What is the story of Semele and Zeus?
Semele (Σεμέλη) was a mortal born girl who was impregnated by Zeus and was made immortal by her son who was turned immortal by his father. Zeus, the king of Olympus, fell in love with Semele, a daughter of Harmonia. He came down to earth and she became pregnant with his child.
How did Zeus save Semele and Dionysus?
Zeus managed to save the unborn baby by sewing it inside his thigh; a few months later, god Dionysus was born, who managed to save his mother from the Underworld and brought her to Mount Olympus, where she became the goddess Thyone. Who was Semele? Semele was a princess of Thebes in Greek mythology, daughter of the hero Cadmus and Harmonia.
What does Semele mean in Greek mythology?
Semele ( / ˈsɛmɪli /; Greek: Σεμέλη Semelē ), in Greek mythology, was the youngest daughter of the Phoenician hero Cadmus and Harmonia, and the mother of Dionysus by Zeus in one of his many origin myths. Certain elements of the cult of Dionysus and Semele came from the Phrygians.
Who were the sons of Zeus in the Bible?
Some of his sons were Olympians themselves, such as Ares, Apollo, Hermes, and Dionysus, while others were half-human, such as Hercules and Perseus. 1 Who Were the Sons of Zeus? Who Were the Sons of Zeus? Apollo, the god of light, poetry, healing, and music, was the son of Zeus and the Titaness Leto.
Who is the child of Zeus and Semele?
DionysusZeus had already promised to grant Semele her every wish and thus was forced to grant a wish that would kill her: the splendour of his firebolts, as god of thunder, destroyed Semele. Zeus saved their unborn child, Dionysus, from the womb and kept him in his thigh until the baby was ready to be born.
Who is Semele son?
DionysusAmong the Thebans, rumors — planted by Hera — persisted that Zeus had not been his father. Instead, Dionysus was the entirely mortal son of Semele and a mortal man.
Who is the real son of Zeus?
1. Apollo: Zeus' Best-Known Son. Of all the sons Zeus fathered, Apollo is perhaps the best known. Apollo was conceived during an illicit affair between Zeus and Leto (Zeus was married to Hera at the time), along with a twin sister named Artemis.
Who were Zeus twin children?
Castor and Pollux (the Dioscuri) are figures from Greek and Roman mythology considered the twin sons of Zeus or Jupiter. Semi-divine figures, they were credited with the role of saving those in trouble at sea or in grave danger in war and were particularly associated with horses and sports.
Who is the favorite child of Zeus?
Athena is also the favorite child of Zeus, being allowed to carry his Aegis, or armor, into battle.
Who did Zeus get pregnant?
Leto is mostly famous because of her relationship with Zeus, which resulted in giving birth to two divine children, who would later be considered amongst the twelve Olympian gods, Artemis and Apollo. Everything started when Hera found out that Leto was pregnant by her husband, Zeus.
How many sons of Zeus are there?
But even that trusted source doesn't have them all. In total, Zeus is believed to have fathered more than 50 children! That's not unheard of in ancient Greek mythology.
Who is Zeus demigod son?
Zeus has many children, Demigod and Godly. Some of his children are Apollo. Athena, Persephone, Ares, Hephaestus, Hermes, Henry, Hercules, Perceus and Hebe. Hebe and Hephaestus are the only children Zeus and Hera had, the rest are illegitimate.
Who was Zeus first child?
In some versions of Greek mythology, Zeus ate his wife Metis because it was known that their second child would be more powerful than him. After Metis's demise, their first child Athena was born when Hephaestus cleaved Zeus's head open and the goddess of war emerged, fully grown and armed.
How many demigod children does Zeus?
Accounts Vary, But Some Estimate Zeus Might Have Had Around 92 Different Children. As with many Greek characters, different stories over the centuries give varying accounts on Zeus's life.
Is Kratos son of Zeus?
Kratos is eventually revealed to be a demigod and the son of Zeus, who later betrays him.
Why did Zeus marry his sister?
Why is Zeus married to his sister? To hide her shame, Hera agreed to marry him. It was a violent marriage at best. Though Zeus had pursued his sister and sought to possess her by marriage, he never gave up his lusty ways.
Apollo
Apollo, the god of light, poetry, healing, and music, was the son of Zeus and the Titaness Leto. He was also the twin brother of the goddess Artemis.
Hermes
The messenger of the gods and one of Zeus’ favorite sons was born in secret. Herme´s mother was the nymph Maia, who Zeus managed to visit frequently while keeping it a secret from both his wife and the other gods so that no one knew when she gave birth to him.
