Harpy! In modern terms a shrill, complaining nag.
And the definition owes it all to Greek mythology. Harpies were known as the short violent winds Aello and Ocypete; two shrieking, ugly, hungry and insatiable monsters, half bird, half woman with eyes that shed poisonous tears. They were often blamed for the sudden disappearances of people or belongings and known as the "hounds of Zeus” dispatched when someone or something needed removing from the earth.
Meanwhile, Zeus had bestowed the gift of prophecy on King Phineus of Thrace. Unfortunately Phineus got a little out of control there revealing divine truths to mere mortals whereupon he was blinded and abandoned to an island. There a sumptuous buffet was laid out every day. Every day the Harpies descended on the table to steal and foul the food. It was Zeus' will that Phineus never enjoy so much as a piece of bread during this everlasting feast,
Luckily for old Phineus, Jason and the Argonauts chanced upon his cursed island and found the poor king besieged by the Harpies. They rid him of the screeching, nagging monsters and chased them to their caves in Crete. Using his oracular powers Phineus repaid the Argonauts by instructing them on how to pass through the Symplegades or “Clashing Rocks” as they were on their way to Colchis to steal the Golden Fleece.
