Alcmene- Greek FigureMortal"Mother of Heracles"

Marriage to Amphitryon

Alcmene was a granddaughter of Perseus and daughter of Electryon, king of Mycenae. She was betrothed to her cousin Amphitryon but imposed a stern condition: he must first avenge the death of her brothers, killed in a cattle raid by the Taphians and Teleboans. Amphitryon departed on the campaign. He was still away when Zeus came to Alcmene's door.

The Deception by Zeus

Zeus, desiring Alcmene, assumed the exact form of Amphitryon and appeared at her door, claiming to have returned victorious from the campaign. To prolong their union, he commanded Helios to delay the sunrise, extending a single night to the length of three. Alcmene, believing she lay with her lawful husband, conceived Heracles by the king of the gods. When the real Amphitryon returned later that same night, he too lay with his wife, and Alcmene conceived a second son, Iphicles. Amphitryon, puzzled by Alcmene's lack of surprise at his homecoming, consulted the seer Tiresias, who revealed that Zeus himself had visited her.

The Birth of Heracles

Zeus announced to the assembled gods that on that day a child of his blood would be born who would rule over all those around him. Hera extracted an oath from Zeus binding him to this pronouncement, then descended to Argos. There she hastened the birth of Eurystheus — another descendant of Perseus — at only seven months, while simultaneously delaying Alcmene's labor.

Alcmene endured seven days and nights of agonizing labor, calling upon Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth, for aid. But Eileithyia, acting on Hera's instructions, sat outside Alcmene's chamber with crossed legs and clasped hands, muttering charms that prevented delivery. A clever servant named Galanthis broke the spell — she rushed out and cried that the child had been born. Eileithyia, startled, uncrossed her limbs, and the enchantment lifted. The infant was originally named Alcides but was later renamed Heracles ("Glory of Hera").

Death and Veneration

After Amphitryon's death in battle against the Minyans, Alcmene married Rhadamanthys, son of Zeus and Europa, and lived with him in exile at Ocaleae in Boeotia. Accounts of her own death vary: the Megarians held she died while traveling from Argos to Thebes and was buried at Megara, while the Thebans reported that upon her death the gods transformed her body into a stone. An altar to Alcmene stood in the Cynosarges gymnasium at Athens, alongside those of Heracles, Hebe, and Iolaus.