In Greek mythology, Harpina (/ˈhɑːrpɪnə/; Ancient Greek: Άρπινα) was a Naiad nymph and daughter of Phliasian Asopus and of Metope. Pausanias (5.22.6) and Diodorus Siculus (4.73.1) mention Harpina and state that, according to the tradition of the Eleans and Phliasians, Ares mated with her in the city of Pisa (located in the ancient Greek region of Elis) and she bore him Oenomaus, the king of Pisa. Oenomaus (6.21.8) founded and named after his mother the city of Harpina, not far from the river Harpinates, near Olympia. Pausanias (5.22.6) mentions Harpina in his description of a group sculpture, donated by the Phliasians, of the daughters of Asopus, which included Nemea, Zeus seizing Aegina, Harpina, Corcyra, Thebe and Asopus. The sculpture was located in the sanctuary of Hippodamia at Olympia.
References
- Diodorus Siculus, 1939. The library of history (English translation by C.H. Oldfather. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press)
- Pausanias, 1918. Pausanias Description of Greece (English translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd)
- Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, 1854. (ed. William Smith, LLD)