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home | greek | gods | free spirits | Boreas
| Boreas at a Glance |
name | Boreas (BoreaV)
role | god of the north wind
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| Boreas in Greek Mythology |
Boreas was the god of the North Wind in Greek mythology. He was the son of two important deities - Eos (goddess of the Dawn) and Astraeus (a Titan). The poet Hesiod describes the birth of Boreas in his Theogony:
"Eos shared love's bed with Astraeus
and bore him the mighty-spirited winds,
bright Zephyrus and gusty Boreas and Notus."
It stands to reason that Hesiod would claim that the gods of the winds - Zephyrus, Boreas, and Notus - were descended from the goddess of Dawn and a Titan with a name that means "starry", for the winds could be thought of as coming from the sky. Individually these wind gods represented the West Wind (Zephyrus), the North Wind (Boreas), and the South Wind (Notus). And in myth and literature, Boreas is sometimes compared to his more (usually) gentle brothers.
One the myths of Boreas deals with his abduction of Oreithyia. According to the story, Boreas developed a passion for this beautiful daughter of King Erechtheus, but Oreithyia wanted nothing to do with the god. However, one day Boreas saw her dancing, and struck with desire, he carried off the lovely woman (some versions say he hid her in a cloud) and made her his bride. The couple had two winged sons - Calais and Zetes.
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| Boreas in Art History |
Gallery | For pictures and information about Boreas in art, visit the Mythography gallery!
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Who's Who in Classical Mythology
This book is a great source for information about Greek and Roman mythology! Organized alphabetically, this who's who features information about over 1200 of the most intriguing characters from Classical myth and legend.
The Bibliography
If you want more recommended resources for information about Greek myths, visit the books section - it lists books about mythology, art, literature, and more.
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