Semele

Semele (/ˈsɛmɪli/; Greek: Σεμέλη Semelē), in Greek mythology, was the youngest daughter of the Phoenician hero Cadmus and Harmonia, and the mother[1] of Dionysus by Zeus in one of his many origin myths.

Certain elements of the cult of Dionysus and Semele came from the Phrygians.[2] These were modified, expanded, and elaborated by the Ionian Greek invaders and colonists. Herodotus, who gives the account of Cadmus, estimates that Semele lived 1,600 years before his time, or around 2000 BC.[3] In Rome, the goddess Stimula was identified as Semele.

According to some linguists the name “Semele” is Thraco-Phrygian,[4] derived from a PIE root meaning “earth” (*Dʰéǵʰōm).[5] Julius Pokorny reconstructs her name from the PIE root *dgem- meaning “earth” and relates it with Thracian Zemele, “mother earth”.[6][7][8][9] However, Burkert says that while Semele is “manifestly non-Greek”, he also says that “it is no more possible to confirm that Semele is a Thraco-Phrygian word for earth than it is to prove the priority of the Lydian baki- over Bacchus as a name for Dionysos”.[10]

Etymological connections of “Thraco-Phrygian” Semele with Balto-Slavic earth deities have been noted, since an alternate name for Baltic Zemyna is Žemelė,[11][12] and in Slavic languages, the word “seme” (Semele) means “seed”, and “zemlja” (Zemele) means “earth”.[13] Thus, according to Borissoff, “she could be an important link bridging the ancient Thracian and Slavonic cults (…)”.[14]

In one version of the myth, Semele was a priestess of Zeus, and on one occasion was observed by Zeus as she slaughtered a bull at his altar and afterwards swam in the river Asopus to cleanse herself of the blood. Flying over the scene in the guise of an eagle, Zeus fell in love with Semele and repeatedly visited her secretly.[15]

Zeus’ wife, Hera, a goddess jealous of usurpers, discovered his affair with Semele when she later became pregnant. Appearing as an old crone,[16] Hera befriended Semele, who confided in her that her lover was actually Zeus. Hera pretended not to believe her, and planted seeds of doubt in Semele’s mind. Curious, Semele asked Zeus to grant her a boon. Zeus, eager to please his beloved, promised on the River Styx to grant her anything she wanted. She then demanded that Zeus reveal himself in all his glory as proof of his divinity. Though Zeus begged her not to ask this, she persisted and he was forced by his oath to comply. Zeus tried to spare her by showing her the smallest of his bolts and the sparsest thunderstorm clouds he could find. Mortals, however, cannot look upon the gods without incinerating, and she perished, consumed in a lightning-ignited flame.[17]