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In Greek mythology, Alcmene () or Alcmena (; Ancient Greek: Ἀλκμήνη or Doric Greek: Ἀλκμάνα, Latin: Alcumena means "strong in wrath") was the wife of
Amphitryon Amphitryon (; Ancient Greek: Ἀμφιτρύων, ''gen''.: Ἀμφιτρύωνος; usually interpreted as "harassing either side", Latin: Amphitruo), in Greek mythology, was a son of Alcaeus, king of Tiryns in Argolis. His mother was named e ...
by whom she bore two children,
Iphicles In Greek mythology, Iphicles ( or ; grc, Ἰφικλῆς ''Iphikles''), also called Iphiclus, was the maternal half-brother of Heracles and one of the Calydonian boar hunters. Family Iphicles was the son of Alcmene and her human husband Am ...
and Laonome. She is best known as the mother of Heracles, whose father was the god Zeus. Alcmene was also referred to as Electryone (Ἠλεκτρυώνη), a patronymic name as a daughter of
Electryon In Greek mythology, Electryon (; Ancient Greek: Ἠλεκτρύων) was a king of Tiryns and Mycenae or Medea in Argolis. Family Electryon was the son of Perseus and Andromeda and thus brother of Perses, Alcaeus, Heleus, Mestor, Sthenelu ...
.


Mythology


Background

According to the '' Bibliotheca'', Alcmene was born to
Electryon In Greek mythology, Electryon (; Ancient Greek: Ἠλεκτρύων) was a king of Tiryns and Mycenae or Medea in Argolis. Family Electryon was the son of Perseus and Andromeda and thus brother of Perses, Alcaeus, Heleus, Mestor, Sthenelu ...
, the son of
Perseus In Greek mythology, Perseus ( /ˈpɜːrsiəs, -sjuːs/; Greek: Περσεύς, translit. Perseús) is the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Perseid dynasty. He was, alongside Cadmus and Bellerophon, the greatest Greek hero and slayer of ...
and Andromeda, and king of Tiryns and Mycenae or Medea in
Argolis Argolis or Argolida ( el, Αργολίδα , ; , in ancient Greek and Katharevousa) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Peloponnese, situated in the eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula and part of the tri ...
. Her mother was
Anaxo In Greek mythology, Anaxo ( or ; Ancient Greek: Ἀναξώ), is the name that may refer to: * Anaxo, daughter of Alcaeus, a son of Perseus. * Anaxo, a girl from Troezen. She was abducted by Theseus.Plutarch, ''Theseus'' 29; Athenaeus, 13.4 No ...
, daughter of Alcaeus and
Astydamia ''Astydamia'' is a genus of flowering plant in the Apiaceae, with 2 species. It is endemic to Northwest Africa. It is found on the Canary Islands, Mauritania, Morocco, the Savage Islands and in the Western Sahara. The genus name of ''Astydamia ...
.
Apollodorus Apollodorus (Greek: Ἀπολλόδωρος ''Apollodoros'') was a popular name in ancient Greece. It is the masculine gender of a noun compounded from Apollo, the deity, and doron, "gift"; that is, "Gift of Apollo." It may refer to: :''Note: A f ...

