Semele
Semele (/ˈsɛmɪli/; Ancient Greek: Σεμέλη Semelê), or Thyone (/ˈθaɪəni/; Ancient Greek: Θυώνη Thyônê) in Greek mythology, was the youngest daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia, and the mother of Dionysus by Zeus in one of his many origin myths.
| Semele | |
|---|---|
Princess of Thebes Goddess of the Bacchic frenzy | |
| Member of the Theban Royal Family | |
| Other names | Thyone |
| Abode | Thebes, Mount Olympus |
| Personal information | |
| Parents | Cadmus and Harmonia |
| Siblings | Autonoë, Agave, Ino and Polydorus |
| Consort | Zeus |
| Children | Dionysus |
Certain elements of the cult of Dionysus and Semele came from the Phrygians. These were modified, expanded, and elaborated by the Ionian Greek invaders and colonists. Doric Greek historian Herodotus (c. 484–425 BC), born in the city of Halicarnassus under the Achaemenid Empire, who gives the account of Cadmus, estimates that Semele lived either 1,000 or 1,600 years prior to his visit to Tyre in 450 BC at the end of the Greco-Persian Wars (499–449 BC) or around 2050 or 1450 BC. In Rome, the goddess Stimula was identified as Semele.