The Faeries and Folklore Podcast by Ronel: Harpies #podcast #faeries #folklore

Episode 124: Dark Fae: Harpies

The folklore of harpies in a nutshell and how I reimagined it for my writing.

Written and narrated by Ronel Janse van Vuuren.

Copyright 2024 Ronel Janse van Vuuren — All rights reserved.

Learn more about harpies in folklore here.

Get the transcript here.

Learn more about the author and her writing here.

Music: Secrets by David Fesliyan (FesliyanStudios.com) and Dramatic Heartbeat by FesliyanStudios.com

Transcript

You’re listening to the Faeries and Folklore podcast by Ronel.

I’m dark fantasy author Ronel Janse van Vuuren. With over a decade of digging around in dusty folklore books, researching creatures of imagination that ignited my curiosity, I’m here to share the folklore in a nutshell and how I reimagined it for my writing in an origin of the fae.

This is the Faeries and Folklore podcast.

Hi, I’m your host Ronel Janse van Vuuren. You can just call me Ronel. In today’s episode, we’re continuing our exploration of the fae realm.

This episode is brought to you by my Dark Court Sisters book series. Available in ebook, paperback and audiobook. Three sisters. Three destinies. Three ways to destroy the world. Go to ronelthemythmaker.com/darkcourtsistersseries for more.

You can now support my time in producing the podcast (researching, writing and everything else involved) by buying me a coffee. This can be a once-off thing, or you can buy me coffee again in the future at your discretion. Go to buymeacoffee.com/ronel to support me.

We’re continuing our exploration of Dark Fae.

Today’s Faery: Harpy

Folklore in a Nutshell by Ronel

As the daughters of the sea god Thaumas and the oceanid Electra, harpies are beautiful young women with wings who enjoy flying faster than birds. That’s Hesoid’s theory. Homer was certain that they were the personification of violent winds, strong enough to carry people away. In this incarnation, they were servants of Zeus, sent out during thunderstorms to do his bidding. They were half-woman, half-bird creatures who used their strong wings to fly faster than the wind and used their sharp claws to grab people from the earth. Their name means “to snatch”. At least according to some legends.

They were said to be ravenous creatures who would swallow their prey whole. Which is why no-one bothered to look for people who seemed to disappear into thin air: they knew the harpies had got to them.

As the Hounds of Zeus, they were set on king Phineas who betrayed the trust of the king of the Olympian gods who had bestowed upon him the power of prophecy. Not only was Phineas blinded, stranded on a deserted island, and left for dead, he had a banquet set before him which he could never eat from as the harpies always swooped in and ate almost everything, leaving him scraps to stay alive. In some accounts, they left a foul odour behind to make him even more miserable. They were chased off by the boreads who travelled with Jason and the other Argonauts, saved by their sister, the goddess Iris, and lived on another island until someone else decided to irritate them.

Aeneas, a hero from Troy, and some of his men were looking for a new home after the Trojan War ended. They landed on the island the harpies were living on, hunted goats and whatnot, prepared a feast – and didn’t eat as the harpies swooped in and ate everything. The ex-Trojans tried again, but the same happened. This time, they decided to attack the harpies. But their weapons didn’t work on these half-bird women. Instead, the leader of the harpies cursed them for trying to murder her and her sisters, saying that they wouldn’t find the place they wanted until they grew so hungry that they would eat their tables. By the time they got to that point, they founded Rome.

As the tales of the harpies grew in popularity, their appearance started to go downhill. From beautiful half-bird women, to being compared to vultures. From being helpful, to being ferocious monsters. Even today, a mean, heartless woman would be called a harpy. Of course, harpies are exactly what a lot of men fear: strong females who do what is necessary.

And now for my interpretation of the fae in an Origin of the Fae: Harpy

Half-woman, half-bird creatures with eagle claws for feet, strong wings and sharp taloned hands. They can screech like an eagle, a terrifying sound coming from a supposedly human mouth. They could be beautiful, if not for the perpetual glare and puckered mouth that mars their faces. They are ferocious and fierce. Once set on a path by the Dark King, it is impossible to sway them. They are usually sent to abduct troublesome fae. They enjoy toying with their prey before swallowing them whole (except when the Dark King wished no harm to befall the fae they were sent to retrieve).

I hope that you’ve enjoyed this episode of the faeries and folklore podcast and that you’ve learned something new about faeries.

Remember that you can get a transcript of this episode in the description. If you’re new to the podcast, why not go and grab your free copy of Unseen, the second book in the Faery Tales series, on my website ronelthemythmaker.com? Loads of folklore, magic and danger await! Take care!

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You can now support my time in producing the podcast (researching, writing and everything else involved) by buying me a coffee. This can be a once-off thing, or you can buy me coffee again in the future at your discretion.