Alcmene (pronounced ALK-meen) is a figure from Greek mythology. She was a mortal woman of royal descent, known primarily as the mother of the hero Heracles and his twin or half-brother Iphicles. Traditional accounts make her the daughter of King Elektryon of Mycenae and his wife Anaxo, and the wife of Amphitryon.
Family and status
Alcmene belongs to the royal house of Mycenae. Her father, Elektryon, was one of the descendants of Perseus; her marriage to Amphitryon linked her to the ruling family of Thebes in various versions of the story. Ancient authors treat her as a mortal noblewoman rather than a deity.
Conception and birth stories
The best-known episode involving Alcmene concerns the conception of Heracles. While her husband Amphitryon was absent, the chief god Zeus is said to have come to her in the guise of Amphitryon and lay with her. In most traditions this union produced Heracles, while Iphicles was fathered by Amphitryon. Sources differ about the exact circumstances and timing, and later storytellers introduced variations.
Ancient narratives also relate that the goddess Hera, jealous of Zeus’s affair, harassed both mother and child. In some accounts Hera delayed Alcmene’s labor so that another claimant would be born first, and in others she attempted to harm the newborn Heracles (for example by sending snakes that the infant strangled). These episodes underline Hera’s antagonism toward Heracles rather than any hostility of Zeus toward Alcmene.
Mythic role and later tradition
Alcmene is mainly remembered through her connection to Heracles. Later moralizing and tragic treatments of the myth emphasize her fidelity, her suffering under the jealousies of gods, or her role as a grieving mother when Heracles is driven into hardship. She appears in a variety of ancient sources and was occasionally honored in local cults and literary works that retell the Heracles cycle.