The god, who had sworn to refuse Semele nothing, unwillingly consented.
At the expiration of this period the gods gave him to wife Harmonia, daughter of Ares and Aphrodite, by whom he had a son Polydorus, and four daughters, Ino, Autonoe, Agave and Semele - a family which was overtaken by grievous misfortunes.
Athamas and his second wife Ino were said to have incurred the wrath of Hera, because Ino had brought up Dionysus, the son of her sister Semele, as a girl, to save his life.
In this character she pursues with vindictive hatred the heroines, such as Alcmene, Leto and Semele, who were beloved by Zeus.
He appeared seated in his chariot surrounded by thunder and lightning; Semele was consumed by the flames and gave birth prematurely to a child, which was saved from the fire by a miraculous growth of ivy which sprang up round the palace of Cadmus.