There is no ambiguity here; Cadmus married Harmonia. But which Harmonia? Aphrodite's daughter from her adulterous relationship with god Ares, or the daughter of Zeus and Electra born in Samothrace? Aphrodite, the sand (see section Aphrodite and Adonis – the sand and the filter), is usually the wife of Hephaestus, the furnace-using craftsman, especially the metallurgist. The metallurgist uses sand all the time to cast metals. But the sand was also used to polish surfaces, wood, stone, etc., mainly when surfaces had to be fitted together and joined. But surfaces put together, no matter how well they fit each other, can come apart with the slightest movement at any time. Some more permanent fixing is needed for security. Joints were, therefore, occasionally secured using clasps, screws, nails, or fasteners of any kind. Security was Ares’ affair (see section Demeter and Ares – irrigation and defense). This is how Ares and Aphrodite met at the club of joints.
The marriage of sand-polishing and secure
fastening gave birth to Harmonia. In English, we have the stem arm from Harmonia,
which semantically joints anatomical arms, limbs, locomotive, or any prehensile
parts of organisms and machines, from one hand, with weapons, war, and Harm
(current interpretation of god Ares), from the other. In Ancient Greek, we have
ἁρμός (‘armos or harmos) meaning joint,
joining, fitting, in general, and in masonry in particular, fastenings of a door
(security), bolt, peg, shoulder-joint, fissure. The Homeric ἁρμονίη (‘armoniē;
harmoniē), essentially identical to harmonia, refers
to bands, slabs, one side flat, the other curved, serving to bind together the
raft of Odysseus. Then, ἁρμογή (‘armogē or harmogē)
is joining, junction, fitting, arrangement, joint in masonry, getting together,
arrangement of clauses, joining of two bones without motion; in Music, method
of tuning a stringed instrument; in Painting, gradation of tints in transition.
By adding the prefix epi- (on, upon, to, over), we get ἐφαρμογή (epharmogē),
adjustment, coincidence, agreement, union, application. The simple noun ἅρμα (‘arma;
harma) is, of course, the war chariot, but it is also any
chariot, racing-chariot, traveling-chariot, chariot, and horses, yoked chariot,
team, chariot-horses, or a ship, an assembly that functions as a unit. All
these derive from the verb ἁρμόζω (‘armozō or harmozō),
fit together, fit well, join, adapt, accommodate, accord, apply (e.g., a
remedy), tune (instruments), compose, coincide with, correspond.
But fitting things together does not imply
that they will stay together. The second stem of Harmonia, monia, is
also essential. The independent word μονία (monia) means changelessness,
steadfastness, while μόνιμος (monimos) is stable, staying
in one's place, stationary, steady, steadfast, lasting, fixed, permanent. Both
these words come from μένω (menō), to stay, stand fast, stay where one
is, remain. Thus, Harmonia is a compound of harm (join, fix) and monia
(steadfast, permanent). Since the cluster rmm is not possible in Greek, Harm-monia
contracts to Harmonia. I do not know why harm is
seen as damage in English. It is supposed to derive from Proto-Germanic *harmaz from
PIE *kormo-, meaning pain[1],
though it may be a straightforward adaptation from harmozō,
fit together, fit well, join. One explanation is that one usually needs to fix
something broken damaged; therefore, fixing implies damage. Another
explanation is that the -onia stem of Harmonia was interpreted as a union. Indeed, the Late Latin ūniō (accusative of ūniōnem) meant oneness unity and gave rise to Old French and English union. But Latin ūniōnem and
ūniō also meant onion (the structure of an onion explains why) and gave Anglo-Norman
union, then, Middle English onyon, union, and Modern
English onion. Thus, -onia (permanently) would be interpreted as -union,
-fixing, and Harm-, as braking, damage. Anyway, we can confidently say that Harmonia, the daughter of Ares and Aphrodite, meant glue.
Upon her wedding with Cadmus, this Harmonia
received a Necklace from Hephaestus. Although no detailed
description exists, the Necklace is usually described in ancient passages as having
the shape of two serpents whose open mouths formed a clasp. Glue was, therefore, applied and let dry with the use of clasps. A clasp is a fastener meant to leave
the surface of the objects glued intact. But Hephaestus’ (the metallurgist’s) present
was cursed[2]. It didn’t work well but slew the work of the carpenter.
The other Harmonia, daughter of Zeus and
Electra (Greek Ἠλέκτρα; Ēlektra; HLEKTRA), was, perhaps, a
water-soluble resin. Because Zeus was the rainwater (water for simplicity; see section Zeus – the rain) and all common
nouns starting with electr- (Greek ἤλεκτρ-; ēlektr) are undoubtedly
related to amber, ἤλεκτρον (ēlektron; HLEKTRON), a pine (conifer)
resin[3].
One question is whether, at the times when the myth was first conceived, the
Greeks could tell the difference between resins and other gums (e.g., sap) produced by different trees. What did ēlektr really include? Were the
differences in the parentage of Harmonia in various versions simply
specifications on the nature and use of the glue? How many Electras were there?
According to Dionysius of Halicarnassus (circa
60 – after 7 BC), Electra gave birth not
only to Harmonia but also to two sons, the elder Iasius (Ἰάσιος; Iasios) or
Iasus (Ἴασος; Iasos) and the younger Dardanus (Δάρδανος; Dardanos)[4].
