De Incredibilibus

The account given about Phineus is that the Harpies plundered his livelihood. Some think that they are winged creatures who carried off Phineus’ food from his table.

This is the truth. Phineus was the king of Paionia. He became blind as an old man and his sons died. His daughters Eraseia and Harpyreia …[*](There is a lacuna in the text here.) squandered his livelihood. And so the townspeople would say, Wretched Phineus! The Harpies are plundering his livelihood. Pitying him, his neighbours Zetos and Calais, sons of Boreas (a man, not the wind), came to help. They chased his daughters out of the city, collected some money for him and appointed one of the Thracians as a trustee.

They say about Mestra, daughter of Erysichthon, that she could change shape whenever she wanted. This is an utterly ridiculous myth! For how is it possible for a girl to turn into a cow, and then a dog or bird?

The truth is as follows. Erysichthon was a Thessalian who became poor after wasting his money. He had a beautiful daughter named Mestra, who was of marriageable age. Whoever laid eyes on her was overcome with desire. At that time, men did not offer money for a bride, but instead offered gifts – some of horses, others of cows or sheep, or whatever Mestra wanted. The Thessalians, watching Erysichthon's wealth increasing, would say, The horse, cow and everything else, they’ve all come to Erysichthon from Mestra. It's from this that the myth was fabricated.