Our story continues…. A significant player in our story is Phineus. He was a powerful king of the region of Thrace, and he was also a seer.

And he finally makes his guest appearance in our story with Jason. The Argonauts are on their way to retrieve the Golden Fleece from the mythical land of Colchis.

But what was King Phineus parentage? The whole world of ancient Greece was wondering because of the many stories that people have said. Some say that that the mighty Sea-God Poseidon was his father. Others claimed that he was the child of Phoenix and Cassiopeia.

Phineus was initially married to Cleopatra, which later he married Idaea. It was known throughout his kingdom that he had a number of children with his wives.

According to the legend, he was blinded. The reason was that his blinding happened as a punishment for various reasons. Possible ones were the blinding of his own sons, giving Phrixus directions or revealing the future to mankind.

But the ultimate punishment, relating to our journey happened from the Harpies. The Harpies were described as woman-headed, bird-bodied, razor-clawed scourges. They were known to be the spirits (daimones) of sudden, sharp gusts of wind. They were known as the hounds of Zeus. They were dispatched after all from the All Mighty God to snatch away (as their name states from the Greek word harpazo) people and things from the Earth. Sudden mysterious disappearances were often attributed to them.

Phineus was tormented by these creatures. They were sent by the ferocious God in order to plague him for revealing the secrets of the Pantheon.They kept defiling his sustenance whenever he tried to eat. Whenever a plate of food was set before him, the Harpies would constantly swoop down and snatch it away, befouling any scraps left behind.

Phineus had originally welcomed them but was in no mood for festive entertainment. His mood was not the greatest because he’d offended the Gods.

The Harpies were possessed of reprehensible table manners and hung around making such a racket that he wouldn’t have been able to eat had he the stomach for it. As a result King Phineus grew thinner by the hour.

When our heroes arrived in Thrace, Phineus described his torment to them. Jason and the rest. Among them was Phineus’ brothers in law, who was known as the Boreads, and he was told by the king that they were fated to help him. The winged creatures, were direct descendants of the North Wind, which gave them the power to fly.

The Boreads feared the wrath of the gods if they were going to try and help him. However, Phineus reassured them that no harm could come to them.

However, once the Harpies appeared and ate Phineus’s food, the Boreads chased them until Iris appeared in front of them.The goddess told them that they should not hunt the Harpies any more as they would no longer torment the King. These Aethereal Figures gave the Harpies such a chase that they pursued them to the Strophades Islands, where ther goddess commanded them to turn back and leave.

The Boreads returned to their crew of the Argonauts and Phineus informed them of how they would safely pass through the Symplegades, known as the Cluster Rocks, in order to reach Colchis.