Amphitryon
The husband of Alcmene whom Zeus impersonated to conceive Heracles, creating mythology's most famous case of divine identity theft.
The Legend of Amphitryon
Amphitryon was a prince of Tiryns who accidentally killed his father-in-law Electryon, king of Mycenae, and fled to Thebes with his wife Alcmene. Before she would consummate their marriage, Alcmene demanded he avenge her brothers, killed by the Taphians. While Amphitryon was away on this campaign, Zeus desired Alcmene and took Amphitryon's exact form, extending that night to three times its normal length. Alcmene, believing her husband had returned victorious, conceived Heracles. When the real Amphitryon returned the next day, Alcmene's confused response revealed that someone had preceded him. The prophet Tiresias explained that Zeus had visited her. Alcmene bore twins: Heracles, son of Zeus, and Iphicles, son of Amphitryon. Hera, jealous, sent two serpents to kill the infants in their cradle. The infant Heracles strangled them with his bare hands, revealing which twin was divine.
Parents
Alcaeus
Children
Iphicles
Symbols
Fun Fact
The name "Amphitryon" became a literary archetype for the host whose identity is stolen. Molière's Amphitryon (1668) and Kleist's Amphitryon (1807) both explore the existential horror of someone else wearing your face. The myth essentially invented the "evil twin" and "body double" tropes that dominate thrillers and science fiction. Every doppelgänger story, from Face/Off to Invasion of the Body Snatchers, descends from Zeus walking into Alcmene's bedroom wearing her husband's face.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Amphitryon
🗡 heroThe mortal husband impersonated by Zeus
The Theban general whose identity Zeus stole to sleep with Alcmene — producing the hero Heracles from divine deception.
Amphitryon
🗡 heroMortal father of Heracles
Amphitryon was the mortal husband of Alcmene whose identity Zeus stole for one night — making Amphitryon the cuckolded but loving father of Heracles.
Alcmene
🗡 heroMother of Heracles
Alcmene was the mortal woman whom Zeus seduced by disguising himself as her husband — she bore Heracles, the greatest hero of Greek mythology.
Semele
🗡 heroMortal mother of Dionysus
Semele was a Theban princess who became the mortal mother of Dionysus — destroyed when she insisted on seeing Zeus in his true divine form.
Jocasta
🗡 heroNone recorded
Queen of Thebes who unknowingly married her own son Oedipus after his return
Laius
🗡 heroNone recorded
King of Thebes whose attempt to cheat fate led directly to the Oedipus tragedy
Aerope
🗡 heroAdultery, royalty
Queen of Mycenae whose adultery with Thyestes caused the devastating curse upon the House of Atreus
Aloeus
🗡 heroFarming, Giant-Fathers, Hubris
Thessalian king whose twin stepsons the Aloadae nearly defeated the Olympian gods.
Iphicles
🗡 heroMortal twin of Heracles
Iphicles was the mortal twin brother of Heracles — born the same night to the same mother but fathered by a mortal, creating the perfect contrast to divine strength.
Deiphobus
🗡 herowar
Trojan prince who married Helen after Paris was killed, making him the last husband of the most contested woman in myth.
Alexiares
🗡 heroNone recorded
A son of Heracles and Hebe born on Mount Olympus after Heracles' deification, serving as a divine guardian against war
Proetus
🗡 heroNone recorded
A king of Tiryns who quarrelled with his twin brother Acrisius over the throne of Argos, an enmity that began in the womb and persisted throughout their lives