Necklace of Harmonia
conceptA cursed golden necklace crafted by Hephaestus as a wedding gift for Harmonia, bringing destruction to every subsequent owner across multiple generations.
The Myth
The Necklace of Harmonia was forged by Hephaestus, who fashioned it as a gift for the wedding of Cadmus and Harmonia at Thebes. Some say Hephaestus cursed it out of bitterness toward Aphrodite, Harmonia's mother, for her affair with Ares, Harmonia's father. The necklace bestowed unearthly beauty on its wearer but brought doom to all who possessed it. When Polynices bribed Eriphyle with the necklace to persuade her husband Amphiaraus to join the doomed expedition of the Seven Against Thebes, it set off a chain of revenge killings. Amphiaraus was swallowed by the earth. His son Alcmaeon avenged him by killing Eriphyle, then was driven mad by the Erinyes. The curse passed through generations until the necklace was finally dedicated at Delphi in Apollo's temple.
Parents
Symbols
Fun Fact
The cursed object that destroys everyone who possesses it — from the Necklace of Harmonia to the One Ring, the Hope Diamond legends, and every horror movie about a haunted artifact — is one of storytelling's most durable tropes. Tolkien acknowledged Greek sources, and the necklace's multi-generational curse arc is essentially the template for every "don't touch that" plot in fiction.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth:
Explore Further
Seven Against Thebes (Detail)
conceptThe doomed military expedition of seven champions against the seven gates of Thebes, organised by...
Alcmaeon
heroSon of Amphiaraus who killed his own mother Eriphyle on his father's orders and was driven mad by...
Eriphyle
heroWife of Amphiaraus who twice accepted bribes to send her male relatives to their deaths in war.
Erinyes
conceptThree terrifying goddesses who punished those guilty of murder, oath-breaking, and crimes against...
Aphrodite
godGoddess of love and beauty, born from the sea foam. Aphrodite's power to inspire desire was so...
Apollo
godGod of light, music, poetry, and prophecy. Apollo embodied the Greek ideal of youthful masculine...
Apollo (Light)
godApollo was the most complex Olympian — god of light, music, poetry, prophecy, healing, plague, and...
Apollo Loxias
godAn epithet of Apollo meaning "the Oblique One," referring to the deliberately ambiguous nature of...
Ares
godGod of the brutal, savage side of war. Unlike Athena's strategic warfare, Ares represented the raw...
Cadmus
heroCadmus was the Phoenician prince who founded Thebes, sowed dragon's teeth, and brought the alphabet...
Cadmus and the Spartoi
heroThe Phoenician prince who founded Thebes and introduced the Greek alphabet, whose sowing of dragon...
Delphi
placeThe most important oracle in ancient Greece, where the Pythia delivered Apollo's prophecies. The...