The Harpies also played a role in the story of Aeneas, survivor of the Trojan War and the son of Aphrodite, goddess of love. After Troy was destroyed, Aeneas wandered far and wide until, following a prophecy that he would establish a great city, he went to Italy and founded Rome.
During his journey, Aeneas sailed to the Strophades Islands, where the Harpies were living. He and his men slaughtered some wild goats and cattle for food. They made offerings to the gods before eating, but as they sat on the beach to enjoy their feast, the Harpies swooped down, snatched their food, and spread stinking filth and dirt all around. The sailors moved to another spot, but the Harpies found them and ruined their food again. Aeneas ordered his men to fight, but their blades could not harm the monsters. Celaeno, the leader of the Harpies, told the sailors that, although they would end up in Italy, they would suffer terrible hunger as a punishment for trying to kill her and her sisters, and would not be able to found a city until they were so hungry that they had eaten their tables.
In Italy, after landing at the mouth of the Tiber River, Aeneas and his men were so hungry that they ate the round bread platters on which they had been served a meal. They realized that these were the “tables” to which Celaeno had referred.
Left: The Argonauts Calais and Zetes rescue Phineus from the Harpies in this engraving by French artist Bernard Picart (1673—1733).
The overturned amphora indicates the damage caused by the monsters.
Above: Aeneas and His Companions Fighting the Harpies by
French painter Franyois Perrier (1594-1649). The mischief caused by the Harpies was a means for the Greeks to explain bad luck in their lives.
World History
