Harmonia (mythology)
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In Greek mythology, Harmonia is the immortal goddess of harmony and concord. Her Roman counterpart is Concordia, and her Greek opposite is Eris, whose Roman counterpart is Discordia.
According to one account the daughter of Ares and Aphrodite, another, the daughter of Aphrodite and Hephaestus, but almost always the wife of Cadmus. With Cadmus, she was the mother of Ino, Polydorus, Autonoe, Agave and Semele.
When the government of Thebes was bestowed upon Cadmus by Athena, Zeus gave him Harmonia. All the gods honoured the wedding with their presence. Cadmus (or one of the gods) presented the bride with a robe and necklace, the work of Hephaestus. This necklace, commonly referred to as the Necklace of Harmonia, brought misfortune to all who possessed it. With it Polynices bribed Eriphyle to persuade her husband Amphiaraus to undertake the expedition against Thebes. This led to the death of Eriphyle, of Alcmaeon, of Phegeus and his sons.
The Necklace of Harmonia would render its wearer eternally young and beautiful. Jocasta of Thebes wore it at the time of Oedipus and many versions of the Oedipus myth speculate that Jocasta's unnaturally youthful appearance led to Oedipus, her son, unknowingly marrying her. After the truth of their relationship was made public, Jocasta committed suicide and Oedipus blinded himself with pins from Jocasta's gown.
According to another account, Harmonia was from Samothrace and was the daughter of Zeus and Electra, her brother Iasion being the founder of the mystic rites celebrated on the island.
Finally, Harmonia is rationalized as closely allied to Aphrodite Pandemos, the love that unites all people, the personification of order and civic unity, corresponding to the Roman Concordia.
Harmonia is recognized as the equivalent of the Discordian goddess Aneris by the Mythics of Harmonia and by Ek-sen-trik-kuh Discordia: The Tales of Shamlicht.
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[edit] References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
Categories: Articles to be merged since January 2007 | Articles lacking sources from November 2006 | All articles lacking sources | Articles to be expanded since January 2007 | All articles to be expanded | Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica | Greek goddesses | Theban Mythology
