Harmonia’s Family Tree

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Family

• Aphrodite(parent),Ares(parent),Anteros(sibling),Deimos(sibling),Eros(sibling),Phobos(sibling)— Consort

  The secret affair between Ares and Aphrodite produced Eros, Anteros, Phobos, Deimos, and Harmonia. Their union was exposed when Hephaestus trapped them in a golden net.

  ⚠ Hesiod's Theogony (120) places Eros among the first beings to emerge from Chaos, a primordial force predating the Olympians. The parentage from Ares and Aphrodite is the later Hellenistic tradition (Simonides fr. 575; Bibliotheca 1.3.3, Apollodorus).

• Cadmus(spouse),Agave(child),Autonoe(child),Ino(child),Polydorus(child),Semele(child)— Marriage

  Cadmus married Harmonia, daughter of Ares and Aphrodite, in the first mortal wedding attended by all the Olympian gods. Their union on the Cadmeia produced five children: Ino, Semele, Agave, Autonoe, and Polydorus.

Member of

• Elysium

  The greatest heroes and the most favored of the gods dwell in Elysium after death, freed from the sorrows of Hades. Achilles, Peleus, Pelops, Menelaus, Cadmus, Harmonia, and Diomedes earned their place among the blessed dead.

Associated with

• Cadmus

  Cadmus and Harmonia were transformed into serpents in old age, according to the prophecy of Dionysus in Euripides' Bacchae. They were ultimately translated to Elysium together.

• Eriphyle

  The curse on the Necklace of Harmonia, originally given to Harmonia at her wedding to Cadmus, brought ruin upon Eriphyle when she accepted it as a bribe. The necklace's corrupting power drove her to betray her own husband.

• Iasion

  Iasion's fateful union with Demeter occurred at the wedding of Cadmus and Harmonia on Samothrace, according to Diodorus Siculus. The divine celebration became the setting for both sacred union and divine punishment.

• Necklace of Harmonia

  Harmonia received the Necklace of Harmonia from Hephaestus at her wedding to Cadmus. The cursed artifact shadowed her descendants and the Theban royal house for generations.

• Pentheus

  Pentheus was grandson of Cadmus and Harmonia through their daughter Agave. The curse on the house of Cadmus, stemming from his killing of Ares's sacred serpent, was fulfilled through Pentheus's terrible death.

• Thebes

  The wedding of Harmonia and Cadmus in Thebes was attended by all the Olympian gods, the first mortal wedding so honored. The cursed necklace Harmonia received as a gift brought misfortune upon Thebes for generations.