Harpy
Harpies are winged women with talons and storm winds, agents of divine punishment who snatch food or people. They tormented King Phineus until the Boreads drove them off, leaving filth and hunger behind.
Story beats
- 1) Zephyra, Aello, and Ocypete swoop at Zeus’ bidding to punish oath-breakers.
- 2) They steal Phineus’ meals, fouling what remains, embodying starvation as punishment.
- 3) The Argonauts’ winged twins, Zetes and Calais, chase them to the Strophades; a goddess halts the pursuit.
- 4) In later tales, harpies linger as storm omens and scavengers on battlefields.
Context & symbolism
Harpies merge storm winds with retribution—swift, shrieking, unstoppable. Their food-snatching punishes greed and presumption, while their filth signals moral rot made tangible.
They evolved from wind-spirits into monstrous carrion eaters, a shift that mirrors anxieties about famine and defilement.
Motifs
- Winged woman with talons
- Food stolen or befouled
- Storm shrieks and sudden gusts
- Pursuit by winged heroes
Use it in play
- A harpy curse causes meals to rot; players must appease or banish the wind spirits.
- Sky chase sequence through cliffs as harpies snatch supplies mid-flight.
- Negotiate with a harpy matron for safe passage; she hungers for secrets, not meat.
- Battlefield aftermath: harpies circle; defend the fallen to prevent desecration.