View source for Anemoi

{{Short description|Group of Greek gods}}
{{Redirect|Four winds|other uses|Four Winds (disambiguation)}}
{{Lead too short|date=February 2023}}

[[File:Rose des vents antiquité.jpg|thumb|[[Wind rose]] of ancient Greece, created by the scholar [[Adamantios Korais]] around 1796]]
{{Special characters}}

In [[ancient Greek religion]] and [[Greek mythology|myth]], the '''Anemoi''' ({{langx|grc|Ἄνεμοι||Winds}}) were wind gods who were each ascribed a [[cardinal direction]] from which their respective winds came (see [[Classical compass winds]]), and were each associated with various [[nature]], [[season]]s and [[weather]] conditions. They were the progeny of the [[Dawn deities|goddess of the dawn]] [[Eos]] and her husband, the god of the dusk, [[Astraeus]].<ref>Roman, L., & Roman, M. (2010). {{Google books|tOgWfjNIxoMC|Encyclopedia of Greek and Roman mythology.|page=66}}</ref>

== Etymology ==
The earliest attestation of the word in Greek and of the worship of the winds by the Greeks, are perhaps the [[Mycenaean Greek]] word-forms {{lang|gmy|{{script|Linb|𐀀𐀚𐀗𐀂𐀋𐀩𐀊}}}}, {{Lang|gmy-latn|a-ne-mo-i-je-re-ja}}, {{lang|gmy|{{script|Linb|𐀀𐀚𐀗𐄀𐀂𐀋𐀩𐀊}}}}, {{Lang|gmy-latn|a-ne-mo,i-je-re-ja}}, i.e. "priestess of the winds".   These words, written in [[Linear B]], are found on the [[Knossos|KN]] Fp 1 and KN Fp 13 tablets.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=http://minoan.deaditerranean.com/resources/linear-b-sign-groups/a/a-ne-mo/|title=a-ne-mo|last=Raymoure|first=K.A.|work=Linear B Transliterations|publisher=Deaditerranean. Dead Languages of the Mediterranean|access-date=2014-03-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190212181702/http://minoan.deaditerranean.com/resources/linear-b-sign-groups/a/a-ne-mo/|archive-date=2019-02-12|url-status=dead}} {{cite web|url=https://www2.hf.uio.no/damos/Index/item/chosen_item_id/1|title=KN Fp 1 + 31}} {{cite web|url=https://www2.hf.uio.no/damos/Index/item/chosen_item_id/13|title=KN 13 Fp(1) (138)}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=http://www.hf.uio.no/ifikk/english/research/projects/damos/|title=DĀMOS: Database of Mycenaean at Oslo - Department of Philosophy, Classics, History of Art and Ideas}}</ref>

==Mythology==
[[Image:Tower of the Winds frieze detail.jpg|thumb|right|[[Tower of the Winds]] in ancient [[Athens]], part of the frieze depicting the Greek wind gods Boreas (north wind, on the left) and Skiron (northwesterly wind, on the right)]]

The Anemoi are minor gods and are subject to [[Aeolus (Odyssey)|Aeolus]]. They were sometimes represented as [[wind|gusts of wind]], and at other times were personified as [[wing]]ed men. They were also sometimes depicted as [[horse]]s kept in the stables of the storm god Aeolus, who provided [[Odysseus]] with the Anemoi in the ''[[Odyssey]]''. The [[Laconia|Spartans]] were reported to sacrifice a horse to the winds on [[Taygetus|Mount Taygetus]].<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] 2.34.2 compared by [[Sextus Pompeius Festus|Festus]] to the Roman sacrifice of the [[October Horse]], 190 in the edition of Lindsay.</ref> [[Astraeus]], the astrological deity (sometimes associated with [[Aeolus (Odyssey)|Aeolus]]), and [[Eos]]/[[Aurora (mythology)|Aurora]], the goddess of the [[dawn]], were the parents of the Anemoi, according to the [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] poet [[Hesiod]].

Of the four chief Anemoi, [[Boreas (god)|Boreas]] (Aquilo in [[Roman mythology]]) is the north wind and bringer of cold winter air, [[Zephyrus]] (Favonius in [[Latin]])<ref name="auto">Aulus Gellius 2.22.12.</ref> is the west wind and bringer of light spring and early-summer breezes, and [[Notus]] (Auster in [[Latin]]) is the south wind and bringer of the storms of late summer and autumn; [[Eurus]], the southeast<ref>Liddell, Scott, & Jones Greek Lexicon.</ref> (or according to some,<ref name="auto1">Lewis and Short, Latin Dictionary.</ref> the east) wind, was not associated with any of the three [[Attic calendar|Greek seasons]], and is the only one of these four Anemoi not mentioned in Hesiod's ''[[Theogony]]'' or in the ''[[Orphic Hymns]]''.

