THE HARPIES

The fierce embodiment of the howling winds, and feminine rage, Harpies were generally depicted as birds with the heads of maidens and the bodies and claws of predatory or carrion birds.  Called the Hounds of Zeus, The Harpies have long compelled storytellers. Ancient writers detailed their ugliness, calling them human vultures, while artwork depicted the harpies as beautiful women with wings. Virgil wrote, "Bird-bodied, girl-faced things they are; abominable their droppings, their hands are talons, their faces haggard with hunger insatiable." The Harpies’ parents varied depending on the source, they were popularly thought to be daughters of Thaumas and Electra, and...