Harmonia: Greek Goddess of Harmony

The Story of Harmonia

Harmonia was the goddess of harmony and concord. She was the daughter of Ares, the god of war, and Aphrodite, the goddess of love. The Greeks found it fitting that harmony should be born from the union of strife and love.

Harmonia married Cadmus, the hero who founded the city of Thebes. It was one of the great weddings of Greek myth, and all the gods came down from Olympus to celebrate, while the Muses sang. The guests brought many gifts, and the most famous was a beautiful necklace made by Hephaestus.

The necklace of Harmonia was said to carry a curse, and it brought ruin to whoever owned it. Eriphyle accepted it as a bribe to send her husband Amphiaraus to his death in the war of the Seven Against Thebes. Her son later killed her in revenge, and the necklace went on bringing misfortune to later owners.

Cadmus and Harmonia had several children, including Semele, the mother of Dionysus, and Ino, who became a sea goddess. Their family suffered many tragedies, as Semele, Ino, Agave and Autonoe all met terrible fates. After years of sorrow, Cadmus and Harmonia left Thebes and settled in Illyria, where Cadmus became king.

In their old age, Cadmus and Harmonia were turned into serpents. In some accounts, they were then carried to the Elysian Fields to live in peace. Harmonia had little worship of her own, but she remained the ancestor of the royal house of Thebes and a symbol of harmony.