Dionysus
Dionysus was the son of Zeus and Semele, the daughter of Cadmus, the first king of Thebes. Due to her jealousy, Hera planted seeds of doubt in Semele’s mind. She, then, demanded from Zeus to prove that he was indeed a god. Zeus acted thus since he had taken a sacred oath to make Semele’s every wish come true.
Ares
Ares was the god of war, violence, and destruction. He was the son of Zeus and Hera, and thus its birth was normal and inside the context of acceptable behavior for Zeus. However, in some myths, Hera had Ares without the help of Zeus by using a magical herb.
Hercules
Undoubtedly, Hercules is the most famous hero of ancient Greek mythology. He was the son of the affair Zeus had with Alcmene, a mortal woman. Zeus managed to trick her by disguising himself as her husband, Amphitryon, who returned home early from war.
Perseus
Perseus was the legendary founder of Mycenae and the Persian dynasty. He was the son of Zeus and Danae, the daughter of Acrisius, king of Argos.
The Lines of Kings
Not all of Zeus’s sons, however, were heroes or gods. Several sons of the ruler of the skies were mortals who managed to become kings and the ancestors of entire nations. Virtually every city and region in Greece could trace its ruling heritage back to the king of the gods.
2. Hermes
Another of Zeus’s most famous sons is Hermes, who became messenger of the gods and carrier of the dead to Hades. Hermes’ mother was a mountain nymph named Maia, and she gave birth to Hermes alone in a mountain cave.
5. Hercules
Another famous son of Zeus is the great hero Hercules, who we might all know as the iconic totem of masculinity and power. He was born a demigod, as his mother was the mortal woman Alcmene. Even from infancy Hercules showed great promise, strangling two snakes sent to his cradle by Zeus’s jealous wife Hera.
6. Perseus
This next son of Zeus, named Perseus, is best known as the demigod who slayed Medusa, and used her severed head as a weapon. Perseus’s mother was Danae, Princess of Argos.
Who was Semele in the myth?
In one version of the myth, Semele was a priestess of Zeus, and on one occasion was observed by Zeus as she slaughtered a bull at his altar and afterwards swam in the river Asopus to cleanse herself of the blood.
Where did the myth of Semele originate?
Since an Oriental inscribed cylindrical seal found at the palace can be dated 14th-13th centuries, the myth of Semele must be Mycenaean or earlier in origin. At the Alcyonian Lake near the prehistoric site of Lerna, Dionysus, guided by Prosymnus or Polymnus, descended to Tartarus to free his once-mortal mother.
What did Hera ask Zeus to grant Semele?
Hera pretended not to believe her, and planted seeds of doubt in Semele's mind. Curious, Semele asked Zeus to grant her a boon. Zeus, eager to please his beloved, promised on the River Styx to grant her anything she wanted. She then demanded that Zeus reveal himself in all his glory as proof of his divinity.
How long did Semele live?
Herodotus, who gives the account of Cadmus, estimates that Semele lived 1,600 years before his time, or around 2000 BC. In Rome, the goddess Stimula was identified as Semele.
What is the meaning of the word "seme"?
Etymological connections of " Thraco-Phrygian " Semele with Balto-Slavic earth deities have been noted, since an alternate name for Baltic Zemyna is Žemelė, and in Slavic languages, the word "seme" (Semele) means "seed", and "zemlja" (Zemele) means "earth". Thus, according to Borissoff, "she could be an important link bridging ...
What does the name Semele mean?
According to some linguists the name "Semele" is Thraco - Phrygian, derived from a PIE root meaning "earth" ( * Dʰéǵʰōm ). Julius Pokorny reconstructs her name from the PIE root *dgem- meaning "earth" and relates it with Thracian Zemele, " mother earth ". However, Burkert says that while Semele is "manifestly non-Greek", he also says that "it is no more possible to confirm that Semele is a Thraco-Phrygian word for earth than it is to prove the priority of the Lydian baki - over Bacchus as a name for Dionysos ".
Where is the palace of Semele?
The most usual setting for the story of Semele is the palace that occupied the acropolis of Thebes, called the Cadmeia. When Pausanias visited Thebes in the 2nd century CE, he was shown the very bridal chamber where Zeus visited her and begat Dionysus. Since an Oriental inscribed cylindrical seal found at the palace can be dated 14th-13th centuries, the myth of Semele must be Mycenaean or earlier in origin. At the Alcyonian Lake near the prehistoric site of Lerna, Dionysus, guided by Prosymnus or Polymnus, descended to Tartarus to free his once-mortal mother. Annual rites took place there in classical times; Pausanias refuses to describe them.
