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Inancient Greek religion andmyth, theAnemoi (Ancient Greek:Ἄνεμοι,lit. 'Winds') were wind gods who were each ascribed acardinal direction from which their respective winds came (seeClassical compass winds), and were each associated with variousnature,seasons andweather conditions. They were the progeny of thegoddess of the dawnEos and her husband, the god of the dusk,Astraeus.[1]
The earliest attestation of the word in Greek and of the worship of the winds by the Greeks, are perhaps theMycenaean Greek word-forms𐀀𐀚𐀗𐀂𐀋𐀩𐀊,a-ne-mo-i-je-re-ja,𐀀𐀚𐀗𐄀𐀂𐀋𐀩𐀊,a-ne-mo,i-je-re-ja, i.e. "priestess of the winds". These words, written inLinear B, are found on theKN Fp 1 and KN Fp 13 tablets.[2][3]
The Anemoi are minor gods and are subject toAeolus. They were sometimes represented asgusts of wind, and at other times were personified aswinged men. They were also sometimes depicted ashorses kept in the stables of the storm god Aeolus, who providedOdysseus with the Anemoi in theOdyssey. TheSpartans were reported to sacrifice a horse to the winds onMount Taygetus.[4]Astraeus, the astrological deity (sometimes associated withAeolus), andEos/Aurora, the goddess of thedawn, were the parents of the Anemoi, according to theGreek poetHesiod.
Of the four chief Anemoi,Boreas (Aquilo inRoman mythology) is the north wind and bringer of cold winter air,Zephyrus (Favonius inLatin)[5] is the west wind and bringer of light spring and early-summer breezes, andNotus (Auster inLatin) is the south wind and bringer of the storms of late summer and autumn;Eurus, the southeast[6] (or according to some,[7] the east) wind, was not associated with any of the threeGreek seasons, and is the only one of these four Anemoi not mentioned in Hesiod'sTheogony or in theOrphic Hymns.
The deities equivalent to the Anemoi inRoman mythology were theVenti (Latin, "winds").[citation needed] These gods had different names, but were otherwise very similar to their Greek counterparts, borrowing their attributes and being frequently conflated with them. Ptolemy's world map listed 12 winds: Septentrio (N), Aquilo (NNE), Vulturnus (NE), Subsolanus (E), Eurus (SE), Euroauster (SSE), Austeronotus (S), Euronotus (SSW), Africus (SW), Zephirus (W), Eurus (NW), Circius (NNW).
Boreas is the god of the north wind and the harshest of the Anemoi. He is mostly known for his abduction of the Athenian princessOrithyia, by whom he became the father of theBoreads. In art, he is usually depicted as a bearded, older man. His Roman equivalent is calledAquilo.
Zephyrus (Gk.Ζέφυρος [Zéphyros]),[5] sometimes shortened in English toZephyr, is the Greek god of thewest wind. The gentlest of the winds, Zephyrus is known as the fructifying wind, the messenger of spring. It was thought that Zephyrus lived in a cave inThrace.
Zephyrus was reported as having several wives in different stories. He was said to be the husband ofIris, goddess of the rainbow. He abducted the goddessChloris, and gave her the domain of flowers. With Chloris, he fatheredKarpos ('fruit'). He is said to have vied forChloris's love with his brother Boreas, eventually winning her devotion. Additionally, with yet another sister and lover, theharpyPodarge (also known asCelaeno), Zephyrus was said to be the father ofBalius and Xanthus,Achilles' horses.
In the story ofEros and Psyche, Zephyrus servedEros (or Cupid) by transporting Psyche to his abode.
Zephyrus was also claimed to have killed one of Apollo's many male loversHyacinth out of jealousy. Hyacinth was killed by a discus thrown by Apollo. Though according to some sources, his death was said to be an accident, others said that Zephyrus was the true culprit, having blown the discus off course.
