Inferno

by

Dante Alighieri

More monsters of classical mythology, these foul creature have the bodies of birds (with fearsome talons) but the heads of women. They dwell in the forest of the suicides in the seventh circle of hell, where they feed upon the leaves of the trees that the souls of suicides have grown into.
Get the entire Inferno LitChart as a printable PDF.
Inferno PDF

Harpies Character Timeline in Inferno

The timeline below shows where the character Harpies appears in Inferno. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Canto 13
Paganism vs. Christianity Theme Icon
Language Theme Icon
...dark forest filled with old, gnarled trees and devoid of any greenery. Here are the harpies, horrible part-woman part-bird monsters of Greek mythology. The harpies roost in the trees and release... (full context)
Sin, Justice, Pity and Piety Theme Icon
...the forest, sprouts "like a corn of wheat," (13.99) and grows into a tree. The harpies then feed on the trees' leaves, which causes the trees great pain. (full context)