Anemoi

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The anemoi Boreas and Skiron . Detail from the Tower of the Winds

The Anemoi ( Greek  Ἄνεμοι "winds" Sing. Ἄνεμος ) were in Greek mythology the gods of wind and personifications of certain winds.

myth

They were considered children of the titan Astraios , the god of dusk, and the Eos (in Roman mythology Aurora ), the goddess of the dawn.

presentation

The anemoi are depicted as winged people of different ages, for example in the reliefs of the Tower of the Winds in Athens or in the Roman mosaics in the house of the drinking competition in Seleukia Pieria .

In mythology they appear not only as humans, but also as divine horses that pull Zeus' chariot as quadriga or stand by him in the battle against Typhon .

And they not only appeared as horses, but also begot them. According to Aelian , horse breeders believed that mares got pregnant from the winds. Virgil reports that, especially in the spring, they would stand against the winds on high cliffs, especially the Boreas, only to suddenly storm away in a maddened, mad run, and that they would become so pregnant from the wind.

cult

The anemoi were rarely worshiped, but they played an important role in Greek history, as it was the winds that partly destroyed and partly dispersed their navy during the invasion of the Persians. Herodotus reports that initially the residents of Delphi received an oracle instructing them to erect an altar in the district of Thyia den Anemoi. The Athenians also sacrificed and prayed especially to Boreas, with whom they believed they were particularly connected because of his connection with the Attic nymph Oreithyia .

Pausanias reports of altars of the Anemoi in Titane and Koroneia .

Greek wind system

The names of the anemoi also simply denoted certain wind directions. In Hesiod , only three of the Anemoi are initially mentioned:

  • Zephyros , the west wind, it brought spring with the early summer breezes
  • Boreas , the north wind, it brought winter with the cold air
  • Notos : The south wind, it brought summer with thunderstorms and storms

This corresponded to the only three seasons for the Greeks in the time of Hesiod. One of the Orphic hymns was dedicated to each of these three wind gods . The fourth wind, Euros , consisting of the (South) East blows and corresponds to the fall, appears in Homer in the Odyssey .

In the reliefs of the Tower of the Winds from the 1st century BC In addition to these four winds of the cardinal directions, four other winds of the secondary directions appear:

Surname Wind direction presentation
Boreas north Man with a coat and a shell into which he blows
Kaikias Northeast Man, pour round objects (hailstones?) From a round sign
Apheliotes east Adolescent wearing a coat filled with fruits and cereals
Euros southeast old man, wrapped in a cloak
Notos south Man emptying a jug
Lips southwest Boy with ship's stern
Zephyros west Boy wearing a shawl filled with flowers
Skiron Northwest bearded man carrying a bronze container filled with charcoal and hot ashes

Roman wind system

The Roman equivalent of the Anemoi were the Venti . Vitruvius in his work de architectura gives a detailed list of winches using a 24-part compass rose , i.e. H. for each of the 8 main winches there are two winches turned by 15 °:

Surname direction Degree annotation
Sept Trio North 0 ° from septem “seven” and trio “threshing ox”, the name of the big dipper among the Romans
Gallicus North third northeast 15 ° from the direction of the province of Gallia cisalpina (seen from Rome)
Supernas Northeast third north 30 ° from the direction of northern Italy
Aquilo Northeast 45 ° Roman equivalent of Boreas
Boreas Northeast third east 60 °
Carbas East third northeast 75 ° Origin is unclear, probably Greek
Solanus east 90 °
Ornithias East-third-southeast 105 ° Spring wind with which the migratory birds come
Eurocircias Southeast third east 120 °
Eurus Southeast 135 °
Vulturnus Southeast-third-south 150 ° from the direction of Monte Vulture
Euronotus South-third-southeast 165 °
oyster south 180 °
Altanus South-third-southwest 195 ° Wind coming from the high seas ( altus )
Libonotus Southwest-third-south 210 °
Africus southwest 225 °
Subvesperus Southwest Third West 240 °
Argestes West-third-southwest 255 ° Greek  ἀργέστης
Favonius west 270 ° by fovere "warming"
Otis West-third-northwest 285 °
Circius Northwest Third West 300 °
Caurus northwest 315 ° also Corus
Corus Northwest Third North 330 °
Thrascias North third northwest 345 °

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : Anemoi  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Libraries of Apollodorus 1.9
  2. Quintus from Smyrna Posthomerica 12.189 ff
  3. Nonnos of Panopolis Dionysiaka 2.392ff, 2.524ff
  4. ^ Claudius Aelianus De natura animalium 4.6
  5. Virgil Georgica 3.267ff
  6. Herodotus Histories 7.178
  7. Pausania's description of Greece 2.12.1, 9.34.3
  8. Hesiod Theogony 371-373.
  9. Orphic Hymn 80 (Boreas), 81 (Zephyros) and 82 (Notos)
  10. Homer Odyssey 5,291; Quintus von Smyrna Posthomerica 12.189, Gaius Valerius Flaccus Argonautica 1.574, Nonnos von Panopolis Dionysiaka 6.18
  11. Vitruv de architectura 1.6.2 ff
  12. Hildebrecht Hommel: Sebasmata. Vol. 2. Scientific studies on the New Testament Vol. 32. Mohr, Tübingen 1984, ISBN 3-16-144723-9 , pp. 372f.
  13. Titus Livius Ab urbe condita 22.43.10, 22.46.9