steve until he was over its airspace. And he was flying an F-35 with advanced radar in that one.

Answer 2

My personal interpretation is that the Amazons weren't meant to live on Themyscira in secret forever. As part of their back story, they were created by Zeus in order to fight Ares' corruption of humanity. However, that plan failed and the Amazons were enslaved. Zeus then hid the Amazons, and also with them his final plan to defeat Ares.

When Diana became strong enough, the bracers she wore sent out a signal to the veil, weakening it to allow outsiders to accidentally find the island. With the planet in the middle of a war, it's no wonder that the island was found rather quickly and was thrown into the Great War. This outside interference was enough to drive Diana to seek out Ares and end his reign over humanity once and for as, exactly as Zeus had planned.

I also think that they aren't strictly tied to one location on the planet. This would make it a lot easier to avoid detection if the island "moved" around.