Shrinking Banshee Presents:
Boreus, God of the North Wind
Boreus,
or Boreas, was the son of the sky dieties Astraeus and Eos (stars
and dawn). Mythology shows Boreus as a violent and unpredictable
god. He was a factor in the trials of odysseus, who was at the
mercy of the wind gods in his quest to reach home. Boreus was a
patron God of the Athenians, and on the Tower of the Winds, in
Athens, he is represented as a scowling old man.
Boreus courted the Athenian Princess Orithyia, but was refused.When he saw Orithyia dancing near the River Ilissus he wrapped her in a cloud and took her to Thrace. While in Thrace Orithyia bore Boreus two winged sons, Zetes and Calais, son Haemus and daughters, Chione and Cleopatra..
In addition to being the God of the north wind, Boreus is regarded as the father of horses, because of their speed. The ancient Greeks believed the wind could impregnate mares, and so Boreus is sometimes pictured as a steed. Boreus is the father of the horses of Ares, by one of the Erinnyes. He is father of the horses of Erechtheus, by one of the Harpies. He fathered the immortal horses of Achiles, Balius and Xanthus, with the Harpy, Podarge. Boreus was also the father of twelve fast horses by the twelve mares of Dardanus and of twelve foals by the mare of Danaus.
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Statue of Boreus abducting Orithyia, found at the Temple of Delos, Courtesy the Hellenistic Mimistry of Culture
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