In Greek mythology , the son of Zeus and his daughter Persephone .
Zeus intended to make Zagreus his heir and bestow on him unlimited power, but a jealous Hera urged the Titans to attack the child. They tore Zagreus to pieces and consumed all but his heart, which Athena managed to save and bring to Zeus, who swallowed it. Zeus then begot a son with Semele , and this child, made from the heart of Zagreus, was Dionysus .