HARPIES, in Latin Harpyie, ancient goddesses, who
seem to have presided over the winds and tempests, generally considered as the daughters of Thaumas and Electra (Apollod. i. 2, 6), or of Typhon (Val. Flac. iv. 515), and originally two in number, Aëlo and Ocypete, to whom was added Celeno, or, according to Hesiod, Iris. They are represented by Virgil as winged monsters, with the face of a virgin, the body of a vulture, and the feet and fingers armed with sharp claws. They carried off whatever food was placed upon the table, or spoiled it by their filth. (Virg. Æn. iii. 216.) They were sent by Jupiter to punish Phineas, son of Agenor, king of Salmydesus in Thrace, where they remained till they were driven away during the expedition of the Argonauts, by Zethus and Calais, when they proceeded to the islands called Strophades, where they were found by Æneas. (Pausanias, iii. 18, v. 17.)