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AEOLUS - KING OF 4 WINDS
(also called Astraeus by others*)
Aeolus is the Greek god of the winds, and a
son of Poseidon. The gods gave him dominion over the winds,
which he kept in vast caves on the mythical island of Aeolia.
Thus he was the regent of the Winds, viceroy of the gods. As a
favorite of the gods, they allowed him to join them at dinner.
Aeolus gave Odysseus a bag of winds to help him on his voyage
back home, but unfortunately his crew opened the bag and the
winds escaped.
Meaning of name: "Earth destroyer"
* NOTE:
Many versions of the Greek myths say that Astraeus is the
husband of Eos, goddess of the dawn, and god of the four winds:
Boreas, Zephyrus, Eurus, and Notus, who are also his children.
BOREAS - NORTH WIND
Boreas was the Greek god of the
North Wind who lived in a fertile region of Greece called
Thrace. He is at home beside the river Strymon, but also
inhabits a cave on Mount Haemus, a favorite haunt of the monster
Typhon.
Sometimes said to have serpent-tails for feet, Boreas blew from
the north, whistling through his conch. He often is depicted as
being amber-winged, extremely strong, sporting a beard, and
normally clad in a short pleated tunic.
Boreas is the son of Eos (Dawn) and the Titan Astraeus (some say
that Aeolus is his father), and the brother of Zephyrus, Eurus
and Notus (some mythographers also make him brother to
Hesperus). Unlike the gentle Zephyrus, however, the violent and
stormy North Wind was capable of terrific destruction. Gods
often appealed to him to torment mortals, such as the time Hera
asked him to shipwreck the hero Heracles (Hercules) on the
island of Cos. Still, he often helped sailors by providing them
with a friendly breeze.
Boreas once disguised himself as a dark-maned stallion and
mingled with twelve of the 3,000 mares grazing beside the river
Scamander. These famous horses belonged to Erichthonius, and
from the union were born twelve fillies. They were so fleet that
they could race over ripe ears of field corn without bending
them, or over the crests of waves.
Boreas is notorious for kidnapping Oreithyia, who was the
daughter of Erechtheus and Praxithea, king and queen of Athens.
The wind god had long loved the young girl and had repeatedly
asked her parents for her hand in marriage. However, they kept
putting him off, telling him to wait, and using delaying tactics
on Boreas.
The North Wind began to lose patience and decided to abandon his
modest wooing: One day, Boreas saw Oreithyia playing beside the
river Ilissus. Taking advantage, he swooped down unseen by
anyone, tucked her beneath his amber wings, and carried her off
to a rock near the river Ergines. Wrapped in a mantle of dark
clouds, he then proceeded to ravish the helpless maiden.
Oreithyia became his wife and they settled down at the city of
Thracian Cicones. They had twin sons, called Calais and Zetes
(the Boreades), who were born normal but grew golden wings on
their shoulders upon reaching adulthood. These swift men took
part in the famous Quest for the Golden Fleece, accompanying
Jason as part of the Argonauts, but were later killed by the
great hero Heracles (Hercules). Boreas and Oreithyia also had
two daughters, named Cleopatra and Chione.
Because of his union with Oreithyia, the Athenians regard Boreas
as their brother-in-law or son-in-law, and once beseeched him to
destroy the fleet of King Xerxes of Persia, which threatened the
city of Athens. That was during the battle of Artemisium, fought
in 480 BC.
The North Wind devastated the enemy fleet by invoking a violent
storm, sinking 400 ships, and sending countless men and
incredible treasure to a watery grave. The grateful citizens
built Boreas a splendid temple sanctuary on the banks of the
river Ilissus and a great festival, called the Boreasmi, was
held annually in his honor to commemorate the Persian defeat.
The Romans identified Boreas as Aquilo. His name means "North
Wind" or "Devouring".
EURUS - EAST WIND
Eurus was the child of Eos and
Astraeus (or Aeolus). He is the Greek god of the East Wind, and
is brother to Zephyrus, Boreas and Notus. Like his siblings,
Eurus was a winged god, the strong wind that brought warmth and
rain from the east. A symbol showing this was a vase inverted,
pouring out rain.
Eurus was the unfavorable one. His Roman equivalent is Vulturnus.
NOTUS - SOUTH OR SOUTHWEST
WIND
Notus is the god of the South or
Southwest Wind, which is a very warm and moist wind, bringing
with it fog and rain. He is the son of Eos and Astraeus (or of
Aeolus, according to others), and brother to Zephyrus, Boreas
and Eurus.
Being the wind of fog and mists, Notus was dangerous to
shepherds on the mountaintops or to mariners at sea, for he
hindered visibility. For the same reason, the South Wind was a
friend of thieves, enabling them to do their dastardly work
unseen.
The Romans called him Auster.
In the image above, from Dr.
Smith's Classical Dictionary, 1891, the
winged deity Notus is depicted pouring rain from a vase, in the
same way that his mother Eos, the goddess of Dawn, sprinkles dew
from a vase in early morning, before the arrival of the sun
god's chariot.
ZEPHYRUS - WEST WIND
Zephyrus is the Greek god of the
West Wind, believed to live in a cave on Thrace. He is the son
of Eos and Astraeus and the brother of Boreas, Eurus and Notus.
Some consider him and Iris, the goddess of the rainbow, as the
parents of Eros, the god of love, and of Pothos (Longing) who
was an attendant of Aphrodite.
The West Wind had fallen in love with a handsome youth named
Hyacinthus, who also was a favorite of Apollo, the god of light.
One day Apollo was teaching Hyacinthus how to throw the discus,
when the insanely jealous Zephyrus caught it in mid-air and blew
it at Hyacinthus, striking the young man on the head and killing
him. From his blood sprang the hyacinth flower.
Zephyrus also abducted the goddess Chloris (Flora in Roman) and
gave her dominion over flowers. In Roman myth, he is Favonius,
the protector of flowers and plants.
With Podarge, one of the Harpies, Zephyrus fathered the famous
horses Xanthus and Balius, who are the Trojan War hero Achilles'
immortal horses. Hera endowed the horses with human speech. They
served Poseidon first, and next Peleus, Achilles and Neoptolemus.
The union of Zephyrus and Podarge produced also Arion, a horse
given by Heracles (Hercules) to Adrastus. Arion saved the life
of Adrastus during the war of the Seven Against Thebes.
Note: wind illustrations taken from
Dr. Smith's Classical Dictionary, 1891
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