Harpies
Webster's Dictionary [1]
(pl.) of Harpy
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature [2]
( Σαρπυιαι ), in Greek mythology, were daughters of Thaumas and Electra (an Oceanid). Sometimes two, sometimes three, are mentioned, under the different names, Aello, Podarge, Ocypete, Celano, Thyella, Acholoe, Aellopos, Nicothoe, and the like. In the descriptions of them there is also a great difference. With Homer they are storm goddesses, fleet, but beautiful; Hesiod also calls them swift goddesses, but in JEschylus they appear as hateful, winged monsters. They were usually represented as eagles with maiden faces. At times they had human arms and legs, which ended in claws and hens' feet. They were generally sent out by the gods to punish criminals.
The Nuttall Encyclopedia [3]
Fabulous ravenous creatures, living in filth and defiling everything they touch, with the head and breast of a woman, the wings and claws of a bird, and a face pale with hunger, the personification of whirlwinds and storms, conceived of as merely ravening, wasting powers.
