Editing Harmonia

{{Short description|Ancient Greek goddess of harmony and concord}}
{{For|the nymph with the same name|Harmonia (nymph)}}
{{other uses}}
{{Distinguish|Haoreima}}{{Infobox deity
| type = Greek
| name = Harmonia
| god_of = Goddess of harmony and concord
| abode = [[Thebes, Greece|Thebes]], [[Illyria]]
| spouse = [[Cadmus]]
| children = [[Autonoë of Thebes|Autonoë]], [[Agave of Thebes|Agave]], [[Ino (Greek mythology)|Ino]], [[Semele]], and [[Polydorus of Thebes|Polydorus]]
| parents = [[Ares]] and [[Aphrodite]], or [[Zeus]] and [[Electra (Pleiad)|Electra]]
| image = CadmusHarmoniaEvelynMorgan.jpg
| caption = Harmonia embracing her husband, Cadmus, after he was transformed into a serpent
}}[[File:Statue of Harmonia old economy village pa.jpg|thumb|250px|Statue of Harmonia in the [[Harmony Society]] gardens in [[Old Economy Village|Old Economy Village, Pennsylvania]].]]
{{Ancient Greek religion}}
{{Greek myth (personified)}}
In [[Greek mythology]], '''Harmonia''' ({{IPAc-en|h|ɑr|ˈ|m|oʊ|n|i|ə}}; {{langx|grc|Ἁρμονία}} /[[Ancient Greek phonology|harmoˈnia]]/, "harmony", "agreement") is the [[goddess]] of harmony and concord. Her Greek opposite is [[Eris (mythology)|Eris]] and her [[Roman mythology|Roman]] counterpart is [[Concordia (mythology)|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==
Harmonia's parentage varies between accounts. She has most often been named as a daughter of the gods [[Ares]] and [[Aphrodite]].<ref name=":0">[[Scholia]] on [[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' B, 494, p. 80, 43 ed. Bekk. as cited in [[Hellanicus of Lesbos|Hellanicus]]' ''Boeotica''</ref><ref>[[Aeschylus]], ''Seven Against Thebes'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0014:card=128&highlight=harmonia 128]</ref><ref name=":1">[[Apollodorus of Athens|Apollodorus]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0022:text=Library:book=3:chapter=4&highlight=harmonia 3.4]</ref><ref>[[Euripides]], ''[[Bacchae (Thiyam play)|Bacchae]]'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0092:card=1330&highlight=harmonia 1355]</ref> This would make her the sister of other mythological figures such as [[Aeneas]], [[Phobos (mythology)|Phobos]], and [[Eros]]. In other accounts, Harmonia was born in [[Samothrace]] to [[Zeus]] and the [[Pleiades (Greek mythology)|Pleiad]] [[Electra (Pleiad)|Electra]].<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Harmonia|volume=12|page=955}}</ref> In this telling, Harmonia would have been the sister of [[Dardanus (son of Zeus)|Dardanus]] and [[Iasion]], who, under the instruction of Zeus, were the founders of [[Greco-Roman mysteries|mystic rites]] on Samothrace.<ref name=":2">Diodorus Siculus, [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/5D*.html#48.2 5.48.2]</ref>

Almost always, Harmonia is married to [[Cadmus]], the legendary hero and founder of [[Thebes, Greece|Thebes]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hornblower |first=Simon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bVWcAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA257#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=The Oxford Classical Dictionary |last2=Spawforth |first2=Antony |last3=Eidinow |first3=Esther |date=2012-03-29 |publisher=OUP Oxford |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-19-954556-8 |pages=257 |language=en}}</ref> With Cadmus, she was the mother of [[Ino (Greek mythology)|Ino]], [[Polydorus (son of Cadmus)|Polydorus]], [[Autonoë]], [[Agave (Theban princess)|Agave]], [[Semele]], and [[Illyrius]].<ref>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"</ref><ref>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 ..."</ref> Through her daughter Semele, Harmonia is the grandmother of [[Dionysus]].<ref>Diodorus Siculus, [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/5D*.html#52 p.243]</ref>

== Mythology ==
[[File:Polynices Eriphyle Louvre G442.jpg|thumb|[[Polynices]] giving [[Eriphyle]] the [[necklace of Harmonia]]. Attic red-figure oinochoe, ca. 450–440 BC. Found in Italy.]]

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 (Pleiad)|Electra]] on [[Samothrace]], she was either given to Cadmus or carried off by him after he was initiated into the island's [[Greco-Roman mysteries|mysteries]].<ref>[[Karl Kerenyi|Kerenyi, Karl]]. ''The Heroes of the Greeks'', 1959.</ref> 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, Greece|Thebes]] and the completion of his eight-year servitude to Ares after he slew a [[dragon]] sacred to the god.<ref>[[Scholia]] on [[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' B, 494, p. 80, 43 ed. Bekk. as cited in [[Hellanicus of Lesbos|Hellanicus]]' ''Boeotica''</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Atsma |first=Aaron J. |title=Drakon Ismenia |url=http://www.theoi.com/Ther/DrakonIsmenios.html |access-date=5 September 2014 |work=Theoi Greek Mythology}}</ref> 

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]].<ref name=":1" /> Other traditions claim that the necklace and [[peplos]] were instead gifted by [[Athena]],<ref name=":2" /> Aphrodite,<ref>[[Diodorus Siculus]], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/5D*.html#48.5 5.48.5] & [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/5D*.html#49.1 49.1]; [[Pindar]], ''Pythian Odes'' 3.167; [[Statius]], ''[[Thebaid (Latin poem)|Thebaid]]'' 2.266; compare [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' 934; ''[[Homeric Hymns|Homeric Hymn]] to [[Apollo]]'' 195 (cited by Schmitz)</ref> or Cadmus's sister [[Europa (consort of Zeus)|Europa]], who had received them as a gift from Zeus.<ref name=":1" /> 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.<ref name="EB1911" /> 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 [[Fastener|clasp]].

