TheNecklace of Harmonia, also called theNecklace of Eriphyle, was a fabled object inGreek mythology that, according to legend, brought great misfortune to all of its wearers or owners, who were primarily queens and princesses of the ill-fatedHouse of Thebes.
There are multiple stories concerning the creation of the necklace and origin of its curse. The most common version namesHephaestus, the god ofsmithing, as its creator. Hephaestus was married toAphrodite, who regularly had sexual trysts withAres behind her husband's back. When Hephaestus was informed of his wife's actions byHelios, he was enraged and vowed to curse any children born of the affair. Aphrodite and Ares had multiple children together, includingHarmonia, goddess of harmony and concord.[1] Harmonia was betrothed toCadmus, the legendary founder ofThebes.[2] Upon hearing of the engagement, Hephaestus attended the wedding and gave Harmonia an exquisitenecklace (ὅρμος) andpeplos (robe) as a wedding gift.[1][3]
In other versions of the myth, the necklace was instead gifted byAthena,[4]Aphrodite,[5] or Cadmus's sisterEuropa, who had received it as a gift fromZeus.[6] InHyginus'Fabulae, bothHera and Hephaestus plotted together to curse the gifts, and thepeplos was the actual source of the curse ("a robe dipped in crimes").[7]
No definitive, undisputed description of the necklace exists, however, it was undoubtedly made ofgold.[8]Pausanias debates the appearance of the necklace in hisDescription of Greece,[9] and believed it was likely solid gold, asHomer mentioned in hisOdyssey ("who took precious gold as the price of the life of her own lord").[10] However, he states it may have also been a golden necklace inlaid with precious stones, possiblyamber.[9]
Other authors claimed the necklace was gold and covered with jewels.[11]Statius described the necklace as being gold with green emeralds, and covered in images of misfortune:[12]
"There forms he a circlet of emeralds glowing with a hidden fire, and adamant stamped with figures of ill omen, andGorgon eyes, and embers left on the Sicilian anvil from the last shaping of a thunderbolt, and the crests that shine on the heads of green serpents; then the dolorous fruit of theHesperides and the dread gold ofPhrixus'fleece; then divers plagues doth he intertwine, and the king adder snatched fromTisiphone's grisly locks, and the wicked power that commends the girdle; all these he cunningly anoints about with lunar foam, and pours over them the poison of delight."
In hisDionysiaca,Nonnus described the necklace as being made of two gold snakes withruby eyes, their heads joined in the center by a golden eagle with four wings that they held in their mouths. Each of the eagle's wings was covered with a different stone: one was covered in yellowjasper, one inmoonstones, one inpearls, and one inagates. The entire necklace was covered withemeralds.[13]
A necklace claimed to be the Necklace of Harmonia was kept in a temple toAdonis and Aphrodite inAmathus. It was gold inlaid with green jewels or stones.[9]
Years after their marriage and receiving the necklace, Harmonia and Cadmus were both transformed into serpents, possibly as a consequence of Cadmus slaying Ares's sacreddragon.[14] However, the necklace's role in their misfortune is debatable due to the couple being blessed by the gods, Harmonia being a goddess, and the couple's ascension toElysium after their transformation.[15][16]
Together, Cadmus and Harmonia had five children:Semele,Ino,Polydorus,Autonoë, andAgave.[17] Each child experienced misfortune. Semele became Zeus's mistress and became pregnant withDionysus.[18] However, Zeus's wife Hera discovered the affair; she tricked Semele into asking Zeus to prove his godhood by revealing his true form to her, and she was incinerated.[19] When Dionysus was born, he was placed into the care of Ino, Agave, and Autonoë. However, Hera's jealousy persisted. She struck Ino and her husbandAthamas with madness; Athamas hunted down and killed their sonLearchus like a deer and Ino boiled their sonMelicertes alive before leaping into the ocean with his body, transforming intoLeucothea.[1] When Dionysus returned toThebes as an adult, Autonoë and Agave were swept up in theBacchic frenzy and festivals he inspired. During the frenzy, the sisters tore Agave's sonPentheus to pieces, and Agave fled Thebes in shame.[16][20] Later, Autonoë's sonActaeon was transformed into astag and torn to pieces by his own hounds for glimpsingArtemis naked.[21] Both Polydorus and his son,Labdacus, died young.[22][23] In hisLibrary,Apollodorus claimed that Polydorus and Labdacus were torn apart in the Bacchic frenzy alongside Pentheus.[24]
The necklace eventually passed toJocasta, granddaughter of Pentheus. Jocasta unknowingly married her son,Oedipus, and the couple had four children together:Antigone,Eteocles,Polynices andIsmene.[25][26] When Oedipus's identity was discovered, Jocasta committedsuicide by hanging and Oedipus gouged his eyes out andexiled himself from Thebes.[27][28][29] Once Oedipus vacated the throne, Eteocles and Polynices became embroiled in a civil war called theSeven Against Thebes for control of the kingdom.[30] Eventually, both brothers killed each other during battle and Antigone was killed in retaliation for her attempts to bury Polynices's body.[31] These events are described inSophocles' "Three Theban Plays":Oedipus Rex,Oedipus at Colonus, andAntigone.
After Jocasta's death, the necklace andpeplos were then inherited by Polynices. Polynices used the necklace to bribeEriphyle into persuading her husbandAmphiaraus to partake in the doomed Seven Against Thebes war effort, aimed at placing Polynices on the Theban throne.[32] She also received thepeplos in exchange for persuading her sonsAlcmaeon andAmphilochus to join the expedition as well.[33] However, Amphiaraus discovered the plot and instructed his sons that, if he did not survive, they needed to avenge him by killing their mother. When news of Amphiaraus's death reached Alcmaeon, he killed Eriphyle.[34] The necklace andpeplos then came into his possession, but he left them behind with his first wifeAlphesiboea, daughter of KingPhegeus, during his journey to free himself from his mother's vengeful ghost.[35]
Alcmaeon eventually marriedCallirrhoe, daughter of the river godAchelous. Callirrhoe coveted the necklace andpeplos, and demanded that he retrieve them for her.[36] Alcmaeon obliged, and returned toPsophis, where he lied and told Phegeus that he needed the items in order to purify them. Phegeus obliged and handed them over, but instructed his sonsPronous andAgenor to ambush and kill Alcmaeon so that he could take them back. When Callirrhoe learned of the murder, she instructed her sons by Alcmaeon,Amphoterus, andAcarnan, to avenge their father. On their journey, they killed Pronous, Agenor, and Phegeus, and retrieved both the necklace andpeplos, which they decided to dedicate to the temple ofAthena atDelphi.[34]
The necklace stayed at the temple of Athena at Delphi until a Phayllus, aPhocian general in theThird Sacred War (356–346 BC),[37] stole the necklace from the temple to appease his mistress, Ariston's wife, who coveted it.[38] After she had worn it for a time, her son was seized with madness and set fire to the house, and the entire family perished inside.[39][40]
| Kings |
|
|---|---|
| In literature | |
| Related articles | |
