SEMELE (mother of Dionysus)

The goddess Hera, grieved that Semele was carrying Zeus's child, disguised herself as Semele's nurse and an intimate friend to deceive her.^5,9,10 Persuaded by this disguise, Semele demanded that Zeus appear in his full divine form, a request she spoke before her lover could stop her.^11,5,12 Zeus, having sworn by the Stygian stream to grant her request, struck Semele with a thunderbolt to ensure the child would be born of two immortals.^9,12,13

Zeus rescued her unborn child from the fire and sewed it into his thigh.¹¹ A log from heaven fell into her bridal chamber along with a thunderbolt, and the remnants of her house were said to be still smouldering with Zeus' fire.^14,15 Polydorus decorated this fallen log with bronze and named it Dionysus Cadmus, while a tomb for Semele was located near the palace of Pentheus.^15,16,14

Semele's sisters falsely claimed she conceived a child from a mortal father and accused Zeus of killing her because she told a false tale.^11,15 Dionysus, the third Dionysus born from the union of Zeus and Semele, later descended to the underworld to retrieve his mother.^{17,18,5,19,20} Palymnus is said to have shown Dionysus the path down to the underworld, and Dionysus covered the shrine of Semele with vine leaves.^20,15

Despite her death, Semele continues to live among the Olympians, a status that marks her as a god in some traditions.^4,21 She is cherished exceedingly by Zeus and constantly cherished by Pallas, and she is invited to enter the holy place of the golden tripods.^7,4 Dionysus appears as a divinity to plead the case of his mother, and a representation of her bedchamber was displayed on a table during a procession.^15,22 Semele is also known by the name Thyone and is described as bright-filleted, a tragic poet in some accounts.^{23,6,24,25,26}