The stem iasi- constitutes almost the entire word ἴασις (iasis), meaning healing, mode of healing, remedy, mending, repairs, small circular
receptacle (for mixing assays), refining. Furthermore, ἰάσιμος (iasimos)
means curable, appeasable, of persons and wounds. Further, iasi- starts
the noun ἰασιώνη (iasiōnē) for bindweed. One of these
plants, abundant around the Mediterranean, the black bryony (Dioscorea
communis), is poisonous and cannot be used internally. Still, it has been used as
a poultice for bruises and inflamed joints. The stems of the blue bindweed (Solanum
dulcamara), or plant of the potato genus native of Europe and Asia, are approved
by the German Commission E for external use as supportive therapy in chronic
eczema. Solanine and solasodine extracted from S. dulcamara show antibiotic
and antidermatophytic activity, notably against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus
aureus, and fungal infections causing ringworm. The Convolvulaceae
family of bindweeds contains members with recognized medicinal value as
purgatives. One such member is Convolvulus sepium (morning glory), to
which iasiōnē is specifically glossed to refer. I wonder
if Ἰάσων (Iasōn; Jason), the leader of the Argonauts[5],
was not a medical doctor trying to find a remedy for curing a dermatological disease.
His target, the Golden Fleece (Χρυσόμαλλο δέρας, Chrysomallo deras), literally
translates to golden skin. But that would be another book!
Now, the younger brother of Iasius
(healing), Dardanus (Dardanos), splits as Dar-dan-os or Darda-nos.
The long morpheme, darda, forms the independent word δάρδα (darda)
glossed from δαρδαίνω (dardainō), to infect, contaminate.
Also, δαρδάπτω (dardaptō) means to devour, of wild beasts.
The smaller starter, dar, appears in δάρμα (darma),
skin, a man's skin, the skin of fruits, and other coverings. At the same time, δάρσις (darsis)
means separation of parts united by cellular tissue by tearing, i.e., wound,
and δαρτός (dartos), the skin flayed from, stripped off, or
fish which must be skinned before dressing. The second short stem, dan, is
the independent word δάν (dan), meaning a long time, old, for a long
while. It is a Doric derivative of the verb δέω (deō), which comes in two
semantic versions: (i) to bind, tie, fetter, keep in bonds, hinder from a
thing, harden, brace up, put on oneself; (ii) to lack, miss, stand in need of, to
be in want or need, require, things needing to be done, the necessaries, needing
repair, threatened. It also starts the word δανός (danos), meaning burnt, dry, parched, and many words about the need for money such as
δάνειον (daneion), loan, things due (compare deō).
It seems evident to me. If dan means
need, bandage, and long time, overdue, dar means damaged skin and darda,
infection, where N for action (movement; see
section N) is missing, then, Dardanos is the need for a bandage of damaged skin to avoid infection, and Iasios (or Iasos; perhaps also the
Argonaut Jason) is healing or healer. Thus, the two brothers of Harmonia were about the medical
care of damaged skin. This Harmonia, the daughter of Zeus (clean rainwater) and
Electra (gum, resin, glue?) could be an ointment or similar preparation used for
skin appeasing and healing, a balm. In terms of human activity, Dardanus is the
patient with damaged skin needing treatment to avoid infection, and Iasos is the
healthcare professional using disinfectants, stitching, bandage, and balms.
Iasios was the elder brother because he took care of the younger Dardanus.
At the marriage of Cadmus and Harmonia, the
myth tells, Iasion (the dermatologist) was lured by Demeter (irrigation) away
from the other revelers. They had intercourse as Demeter lay on her back in a
freshly plowed furrow (irrigation water was used for cleaning the wound). When
they rejoined the celebration, Zeus (the water) guessed what had happened
because of the mud on Demeter's backside (there was mad in the water), and out
of envy, killed Iasion with a thunderbolt (the doctor lost his job)[6].
However, some say Demeter pled so eloquently (in case of emergency, even
irrigation water can be used) that Zeus granted his son immortality, ranking
him among the lesser deities (general reputation of medics).
Some versions of this myth conclude with
Iasion (clean water for health care) and the agricultural hero Triptolemus (perhaps
irrigation water; not analyzed herein) becoming the Gemini constellation. But
the same constellation is more frequently attributed to the Dioscuri. This
association raises the suspicion that the Dioscuri, who participated in Jason’s
quest and were much praised, were also medical professionals or tools (surgeons?).
Jason and other argonauts were friends and pupils of the healer centaur Chiron. Nevertheless, we can be confident that Medicine was the first discipline to be
taught and researched at higher-level educational institutions since Iasios (the
healthcare professional) was the founder of the Mysteries of Samothrace (see section The Mysteries and the Nike of Samothrace).
So far, we understand that Harmonia as the daughter of Ares (protection, security, armor) and Aphrodite (sand), was anything used in combination with sanding and fastening to secure joints from falling apart. Some sand mixture, armed with external or internal metallic parts (e.g., armed concrete or plaster), holds stones together in architecture. This Harmonia, call it fitting or fixing, is probably a generic term for anything that fixes objects permanently together. Fitting or fixing? Note that fitting has two matching signified objects, T-T (e.g., surfaces), brought next to each other, whereas fixing has a ‘covalent’ bond, a cross-link, X, between objects. I think fixing is a more accurate translation of Ares’ and Aphrodite’s daughter. The other Harmonia, daughter of Zeus and Electra, still means fixing but is mythologically glossed as a water solution of a substance like pine resin (amber; any resin, gum, or sap) used in a medical context; e.g., for fixing skin lesions. The semantic properties Electra, the mother of medical fixing (Harmonia), transmits to her daughter are vague. We may clarify them further by morphological and semantic analysis of Electra and Electron (amber; see section Electra).
Claims
Cognates
Oppositions
fiTTing/fiXing,
[2] Necklace
of Harmonia in English Wikipedia; accessed 13 May 2021.
[5] The Argonautica is a Greek epic poem written by Apollonius
Rhodius in the 3rd century BC.
[6] Oxyrhynchus
Papyri 1359 fragment 2 (early 3rd cent. AD); Apollod.
3.12; Hes.
Th. 969-970, Hom.
Od. 5.125.