Semele

In Greek mythology, Semele was the daughter of Cadmus, the first king of Thebes

Zeus became enamoured of her and she soon became pregnant. Filled with jealousy, Hera appeared to her in the form of her nurse Beroe. She suggested that the lover of Semele was not really Zeus. Semele begged a favor from Zeus and he swore by the river Styx, that he would grant it. She asked him to appear in the splendor of his full glory. Zeus sadly granted her request but she could not bear the sight and was immediately burned to ashes. Zeus rescued the fetus of her child Dionysus and held it in his thigh until its birth.

References[edit]

• Ovid. Metamorphoses.