Greek
Aegis
Aegis (Αἰγίς)
Shaken, it raises storms and sends enemy armies fleeing in terror.
ArmorFirst recorded c. 750 BCE
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Photograph: A Greek gold necklace of the fourth century BCE, with small spearhead-shaped gold ornaments packed closely along its length.
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ArchiveGreek · Jewel
Necklace of Harmonia
Necklace of Harmonia
Keeps its wearer young and beautiful forever but brings misfortune for generations.
- Owner
- Harmonia and the royal house of Thebes
- Maker
- Hephaestus, god of the forge
- First record
- Statius, Thebaid90
- Gallery
- Greek
Notes on the photograph 3
Story
Harmonia was the daughter of Aphrodite and the war god Ares. Enraged at his wife's infidelity, Hephaestus gave Harmonia a beautiful necklace when she married Cadmus, founder of Thebes, and secretly put a curse in it.
The necklace kept women young and beautiful, but endless misery followed the Theban house that owned it. The tragedy of Oedipus unfolded in this family.
Later Polynices bribed Eriphyle, wife of a seer, with this necklace to send her husband to a war she knew would kill him. In the end the necklace is said to have left human hands only when dedicated at the temple at Delphi.
The object in the photo
The photograph shows Gold necklace(Greek, 4th century BCE), a real museum object that evokes the legendary artifact.
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