Dion: His Life and Mine by Sarah Cate Anstey Page A

Theban Princesses. The tables turned when Semele’s story came to light. Semele was by far the most beautiful, which didn’t endear her to her three older sisters. Party-goers Ino, Agave and Autonoe graced the covers of every fashion magazine and were photographed wherever they went; gigs, concerts, premieres, charity events: you name it, they went. These three beauties turned ugly, though, when it was suggested that even they couldn’t hold a candle to the blossoming Semele. She was said to be ‘moulded in the form of elegance, with the beauty of her race shining from her face’ and was soon nicknamed, ‘The pretty one’. Semele was destined for a successful modeling career. So, true to the sisterhood, instead of offering support, her sisters found fault with her photoshoots. They teased and tormented her; things would be lost and then be found in the strangest of places. Then, when this didn’t have the desired outcome, the sisters upped their antics. After possible suitors started flocking to the palace (my father among them); her sisters would lure Semele into the garden at night and then lock her out. After spending the night crying herself to sleep, Semele would enter the palace, disheveled, the next morning. Her sisters started spreading rumours that their little sister was a ‘bit of a goer’ and if a young man wanted a go he just had to meet her in the garden at midnight.
    To quash the rumours, her father made it known that he himself locked her in her room at night. Mysteriously, despite her father’s nightly vigil outside her room, Semele became pregnant. Her outraged father demanded to know who the ‘filthy culprit’ was but Semele simply replied “god.” The poor girl was accused of lying and, when she adamantly claimed that she wasn’t, was accused of being insane. The family had endless meetings to solve the ‘Semele Question’ until it was decided, for the sake of the other daughters, to keep Semele hidden from the rest of the world. News of her disgrace would tarnish the hopes of a ‘good match’ for her sisters. The most vocal on this point was Agave, who had begun a dalliance with a Theban noble.
    Semele was locked in her room during her confinement. She spent nine months warning her family not to treat the mother of a god’s child in this way, while her father and mother decided on the best way to rid themselves of their offspring’s embarrassment. As Semele grew bigger, she became more adamant.
    “Yeah, yeah,” her sisters would yell back. Now they had ruined their sister’s reputation they were bored with her and wished she’d give up and shut up, give birth and be shut out.
    One day, Agave became so fed up of her sister’s ranting that she told her to “prove it”, to which Semele immediately fell silent. On the other side of the door, her sisters all winked at each other and smiled. However, the next day, Semele called out that her baby’s father had promised to visit on their son’s first day in the world and then her family would all see for themselves and be sorry. A week later, alone in her room, Semele gave birth. Her family heard the cries of the baby. They were just deciding who should go in and tear the child from its mother, when they heard a loud explosion and then smelled smoke. The entire wing, in which Semele had been held, was destroyed.
    The family made a statement that poor, delicately-minded Semele had accidentally taken her own life. Her charred remains were given a state funeral, as befitting a princess. Nothing was mentioned of the baby whose remains were never found, (conveniently for the embarrassed royals). The mysterious sounds of the new-born’s cries were put down to more mischief-making on Semele’s part. No scandal here, just a tragedy. It was enough to put the paparazzi off the scent, for a while. Kadmus, blaming the open nature of his parenting on his younger daughter’s disgrace, imposed a curfew on the whole of Thebes in the hope this