Semele is the ancient Greek goddess of Bacchic frenzy. Born a mortal, she is best known for being the mother of Dionysus, the Olympian god of the vine, wine, ritual madness, drunkenness, parties and theatre by Zeus, the King of the Gods.
Genealogy and Family[]
Semele was originally a mortal, being born as one of the four daughters and six children (according to most accounts) of King Cadmus of Thebes and his wife, Queen Harmonia, the goddess of harmony. Her siblings were Autonoe, Agave, Ino, Polydorus and Illyrius, in some accounts she had even more siblings.
With Zeus, she had a son- Dionysus, who would become the only member of The Twelve Olympians born from a mortal mother.
On her mother's side she is the granddaughter of Aphrodite and Ares.
Story[]
Semele was a beautiful unmarried princess, when she was seduced by Zeus, the King of the Gods who had disguised himself as a mortal, the two partnered together in an adulterous affair, which infuriated Hera, especially when Semele became pregnant by Zeus. Hera out of jealousy and vengeance made a plan to kill Semele by Zeus and disguised herself as an elderly female servant in order to get close to Semele and talk to her, she told Semele that her lover, (Zeus) could be lying about his identity as a God and should to make sure ask him to show her his true form, to validate his claims. After Semele begged Zeus to show her his true form so she could be convinced of him really being Zeus- he gave in and shifted to his true form, because of her insistence and persistence- this was a tragic result and caused Semele to be struck dead- as no mortal could look at Zeus' true form and survive. Upon seeing her lifeless body, Zeus performed a caesarean section on Semele to take out their child from her womb and implanted the foetus into his thigh- sometime later Dionysus would be born from his thigh. Dionysus had a particularly difficult childhood- his life constantly being threatened by Hera, but he eventually was able to live without fear on Mount Olympus.
Dionysus later went to the Underworld to bring his late mother, Semele and late wife, Ariadne back to the living world, where they were made into goddesses who live with him.
Role and Significance[]
Semele was once a mortal woman and princess of Thebes, who became the goddess of the Bacchic frenzy which seized female devotees of Dionysus during the Orgies in his honour.
Appearance[]
As a mortal woman, she had beauty rivalling a goddess, to have been courted by Zeus and since becoming a goddess has maintained her looks, also being bestowed with eternal youth.
Personality[]
Semele is now quiet, ever since the lightning bolt affected her.
Skills and Abilities[]
Semele as a mortal, lacked in any superhuman powers or abilities, being a defenceless mortal without higher wisdom (like that of the gods) she was an easy target for Hera's vengeance, who caused her death with her cunning plot and words.
As a goddess she presumably gained eternal youth and immortality and immunity to tiredness, illness, old age and death like many other deities.
Relationships[]
Zeus- After becoming attracted to her and starting their relationship, Zeus fell in love with Semele. The two slept together and Semele became pregnant with their son, Dionysus but their life together was cut short by Hera, who made Semele question his identity.
Dionysus- Dionysus is Semele's out of wedlock loyal son by Zeus. He travelled to the underworld to bring his mother back to the living world- where she was instated as a goddess, proving his love to Semele.
Trivia[]
Semele's official Greek name is Σεμελη it means 'mother of the earth'.
She was also called Thyone, spelt Θυωνη in Greek, which means 'inspire frenzy', a name associated with her and her son's abilities.
Semele's mortal sister, Ino was also turned into a goddess.