harpy 的词源

古代神话中的有翼怪物，最早出现在14世纪晚期，源自古法语 harpie（14世纪），再往前追溯到拉丁语 harpyia，最终源自希腊语 Harpyia（复数形式），字面意思是“抓取者”，这可能与 harpazein（意为“抓取”）有关（参见 rapid (adj.)）。这个词后来被引申为“令人厌恶的贪婪人”，大约在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]

在荷马的作品中，哈比女神仅仅是被拟人化的暴风风，她们被认为会带走那些突然消失的人。而在赫西俄德的描述中，她们是金发碧眼、翅膀如风的少女，速度超过风，被称为阿埃洛（Aello）和欧基佩特（Ocypete）；但在后来的作品中，她们则被描绘成令人作呕的怪物，头部像少女，面容因饥饿而苍白，爪子则像鸟类的。哈比女神在神话中作为复仇的执行者，服务于众神。[《美国百科全书》，1874年]