The deities equivalent to the Anemoi in [[Roman mythology]] were the '''Venti''' ([[Latin]], "winds").{{cn|date=December 2024}} 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===<!--linked from 'North'-->
{{main article|Boreas (god)}}

Boreas is the god of the north wind and the harshest of the Anemoi. He is mostly known for his abduction of the Athenian princess [[Orithyia of Athens|Orithyia]], by whom he became the father of the [[Boreads]]. In art, he is usually depicted as a bearded, older man. His Roman equivalent is called ''Aquilo''.

===Zephyrus===
{{main article|Zephyrus}}
[[File:Affreschi romani - pompei - nozze zefiro e clori particolare.JPG|thumb|Zephyrus on an antique fresco in [[Pompeii]]]]
[[File:Hyacinthus and Zephyrus 3.jpg|thumb|upright|Zephyrus and [[Hyacinth (mythology)|Hyacinth]]; [[Attica|Attic]] [[Red-figure pottery|red-figure]] [[cup]] from [[Tarquinia]], c. 480 BCE,  [[Museum of Fine Arts, Boston]]]]
[[File:Zephyr and Flora, c.1720, by Antonio Corradini, V&A.JPG|thumb|upright|''Zephyr and Flora'', c. 1720, by Antonio Corradini, [[Victoria and Albert Museum]]]]

Zephyrus (Gk. {{lang|grc|Ζέφυρος}} [{{lang|grc-Latn|Zéphyros}}]),<ref name="auto"/> sometimes shortened in English to ''Zephyr'', is the Greek god of the [[west 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 in [[Thrace]].

Zephyrus was reported as having several wives in different stories. He was said to be the husband of [[Iris (deity)|Iris]], goddess of the rainbow. He abducted the goddess [[Chloris (nymph)|Chloris]], and gave her the domain of flowers. With Chloris, he fathered [[Karpos]] ('fruit'). He is said to have vied for [[Chloris (nymph)|Chloris's]] love with his brother Boreas, eventually winning her devotion. Additionally, with yet another sister and lover, the [[harpy]] [[Podarge]] (also known as [[Celaeno]]), Zephyrus was said to be the father of [[Balius and Xanthus]], [[Achilles]]' horses.

In the story of [[Cupid and Psyche|Eros and Psyche]], Zephyrus served [[Eros]] (or Cupid) by transporting Psyche to his abode.

Zephyrus was also claimed to have killed one of Apollo's many male lovers [[Hyacinth (mythology)|Hyacinth]] 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===
{{main article|Notus}}
{{See also|Lodos}}
''Notus'' ({{lang|grc|Νότος}}, {{Lang|grc-latn|Nótos}}) was the Greek god of the [[south wind]]. He was associated with the desiccating hot wind of the rise of [[Sirius]] after [[midsummer]], was thought to bring the storms of late summer and early autumn, and was feared as a destroyer of crops.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.google.ca/imgres?q=pig&hl=en&biw=1067&bih=529&tbm=isch&tbnid=uT5h-lzuZ4rioM:&imgrefurl=http://www.ilex-press.com/2012/04/did-you-come-here-looking-for-a-pig/&docid=J1SMqkF-E-j4aM&imgurl=http://www.ilex-press.com/wp-content/uploads/pig-thumb1.jpg&w=400&h=298&ei=60qJUe6_OrGayQGc4YDABw&zoom=1&iact=rc&page=1&tbnh=145&tbnw=194&start=0&ndsp=12&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0,i:167&tx=121&ty=119 |title=Google Image Result for |publisher=Google.ca |access-date=2013-05-07}}</ref>
[[File:VarsaviaPalazzo4VentiVento1 (cropped and mirrored).jpg|thumb|right|A statue of Notus.]]
Notus' equivalent in Roman mythology was Auster, the embodiment of the [[sirocco]] wind, a southerly wind which brings cloudy weather, powerful winds and rain to southern Europe. (''Auster'' named the [[compass]] point ''[[South|Australis]]'' and the country's name ''[[Australia]]''.) The Auster winds are mentioned in [[Virgil]]'s [[Aeneid]] Book II, lines 304–307:

{{Verse translation|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.|lang=la}}

Another Roman poet, [[Tibullus]] 1.1, lines 47–48, speaks of the pleasure of lying in bed on rainy winter days:

{{Verse translation|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.|lang=la}}

The name ''Australia'' (the "southern land") is derived from ''Auster''.<ref>[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=australia Online etymological dictionary].</ref>

===Eurus===
{{main article|Eurus}}

''Eurus'' ({{lang|grc|Εὖρος}}, {{lang|grc-Latn|Euros}}) according to some was the southeast wind, but according to others the east wind.<ref name="auto1" /> On the [[Tower of the Winds]] in Athens, Eurus occupies the southeast side, while Apeliotes is in the east. However, it is widely accepted{{By whom|date=August 2022}} that Eurus is the east wind, while Apeliotes is the southeast wind.

