Phineus was gifted with remarkable foresight, but eventually he suffers the scorn of Zeus, the king of the gods on Mount Olympus. His father is thought to have been Agenor, King of Tyre, or one of Agenor's sons, Phoenix or Poseidon, who we know to be the Greek god of the sea. Phineus was said to have been married three times, he is tricked by his second wife into blinding his two sons by his first wife.
This is one reason why Phineus is punished with blindness himself, but the popular version is the one we see in the 1963 film Jason and the Arognauts, which is prophesying too accurately and revealing divine truths to mortals.
As further punishment, Zeus leaves him on an island were there is ample food and drink, but none of which Phineus can eat, for Zeus has sent Harpies to steal away from him every last crumb.
Phineus' punishment continues until Jason and the Argonauts come ashore on his island and hear his story. In return for freeing him from his tormentors Phineus tells Jason how to reach Colchis, the island that holds the Golden Fleece.
In the 1963 film Jason and the Argonauts, Phineus is played by Dr Who actor Patrick Troughton.
In the first of the two images you can see a drawing of the Harpies by Ray Harryhausen and in the second how close to his drawings the figures in the film are.