Semele/Definition

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Semele [r]: From Greek mythology, she was a Theban princess and mother of Dionysos who was tricked by the wife of Zeus, named Hera, into making Zeus show himself naked or in his "full glory". When Zeus exposed himself, Semele was incinerated instantly, but Zeus rescued her embryonic son Dionysos and placed him into his thigh. As a result, Dionysos was born immortal, according to Elizabeth Vandiver, Classics scholar and authority on Greek mythology and Greek tragedy including the Iliad, Odyssey, Aeneid, Homer, and Virgil. This definition is based on her course Classical Mythology from The Teaching Company.