Harpy vs. Siren: Key Differences, Origins, and Links to Reality

Mythologies and literature across cultures and time periods recount the beautiful and terrifying power of half-human, half-animal women. Two of these beings — the harpy and the siren — often stood for more than femininity. Instead, they were harbingers of danger or death at sea.

Learn more about both harpies and sirens including what they looked like, the differences in them, and their links to reality.

Harpy Vs. Siren: What Is a Harpy?

Once considered beautiful, harpies became wicked, ugly creatures in mythology.

Origins

The mythology of a harpy arises from the Greeks. In Greek mythology, harpies took on a beautiful appearance as the creature version or personification of stormy weather on the sea. As time went on in Greece, oral tradition transformed the creatures into more of a collection of ugly, repulsive human vultures rather than beautiful creatures with the head and neck of a woman and the body and torso of a bird. According to Study.com, harpies were thought to be the daughters of Thaumas, a sea god, and Electra, one of over 3,000 water nymphs called Oceanids. 

One of the first mentions of a harpy was in a work by Hesoid, followed then by Homer and Virgil. They named the harpies in their stories. 

Appearance

Virgil described the harpies in his story “With virgin faces, but with wombs obscene, Foul paunches, and with ordure still unclean; With claws for hands, and looks for ever lean.”

Overall, harpies were thought of as generally ugly beings. They had the head, neck, and depending on the depiction/artist, the shoulders and arms, of a human woman. Most often, illustrations of harpies gave them the wings of an eagle or vulture and the abdomen and legs of the bird, too.

Behavior

As mentioned above, the first harpies mentioned in mythology were simply personifications of windy weather or storms. However, as their appearance became more grotesque, so did their behavior. They turned into unnatural, cruel things — so much so that to call a woman a harpy became a clear insult to her character. 

Harpies were mean, evil beings who would bring bad luck, steal, destroy, or injure others for their own gain.

Harpy Vs. Siren: What Is a Siren?

Sirens are perhaps better known than their harpy counterparts thanks to popular culture. Did you know that the first sirens were human-bird hybrids, not fish?

Origins

Similar to harpies, sirens existed first in Greek mythology. They were mentioned after harpies in Homer’s Odyssey — and he left much to the imagination at their introduction. Homer focused more on the behavior of a siren than its appearance somewhat intentionally. Sirens, at least, were to be hypnotic and seductive creatures. Their appearance didn’t matter as much, especially because sailors would hear their songs before they’d see them. Homer instead used imagery like “honeyed voices pour[ed] from [their] lips” to describe sirens.

Appearance

Sirens were first mentioned as half-humans mixed with either a fish or a bird. Greek, Roman, and even Byzantine depictions of sirens made her look like a human-headed bird until the seventh and eighth centuries BCE when a siren-mermaid creature began to take prevalence.

They were similar to harpies in the very beginning of their legend, but oral tradition, art, and culture started to move away from creatures and depictions without beauty. With this shift, the behavior of sirens influenced their appearance and they became sea-based seductresses with sweet faces and sweeter voices.

Behavior

The mythology of sirens is their claim to infamy: sirens lure men (specifically, sailors) from passing boats onto their shores, where they feast on their flesh.

With a pattern of behavior like that, the pickup line has to be as sweet as honey or sirens would never eat.

Odysseus famously lashed himself to the mast of his ship and filled his crew’s ears with wax. This enabled him to hear the sirens’ songs without falling victim to their island of corpses while his crew was immune to their song’s power by not hearing it.

Harpy Vs. Siren: Differences

The most obvious differences between sirens and harpies are their appearance and their behaviors. While harpies continue to be human-headed vulture creatures, sirens have morphed into mermaid-esque legends. Furthermore, sirens have a reputation for beauty — especially in today’s popular culture — compared to the grotesque and ugly appearance of harpies.

While both harpies and sirens have ill intent toward their victims, they go about their actions in different ways. Harpies will outright attack by swooping down with their wings or sneakily jump into situations. Sirens, on the other hand, have a more deft hand at handling situations. They manipulate circumstances and environments to have the upper hand — which is when they go for the attack.

Harpy Vs. Siren: Links to Reality

Some experts believe the sailors who told stories of sirens were simply delusional and had seen a manatee under the water, as manatee tails and siren tails have looked similar in some depictions. 

Unfortunately, most links to reality were lost amid ancient times and mythologies. In popular culture, both creatures find their roles. Harpies are portrayed as beauties (sometimes) in anime and manga, and in several video games harpies’ depictions are more similar to the vulture, cruel creatures.

Sirens have seen a much better portrayal in popular culture. From Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides to the Siren TV show, sirens maintain a mysterious, beautiful, and fascinating reputation. Often, their behavior of luring men or suitors remains intact in some aspects.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Stanislav Hubkin/iStock via Getty Images