Semele

Semele, in Greek mythology, the daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia, king and queen of Thebes, and the mother of the god Dionysus. Hera, the jealous wife of Zeus, realizing that her husband was madly in love with the Theban princess, tricked Semele into asking to see Zeus in his majesty. Bound by an oath, Zeus appeared before the unfortunate woman in all his divine glory. As Semele gazed at him, she was consumed by the lightning bolts that radiated from him. Zeus was able to rescue her unborn child, Dionysus, from the ashes, however, and he hid the foetus in his side until it was time for it to be born. Later the young god rescued Semele from the underworld and brought her to Olympus.