Historiae Romanorum

Amphitryon

Amphitryon is the son of Alcaeus, a son of Perseus.  There are many different versions as to who is his mother.  He marries his cousin Alcmene, the daughter of his uncle, the king of Tiryns, Electryon.  After accidentally murdering Electryon, Amphitryon was forced to flee by the new king Stheneleus.  He and his wife moved to Thebes, where they were welcomed by the king, Creon.  Before sleeping with her husband, Alcmene demanded that her husband avenge her brothers' deaths at the hands of pirates.  While battling these pirates, Zeus deceived Alcmene and slept with her.  On his return, Amphitryon was outraged to find his wife no longer a virgin.  The Theban seer Tiresias absolved Alcmene from guilt, and Amphitryon slept with her as well.

In time, Alcmene gave birth to twins, Alcaeus and Iphicles.  The birth was delayed by Hera, who convinced her daughter Eileithyia, a goddess of childbirth, to not allow the birth at all.  When Eileithyia was tricked and the twins born, Amphitryon did not know whether these were his own children, or children of Zeus'.  After killing two snakes, it was discovered that Alcaeus was a child of Zeus, and Iphicles was a child of Amphitryon.  At the advice of Tiresias, Alcaeus was then renamed Heracles, the 'glory of Hera.'

Amphitryon later died while fighting the Minyans with his son Heracles.

Source(s):

1. Apollodorus.  Bibliotece.

2. Ovid.  Metamorphoses. (for the story of the delayed birth)

This page was last updated on July 21, 2004.