Harmonia

 ( Greek Goddesses ) 

In Greek mythology, Harmonia (; /harmoˈnia/, "harmony", "agreement") is the goddess of harmony and concord. Her Greek opposite is Eris and her Roman mythology counterpart is Concordia. Harmonia is most well-known for her marriage to Cadmus and the many misfortunes that haunted her descendants, particularly those related to the fabled Necklace of Harmonia.

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Family Harmonia's parentage varies between accounts. She has most often been named as a daughter of the gods Ares and Aphrodite.Scholia on Homer, Iliad B, 494, p. 80, 43 ed. Bekk. as cited in Hellanicus' BoeoticaAeschylus, Seven Against Thebes, 128Apollodorus, 3.4Euripides, Bacchae, 1355 This would make her the sister of other mythological figures such as Aeneas, Phobos, and Eros. In other accounts, Harmonia was born in Samothrace to Zeus and the Pleiad Electra. In this telling, Harmonia would have been the sister of Dardanus and Iasion, who, under the instruction of Zeus, were the founders of mystic rites on Samothrace.Diodorus Siculus, 5.48.2

Almost always, Harmonia is married to Cadmus, the legendary hero and founder of Thebes.

With Cadmus, she was the mother of Ino, Polydorus, Autonoë, Agave, Semele, and, in some accounts, Illyrius.Apollodorus, Library, 3.4.2The Dictionary of Classical Mythology by Pierre Grimal and A. R. Maxwell-Hyslop, , 1996, page 230: "Illyrius (Ιλλυριός) The youngest son of Cadmus and Harmonia. He was born during their expedition against the Illyrians"The Dictionary of Classical Mythology by Pierre Grimal and A. R. Maxwell-Hyslop, , 1996, page 83: "... Cadmus then ruled over the Illyrians and he had another son, named Illyrius. But later Cadmus and Harmonia were turned into serpents and ..." Through her daughter Semele, Harmonia was the grandmother of Dionysus.Diodorus Siculus, p.243

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Mythology Mythological narratives surrounding Harmonia are deeply intertwined with those of her husband, Cadmus. Harmonia is commonly acquired by Cadmus as his bride in two different ways. In the version of the myth where Harmonia was born to Zeus and Electra on Samothrace, she was either given to Cadmus or carried off by him after he was initiated into the island's mysteries.Karl Kerenyi. The Heroes of the Greeks, 1959. In the version of the myth where she is the daughter of Aphrodite and Ares, Zeus gifted her to Cadmus upon his founding of Thebes and the completion of his eight-year servitude to Ares after he slew a dragon sacred to the god.Scholia on Homer, Iliad B, 494, p. 80, 43 ed. Bekk. as cited in Hellanicus' Boeotica

The wedding of Harmonia and Cadmus was attended by all the gods. Many gifts were lavished upon the couple, most notably a peplos and a necklace (ὅρμος) wrought by Hephaestus. Common versions of the myth claim that Hephaestus created the necklace because he was angered by his wife, Aphrodite's, affair with Ares, and vowed to curse any children born of the union. Other traditions claim that the necklace and peplos were instead gifted by Athena, Aphrodite,Diodorus Siculus, 5.48.5 & 49.1; Pindar, Pythian Odes 3.167; Statius, Thebaid 2.266; compare Hesiod, Theogony 934; Homeric Hymns to Apollo 195 (cited by Schmitz) or Cadmus's sister Europa, who had received them as a gift from Zeus. The necklace, commonly referred to as the Necklace of Harmonia or the Necklace of Eriphyle, was famed for bringing misfortune upon all those who wore it. This misfortune primarily fell upon queens and princesses of Thebes. Although no undisputed description of the Necklace exists, it is usually described in ancient Greek passages as being of beautifully wrought gold and inlaid with various jewels, typically emeralds.Nonnus , Dionysiaca, 5.135Pausanias, Description of Greece, 9.41Statius, Theibad, 2.269

Hyginus gives another version of the story. According to him, the thing which brought ill fate to the descendants of Harmonia was not a necklace, but the peplos "dipped in crime", given to Harmonia by Hephaestus and Hera.Hyginus, Fabulae 148

When Cadmus was expelled from Thebes,W. W. How, J. Wells, A Commentary on Herodotus, 5.61 Harmonia accompanied him. The pair went to Illyria to fight on the side of the Enchelii, and conquered the enemy.Pierre Grimal, Pierre, Maxwell-Hyslop, A. R. The Dictionary of Classical Mythology. Blackwell, 1996, , p. 83. Cadmus then became king of the Illyrians. However, he was turned into a Snake soon afterwards. His transformation may have been related to the ill fortune which clung to him as a result of his having killed the sacred dragon; one day he remarked that if the gods were so enamored of the life of a serpent, he might as well wish that life for himself. Immediately he began to grow scales and change in form. Harmonia, seeing the transformation, stripped herself and begged the gods to share her husband's fate. As she was embraced by the serpent Cadmus in a pool of wine, the gods took pity, granted her request, and transformed her.Apollodorus, 3.5.4; Euripides, The Bacchae 1233; Ovid, Metamorphoses 4.562 &c. (cited by Schmitz) The couple was sent to Elysium.

