large part of it, and so defiled the rest
with their loathsome touch that very little was eatable. These were the
Harpies, and by their appearance AEneas knew that he and his companions had
arrived at the Strophades, two islands in the Ionian Sea which for many
years had been given up to the monsters. They were fearful of aspect: down
to the breast they resembled women, with scanty black hair and glaring
red-rimmed eyes, and on their faces ever a famine-stricken look; but they
had wings instead of arms, and their bodies and lower limbs were those of
huge birds, foul and uncleanly. These hateful creatures had long before
been sent by the Gods to plague Pheneus the Blind, king of Thrace, who had
cruelly treated his sons. Whenever a meal was spread for the king, the
Harpies used to descend and devour it. At last some brave warriors, who
were passing through Thrace, were persuaded by the promise of rewards from
Pheneus to rid him of the monsters, and drove them to the far Strophades,
where they had ever since dwelt.

Irritated at the loss of their feast, AEneas and his companions prepared
more food, and determined, if necessary, to defend it with their swords.
They accordingly concealed their weapons in the grass, and stationed one
of their number on the watch, to give notice with the sound of a trumpet
when the Harpies were approaching. This was done accordingly, and the
obscene creatures, when they again swooped down to seize on the cooked
meats, which they relished more than any other food, were driven off,
though not without difficulty. But one of them, perching on a high rock,
croaked forth to the astonished mariners this dismal prophecy:--

"Woe to you, Trojans! Do you dare to make war upon us after having slain
our oxen, and to banish the innocent Harpies from the kingdom which is
theirs by right? Fix, then, in your minds these words, which the father of
Gods and men revealed to Phoebus Apollo, and Apollo to me. Italy is the
land you seek, and Italy you shall reach at last, after many perils; but
you shall not build up the walls of your new-founded city until dire
famine and suffering, visiting you because you have injured us, shall
compel you to devour your tables as well as the food that is upon them."

The gloomy prediction terrified most of the wanderers, and they urged
AEneas to endeavor to propitiate the unclean monsters with invocations and
sacrifices. But Anchises, after imploring Jupiter to ward off the
th