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The harpies possibly were siblings of the river-god Hydaspes [22] and Arke, [23] as they were called sisters of Iris and children of Thaumas. According to Valerius, Typhoeus was said to be the father of these monsters [16] while a different version by Servius told that the harpies were daughters of Pontus and Gaea or of Poseidon. [24]
In other accounts, Harpies were called the progeny of Typhoeus, father of these monsters, [10] or of Pontus (Sea) and Gaea (Earth) or of Poseidon, god of the sea. [11] Aello was claimed to be the mother of Achilles's immortal steeds Balius and Xanthus by Zephyrus [12] but some sources claimed it was really her sister Celaeno.
According to Hesiod, Thaumas's wife was Electra (one of the Oceanids, the many daughters of the Titans Oceanus and Tethys), by whom he fathered Iris (the messenger of the gods), Arke (formerly the messenger of the Titans), and the Harpies. [2] The names of Thaumas's Harpy daughters vary. Hesiod and Apollodorus name them: Aello and Ocypete.
According to one story, the Harpies were chased by the Boreads. Though the swiftest of the trio, Ocypete became exhausted, landed on an island in the middle of the ocean and begged for mercy from the gods. In Greek and Roman mythology, the Harpies were creatures employed by the higher gods to carry out punishments for crimes.
According to Hesiod, she was the wife of Thaumas, and by him, the mother of Iris, the goddess of rainbows and a messenger for the gods, and the Harpies. [4] The names of Electra's Harpy daughters vary. Hesiod and Apollodorus named them Aello and Ocypete. Virgil named Celaeno as one of the Harpies. [5]
Some classical authors also regard her as Zephyrus' wife. However as the rainbow goddess Iris is his other wife and sister of Podarge, there's confusion between the two. Stesichorus says Phlogeus and Harpagos are also divine horses offspring of Podarge. [3] Her other names are Podarkes, Podarke-Aellopos and Podarces. [3]
The goddess Arke was born to Thaumas, a minor god; no mother of hers is mentioned anywhere. [1] [a] She and her sister Iris were both messenger deities.[b] Like Iris Arke also sported wings which might be a nod to some primeval force or element she represented, but it is not clear what that would be.
According to Hesiod's Theogony, Iris is the daughter of Thaumas and the Oceanid Electra and the sister of the Harpies: Arke and Ocypete. [8] During the Titanomachy, Iris was the messenger of the Olympian gods while her sister Arke betrayed the Olympians and became the messenger of the gods' enemy, the Titans. She is the goddess of the rainbow.