- Eriphyle
In
Greek mythology , Eriphyle, daughter ofTalaus , was the mother of Alcmaeon and the wife ofAmphiaraus . Eriphyle persuaded Amphiaraus to take part in the raid that initiated the mythic tale of theSeven Against Thebes , though she knew he would die. She had been persuaded byPolynices , who offered her the necklace of Harmonia 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 theErinyes as he fled across Greece, eventually reaching the court of KingPhegeus , who gave him his daughter in marriage. Exhausted, Alcmaeon asked anoracle 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 riverAchelous , which had become silted up. Achelous, the god of that river, offered him his daughterCallirhoe 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.Eriphyle is seen in Hades in
Vergil 's "Aeneid ", still bearing wounds inflicted by her son.The necklace of Eriphyle was a gift to
Cadmus when :"Zeus gave him to wife Harmonia, daughter of Aphrodite and Ares. And all the gods quitted the sky, and feasting in the Cadmea 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." (Pseudo-Apollodorus, "Bibliotheke " iii.4.2)A relic was being shown in
Amathus in Cyprus, in the time of Pausanias (second century CE)::"In Cyprus is a city Amathus, in which is an old sanctuary ofAdonis andAphrodite . 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 atDelphi 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." ("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.References
* [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Paus%2e+9%2e41%2e2%2d5 Pausanias, "Description of Greece" ix.41.2]
* [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Apollod%2e+3%2e4%2e2 Apollodorus, "Biibliotheke" iii.4.2]
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