Harpies- Greek GroupCollective"Hounds of Zeus"
Also known as: Harpyiai, Harpuiai, and Ἅρπυιαι
Titles & Epithets
Domains
Description
Whenever the blind prophet Phineus tried to eat, the Harpies swept down and snatched his food or fouled it with their filth — storm-winged daughters of Thaumas sent by Zeus as agents of punishment, until the Boreads chased them across the sky to the Strophades.
Mythology & Lore
Origin and Nature
The Harpies were daughters of the sea god Thaumas and the Oceanid Electra, making them sisters of Iris the rainbow messenger. Two are named in the earliest sources — Aello ("Storm-Swift") and Ocypete ("Swift-Wing") — with Celaeno ("the Dark One") and Podarge ("Fleet-Foot") added later. In the oldest poetry they were fair-haired winged maidens, swift as birds and bound to the storm winds. When a person vanished without trace, the Greeks said the Harpies had snatched them. They served Zeus as instruments of punishment — his "Hounds," called down upon those who had earned divine wrath.
The Torment of Phineus
Phineus, the blind seer of Salmydessus in Thrace, had revealed too much of the gods' plans to mortals. Zeus sent the Harpies against him. Whenever Phineus sat down to eat, they swooped from the sky, snatching most of the food and befouling the rest with their excrement, leaving him starving at a table that was never clean.
This went on until the Argonauts arrived on their quest for the Golden Fleece. Among Jason's crew were the Boreads — Zetes and Calais, winged sons of the north wind — who took pity on Phineus and chased the Harpies across the sky. The pursuit ended at the Strophades islands, where Iris appeared and halted the chase, swearing on the Styx that the Harpies would never trouble Phineus again. In gratitude, Phineus told the Argonauts how to navigate the Clashing Rocks.
Podarge and the Divine Horses
The Harpy Podarge, grazing in a meadow by the stream of Ocean, mated with Zephyrus the west wind. From this union came Xanthus and Balius, the immortal horses given to Peleus at his wedding. They later drew the chariot of his son Achilles at Troy — horses born of a storm spirit and a wind.
The Daughters of Pandareus
In the Odyssey, Penelope recounts how the Harpies snatched away the orphaned daughters of Pandareus. The gods had killed the girls' parents, but Aphrodite raised them and Athena taught them skill. Before their marriages could be arranged, the Harpies carried them off and delivered them to the Erinyes as servants.