Notus (Νότος,Nótos) was the Greek god of thesouth wind. He was associated with the desiccating hot wind of the rise ofSirius aftermidsummer, was thought to bring the storms of late summer and early autumn, and was feared as a destroyer of crops.[8]
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Notus' equivalent in Roman mythology was Auster, the embodiment of thesirocco wind, a southerly wind which brings cloudy weather, powerful winds and rain to southern Europe.Auster is related to names such as thecompass pointAustralis and the country namesAustria andAustralia.) The Auster winds are mentioned inVirgil'sAeneid Book II, lines 304–307:
in segetem veluti cum flamma furentibus Austris incidit,
aut rapidus montano flumine torrens
sternit agros, sternit sata laeta boumque labores,
praecipitesque trahit silvas
Just as when a flame falls on the standing grain while the South Winds rage,
or a rushing mountain stream lays low the fields,
lays low the glad crops and labors of oxen,
and drags down forests headlong.
Another Roman poet,Tibullus 1.1, lines 47–48, speaks of the pleasure of lying in bed on rainy winter days:
aut, gelidas hibernus aquas cum fuderit Auster,
securum somnos igne iuvante sequi
or when the winter South Wind has poured out his cold waters,
to fall asleep carefree with the help of a fire.
The nameAustralia (the "southern land") is derived fromAuster.[9]
Eurus (Εὖρος,Euros) according to some was the southeast wind, but according to others the east wind.[7] On theTower of the Winds in Athens, Eurus occupies the southeast side, while Apeliotes is in the east. However, it is widely accepted[by whom?] that Eurus is the east wind, while Apeliotes is the southeast wind.
Eurus' Roman counterpart isVulturnus, according toPliny the Elder;[10] but forAulus Gellius Volturnus was the equivalent of the southeast wind Euronotus.[11] In the Latin poems, the nameEurus is generally used for the east or southeast wind, as in Greek.[12]
Eurus is a wind of storm, described as a turbulent wind during storms and tossing ships on the sea.[13][14] He is referred to as the "savior of Sparta" in a Homericpaean, or poem.[15] Eurus is also called the "hot wind" by Nonnus inDionysiaca. Eurus is closely related to Helios in passages of the Dionysiaca, being called from his place nearHelios' palace, Phaethon, where the sun rose in the east.[16]
Four lesser wind deities appear in a few ancient sources, such as at theTower of the Winds in Athens:
Kaikias (or Caecius) is the Greek deity of the northeast wind. He is shown on the monument as a bearded man with a shield full of hailstones.
Apeliotes (or Apheliotes; the name means 'from the (rising) sun') is the Greek deity of the southeast wind.[17] As this wind was thought to cause a refreshing rain particularly beneficial to farmers, he is often depicted wearing high boots and carrying fruit, draped in a light cloth concealing some flowers or grain. He is clean-shaven, with curly hair and a friendly expression. Because Apeliotes is a minor god, he was often syncretized with Eurus, the east wind.[citation needed] The Roman counterpart of Apeliotes isSubsolanus.[18]
Skiron was the name used in Athens for the wind which blew from the Scironian rocks (a geographical feature nearKineta to the west of Athens).[19] On theTower of the Winds, however, he appears on the northwest side. His name is related toSkirophorion, the last of the three months of spring in theAttic calendar. He is depicted as a bearded man tilting a cauldron, representing the onset of winter. His Roman counterpart isCaurus[20] orCorus.[21] Caurus is also one of the oldest Roman wind-deities, and numbered among thedi indigetes ('indigenous gods'), a group of abstract and largely minornuminous entities. The Roman poetVirgil writes when describing steppe winter weather near theSea of Azov:[22]
Semper hiemps, semper spirantes frigora cauri
Always winter, always the northwest winds breathing cold
Lips is the Greek deity of the southwest wind, often depicted holding thestern of a ship. His Roman equivalent wasAfricus, due to the Roman provinceAfrica being to the southwest ofItaly. This name is thought to be derived from the name of aNorth African tribe, theAfri.
Other minor wind deities included:
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