What is it?
When Uranus cast into Tartarus his unwanted children with Gaia, the enraged Gaia convinced Cronus to strike down his father and take his power for himself. For this task, Gaia provided Cronus with the Harpe, a weapon seen to have an atypical blade, usually represented as a mix between a straight sword and a curved sickle blade.
This weapon was later used by Hermes to slay the titan Argus and rescue Io from a vengeful plot of Hera’s. It was then lent to Perseus, who used it in his quest to slay the Gorgon Medusa.
Via the BladesmithsForum, we see a series of depictions of this theme on a group of wall paintings from Pompeii and Stabiae.
The best representation of the Harpe is on the statue of Perseus Triumphant by Antonio Canova, completed c.1801 and housed in the Vatican Museums.
Also, an etching made by Domenico Marchetti after that statue, housed at The Met.
How would you use it?
I am fascinated by this mythological weapon, arguably the most powerful sword to have ever existed, one capable to take down a primordial god. But from the perspective of HEMA, this is a weapon that is more intriguing than a first glance would indicate. This is due to its unique position in the art of fencing.
In the Bolognese tradition, for example, a partisan or a bill can be used to hook an opponent. While this might be more difficult with a one-handed sword, this option is present for a harpe. And while one would say that we have treatises for sickles, by Paulus Hector Mair, the harpe is also a sword, capable of thrusting in a straight line.
From a morphological perspective, a curved blade is best for slashing, while a straight blade is best for thrusting. Sabres and rapier styles have been designed to maximise these roles. If I gave you a sabre, a spada or a rapier and ask you to come up with a fencing system, you would at best reproduce what we already have. But with a harpe? There is no school for this weapon, no manuscript, no optimised route already laid out for us by masters. So if anyone wants to design their own system for a weapon that originates in Europe, the harpe is the sword for them. And that possibility, regardless of it being materialised or not, is fascinating to me!