harpe

thumb|Artist rendition of a harpe sword The harpē () is a type of sword- or sickle-like weapon mentioned in Greek and Roman sources, and almost always in mythological contexts.

== Harpe in mythology == The harpe is most notably identified as the weapon used by Cronus to castrate and depose his father, Uranus. Alternately, that weapon is identified as a more traditional sickle or scythe. The harpe, scythe or sickle was either a flint or adamantine (diamond) blade and was provided to Cronus by his mother, Gaia. According to an ancient myth recorded in Hesiod's Theogony, Uranus had cast his and Gaia's children, the Cyclopes and Hecatonchires, down into Tartarus. The enraged Gaia plotted Uranus' downfall. She implored each of her sons to rise up against Uranus but was refused by all but the youngest, Cronus. Gaia provided him with the weapon, and when Uranus next came to lie with Gaia, Cronus leapt up and castrated his father, overthrowing him and driving him away forever. Thus, the blade (whether harpe, sickle or scythe) became a symbol of Cronus's power.