2.4.5
/ref> Other accounts say her mother was Lysidice, the daughter of
Pelops In Greek mythology, Pelops (; ) was king of Pisa in the Peloponnesus region (, lit. "Pelops' Island"). He was the son of Tantalus and the father of Atreus. He was venerated at Olympia, where his cult developed into the founding myth of the Ol ...
and
Hippodameia Hippodamia (, ; also Hippodamea and Hippodameia; Ancient Greek: Ἱπποδάμεια "she who masters horses" derived from ''hippos'' "horse" and ''damazein'' "to tame") was a Greek mythological figure. She was the queen of Pisa as the wife ...
, Plutarch, ''
Lives Lives may refer to: * The plural form of a ''life'' * Lives, Iran, a village in Khuzestan Province, Iran * The number of lives in a video game * ''Parallel Lives'', aka ''Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans'', a series of biographies of famous ...
'' Theseu
7.1
/ref> or
Eurydice Eurydice (; Ancient Greek: Εὐρυδίκη 'wide justice') was a character in Greek mythology and the Auloniad wife of Orpheus, who tried to bring her back from the dead with his enchanting music. Etymology Several meanings for the na ...
, the daughter of
Pelops In Greek mythology, Pelops (; ) was king of Pisa in the Peloponnesus region (, lit. "Pelops' Island"). He was the son of Tantalus and the father of Atreus. He was venerated at Olympia, where his cult developed into the founding myth of the Ol ...
. According to
Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to: * Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium'' *Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC * Pausanias of Sicily, physician of ...
, the poet Asius made Alcmene the daughter of
Amphiaraus In Greek mythology, Amphiaraus or Amphiaraos (; Ancient Greek: Ἀμφιάραος, Ἀμφιάρεως, "very sacred") was the son of Oicles, a seer, and one of the leaders of the Seven against Thebes. Amphiaraus at first refused to go with A ...
and
Eriphyle Eriphyle ( Ancient Greek: Ἐριφύλη ''Eriphȳla'') was a figure in Greek mythology who, in exchange for the necklace of Harmonia (also called the necklace of Eriphyle) given to her by Polynices, persuaded her husband Amphiaraus to join t ...
. Hesiod describes Alcmene as the tallest, most beautiful woman with wisdom surpassed by no person born of mortal parents. It is said that her face and dark eyes were as charming as
Aphrodite Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols include ...
's, and that she honoured her husband like no woman before her.Hesiod, ''Shield of Heracles'
1 ff.
/ref>


Exile to Thebes

According to the '' Bibliotheca'', Alcmene went with
Amphitryon Amphitryon (; Ancient Greek: Ἀμφιτρύων, ''gen''.: Ἀμφιτρύωνος; usually interpreted as "harassing either side", Latin: Amphitruo), in Greek mythology, was a son of Alcaeus, king of Tiryns in Argolis. His mother was named e ...
to Thebes, where he was purified by Creon for accidentally killing
Electryon In Greek mythology, Electryon (; Ancient Greek: Ἠλεκτρύων) was a king of Tiryns and Mycenae or Medea in Argolis. Family Electryon was the son of Perseus and Andromeda and thus brother of Perses, Alcaeus, Heleus, Mestor, Sthenelu ...
. Alcmene refused to marry Amphitryon until he had avenged the death of her brothers.Apollodorus
2.4.6
/ref> During Amphitryon's expedition against the
Taphians In Homeric Greece, the islands of Taphos (Τάφος) lay in the Ionian Sea off the coast of Acarnania in northwestern Greece, home of seagoing and piratical inhabitants, the Taphians (Τάφιοι). Penelope mentions the Taphian sea-robbers whe ...
and
Teleboans In Greek mythology, the Teleboans ( grc, Τηλεβόαι, ''Tēlebóai'') were an Acarnanian tribe. They were said to descend from one Teleboas, a son of Pterelaus and brother of Taphius, the eponym of the Taphians.Scholia: ''Argonautica'' 1.74 ...
,Apollodorus
2.4.7
/ref> When Zeus desired to sleep with Alcmene, he made one night last longer extending it to three, by ordering Helios, the sun god, not to rise for three whole days. He then visited Alcmene disguised as Amphitryon. Zeus persuaded Alcmene that he was her husband. Thus Zeus slept with Alcmene, his great-granddaughter, thereby conceiving Heracles, while recounting Amphitryon's victories against the Teleboans. When Amphitryon finally returned to Thebes, Alcmene told him that he had come the night before and slept with her; he learned from Tiresias what Zeus had done.Apollodorus
2.4.8
/ref>


