Skip to main content

Alcmene

Alcmene
Alcmene was the wife of Amphitryon in Greek mythology. The couple had two children, Iphicles and Laonome; however, she was mainly known for being the mother of the demigod hero Heracles by the god Zeus. She was the daughter of Electryon and either Anaxo, Lysidice or Eurydice. Her husband Amphitryon killed her father accidentally, and she followed him to Thebes, where he was purified by the king of the city, Creon. When Amphitryon went on an expedition against the Taphians and Teleboans, Zeus, disguised as Amphitryon, appeared in front of Alcmene and slept with her. The next day, the real Amphitryon returned , only to hear from his wife that she had seen him the night before and slept with him. The seer Tiresias then told them what had happened.
The union of Zeus and Alcmene resulted in her being pregnant to Heracles. When the demigod was about to be born, Zeus announced to all Olympians that a child would be born on that day that would rule all those near him. After Hera made Zeus swear an oath that this would indeed happen, she went to the wife of Sthenelus and forced her to give birth to the baby Eurystheus, even though she was only seven months into her pregnancy. The goddess then prevented Alcmene from giving birth to Heracles until the next day.
There are two versions of how Alcmene died. According to the first, she was on her way from Argos to Thebes, and died in Megara. The descendants of Heracles then quarreled about where to bury her, some insisting to take her body to Argos, and the others to Thebes in order to be buried with Amphitryon. In the end, the oracle of Delphi was consnulted and said that she should be buried in Megara. The other version has it that when she died, she turned to stone.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Gorgon

In Greek mythology, a Gorgon  is a mythical creature portrayed in ancient Greek literature. While descriptions of Gorgons vary across Greek literature and occur in the earliest examples of Greek literature, the term commonly refers to any of three sisters who had hair made of living, venomous snakes, as well as a horrifying visage that turned those who beheld her to stone. Traditionally, while two of the Gorgons were immortal, Stheno and Euryale, their sister Medusa was not and she was slain by the demigod and hero Perseus. The large Gorgon eyes, as well as Athena 's "flashing" eyes, are symbols termed "the divine eyes" by Gimbutas (who did not originate the perception); they appear also in Athena's sacred bird, the owl. They may be represented by spirals, wheels, concentric circles, swastikas, firewheels, and other images. Anyone who would gaze into their eyes would be turned to stone instantly. Essential Reads: Engaging Books You Can't Miss...

Scylla And Nisus

MINOS was the first king to control the Mediterranean Sea, which he cleared of pirates, and in Crete ruled over ninety cities. When the Athenians had murdered his son Androgeus, he decided to take vengeance on them, and sailed around the Aegean collecting ships and armed levies. Some islanders agreed to help him, some refused. Siphnos yielded to him by the Princess Arne, whom he bribed with gold; the gods changed her into a jackdaw which loves gold and all things that glitter. He made an alliance with the people of Anaphe, but rebuffed by King Aeacus of Aegina and departed, swearing revenge. Aeacus then answered an appeal from Cephalus to join the Athenians against Minos . b. Meanwhile, Minos was partying the Isthmus of Corinth. He laid siege to Nisa, ruled by Nisus the Egyptian, who had a daughter name Scylla. A tower stood in the city, built by Apollo [and Poseidon ?], an at its foot lay a musical stone which, if pebbles were dropped upon from above, rang like a lyre-because Ap...

Sisyphus

SISYPHUS, son of Aeolus, married Atlas ’s daughter Merope, the Pleiad, who bore him Glaucus , Ornytion , and Sinon, and owned a fine herd of cattle on the Isthmus of Corinth. b. Near him lived Autolycus , son of Chione , whose twin-brother Philammon was begotten by Apollo , though Autolycus himself claimed Hermes as his father. c. Now, Autolycus was a past master in theft, Hermes having given him the power of metamorphosing whatever beasts he stole, from horned to unhorned, or from black to white, and contrariwise. Thus although Sisyphus noticed that his own herds grew steadily smaller while those of Autolycus increased, he was unable at first to accuse him of theft; and therefore, one day, engraved the inside of all his cattle’s hooves with the monogram SS or, some say, with the words ‘Stolen by Autolycus’. That night Autolycus helped himself as usually and at dawn hoof-prints along the road provided Sisyphus with sufficient evidence to summon neighbours in witness of the th...