When someone vanished for no reason, one possible explanation was that they had been snatched away by the Harpies. The monsters had such a reputation for stealing away both people and items that it is reflected in their name. In their role as the couriers of the wicked, the Harpies served both Zeus and Hades.
Like most of the monsters in Greek mythology , the harpies were symbolic of a real world danger. Specifically, they were the daimones , or spirits, of sudden gusts and sharp blasts of wind. They moved at high speed and seemed to come out of nowhere, just like the winds they represented. They could certainly be dangerous when worked into a frenzy, but often the biggest issue was the noise and disorder they left behind.
With enough fury behind them, though, they could displace belongings and even people. As a part of a storm, each harpy was ultimately a servant of Zeus. Despite their wild nature, they did the bidding of the god of thunder and followed his commands.
The most well-known story of the harpies occurs as part of the larger tale of Jason and the Argonauts. The story began with King Phineus of Thrace. The gods had blessed him with prophetic powers, but the king showed no respect for his gift.
When Phineus began telling his people about the secret plans of the gods, Zeus resolved to punish him. In the center of the island was a huge table covered in every delicious food the king could dream of. He never got to eat a bite, though, because as soon as he sat down to eat or even approached the table a band of harpies would appear to steal every crumb of the feast. Often the harpies devoured the food themselves. Sometimes, though, they only dropped it in a stinking liquid so that it was entirely unfit to eat.
Phineus was constantly plagued by hunger. The harpies left him only just enough scraps to survive so that his torment could continue. He eventually had hope for salvation when Jason and the crew of his ship, the Argonauts, landed on his isolated island.
The king knew the waters of the area well, and promised Jason he would direct them in the best route to take in order to complete their quest. All he asked in return was that the visitors kill the harpies for him. It would not be easy, though. A prophesy he knew had told him that the harpies could only be driven off by two sons of Boreas, the North Wind.
As it happened, two of the Boreades were on the ship with Jason. His crew members Zetes and Calais were sons of the god of the North Wind. They volunteered to help, even though the prophecy said that their own lives would be in danger. The Argonauts were also hesitant to help someone who was being punished by the harpies.
Such torments were directed by Zeus because the person had committed a serious crime. Phineus assured the men that they would not incur the wrath of the gods if they helped him. He swore an oath that Zeus would not turn against Jason and his crew. Reassured by this, the Argonauts hurried into action. The younger crew members began to prepare a meal from the scraps the harpies had left behind, while Zetes and Calais stood ready with their swords. And Phineus had scarcely taken the first morsel up when, with as little warning as a whirlwind or a lightning flash, they dropped from the clouds proclaiming their desire for food with raucous cries.
The young lords saw them coming and raised the alarm. Both Homer and Hesiod mentioned the harpies in their stories. Hesiod is largely responsible for writing about what the harpies look like.
He described them as creatures with the head of a woman. This woman usually has long, golden hair and fine, beautiful features. The harpy also has large golden wings, the body of a bird, and fearsome talons that they used for grabbing at their victims. One of the most well known stories involving the harpies is that of King Phineus of Thrace.
When King Phineus asked for the gift of prophecy, Zeus granted it to him. Once he was granted this gift, King Phineus betrayed Zeus by giving away his plans. Her name is also sometimes spelled Ocypode meaning swift foot , or as Ocythoe meaning swift runner. Celaeno was also recognized as a Harpy sister.
On the isle of Strophades, the Trojans encountered the Harpies when they slew their cattle and prepared a feast. The Harpies came down from the skies and devoured the feast, soiling any scraps that were left behind so they could not be consumed. Again the Trojans prepared a feast — this time in an enclosed and more protected area — but to their dismay, the Harpies swooped down again and devoured the food.
Finally, the Trojans prepared to fight the creatures. They were stopped when Celaeno delivered a prophecy that chilled them to the core. She cursed their mission and told them that their troops would be cursed with famine so great that they would be driven to eat their own tables for their wrongful attack on the Harpies. The Trojans were filled with terror and fled the island with haste. Podarge is another Harpy sister. She is thought to have formed a union with Zephyrus the god of the West Wind and was thought to be the mother of Balius and Xanthus the immortal horses of Achilles.
Interestingly enough, Iris sister of the Harpies and rainbow goddess was sometimes referred to as Podarge, making some wonder if there was a deeper connection. The tale of the Daughters of Pandareus begins when King Pandareus decides to steal a bronze dog from Zeus.
When Zeus discovers who is responsible for the theft he kills King Pandareus and his wife, but allows the daughters to live. Aphrodite raises the girls until they reach womanhood and can be married. The goddess traveled to Olympus to ask Zeus for his blessing to arrange marriages for the girls. While Aphrodite is gone, the Harpies come and steal the girls away and hand them over to the Furies.
Zeus once granted King Phineus the gift of prophecy. However, when the King uses the gift against the gods, Zeus becomes angry and decides to punish the foolish King. King Phineus was blinded and made to live on an island. Zeus sent the Harpies to torture the King by stealing away all his food before he had a chance to eat. Any scraps they left behind were soiled, further adding to the plight of the King. Years later, the Argonauts ventured onto the island and discovered the King.
They offered to drive the Harpies away from him in exchange for vital information to help their journey. The King agreed and a trap was set for the Harpies. The Harpies, however, were very speedy.
They flew across the land and managed to make it to the Strofades before collapsing with exhaustion. They prayed to the gods to have mercy on them and their cry was answered. Iris appeared and told the Agronauts to spare the lives of the Harpies. In return, they would no longer torture King Phineus. Grecian pottery depicted the harpies as beautiful women with wings. However, as early as Aeschylus, in the Eumenides, Harpies are described as ugly creatures with wings and later writers would carry these characteristics so far as to represent them as disgusting, cruel and terrifying monsters that were always ravenously hungry.
Sometimes they were thought to be cousins of the Gorgons, three sisters with hair made of horrible venomous snakes and a stone wielding stare, Medusa is the most famous of the three sisters. Phineus used this gift against the Gods , uncovering their secret plans and was thus punished by an angry Zeus, sentenced to an island, blind and with a buffet of food he could not eat because the Harpies would steal all the food before he was able to indulge and satisfy his hunger.
Years later Phineus was rescued by his fate by Jason and the Argonauts, and the winged Boreades drove the Harpies away. In exchange, the exiled King told Jason how to pass the Symplegades Rocks. In this form the Harpies acted as agents of punishment; vicious, cruel and violent.
According to the story of the daughters of Pandareus, the Gods killed King Pandareus and his wife, after the King stole a bronze dog from Zeus. His daughters Cleodora and Merope were spared and raised by several of the Greek goddesses on Mount Olympus, particularly Aphrodite. When the girls reached an age to be married off, Aphrodite went to seek permission from Zeus for the marriages and while she was gone the Harpies came and took the daughters to become servants of the Furies.
The Harpies, like many characters in Greek mythology, evolved over time and different tales, beginning as wind spirits then personified as winged woman and eventually into the monstrous creatures we most recognise today. If you use any of the content on this page in your own work, please use the code below to cite this page as the source of the content.
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