The Anemoi

The Anemoi

Okay, so we're all vaguely familiar with the fact that there are multiple wind gods in Greek mytho-religion, yeah? Well, let's talk about just how many there are in the Anemoi alone.

"The Anemoi" is the catch-all term for the wind gods who are the children of Astraios (aka Astraeus, Titan-god of stars, planets, and the art of astrology) and Eos (Titan-goddess of the dawn).

Sure, Boreas is the North Wind, with purple wings and strong ties to winter (as a winter god himself and father of Khione, nymph-goddess of snow, along with the rest of his children and his wife also being winter-aligned). Boreas is often depicted with shaggy hair and a shaggy beard, holding a conch shell in his hands and wearing a billowing cloak.

Yeah, Euros (aka Eurus) is the East Wind and an autumn god who hangs out with Helios. Euros is depicted as a bearded man holding a heavy cloak.

And Notos (aka Notus) is the South wind and the wet, storm-bringing wind of late summer and early autumn. Notos is depicted as pouring water from a vase.

And even if you didn't know the rest of the Anemoi, you surely know about Zephyros (aka Zephyrus aka Zephyr), the West Wind god of spring, husband of Khloris (aka Chloris, nymph-goddess of flowers), father of Karpos (Carpus, god of fruit). Of all the Anemoi, Zephyros is the most well-known and commonly depicted, seen as a beardless youth scattering flowers from his mantle.

Notice how weird it is that Euros isn't associated with summer, but rather late summer and early autumn? Well, if you do some digging, you'll find that there's a monument in the Museum Pio-Clementinum that lists Euros as the Southeast Wind rather than the South. Some more digging will lead you to the Tower of the Winds in Athens, which also depicts more Anemoi.

So there are other directional Anemoi? Well, probably? Kinda? According to some depictions and sources? Anyway, like their four more well-known brothers, the rest of the Anemoi are also children of Astraios and Eos. Their names and directions are as follows:

Apeliotes, god of the East Wind. Depicted as a clean-shaven man, he's also depicted as holding a cloak full of fruit and grain. This is the one associated with summer. However, when knocked down to four instead of eight, Euros takes over as god of summer and the East Wind instead of Apeliotes.

Kaikias (aka Caicias), god of the Northeast Wind. He's depicted with shaggy hair and a shaggy beard, carrying a shield full of hail stones.

Lips, god of the Southwest Wind. He's depicted as a winged man holding the stern of a ship.

Skiron (aka Sciron, but not to be confused for the bandit son of Poseidon) is the Northwest Wind. He is a bearded man tilting a cauldron that signifies the onset of winter.

Sometimes, instead of being depicted as humans or winged humans, the Anemoi were instead depicted as horses (because the ancient Greeks loved their horses) that were stabled and kept in line by Aiolos (Aeolus), divine keeper of the winds and king of the mythical, floating island of Aiolia (Aeolia), also called just the "king of the winds". Sources go back and forth on whether or not he was a god himself or just a king who also happens to possibly be the grandson of Kheiron (aka Khiron aka Chiron). Either way, when they are horses, the Anemoi answer to Aiolos.

The Anemoi aren't the only horse-shaped wind beings in Greek mytho-religion, though - that would be the Anemoi Thuellai (singular Anemos Thuella). These are the sons of Typheous (Typhon) are horse-shaped wind daimones (personified spirits) of violent storm winds. These may instead be the wind horses that Aiolos keeps in check and have been later conflated with the gentler Anemoi.

There's also the idea that several horses in Greek mytho-religio-history were, in fact, the children of the Anemoi, which...gets complicated. There's a lot of complicated connections between the Anemoi and horses.

Sources & Further Reading

"The Anemoi" on Theoi: https://www.theoi.com/Titan/Anemoi.html

"Boreas" on Theoi: https://www.theoi.com/Titan/AnemosBoreas.html

"Euros" on Theoi: https://www.theoi.com/Titan/AnemosEuros.html

"Notos" on Theoi: https://www.theoi.com/Titan/AnemosNotos.html

"Zephyros" on Theoi: https://www.theoi.com/Titan/AnemosZephyros.html

"Lips" on Theoi: https://www.theoi.com/Titan/AnemosLips.html

"Khione" on Theoi: https://www.theoi.com/Nymphe/NympheKhione1.html

"Aiolos" on Theoi: https://www.theoi.com/Titan/Aiolos.html

"Anemoi Thuellai" on Theoi: https://www.theoi.com/Titan/AnemoiThuellai.html

"Anemoi" on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anemoi

"Tower of the Winds" on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_the_Winds

"Anemoi" on Greek Mythology: https://www.greekmythology.com/Other_Gods/Anemoi/anemoi.html

"The Anemoi: The Greek Gods of the Winds" by Mike Greenberg, Ph.D. on Mythology Source: https://mythologysource.com/anemoi-greek-gods-winds/