harpy 的詞源

古代神話中的有翼怪獸，14世紀晚期，來自古法語 harpie（14世紀），源自拉丁語 harpyia，來自希臘語 Harpyia（複數），字面意思是“搶奪者”，可能與 harpazein “搶奪”有關（見 rapid（形容詞））。引申義爲“貪婪醜陋的人”約於1400年。

In Homer they are merely personified storm winds, who were believed to have carried off any person that had suddenly disappeared. In Hesiod they are fair-haired and winged maidens who surpass the winds in swiftness, and are called Aello and Ocypete; but in later writers they are represented as disgusting monsters, with heads like maidens, faces pale with hunger, and claws like those of birds. The harpies ministered to the gods as the executors of vengeance. ["American Cyclopædia," 1874]

在荷馬史詩中，它們只是擬人化的風暴，據信它們曾帶走任何突然消失的人。在赫西俄德的作品中，它們是金髮有翼的少女，超越了風的速度，被稱爲 Aello 和 Ocypete； 但在後來的作家筆下，它們被描繪成令人厭惡的怪物，頭像少女，面色蒼白，爪子像鳥一樣。哈比女神是作爲復仇的執行者而爲衆神服務的。["美國百科全書"，1874]