Amphitryon (Story)
heroThe husband of Alcmene whom Zeus impersonated to conceive Heracles, creating mythology's most famous case of divine identity theft.
The Myth
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
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:
Explore Further
Amphitryon
heroAmphitryon was the mortal husband of Alcmene whose identity Zeus stole for one night — making...
Alcmene
heroAlcmene was the mortal woman whom Zeus seduced by disguising himself as her husband — she bore...
Iphicles
heroIphicles was the mortal twin brother of Heracles — born the same night to the same mother but...
Heracles
heroThe greatest hero of Greek mythology, son of Zeus and the mortal Alcmene. Famous for his...
Heracles (Labours)
heroHeracles performed twelve seemingly impossible labours as penance for killing his family in a...
Tiresias
heroThe most famous seer in Greek mythology, blinded by the gods but given the gift of prophecy in...
Rhadamanthys
heroRhadamanthys was a son of Zeus and Europa who became one of the three judges of the dead in the...
Hera
godQueen of the Olympian gods and goddess of marriage. Known for her jealous rages against Zeus's...
Hera Teleia
godAn epithet of Hera as goddess of marriage and its fulfilment, worshipped as the divine model of the...
Mycenae
placeMycenae was the great Bronze Age citadel in the Argolid, seat of King Agamemnon who led the Greek...
Zeus
godSupreme ruler of the Olympian gods and lord of the sky. Zeus overthrew his father Kronos and...
Zeus (King)
godZeus was the king of the Olympian gods, ruler of the sky, wielder of the thunderbolt — the supreme...