Eriphyle ( Ancient Greek: Ἐριφύλη ''Eriphȳla'') was a figure in Greek mythology who, in exchange for the

necklace of Harmonia The Necklace of Harmonia, also called the Necklace of Eriphyle, was a fabled object in Greek mythology that, according to legend, brought great misfortune to all of its wearers or owners, who were primarily queens and princesses of the ill-fated H ...

(also called the necklace of Eriphyle) given to her by Polynices, persuaded her husband Amphiaraus to join the expedition of the Seven against Thebes. She was then slain by her son Alcmaeon. In Jean Racine's 1674 retelling of '' Iphigenia at Aulis'', she is an orphan whose real name turns out to be Iphigenia as well; despite her many misdeeds, she rescues Iphigenia the daughter of Agamemnon.

Myths

Eriphyle, daughter of

Talaus In Greek mythology, Talaus ( grc, Ταλαός) was the king of Argos and one of the Argonauts. He was the son of Bias (or Perialces) and Pero. His wife was Lysimache, daughter of Abas (also known as Eurynome, Lysippe or Lysianassa, daughter ...

, was the mother of Alcmaeon and the wife of Amphiaraus. Eriphyle persuaded Amphiaraus to take part in the expedition of the Seven against Thebes, though she knew he would die. She had been persuaded by Polynices, who offered her the

for her assistance. Dying Amphiaraus charged his sons Alcmaeon and Amphilochus with avenging his death and, after Amphiaraus died, fulfilling the prophecy, Alcmaeon killed his mother. He was pursued by the

Erinyes The Erinyes ( ; sing. Erinys ; grc, Ἐρινύες, pl. of ), also known as the Furies, and the Eumenides, were female chthonic deities of vengeance in ancient Greek religion and mythology. A formulaic oath in the ''Iliad'' invokes ...

as he fled across Greece, eventually reaching the court of King Phegeus, who gave him his daughter in marriage. Exhausted, Alcmaeon asked an

oracle An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The word '' ...

how to assuage the Erinyes and was told that he needed to stop where the sun was not shining when he killed his mother. That was at the mouth of the river Achelous, which had become silted up. Achelous, the god of that river, offered him his daughter Callirrhoe in marriage if Alcmaeon would retrieve the necklace and clothes that Eriphyle had worn when she persuaded Amphiaraus to take part in the battle. Alcmaeon had given these jewels to Phegeus, who had his sons kill Alcmaeon when he discovered Alcmaeon's plan: thus lest the curse be transmitted to a next generation it was dedicated to Aphrodite at Amathus in Cyprus. Eriphyle is seen in Hades in Vergil's '' Aeneid'', still bearing wounds inflicted by her son. She also plays a role in Statius's '' Thebaid'', in which her desire to attain the necklace of Harmonia is one of the catalysts for the war between Argos and Thebes. In this version of the myth, however,

Argia ''Argia'' is a genus of damselflies of the family Coenagrionidae and of the subfamily Argiinae. It is a diverse genus which contains about 114 species and many more to be described. It is also the largest genus in Argiinae. They are found in th ...

, Polynices's wife, persuades her husband to give the necklace to Eriphyle so that Amphiaraus will join the war effort.

Necklace

The

Necklace of Harmonia The Necklace of Harmonia, also called the Necklace of Eriphyle, was a fabled object in Greek mythology that, according to legend, brought great misfortune to all of its wearers or owners, who were primarily queens and princesses of the ill-fated H ...

was a gift to

Cadmus In Greek mythology, Cadmus (; grc-gre, Κάδμος, Kádmos) was the legendary Phoenician founder of Boeotian Thebes. He was the first Greek hero and, alongside Perseus and Bellerophon, the greatest hero and slayer of monsters before the da ...

when :Zeus gave him to wife Harmonia, daughter of Aphrodite and Ares. And all the gods quitted the sky, and feasting in the

Cadmea The Cadmea, or Cadmeia (Greek: Καδμεία, ''Kadmía''), was the citadel of ancient Thebes, Greece, which was named after Cadmus, the legendary founder of Thebes. The area is thought to have been settled since at least the early Bronze Age, ...

celebrated the marriage with hymns. Cadmus gave her a robe and the necklace wrought by Hephaestus, which some say was given to Cadmus by Hephaestus, but Pherecydes says that it was given by Europa, who had received it from Zeus. A relic was being shown in Amathus in Cyprus, in the time of Pausanias (2nd century CE): :In Cyprus is a city Amathus, in which is an old sanctuary of Adonis and Aphrodite. Here they say is dedicated a necklace given originally to Harmonia, but called the necklace of Eriphyle, because it was the bribe she took to betray her husband. It was dedicated at

Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), in ancient times was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The oracle ...

by the sons of Phegeus (how they got it I have already related in my history of Arcadia), but it was carried off by the tyrants of Phocis.Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'' ix.41.2 The necklace that Pausanias was shown was of green stones with gold, which made him skeptical of its being the one mentioned by Homer ('' Odyssey'' xi.327), for he noted other occasions in the ''Odyssey'' where necklaces made of gold and stones mention the stones.

Notes

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References

Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'' ix.41.2Apollodorus, ''Biibliotheke'' iii.4.2
Women in Greek mythology Characters in Book VI of the Aeneid Argive characters in Greek mythology Characters in Greek mythology

Myths

Necklace

See also

Notes

References