Alcmene ("might of the moon") was, in ancient
Greek mythology, the daughter of
Electryon, king of
Mycenae, and wife of
Amphitryon. She was the mother of
Heracles by
Zeus, who assumed the likeness of her husband during his absence, and the mother of
Iphicles by Amphitryon. While Alcmene was pregnant with
Heracles,
Hera tried to prevent her from giving birth. She was foiled by
Galanthis, her servant, who told Hera that she had already delivered the baby. Hera turned her into a
weasel.
Alcmene was regarded as the ancestress of the Heracleidae, and worshipped at Thebes and Athens.
After separating from Amphitryon, she married Rhadamanthus in Boeotia.
Wikified from 1911 encyclopedia -- Please update as needed