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Semele

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Jupiter an Semele (1894-95), bi Gustave Moreau

Semele (/ˈsɛməli/; Greek: Σεμέλη Semelē), in Greek meethology, dauchter o the Boeotian hero Cadmus an Harmonia, wis the mortal mither[1] o Dionysus bi Zeus in ane o his mony origin myths.

References

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  1. Althou Dionysus is cried the son o 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 Archived 2013-10-17 at the Wayback Machine, The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2007, etc.), Barbara Walker, in The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets, (Harper/Collins, 1983) calls Semele the "Virgin Mother of Dionysus", a term that contradicts the picture given in the ancient sources: Hesiod Archived 2008-01-06 at the Wayback Machine calls him "Dionysus whom Cadmus' daughter Semele bare of union with Zeus", Euripides Archived 2008-07-24 at the Wayback Machine calls him son of Zeus, Ovid tells how his mother Semele, rather than Hera, was "to Jove's embrace preferred", Apollodorus says that "Zeus loved Semele and bedded with her".