In
Greek mythology, the
Anemoi (in
Greek,
Ἄνεμοι — "
winds") were Greek
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
seasons and
weather conditions. They were sometimes represented as mere
gusts of wind, at other times were personified as
winged men, and at still other times were depicted as
horses kept in the stables of the storm god
Aeolus, who provided
Odysseus with the Anemoi in the
Odyssey.
Astraeus, the astrological deity sometimes associated with
Aeolus, and
Eos, the goddess of the
dawn, were the parents of the Anemoi, according to the
Greek poet
Hesiod.
Of the four chief Anemoi,
Boreas was the north wind and bringer of cold winter air,
Notus was the south wind and bringer of the storms of late summer and autumn, and
Zephyrus was the west wind and bringer of light spring and early summer breezes;
Eurus, the east wind, was not associated with any of the three
Greek seasons, and is the only one of these four Anemoi not mentioned in Hesiod's
Theogony or in the
Orphic Hymns. Additionally, four lesser Anemoi were sometimes referenced, representing the northeast, southeast, northwest, and southwest winds.
The deities equivalent to the Anemoi in
Roman mythology were the
Venti (in
Latin, "
winds"). These gods had different names, but were otherwise very similar to their Greek counterparts, borrowing their attributes and being...
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