Boreas (deity)
Boreas is the Greek god of the north wind and the embodiment of winter, recognized as one of the Anemoi, the wind gods associated with the four cardinal directions. Traditionally depicted as a mighty bearded figure with wings, Boreas is noted for unleashing cold winds through a conch shell. He is one of the sons of Eos, the goddess of dawn, and the titan Astraeus, with siblings representing the south, east, and west winds. In mythology, Boreas is characterized by his tempestuous nature, often causing destruction when angered. His narratives include aiding divine retribution, as he was commanded to create storms that shipwrecked heroes like Hercules and Odysseus. Notably, Boreas married Oreithyia, an Athenian princess, after kidnapping her, and they had several children, including the Boreades, who were winged warriors. Worshipped particularly in Athens and Megalopolis, Boreas has inspired cultural representations throughout history, influencing various artistic depictions and possibly shaping figures like Old Man Winter and Jack Frost. His myths reflect themes of nature's power and the interplay between deities and humanity.
Subject Terms
Boreas
God or Goddess Information
- Symbol: winged horse; conch shell; cold, icy wind
- Culture: Greek
- Mother: Eos
- Father: Astraeus
- Siblings: Notus; Eurus; and Zephyrus
- Children: daughters, Cleopatra and Chione; sons, Calais and Zetes
Boreas was the god of the north wind and the personification of winter in Greek mythology. He was one of the Anemoi, the wind gods each assigned to one of the four directions—north, south east, and west. Boreas was portrayed as a powerful bearded figure with amber or purple wings. He was said to unleash the cold northern winds upon Earth by blowing through his great conch shell. The name Boreas was derived from the Greek word boreios, which means "coming from the north." In Roman Mythology, Boreas was referred to as Aquilo, and the Anemoi were called the Venti.
In Mythology
Boreas was one of the four sons of Eos, goddess of the dawn, and the celestial titan Astraeus. His brothers were Notus, god of the south wind; Eurus, god of the east wind; and Zephyrus, god of the west wind. Boreas was said to sleep throughout the summer and awaken in autumn in an ill-tempered mood. In his anger, he would destroy trees, sink ships, and lay waste to hillsides and coastal villages.
Vengeful gods often sought the aid of Boreas, asking him to use his powers of destruction against humans they wished to punish. In one myth, the goddess Hera commanded Boreas to send a great storm to shipwreck the hero Hercules on his return home from the Trojan War. In Homer's epic poem The Odyssey, Boreas blows the ship of Odysseus off course out of loyalty to Zeus.
In some myths, Boreas and Zephyrus would take the shape of winged stallions and descend from their realms in springtime to mate with a group of mares. The horses produced by these unions were considered the swiftest in the world. In Homer's The Iliad, Boreas fathered the twelve horses of Trojan King Erichthonius. These horses were considered so fast that they could ride over the waves of the ocean or atop fields of grain. In others versions of the story, the horses sired by Boreas were presented as gifts from Zeus to King Laomedon of Troy. Laomedon promised to give the horses to Hercules in return for his aid in rescuing his daughter from a sea monster. After Hercules accomplished his task, Laomedon went back on his word and refused to part with the animals. In his wrath, Hercules led a group of warriors against the city of Troy, killed Laomedon, and took the horses.
When Boreas fell in love with Athenian princess Oreithyia, he pursued her and asked her parents, King Erechtheus and Queen Praxithea, for permission to marry her. They delayed giving him an answer, so the impatient Boreas kidnapped Oreithyia as she was playing beside a river and carried her off to be his wife. They returned to his realm in the mountains of Thrace, a region near modern-day Bulgaria and Turkey. Boreas was said to live in a castle of walrus tusk and mammoth bone with walls of solid ice. Other stories place his home in a cave on Mount Haemus. The mythical utopia of Hyperborea was said to lie further north of the kingdom of Boreas in a place "beyond the north wind." Hyperborea was a land of eternal spring that was free from illness, death, and war. Three immortal priests, who some myths claim were the descendants of Boreas, ruled the area.
Oreithyia and Boreas had two daughters, Cleopatra and Chione, the latter of which was the goddess of snow. They also had twin sons, Calais and Zetes, winged warriors known as the Boreades. Calais and Zetes accompanied Jason and his ship's crew called the Argonauts on the legendary journey to find the Golden Fleece. They helped rescue King Phineus of Thrace from being tormented by winged monsters known as harpies. In some versions of the story, the twins died after driving the monsters away but failing to catch them. In another myth, they convince the Argonauts to abandon Hercules along their journey and are killed by the hero in retaliation. The graves of Calais and Zetes were said to be constantly shaken by the angry winds sent by their father.
Origins & Cults
Because Boreas was married to the daughter of Athenian King Erechtheus, the people of Athens held him in high regard. During the Battle of Artemisium in 480 B.C.E., Boreas was said to have shown his friendship to Athens by summoning a storm to destroy the invading Persian naval fleet. The grateful Athenians created a cult to Boreas, constructing a temple in his honor and establishing a festival known as the Boreasmi. The large city-state of Megalopolis in southern Greece viewed Boreas as its chief deity for his help in repelling the ships of Spartan King Agis. As in Athens, the people of Megalopolis honored the god with a yearly festival.
The image of Boreas has been used in various works of art throughout the centuries. His abduction of his wife, Oreithyia, was a popular subject of artists in both ancient and classical periods. It appears on pottery from the fifth century B.C.E. to paintings and tapestries from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The visage of Boreas with his cheeks puffed out and gusts of winds blowing from his mouth often decorated centuries-old sailing maps. Boreas as the ice-covered, bearded personification of bitterly cold weather most likely inspired similar figures in other cultures, including the Oak King in Celtic mythology or the god Ullr among the Norse. Representations of Boreas and these other beings may be responsible for modern incarnations of Old Man Winter or Jack Frost.
Bibliography
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Smith, Neil. Jason and the Argonauts. Osprey Publishing, 2013.
Tuthill, Samantha-Rae. "Winter Tales and Myths: Where Did Old Man Winter, Jack Frost Come From?" AccuWeather, 2 Apr. 2016, www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/winter-jack-frost-myth/21183076. Accessed 2 May 2017.
Yarema-Wynar, Olha. "The Boreas and Orithyia Tapestry Viewed through the Prism of a Textile Conservator." Metropolitan Museum of Art, 3 June 2016, www.metmuseum.org/blogs/now-at-the-met/2016/boreas-and-orithyia-tapestry. Accessed 2 May 2017.