Harpies Sightings
- Theogony by Hesiod 800BC - 700BC
Hesiod gives you the lowdown on the birth of the Harpies and their sister Iris in this ancient epic poem.
- The Argonautica by Apollonius Rhodius 300BC - 200BC
The Boreads duke it out with the Harpies in this ancient poem, which tells the story of the Quest for the Golden Fleece.
- The Argonautica by Valerius Flaccus 100BC - 1BC
The Harpies also pop up in this other version of the Quest for the Golden Fleece by the author often recognized for having the most ridiculous name ever.
- The Aeneid by Virgil 29BC - 19BC
Aeneas and his men get into some serious trouble with the Harpies when the heroes mistakenly eat some of the bird-ladies' cattle in Virgil's epic.
- The Metamorphoses by Ovid 2
In this epic collection of poems, Ovid sings the praises of the Boreads for chasing the Harpies away from Phineus. (For the record, the Harpies hate Ovid.)
- The Inferno by Dante Alighieri 1300 - 1400
Dante's version of Hell sounds like Heaven to the Harpies, because they spend their days in the Seventh Circle, torturing those who have committed suicide.
- The Tempest by William Shakespeare 1610 - 1611
Ariel appears to the traitorous Alonso, Antonio, and Sebastian in the form of a Harpy in this magical play. (It's not exactly the most flattering disguise the world has seen.)
- The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman 2000
No-name the Harpy turns from enemy to ally for Lyra and Will in the final novel of Philip Pullman's amazing His Dark Materials trilogy.
- God of War 2005
If you like hacking up Harpies, then you ought to play this game, in which Kratos slices and dices whole flocks of the ugly bird-ladies.
- The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan 2011
Ella the Harpy turns out to be an ally to Percy Jackson in this novel for young adults. (A nice Harpy? Say what?)