In Greek mythology, Harmonia is the immortal goddess of harmony and concord. Harmonia was the daughter of Aphrodite and Ares but Zeus gave Harmonia to Cadmus after he found Thebes. Harmonia is from Samothrace, Greece. Harmonia ranks in the bottom compared to other gods or goddesses since her parents are Olympians. The Greeks described Harmonia wearing a long robe and holding the necklace she received from Cadmus and the necklace transferred her to a serpent. Harmonia’s symbol is prosperity and peace. The Roman version of Harmonia would be Concordia.
Harmonia doesn’t have an animal symbol or a patron city. As the daughter of Aphrodite, Harmonia lead over martial harmony by comforting strife and discords. As the daughter of Ares, she represented harmonious action in war. Harmonia was born of Aphrodite’s improper affair with Ares. She was awarded to Cadmus, the hero founder of Thebes, in a wedding attended by all the gods and goddesses. Hephaestus, however, was still furious over his wife’s betrayal and presented Harmonia with a cursed necklace, which is known as the Necklace of Harmonia.
The necklace doomed her descendants to endless tragedy. When the government of Thebes was presented upon Cadmus by Athena, Zeus gave him Harmonia. All the gods honored the wedding with their attendance. Cadmus presented Harmonia with a robe and necklace, which he had received from Hephaestus or Europa. The necklace of Harmonia brought misfortunes for the ones that possessed it. According to Hyginus, the thing which brought ill fate to the descendants of Harmonia was not the necklace, but a robe that “ dipped in crime”, given to Harmonia by Hephaestus and Athena.
Being married to Cadmus, Harmonia had six children and they were Ino, Polydorus, Autonoe, Agave, Semele, and their youngest son was Illyrius. Folks who described Harmonia as a Samothracian related that Cadmus, on his voyage to Samothrace, observed Harmonia and carried her off with the assistance of Athena. When Cadmus was grateful to quit Thebes, Harmonia accompanied him. After Cadmus and Harmonia went to the Greek tribe, the Echeleans, they assisted them in their war against the Illyrians and conquered the enemy.
After the war between the Echeleans and Illyrians, Cadmus became the king of the Illyrians and he transformed into a serpent. At that moment, the gods also transformed Harmonia into a serpent since they were unable to stand watching her in her dazed state. The level of their suffering was the result of Harmonia wearing the necklace is controversial because Cadmus and Harmonia are usually described as rising to the paradise of Elysian Fields after the transformation. The necklace then went to Harmonia’s daughter, Semele.
In interpretation, Harmonia is the immortal goddess of harmony and concord and her parents are Aphrodite and Ares but she was given to Zeus. Harmonia became Cadmus’s wife and all the gods and goddesses attended their wedding. She had six children and her youngest son was Illyrius. Harmonia received a necklace from Cadmus on her wedding day which lead to misfortunes and transformed her into a serpent with her husband Cadmus. After being transformed to serpents, they were transferred to Island of the Blest to live in harmony and peace for the rest of eternity.