Birth of Heracles


Homer

In Homer's '' Iliad'', when Alcmene was about to give birth to Heracles, Zeus announced to all the gods that on that day a child by Zeus himself would be born and rule all those around him. Hera, after requesting Zeus to swear an oath to that effect, descended from Olympus to Argos and made the wife of
Sthenelus In Greek mythology, Sthenelus (; Ancient Greek: Σθένελος ''Sthénelos,'' "strong one" or "forcer", derived from "strength, might, force") was a name attributed to several different individuals: * Sthenelus, father of Cycnus and King of L ...
(son of Perseus) give birth to
Eurystheus In Greek mythology, Eurystheus (; grc-gre, Εὐρυσθεύς, , broad strength, ) was king of Tiryns, one of three Mycenaean strongholds in the Argolid, although other authors including Homer and Euripides cast him as ruler of Argos. Famil ...
after only seven months, while at the same time preventing Alcmene from delivering Heracles. This resulted in the fulfillment of Zeus's oath in that it was Eurystheus rather than Heracles. Homer, '' Iliad'
19.95 ff.
/ref>


Ovid

According to Ovid's ''
Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the w ...
'', while in labour, Alcmene was having great difficulty giving birth to such a large child. After seven days and nights of agony, Alcmene stretched out her arms and called upon Lucina, the goddess of childbirth (the
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...
equivalent of
Eileithyia Eileithyia or Ilithyiae or Ilithyia (; grc-gre, Εἰλείθυια; (''Eleuthyia'') in Crete, also (''Eleuthia'') or (''Elysia'') in Laconia and Messene, and (''Eleuthō'') in literature)Nilsson Vol I, p. 313 was the Greek goddess of ch ...
). While Lucina did go to Alcmene, she had been previously instructed by
Juno Juno commonly refers to: *Juno (mythology), the Roman goddess of marriage and queen of the gods * ''Juno'' (film), 2007 Juno may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters *Juno, in the film '' Jenny, Juno'' *Juno, in the ...
(Hera) to prevent the delivery. With her hands clasped and legs crossed, Lucina muttered charms, thereby preventing Alcmene from giving birth. Alcmene writhed in pain, cursed the heavens, and came close to death.
Galanthis In Greek mythology, Galanthis or Galinthias was the woman who interfered with Hera's plan to hinder the birth of Heracles in favor of Eurystheus, and was changed into a weasel or cat as punishment for being so insolent as to deceive the goddesses ...
, a maid of Alcmene who was nearby, observed Lucina's behaviour and quickly deduced that it was Juno's doing. To put an end to her mistress's suffering, she announced that Alcmene had safely delivered her child, which surprised Lucina so much that she immediately jumped up and unclenched her hands. As soon as Lucina leapt up, Alcmene was released from her spell, and gave birth to Heracles. As punishment for deceiving Lucina, Galanthis was transformed into a weasel; she continued to live with Alcmene. Ovid, ''
Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the w ...
''
9.273 ff.
/ref>


Pausanias

In Pausanias' recounting, Hera sent witches (as they were called by the Thebans) to hinder Alcmene's delivery of Heracles. The witches were successful in preventing the birth until Historis, daughter of Tiresias, thought of a trick to deceive the witches. Like Galanthis, Historis announced that Alcmene had delivered her child; having been deceived, the witches went away, allowing Alcmene to give birth.Pausanias
9.11.3
/ref>


Plautus

In contrast to the depictions of a difficult labor above, an alternative version is presented in ''
Amphitryon Amphitryon (; Ancient Greek: Ἀμφιτρύων, ''gen''.: Ἀμφιτρύωνος; usually interpreted as "harassing either side", Latin: Amphitruo), in Greek mythology, was a son of Alcaeus, king of Tiryns in Argolis. His mother was named e ...
'', a comedic play by Plautus. Here Alcmene calls upon Jupiter, who performs a miracle allowing her to give birth quickly and without pain. After a crash of thunder and light, the baby arrives without anyone's assistance. Plautus, ''Amphitryon'
"The Subject"
/ref>