Harmonia was closely associated with Aphrodite Pandemos, an aspect of Aphrodite that personified order and civic unity. She was also associated with the Roman mythology Concordia.

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The cursed necklace All of Harmonia and Cadmus's children experienced great misfortune. Through Agave's son Pentheus, the necklace came into the possession of Jocasta, wife and mother of Oedipus, who committed suicide upon the discovery of his identity.Hyginus, Fabulae, 67 Their son Polynices then inherited the necklace and peplos. He used both items to bribe Eriphyle so that she would persuade her husband, Amphiaraus, and her sons, Alcmaeon and Amphilochus, to participate in the Seven against Thebes expedition.Apollodorus, 3.6.2; Scholia ad Pindar, Pythian Odes 3.167 (cited by Schmitz) The expedition was a failure and Amphiaraus died during the battle. To avenge his father, Alcmaeon killed Eriphyle and the necklace and peplos came into his possession.Apollodorus, Library, 3.7 He gifted it to his first wife, Alphesiboea, a daughter of Phegus, king of Psophis. When Alcmaeon attempted to take the items back from his wife, he was killed by Phegus's sons, Pronous and Agenor, and they took the necklace. Alcmeon's sons Amphoterus and Acarnan then avenged their father by killing Phegus's sons, and dedicated the necklace to the temple of Athena in Delphi. It was later stolen by the Phocian general Phayllus, who gave it to his mistress. She wore it for a time, but at last her youngest son was seized with madness, and set fire to the house, in which she perished with all her treasures.Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae 6, p. 232; Parthenius, 25 (cited by Schmitz)Diodorus Siculus, Library, 16.64Plutarch, De sera numinis vindicta, 8

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See also

• Aneris
• Cadmus et Hermione
• Eris
• Homonoia, goddess of concord, unanimity, and oneness of mind

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Notes

• Apollodorus, The Library with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
• Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica translated by Robert Cooper Seaton (1853–1915), R. C. Loeb Classical Library Volume 001. London, William Heinemann Ltd, 1912. Online version at the Topos Text Project.
• Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica. George W. Mooney. London. Longmans, Green. 1912. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Athenaeus, The Deipnosophists or Banquet of the Learned. London. Henry G. Bohn, York Street, Covent Garden. 1854. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Athenaeus of Naucratis, Deipnosophistae. Kaibel. In Aedibus B.G. Teubneri. Lipsiae. 1887. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Diodorus Siculus, The Library of History translated by Charles Henry Oldfather. Twelve volumes. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1989. Vol. 3. Books 4.59–8. Online version at Bill Thayer's Web Site
• Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica. Vol 1-2. Immanel Bekker. Ludwig Dindorf. Friedrich Vogel. in aedibus B. G. Teubneri. Leipzig. 1888–1890. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Euripides, The Tragedies of Euripides translated by T. A. Buckley. Bacchae. London. Henry G. Bohn. 1850. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Euripides, Euripidis Fabulae. vol. 3. Gilbert Murray. Oxford. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 1913. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Gaius Julius Hyginus, Fabulae from The Myths of Hyginus translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies. Online version at the Topos Text Project.
• Hesiod, Theogony from The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Cambridge, MA.,Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
• The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White. Homeric Hymns. Cambridge, MA.,Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
• Parthenius, Love Romances translated by Sir Stephen Gaselee (1882–1943), S. Loeb Classical Library Volume 69. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. 1916. Online version at the Topos Text Project.
• Parthenius, Erotici Scriptores Graeci, Vol. 1. Rudolf Hercher. in aedibus B. G. Teubneri. Leipzig. 1858. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Pindar, Odes translated by Diane Arnson Svarlien. 1990. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Pindar, The Odes of Pindar including the Principal Fragments with an Introduction and an English Translation by Sir John Sandys, Litt.D., FBA. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1937. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Ovid, Metamorphoses translated by Brookes More (1859–1942). Boston, Cornhill Publishing Co. 1922. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Publius Ovidius Naso, Metamorphoses. Hugo Magnus. Gotha (Germany). Friedr. Andr. Perthes. 1892. Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Statius , The Thebaid translated by John Henry Mozley. Loeb Classical Library Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1928. Online version at the Topos Text Project.
• Publius Papinius Statius, The Thebaid. Vol I-II. John Henry Mozley. London: William Heinemann; New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. 1928. Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library.

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External links

Categories: Greek Goddesses, Peace Goddesses, Personifications In Greek Mythology, Children Of Aphrodite, Children Of Ares, Metamorphoses Into Animals In Greek Mythology, Theban Mythology, Deeds Of Zeus

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