Eurus' Roman counterpart is '''Vulturnus''', according to [[Pliny the Elder]];<ref>Pliny the Elder 2.46; cf. Columella 15</ref> but for [[Aulus Gellius]] Volturnus was the equivalent of the southeast wind Euronotus.<ref>Aulus Gellius, 2.22.1.</ref> In the Latin poems, the name '''Eurus''' is generally used for the east or southeast wind, as in Greek.<ref>e.g. Virgil, Aen. 12.730, Horace, Odes 2.16, Ovid, Met. 15.552.</ref>

Eurus is a wind of storm, described as a turbulent wind during storms and tossing ships on the sea.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theoi.com/Titan/AnemosEuros.html|title=EURUS (Euros) - Greek God of the East Wind|website=www.theoi.com|access-date=2020-04-28}}</ref><ref>Valerius Flaccus. The Argonautica. Translation by Mozley, J. H. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. Book 1, ff 346, 574, 640. Book 2, ff 356.</ref> He is referred to as the "savior of Sparta" in a Homeric [[paean]], or poem.<ref>Greek Lyric V New School of Poetry and Anonymous Songs. Translation by Campbell, D. A. Loeb Classical Library Vol 144. Frag. 858 (from Strasbourg papyrus)''.'' Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.</ref> Eurus is also called the "hot wind" by Nonnus in [[Dionysiaca]]. Eurus is closely related to Helios in passages of the Dionysiaca, being called from his place near [[Helios]]' palace, Phaethon, where the sun rose in the east.<ref>Nonnus, Dionysiaca. Translated by Rouse, W H D. Book 3(ff 55) and 37 (ff. 55, ff 86). Loeb Classical Library Volumes 344, 354, 356. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press, 1940.</ref>

== Lesser winds ==
Four lesser wind deities appear in a few ancient sources, such as at the [[Tower 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.<ref>Liddell, Scott & Jones, Greek Lexicon.</ref>  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|date=October 2020}}  The Roman counterpart of Apeliotes is '''Subsolanus'''.<ref>Aulus Gellius 2.22.1; Pliny the Elder 2.46.</ref>

'''Skiron''' was the name used in Athens for the wind which blew from the Scironian rocks (a geographical feature near [[Kineta]] to the west of Athens).<ref>Liddell, Scott, & Jones, Greek Lexicon.</ref>  On the [[Tower of the Winds]], however, he appears on the northwest side.  His name is related to ''Skirophorion'', the last of the three months of spring in the [[Attic calendar]].  He is depicted as a bearded man tilting a cauldron, representing the onset of winter.  His Roman counterpart is '''Caurus'''<ref>Vitruvius 1.6.13.</ref> or '''Corus'''.<ref>Lucretius 1.405. Pliny the Elder 2.48.</ref>  Caurus is also one of the oldest Roman wind-deities, and numbered among the ''[[di indigetes]]'' ('indigenous gods'), a group of abstract and largely minor [[Numen|numinous]] entities.  The Roman poet [[Virgil]] writes when describing steppe winter weather near the [[Sea of Azov]]:<ref>Virgil, Georgics, 3.356.</ref>

{{Verse translation|Semper hiemps, semper spirantes frigora cauri|Always winter, always the northwest winds breathing cold|lang=la}}

'''Lips''' is the Greek deity of the southwest wind, often depicted holding the [[stern]] of a ship.  His Roman equivalent was '''Africus''', due to the Roman province [[Africa (Roman province)|Africa]] being to the southwest of [[Italy]].  This name is thought to be derived from the name of a [[North Africa]]n tribe, the [[Afri]].

