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RARA-AVIS: Harpy: not 'slut' but 'snatch'
On the 'harpy' topic that was discussed a few days ago, no-one mentioned
that these figures derive from mythology. FWIW, a harpy is a bird-like
creature, having the head of a woman, and the body and wings of a vulture,
with terribly sharp claws on both hands and feet. The harpies are the
offspring of Neptune and Terra. As with most mythological bints, there're
three of 'em [as in Fates, Gorgons etc]. According to _Lempriere's
Classical Dictionary_ they appear in Virgil's _Aenid_, and are described as
'emit[ting] an infectious smell, and spoiled whatever they touched by their
filth and excrements. They plundered Aeneas during his voyage towards
Italy, and predicted many of the calamaties which attended him.' Thomas
Bullfinch retells the story (find it on the net at Project Gutenberg or
such like).
Interestingly, for those interested in the derivation of words, my Collins
dictionary defines harpy as 'a cruel grasping woman' --- no mention of
sluttishness, or prostitution, but hey, we can extrapolate ;-)--- and
suggests that the term derives from the Greek harpazein, meaning seize or
_snatch_ .
Eddie Duggan
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