Some are famous for their remarkable lives while others are famous for their remarkable deaths. In Greek mythology, Semele's death is one of the most famous ever. This story always cracks me up. It's filled with customarily Greek mythological elements, like tragedy, dark humour and life lessons, this one being of the ego being your own worse enemy and working against you. Even though she was deceived by Hera, Semele's ego got the best of her. From what I can tell it's never been filmed but a short film on this would be cool.
From Wikipedia:
"Zeus' wife, Hera, a goddess jealous of usurpers, discovered his affair with Semele when she later became pregnant. Appearing as an old crone, Hera befriended Semele, who confided in her that her lover was actually Zeus. Hera pretended not to believe her, and planted seeds of doubt in Semele's mind. Curious, Semele asked Zeus to grant her a boon. Zeus, eager to please his beloved, promised on the River Styx to grant her anything she wanted. She then demanded that Zeus reveal himself in all his glory as proof of his divinity. Though Zeus begged her not to ask this, she persisted and he was forced by his oath to comply. Zeus tried to spare her by showing her the smallest of his bolts and the sparsest thunderstorm clouds he could find. Mortals, however, cannot look upon Zeus without incinerating, and she perished, consumed in lightning-ignited flame."
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