winds

winds, wind gods.The winds were thought of as gods by both Greeks and Romans. In Homer the winds are sometimes under the control of Aeolus, sometimes independent, invoked by men with prayer and sacrifice, or acting under the orders of Zeus. They had well-defined personalities, particularly (in Greece) Boreas, the North Wind, and Zephyrus, the West Wind. Hesiod speaks of three winds, Boreas, Zephyrus, and Notus (the South Wind), the children of Astreaus and Eos. Four, including the East Wind, Eurus, are found in Homer. The ‘Tower of the Winds’ at Athens, built in the first century BC and still in good condition, depicts eight winds in human form; in compass order they are (in their Greek forms) Boreas, Kaikias, Apēliōtēs, Euros, Notos, Lips, Zephyros, Skīrōn.

In Italy the West Wind, Favonius, was the favourite. The name of the North Wind, Aquilo (‘eagle’), suggests the idea of the wind as a mighty bird. Sacrifices were made to the winds where necessary (compare IPHIGENEIA). At Rome there was a temple to the Tempestatēs or weather-goddesses where sacrifices were offered. White animals were sacrificed to the beneficent winds, black animals to the stormy winds. See TYPHOEUS.