SEMELE

also called Thyone, in Greek mythology, a daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia, at Thebes, and mother of Dionysus (Bacchus) by Zeus. Semele's liaison with Zeus enraged Zeus's wife, Hera, who, disguised as an old nurse, coaxed Semele into asking Zeus to visit her in the same splendour in which he would appear before Hera. Zeus 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 (q.v.), from the womb. According to some versions of the story, Dionysus, himself immortal, descended into Hades after reaching maturity and brought Semele back, and she too became an immortal or even a goddess.