Semele
in classical mythology, a daughter of Cadmus by Hermione. She was beloved by Jupiter; but Juno, determining to punish her rival, visited the house of Semele in the guise of her nurse, and persuaded her to entreat her lover to come to her with the same majesty as he approached Juno. Jupiter had sworn by by the Styx to grant Semele whatever she required; he therefore came attended by the clouds, the lightning, and thunder-bolts. Semele, unable to endure so much majesty, was instantly consumed by fire. Her child was, however, saved from the flames by Mercury. This child was called Bacchus, or Dionysius.