Cadmus and Harmonia
The founder of Thebes marries Harmonia in a celebrated divine wedding, but suffering follows their family and eventually transforms them both.
The Story
After the founding of Thebes, Cadmus married Harmonia.
Their wedding was one of the great marriages of the heroic age.
The gods themselves were said to have attended and gifts were given to the bride.
Among the most famous objects associated with Harmonia was a necklace that would acquire a destructive reputation in later Theban tradition.
Despite the splendour of their marriage, the descendants of Cadmus and Harmonia suffered repeated catastrophe.
Their family included figures whose stories became central to the mythology of Thebes and Dionysus.
Cadmus himself eventually left Thebes.
In later tradition, Cadmus and Harmonia travelled westward and were ultimately transformed into serpents.
Some accounts then place them among the blessed.
The fate of Cadmus is therefore striking.
He began as a prince searching for his abducted sister Europa, founded one of the greatest cities of Greek mythology and established a dynasty, yet ended his mortal story far from the city he had created.
Harmonia shared both his kingship and his final transformation.
Key Figures
Why It Matters
The story links the foundation of Thebes to the later tragedies of the Cadmean house and gives both Cadmus and Harmonia a conclusion beyond the city's founding.
Traditions & Variations
The location, cause and meaning of the transformation of Cadmus and Harmonia vary between traditions, as do details surrounding Harmonia's famous necklace.