Harpy

Harpies are a legendary species of winged female creatures from Greek mythology. Traditionally, their physical appearance is that of a human-sized bird of prey with the head of a woman, or a female humanoid with avian legs and wings.
Harpies are featured in H. P. Lovecraft's poem "Hallowe'en in a Suburb", and mentioned in the opening quote of "The Dunwich Horror", which is from "Witches and Other Night-Fears", by Charles Lamb.
==In the Mythos==
According to the Pict warrior Brule, before humanity became the dominant species on Earth, the early humans warred for centuries against several enemy races, including "the bird-women, the harpies, the bat-men, the flying fiends, the wolf-people, the demons, the goblins" and the Serpent People. By the time Kull became king of Valusia, most of these foes had been extinct and forgotten, with only the Serpent People and a few of the Wolf Men remaining. (: "The Shadow Kingdom")
In De Vermis Mysteriis, Ludvig Prinn claims that mysterious beings, "half-beast, half-man", once roamed the world, and became worshiped as gods, including the snake-like Set and the animal gods of Egypt. A writer of weird fiction who has read Prinn wondered if the harpies could be related to the avian god Thoth, and werewolves to the canine Anubis. (: "The Secret of Sebek")
While under the mental influence of a Sea-dweller, Graham Dean experienced nightmares about the sea, which included visions of soaring Harpies, monstrous Gorgons and sea serpents. Dr. Makoto Yamada would later mention these same mythical creatures as evidence that the human mind cannot completely suppress the horror of the Sea-dwellers, even as it tries to depict them as lovely Mermaids or Nereids. (: "The Black Kiss")
Category:Earth-Native Species
Category:Sapient Species
Category:Species Incorporated From Folklore, Myth & Religion