In Greek and Roman mythology, a bird of prey with a woman's face.
Often depicted on tombs, Harpies may originally have been conceived of as ghosts. In early Greek literature, including the writings of Homer and Hesiod , they were wind spirits and were not represented as ugly or repellent. In the legend of Jason and the Argonauts, however, the Harpies were hideous, foul-smelling birds with the faces of women, sent to punish King Phineus of Thrace by defiling his food; they were frightened away by the sons of Boreas.