When Cadmus was expelled from [[Ancient Thebes (Boeotia)|Thebes]],<ref>W. W. How, J. Wells, ''A Commentary on Herodotus'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0028:book=5:chapter=61&highlight=harmonia 5.61]</ref> Harmonia accompanied him. The pair went to [[Illyria]] to fight on the side of the [[Enchelii]], and conquered the enemy.<ref name=":1" /><ref>Pierre Grimal, Pierre, Maxwell-Hyslop, A. R. ''The Dictionary of Classical Mythology''. Blackwell, 1996, {{ISBN|0-631-20102-5}}, p. 83.</ref> 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.<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], 3.5.4; [[Euripides]], ''[[The Bacchae|Bacchae]]'' 1233; [[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' 4.562 &c. (cited by Schmitz)</ref> The couple was sent to [[Elysium]].

===The cursed necklace===

[[Polynices]], who inherited the necklace, gave it to [[Eriphyle]], that she might persuade her husband, [[Amphiaraus]], to undertake the expedition against Thebes.<ref>Apollodorus, 3.6.2; [[Scholia]] ad Pindar, ''Pythian Odes'' 3.167 (cited by Schmitz)</ref> Through [[Alcmaeon (mythology)|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, son of Phegeus|Agenor]], and lastly into those of the sons of Alcmaeon, [[Alcmaeon (mythology)|Amphoterus]] and [[Acarnan]], who dedicated it in the temple of [[Athena Pronoea]] at [[Delphi]].<ref>Apollodorus, 3.7.5–7 (cited by Schmitz)</ref> 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 (mythology)|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.<ref>[[Athenaeus]], ''[[Deipnosophistae]]'' 6, p. 232; [[Parthenius of Nicaea|Parthenius]], [https://topostext.org/work/550#25 25] (cited by Schmitz)</ref>

[[Gaius Julius Hyginus|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]].<ref>[[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], ''Fabulae'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#148 148]</ref> 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 (mythology)|Concordia]].<ref name="EB1911"/>

== See also ==
* [[Aneris]]
* ''[[Cadmus et Hermione]]''
* [[Eris (mythology)|Eris]]
* [[Homonoia (mythology)|Homonoia]], goddess of concord, unanimity, and oneness of mind

== Notes ==
{{reflist}}

== References ==
* [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|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. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0022 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.] [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0021 Greek text available from the same website].
*[[Apollonius of Rhodes|Apollonius Rhodius]], ''Argonautica'' translated by Robert Cooper Seaton (1853–1915), R. C. Loeb Classical Library Volume 001. London, William Heinemann Ltd, 1912. [https://topostext.org/work/126 Online version at the Topos Text Project.]
*Apollonius Rhodius, ''Argonautica''. George W. Mooney. London. Longmans, Green. 1912. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0227 Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library].
*[[Athenaeus|Athenaeus of Naucratis]], ''The Deipnosophists or Banquet of the Learned.'' London. Henry G. Bohn, York Street, Covent Garden. 1854. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2013.01.0003 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
*Athenaeus of Naucratis, ''Deipnosophistae''. Kaibel. In Aedibus B.G. Teubneri. Lipsiae. 1887. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2013.01.0001 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. [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/home.html 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. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0540 Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library].
*[[Euripides]], ''The Tragedies of Euripides'' translated by T. A. Buckley. Bacchae. London. Henry G. Bohn. 1850. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0092 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.]
*Euripides, ''Euripidis Fabulae.'' ''vol. 3''. Gilbert Murray. Oxford. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 1913. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0091 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. [https://topostext.org/work/206 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. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0130%3Acard%3D1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.] [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0129 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. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0138%3Ahymn%3D2 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.] [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0137 Greek text available from the same website].
*[[Parthenius of Nicaea|Parthenius]], ''Love Romances'' translated by Sir Stephen Gaselee (1882–1943), S. Loeb Classical Library Volume 69. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. 1916.  [https://topostext.org/work/550 Online version at the Topos Text Project.]
*Parthenius, ''Erotici Scriptores Graeci, Vol. 1''. Rudolf Hercher. in aedibus B. G. Teubneri. Leipzig. 1858. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0643 Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library].
*[[Pindar]], ''Odes'' translated by Diane Arnson Svarlien. 1990. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0162%3Abook%3DP. 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. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0161%3Abook%3DP. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library].
*[[Ovid|Publius Ovidius Naso]], ''Metamorphoses'' translated by Brookes More (1859–1942). Boston, Cornhill Publishing Co. 1922. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0028 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.]
*Publius Ovidius Naso, ''Metamorphoses.'' Hugo Magnus. Gotha (Germany). Friedr. Andr. Perthes. 1892. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0029 Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library].
*[[Statius|Publius Papinius Statius]]'', The Thebaid'' translated by John Henry Mozley. Loeb Classical Library Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1928. [https://topostext.org/work/149 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. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0498 Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library.]
{{SmithDGRBM|author=[[Leonhard Schmitz]]|article=Harmonia|volume=2|page=350}}

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