The Classic Myth of Semele
In the classic myth, Semele was the princess of Thebes and a priestess of Zeus, the king of the Olympic Pantheon. One day, when Semele sacrificed a bull to Zeus, the head god became infatuated with her.
Other Versions of the Myth of Semele
An alternate version of the myth of Semele can be found in the Fabulae, a collection of myths dating back to the time of the Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus and written by Latin author Gaius Julius Hyginus. In Fabulae, Hyginus writes that the true parents of Dionysus were Jupiter and Proserpina.
The Continued Legacy of Semele
As Semele’s myth spread, more and more people came to devote themselves to her. Worship of Semele became so expansive in Ancient Greece that rites to her were even performed at the Lenaia, an annual festival in Athens. During the ceremony, her cultists would sacrifice a young bull, which symbolized Dionysus, to her.
Semele Trivia
Semele was the daughter of Cadmus, a Greek hero and the first king of Thebes, and Harmonia, the goddess of concord.
Who is Semele in Greek mythology?
Semele was a princess of Thebes in Greek mythology, daughter of the hero Cadmus and Harmonia. She was the only mortal to become the parent of a god.
What did Hera do when Semele became pregnant?
When Semele became pregnant, Hera found out and jealous of her husband's affair, set out a plan to punish Semele. Hera appeared in a different form to Semele and they became friends; Semele later confided to the goddess about her affair with Zeus, but Hera made her doubt about it.
Who saved the baby from the Underworld?
Zeus managed to save the unborn baby by sewing it inside his thigh; a few months later, god Dionysus was born, who managed to save his mother from the Underworld and brought her to Mount Olympus, where she became the goddess Thyone. See Also: Zeus, Hera, Dionysus.
Myth
Zeus, the king of Olympus, fell in love with Semele, a daughter of Harmonia. He came down to earth and she became pregnant with his child. When the child was born he was named Dionysus and he was born a mortal. After Dionysus grew up he invented wine and Zeus granted him with immortality.
Sphere of Control
Semele was the goddess of the inspired frenzy. This frenzy got to the female supporters of Dionysus, who went mad and did crazy things like slaughter animals and wreak havoc among nature.
Overview
Notes
1. ^ Although Dionysus is called the son of Zeus (see The cult of Dionysus : legends and practice Archived 2007-10-11 at the Wayback Machine, Dionysus, Greek god of wine & festivity, The Olympian Gods Archived 2007-10-02 at the Wayback Machine, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2007, etc.), Barbara Walker, in The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets, (Harper/Collins, 1983) calls Semele the "Virgi…
Etymology
According to some linguists the name Semele is Thraco-Phrygian, derived from a PIE root meaning 'earth' (*Dʰéǵʰōm). Julius Pokorny reconstructs her name from the PIE root *dgem- meaning 'earth' and relates it with Thracian Zemele, 'mother earth'. However, Burkert says that while Semele is "manifestly non-Greek", he also says that "it is no more possible to confirm that Semele is a Thraco-Phrygian word for earth than it is to prove the priority of the Lydian baki- over Bacchus as …
Mythology
In one version of the myth, Semele was a priestess of Zeus, and on one occasion was observed by Zeus as she slaughtered a bull at his altar and afterwards swam in the river Asopus to cleanse herself of the blood. Flying over the scene in the guise of an eagle, Zeus fell in love with Semele and repeatedly visited her secretly.
Zeus' wife, Hera, a goddess jealous of usurpers, discovered his affair with Semele when she late…
Locations
The most usual setting for the story of Semele is the palace that occupied the acropolis of Thebes, called the Cadmeia. When Pausanias visited Thebes in the 2nd century CE, he was shown the very bridal chamber where Zeus visited her and begat Dionysus. Since an Oriental inscribed cylindrical seal found at the palace can be dated 14th-13th centuries, the myth of Semele must be Mycenae…
In Etruscan culture
Semele is attested with the Etruscan name form Semla, depicted on the back of a bronze mirror from the fourth century BC.
In Roman culture
In ancient Rome, a grove (lucus) near Ostia, situated between the Aventine Hill and the mouth of the Tiber River, was dedicated to a goddess named Stimula. W.H. Roscher includes the name Stimula among the indigitamenta, the lists of Roman deities maintained by priests to assure that the correct divinity was invoked in public rituals. In his poem on the Roman calendar, Ovid (d. 17 CE) ide…
In the classical tradition
In the later mythological tradition of the Christian era, ancient deities and their narratives were often interpreted allegorically. In the Neoplatonic philosophy of Henry More (1614–1687), for instance, Semele was thought to embody "intellectual imagination", and was construed as the opposite of Arachne, "sense perception".
In the 18th century, the story of Semele formed the basis for three operas of the same name, the f…