  We study a semiclassical model of the mixmaster universe. We first derive the
quantum model and then introduce its semiclassical approximation. We employ a
general integral quantization method that respects the symmetries of the model
given by the affine and the Weyl-Heisenberg groups, and can produce a wide
class of quantum models. The semiclassical approximation is based on the
coherent states. The semiclassical dynamics is complex and cannot be solved by
analytical methods. We focus on a key qualitative feature of the dynamics,
namely, we investigate whether the primordial anisotropic universe can undergo
a spontaneous inflationary phase driven by the anisotropic energy combined with
semiclassical corrections. The answer to this question provides a useful
perspective on the inflationary paradigm as well as on alternative bouncing
models.
