Alcmaeon and the Necklace

When Alcmaeon returned from his expedition against the Thebans, he decided to fulfill his father Amphiaraus's final command: to avenge himself on his mother Eriphyle for her treachery in accepting a bribe to betray his father. This resolve grew stronger when he discovered that his mother had also urged him to join the expedition in return for the coveted veil of Harmonia. So he put her to death, took the ill-fated necklace and veil, and left his ancestral home forever.

But the gods could not allow such an unnatural crime to go unpunished. They afflicted him with madness and sent a Fury to pursue him relentlessly. In this wretched state, he wandered from place to place until he reached Psophis in Arcadia. There King Phegeus not only purified him of his crime but also gave him his daughter Arsinoe in marriage.

Alcmaeon presented the necklace and veil to her, though they had already caused so much sorrow.

Though freed from his mental suffering, the curse over him was not entirely lifted. Because of him, the land that had taken him in suffered a terrible drought. He consulted the oracle of Delphi and learned that any land sheltering him would be cursed, and the malediction would follow him until he came to a country that did not exist at the time he killed his mother. Losing hope, Alcmaeon took a tender leave of his wife and young son and became an outcast again.

After a long and painful journey to the river Achelous, he discovered with great joy a beautiful and fertile island that had recently risen from the water. He settled there, and in this haven, he was finally freed from his sufferings and purified of his crime by the river-god Achelous. But in his new home, where all prospered, Alcmaeon soon forgot the loving wife and child he had left behind. He wooed Calirrhoe, the beautiful daughter of the river-god, and married her.

For many years Alcmaeon and Calirrhoe lived happily, and they had two sons. But unfortunately, Calirrhoe had heard of the famous necklace and veil of Harmonia and became seized with a burning desire to possess them.

The necklace and veil were in Arsinoe's keeping, but Alcmaeon had hidden his first marriage from his young wife. When he could no longer resist her pleas, he told Calirrhoe that he had hidden the treasures in a cave in his homeland and promised to fetch them for her. He left Calirrhoe and his children and went to Psophis, where he appeared before his deserted wife and her father, King Phegeus. He excused his absence by saying he had suffered another attack of madness, and added that an oracle had foretold his cure only if he deposited the necklace and veil in the temple of Apollo at Delphi. Arsinoe, deceived by his cunning words, gave him back the bridal gifts, and Alcmaeon set off homeward, satisfied with his success.

But the fatal necklace and veil were doomed to bring ruin to all who possessed them. During his stay at Phegeus's court, a servant who had accompanied Alcmaeon betrayed the secret of his marriage to the river-god's daughter. When the king told his sons of Alcmaeon's treachery, they decided to avenge their sister Arsinoe. They hid at a point on the road Alcmaeon had to pass, and as he neared, they leaped from ambush, fell upon him, and killed him.

When Arsinoe, who still loved her faithless husband, heard of the murder, she bitterly reproached her brothers for their crime. Enraged, they placed her in a chest and took her to Agapenor at Tegea. There they accused her of the murder they themselves had committed, and she suffered a painful death.

When Calirrhoe learned of Alcmaeon's fate, she begged Zeus to let her infant sons grow to manhood instantly to avenge their father. The ruler of Olympus heard her prayer, and the children of yesterday transformed into bearded men, full of strength and courage, thirsting for revenge.

Hastening to Tegea, they met the sons of Phegeus, who were about to go to Delphi to deposit the necklace and veil in Apollo's sanctuary. Before the brothers could defend themselves, the stalwart sons of Calirrhoe rushed upon them and killed them. Then they proceeded to Psophis, where they killed King Phegeus and his wife. Afterward, they returned to their mother with the necklace and veil, which, by command of her father Achelous, were deposited as sacred offerings in the temple of Apollo at Delphi.