Zephyrus in Mythology and History

Greek mythology has had a deep impact on western culture – literature, physical arts and scientific terminology – emphasising the power that the myths and legends that came out of ancient Greece still has in our contemporary society.

The wonders and the mysteries of nature were explained in mythology as the actions of the gods. In addition to the major gods of the sky, sea and land, there were a host of nature deities, spirits and nymphs who inhabited the forests, fields and rivers.

One of these minor nature deities was the god Zephyrus. He was believed to be the west wind who, along with his brother wind, Boreas, lived in a palace in Thrace.
In Homer’s Iliad, Zephyrus was the father of the immortal horses Xanthus and Balius by the harpy Podarge, who were given to Peleus. It should be noted that in other versions, the sea god Poseidon was the father of these horses.

In a fragment of Parthenios’ ‘Arete’, Zephyrus was noted as the husband of Iris, the messenger deity of the gods and in here, he is the only mythical figure appearing in the text. Homer states that Zephyrus was the god who conveys Aphrodite immediately after her birth at Cythera to Cyprus – “moist strength of blowing Zephyrus”. He was also the god that transported the beautiful Psyche to her new home as the bride of Eros, the god of love.

Apuleius, in his Ecphrasis, places Zephyrus in the text. One scholar states that, “It is also possible that the presence of Zephyrus in the vicinity a t 4.35.4 derives from Od. 7.118f., where the west wind (present nowhere else in such descriptions) promotes fertility in Alicinous' orchard; if so, Zephyrus' role has been substantially upgraded”.

In the Iliad, Zephyrus and his brother Boreas featured in the funeral of Patroclus. Boreas and Zephyrus make the pyre burn in answer to Achilles' prayer; the winds are seen in all their superior strength and freedom from human grief. They maintain the pyre while Achilles mourns.

Zephyrus was a force of nature; the personification of the mysteries of nature. Although the myths in which he features in are not ones where he shines brilliantly, unlike that of such gods as Zeus, he was an important aspect in ancient Greek mythology and continues to be an interesting character.

Bibliography:

Coventry, Lucinda (1987) Messenger Scenes in Iliad xxiii and xxiv (xxiii 192-211, xxiv 77-188), The Journal for Hellenic Studies, The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies.

Johnston, Sarah Iles (1994) Xanthus, Hera and the Erinyes (Iliad 19.400-418), Transactions of the American Philological Association, The John Hopkins University Press.

Murgatroyd, P. (1997) Apuleian Ecphrasis: Cupid's Palace at Met: 5.1.2-5.2.2, Hermes, Franz Steiner Verlag.

Pfeiffer, R. (1943) A Fragment of Parthenios’ Arete, The Classical Quarterly, Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Classical Association.