Historiae Romanorum

The Harpies

Often called the Erinyes, the daughters of Thaumus and Electra.  They are portrayed as birds with the faces of women.  They seem to be associated with the wind in the Theogeny.  In the story of Jason and the Argonauts told by Apollonius, the Harpies torment the blind king Phineus as punishment for blinding his own children.  In Aeschylus' Oresteia, they torment Orestes for murdering his mother.

Source(s):

1. Hesiod.  Theogeny.

2. Apollonius Rhodius.  Argonautica.

3. Aeschylus.  Oresteia.

This page was last updated on July 21, 2004.