Death

After the death of Amphitryon, Alcmene married
Rhadamanthys In Greek mythology, Rhadamanthus () or Rhadamanthys ( grc, Ῥαδάμανθυς) was a wise king of Crete. As the son of Zeus and Europa he was considered a demigod. His name means "showing stern and inflexible judgement". He later became one ...
, son of Zeus, and lived with him in exile at Ocaleae in
Boeotia Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia ( el, Βοιωτία; modern: ; ancient: ), formerly known as Cadmeis, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and it ...
.Apollodorus
2.4.11
/ref> It is said that after Heracles was
apotheosis Apotheosis (, ), also called divinization or deification (), is the glorification of a subject to divine levels and, commonly, the treatment of a human being, any other living thing, or an abstract idea in the likeness of a deity. The term h ...
ed, Hyllus, having pursued and killed
Eurystheus In Greek mythology, Eurystheus (; grc-gre, Εὐρυσθεύς, , broad strength, ) was king of Tiryns, one of three Mycenaean strongholds in the Argolid, although other authors including Homer and Euripides cast him as ruler of Argos. Famil ...
, cut off Eurystheus' head and gave it to Alcmene, who gouged out the eyes with weaving pins.Apollodorus
2.8.1
/ref> In
Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the w ...
, an aging Alcmene recounted the story of the birth of Heracles to
Iole In Greek mythology, Iole (; grc, Ἰόλη ) was the daughter of King Eurytus of Oechalia. According to the brief epitome in the '' Bibliotheca'', Eurytus had a beautiful young daughter named Iole who was eligible for marriage. Iole was claimed ...
. There are two accounts of Alcmene's death. In the first, according to the Megarians, Alcmene was walking from Argos to Thebes when she died at Megara. The
Heracleidae The Heracleidae (; grc, Ἡρακλεῖδαι) or Heraclids were the numerous descendants of Heracles (Hercules), especially applied in a narrower sense to the descendants of Hyllus, the eldest of his four sons by Deianira (Hyllus was also ...
fell into disagreement about where to take Alcmene's body, with some wishing to take her corpse back to Argos, and others wishing to take it to Thebes to be buried with Amphitryon and Heracles' children by Megara. However, the god in Delphi gave the Heracleidae an oracle that it was better to bury Alcmene in Megara.Pausanias
1.41.1
/ref> In the second account given by the Thebans, when Alcmene died, she was turned from human form to a stone.Pausanias
9.16.7
/ref> Pausanias indicated that an altar to Alcmene had been built in the
Cynosarges Cynosarges ( grc-gre, Κυνόσαργες ''Kynosarges'') was a famous temple of Heracles, public gymnasium, and surrounding grove located just outside the walls of Ancient Athens on the southern bank of the Ilissos river and near the Diomeian ga ...
in Athens, alongside altars to Heracles, Hebe, and Iolaus.Pausanias
1.19.3
/ref> Pausanias also said that Alcmene's tomb is located near the Olympieum at Megara.


Notes


References

*
Apollodorus Apollodorus (Greek: Ἀπολλόδωρος ''Apollodoros'') was a popular name in ancient Greece. It is the masculine gender of a noun compounded from Apollo, the deity, and doron, "gift"; that is, "Gift of Apollo." It may refer to: :''Note: A f ...
. ''Apollodorus, The Library, with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes''. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. * Diodorus Siculus, ''The Library of History'', Oldfather, C. H. (Translator) (1935). Library of History: Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, Massachusetts.: Harvard University Press. * Hesiod. ''The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White''. "Shield of Heracles". Cambridge, Massachusetts.,Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. * Homer. ''The Iliad with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, Ph.D. in two volumes''. Cambridge, Massachusetts., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924. * Ovid. ''
Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the w ...
''. Arthur Golding. London. W. Seres. 1567. *
Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to: * Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium'' *Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC * Pausanias of Sicily, physician of ...
. ''Pausanias Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes''. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918. * Plutarch. ''Plutarch's Lives with an English Translation by Bernadotte Perrin''. Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard University Press. London. William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. * Plautus. ''The Comedies of Plautus''.
Henry Thomas Riley Henry Thomas Riley (June 1816 – 14 April 1878) was an English translator, lexicographer, and antiquary. Life Born in June 1816, he was only son of Henry Riley of Southwark, an ironmonger. He was educated at Chatham House, Ramsgate, and at Char ...
. London. G. Bell and Sons. 1912. * Smith, William; '' Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', London (1873)
"Alcmene"
{{Authority control Mortal women of Zeus Princesses in Greek mythology Perseid dynasty Mythology of Argos Mythology of Heracles Metamorphoses characters Mythological rape victims Characters in Greek mythology Helios in mythology Deeds of Hera