In Greek mythology, the Harpies ("snatchers", from Latin: Harpyia, Greek: Άρπυια, Harpuia, pl. Άρπυιαι, Harpuiai) were mainly winge death-spirits (Harrison 1903, p 176ff), best known for constantly stealing all food from Phineas. The literal meaning of the word seems to be "that which grabs" as it comes from the ancient Greek word αρπάξ which means to grab.