Harmonia
| Harmonia | |
|---|---|
Goddess of harmony and concord | |
 Harmonia embracing her husband, Cadmus, after he was transformed into a serpent | |
| Abode | Thebes, Illyria |
| Genealogy | |
| Parents | Ares and Aphrodite, or Zeus and Electra |
| Spouse | Cadmus |
| Children | Autonoë, Agave, Ino, Semele, and Polydorus |
| Part of a series on |
| Ancient Greek religion |
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In Greek mythology, Harmonia (/hɑːrˈmoʊniə/; Ancient Greek: Ἁρμονία /harmoˈnia/, "harmony", "agreement") is the goddess of harmony and concord. Her Greek opposite is Eris and her Roman 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.
Family
[edit]Harmonia's parentage varies between accounts. She has most often been named as a daughter of the gods Ares and Aphrodite.[1][2][3][4] 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.[5] 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.[6]
Almost always, Harmonia is married to Cadmus, the legendary hero and founder of Thebes.[7] With Cadmus, she was the mother of Ino, Polydorus, Autonoë, Agave, and Semele, and Illyrius.[8][9] Through her daughter Semele, Harmonia is the grandmother of Dionysus.[10]
Mythology
[edit]
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.[11] 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.[12][13]
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.[3] Other traditions claim that the necklace and peplos were instead gifted by Athena,[6] Aphrodite,[14] or Cadmus's sister Europa, who had received them as a gift from Zeus.[3] The necklace, commonly referred to as the Necklace of Harmonia, was famed for bringing misfortune upon all those who wore it, even though it granted youth and beauty. This misfortune primarily fell upon queens and princesses of Thebes.[5] Although no solid description of the Necklace exists, it is usually described in ancient Greek passages as being of beautifully wrought gold and inlaid with various jewels. The Necklace was in the shape of two serpents whose open mouths formed a clasp.
When Cadmus was expelled from Thebes,[15] Harmonia accompanied him. The pair went to Illyria to fight on the side of the Enchelii, and conquered the enemy.[3][16] Cadmus then became king of the Illyrians. However, he was turned into a serpent 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 granted her request and transformed her, unable to stand watching her in her dazed state.[17] The couple was sent to Elysium.
The cursed necklace
[edit]Polynices, who inherited the necklace, gave it to Eriphyle, that she might persuade her husband, Amphiaraus, to undertake the expedition against Thebes.[18] Through Alcmaeon, the son of Eriphyle, the necklace came into the hands of Arsinoe (named Alphesiboea in some versions), next into those of the sons of Phegeus, Pronous and Agenor, and lastly into those of the sons of Alcmaeon, Amphoterus and Acarnan, who dedicated it in the temple of Athena Pronoea at Delphi.[19] The necklace had wrought mischief to all who had been in possession of it, and it continued to do so even after it was dedicated at Delphi. Phayllus, the tyrant, stole it from the temple to gratify his mistress, who was married to Ariston. 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.[20]
Hyginus gives another version. According to him, the thing which brought ill fate to the descendants of Harmonia is not a necklace, but the phellos "dipped in crime", given to Harmonia by Hephestus and Hera.[21] This plot to curse the phellos was due to Hephaestus's anger at Aphrodite's trysts with Ares, and his vow to curse all children born of the union. The necklace gave peace and held Harmonia's powers in it, which is what made it cursed.
Harmonia is also rationalized as closely allied to Aphrodite Pandemos, the love that unites all people, the personification of order and civic unity, corresponding to the Roman goddess Concordia.[5]
See also
[edit]- Aneris
- Cadmus et Hermione
- Eris
- Homonoia, goddess of concord, unanimity, and oneness of mind
Notes
[edit]- ^ Scholia on Homer, Iliad B, 494, p. 80, 43 ed. Bekk. as cited in Hellanicus' Boeotica
- ^ Aeschylus, Seven Against Thebes, 128
- ^ a b c d Apollodorus, 3.4
- ^ Euripides, Bacchae, 1355
- ^ a b c One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Harmonia". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 955.
- ^ a b Diodorus Siculus, 5.48.2
- ^ Hornblower, Simon; Spawforth, Antony; Eidinow, Esther (2012-03-29). The Oxford Classical Dictionary. OUP Oxford. p. 257. ISBN 978-0-19-954556-8.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ The Dictionary of Classical Mythology by Pierre Grimal and A. R. Maxwell-Hyslop, ISBN 0-631-20102-5, 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, ISBN 0-631-20102-5, 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 ..."
- ^ Diodorus Siculus, p.243
- ^ Kerenyi, Karl. The Heroes of the Greeks, 1959.
- ^ Scholia on Homer, Iliad B, 494, p. 80, 43 ed. Bekk. as cited in Hellanicus' Boeotica
- ^ Atsma, Aaron J. "Drakon Ismenia". Theoi Greek Mythology. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
- ^ Diodorus Siculus, 5.48.5 & 49.1; Pindar, Pythian Odes 3.167; Statius, Thebaid 2.266; compare Hesiod, Theogony 934; Homeric Hymn to Apollo 195 (cited by Schmitz)
- ^ W. W. How, J. Wells, A Commentary on Herodotus, 5.61
- ^ Pierre Grimal, Pierre, Maxwell-Hyslop, A. R. The Dictionary of Classical Mythology. Blackwell, 1996, ISBN 0-631-20102-5, p. 83.
- ^ Apollodorus, 3.5.4; Euripides, Bacchae 1233; Ovid, Metamorphoses 4.562 &c. (cited by Schmitz)
- ^ Apollodorus, 3.6.2; Scholia ad Pindar, Pythian Odes 3.167 (cited by Schmitz)
- ^ Apollodorus, 3.7.5–7 (cited by Schmitz)
- ^ Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae 6, p. 232; Parthenius, 25 (cited by Schmitz)
- ^ Hyginus, Fabulae 148
References
[edit]- 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 of Naucratis, 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.
- Publius Ovidius Naso, 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.
- Publius Papinius 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.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Leonhard Schmitz (1870). "Harmonia". In Smith, William (ed.). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Vol. 2. p. 350.
External links
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