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Harmonia

Mythology
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

In Greek myth, Harmonia is the goddess of harmony and concord, daughter of Ares and Aphrodite, and wife of Cadmus, king of Thebes.

Detailed Definition
Harmonia, daughter of Ares and Aphrodite, received a cursed necklace that brought tragedy to her descendants. She and Cadmus were transformed into serpents. Poets invoke her to explore the fragility of peace, the burden of divine gifts, and the interplay of love and doom.
Example
Example in poetry:
Ovid’s Metamorphoses recounts Harmonia’s marriage to Cadmus and eventual transformation; Apollodorus describes her as daughter of Ares and Aphrodite; In Euripides’ Bacchae, she is grandmother of Pentheus; Later poetry uses Harmonia as a symbol of marital unity and tragic fate; In allegory, her name embodies cosmic and social order.
Additional Notes
Harmonia, daughter of Ares and Aphrodite, marries Cadmus; their wedding gifts (including a cursed necklace) doom Thebes. Students should see her as an ironic figure—her name means “harmony,” yet her lineage brings discord. Her transformation into a serpent with Cadmus reflects shared fate. Related: Cadmus, Theban cycle, cursed objects.
Also Known As
Harmonia the Bride of Cadmus Goddess of Concord Daughter of Ares and Aphrodite Wearer of the Necklace
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