{{Gallery
|title=Friezes on the Clocktower of Andronicus Cyrrhestes ([[Tower of the Winds]])
|width=160
|height=170
|align=center
|File:Relief of the wind god Kaikias on February 28, 2022.jpg|Kaikias
|File:Relief of the wind god Apeliotis on February 28, 2022.jpg|Apeliotes
|File:Relief of the wind god Skiron on February 28, 2022.jpg|Skiron
|File:Relief of the wind god Lips on February 28, 2022.jpg|Lips
}}

Other minor wind deities included:

* '''[[Argestes]]''' "clearing", a wind blowing from about the same direction as Skiron (Caurus), and probably another name for it
* '''Aparctias''', sometimes called the north wind instead of Boreas
* '''Thrascias''', the north-northwest wind (sometimes called in Latin Circius)
* '''Euronotus''', the wind blowing from the direction, as its name suggests, between Euros and Notus, that is, a south-southeast wind ('''Euroauster''' to the Romans)
* '''[[Iapyx]]''', the northwest wind about the same as Caurus.  It was this wind, according to [[Virgil]], that carried the fleeing [[Cleopatra]] home to Egypt after she was defeated at the [[battle of Actium]].<ref name="auto2">Hdt. 7.189.3.</ref>
* '''Libonotus''', the south-southwest wind, known as '''Austro-Africus''' to the Romans
* '''[[Meses]]''', another name for the northwest wind
* '''[[Olympias]]''', apparently identified with Skiron/Argestes
* '''Phoenicias''', another name for the southeast wind ('the one blowing from [[Phoenicia]]', due to this land lying to the southeast of Greece)

== See also ==
<!-- PLEASE RESPECT ALPHABETICAL ORDER -->
*[[Anemometer]], modern device to measure wind
*[[Bacab]]
*[[Dáinn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr and Duraþrór]]
*[[Norðri, Suðri, Austri and Vestri]]
*[[Vayu]]
*[[List of wind deities]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin}}
* [[Apollonius of Rhodes]], ''Apollonius Rhodius: the Argonautica'', translated by Robert Cooper Seaton, W. Heinemann, 1912. [http://www.archive.org/stream/argonautica00apoluoft#page/n5/mode/2up Internet Archive].
* [[Aristotle]], ''[[Meteorologica]]'', 2.6
* [[Aulus Gellius]], ''[[Attic Nights]]'', 2. 22
* Grimal, Pierre, ''The Dictionary of Classical Mythology'', Wiley-Blackwell, 1996. {{ISBN|978-0-631-20102-1}}.
* [[Herodotus]], ''The Histories'' with an English translation by A. D. Godley. Cambridge. Harvard University Press. 1920. [https://topostext.org/work/22 Online version at the Topos Text Project.] [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0125 Greek text available at Perseus Digital Library].
* March, J. (1999). ''Cassell's Dictionary Of Classical Mythology''. London. {{ISBN|0-304-35161-X|}}.
* [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''Description of Greece'' with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+1.1.1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library]
* Pausanias, ''Graeciae Descriptio.'' ''3 vols''. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903.  [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0159 Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[Pliny the Elder]], ''The Natural History.'' John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S. H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A. London. Taylor and Francis, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street. 1855. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0137 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.]
* Pliny the Elder, ''Naturalis Historia.'' Karl Friedrich Theodor Mayhoff. Lipsiae. Teubner. 1906. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0138 Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library.]
* [[Virgil|Publius Vergilius Maro]], ''Aeneid.'' Theodore C. Williams. trans. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1910. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0054%3Abook%3D1%3Acard%3D1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.]
* Publius Vergilius Maro, ''Bucolics, Aeneid, and Georgics''. J. B. Greenough. Boston. Ginn & Co. 1900. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0055 Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[Virgil|Publius Vergilius Maro]], ''Bucolics'', ''Aeneid, and Georgics of Vergil''. J. B. Greenough. Boston. Ginn & Co. 1900. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0058 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Americana poster|Zephyrus}}
* {{Commonscatinline}}
* [https://iconographic.warburg.sas.ac.uk/category/vpc-taxonomy-006651 Warburg Institute Iconographic Database (ca 50 images of winds)]
* [https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC490JA_winds Drawings of the eight winds on the Tower of the Winds at Athens]

{{Greek religion}}
{{Greek mythology (deities)}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Anemoi| ]]
[[Category:Characters in Roman mythology]]
[[Category:Children of Eos]]
[[Category:Deities in the Iliad]]
[[Category:Characters in the Odyssey]]
[[Category:Greek gods]]
[[Category:Metamorphoses characters]]
[[Category:Personifications in Greek mythology]]
[[Category:Roman gods]]
[[Category:Sky and weather gods]]
[[Category:Wind gods]]
[[Category:Helios in mythology]]
[[Category:Avian humanoids]]