zephyr
Zephyr (also Zephyros "Zephir" or Zephyrus , Greek Ζέφυρος , who comes from the mountain ) is one of the Anemoi , a wind deity from Greek mythology who embodies the (mild) west wind. In ancient times , Zephyr was revered as the herald of spring and the "ripening of the seeds".
myth
According to Hesiod , Zephyros was the son of the titans Astraios and Eos and, with his brothers Boreas and Notos, one of the useful winds. Aeschylus makes him descend from the Gaia .
With Homer he fathered Xanthos and Balios with the harpy Podarge , the immortal steeds of Achilles , Quintus of Smyrna names Xanthos and Balios as well as Areion . With Iris he is the father of Eros with Alkaios , with Nonnos father of Pothos . With Ovid he is Flora's husband .
Hyakinthos is the lover of Zephyros and Apollo , out of jealousy Zephyros kills Hyakinthos by distracting a discus thrown by Apollo. For Eros , Zephyros raises Psyche to his palace.
reception
In the fine arts, Zephyr is shown in Sandro Botticelli's “ Spring ” blowing on the nymph Chloris. Other artists who deal with Zephyr and Flora are Peter Paul Rubens together with Jan Brueghel the Elder. Ä. , Jean Jouvenet , Nicolas Colombel , Nicolas Bertin , Carlo Carlone , Charles-Antoine Coypel , Giovanni Battista Tiepolo and William Adolphe Bouguereau .
One of Claudio Monteverdi's most popular madrigals is “Zefiro torna” (Zephyr, come back) for two male voices. In Georg Philipp Telemann's suite “ Hamburger Ebb 'und Fluth ” from 1723, one movement ( minuet ) bears the programmatic title “The pleasant Zephyr”. In 1725 Antonio Vivaldi wrote over a passage in the first movement of his Op. 8 No. 2 ( Le Quattro Stagioni - L'Estate) with “Zeffiretti dolci” (Gentle Zephirs). In the opera Hoffmann's Tales by Jacques Offenbach , in the scene with the famous barcarole “Belle nuit, oh nuit d'amour” (“Schöne Nacht, du Liebesnacht”) there is the line: “Zephyrs, lind and gentle, which embrace us and kiss us , brought [...] gentle kisses. "
In her seventh studio album Beauty & Crime from 2007, the American singer and songwriter Suzanne Vega dealt with her hometown of New York City . The first of a total of twelve tracks on the CD is titled Zephyr & I .
literature
- Benjamin Hedericus : Thorough mythological lexicon. Reprographic reprint of the Leipzig, Gleditsch 1770 edition of the Fürstlich Fürstenbergische Hofbibliothek zu Donaueschingen. Science BG., Darmstadt 1996, ISBN 3-534-13053-7 .
- Leonhard Schmitz : Zephyrus . In: William Smith (Ed.): Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology . tape 3 : Oarses-Zygia and Zygius . Little, Brown and Company, Boston 1870, p. 1321 (English, Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
- Sven Rausch: Zephyros . In: The New Pauly . Brill Online, Leiden 2005ff.
- James N. Davidson : The Greeks and Greek Love - A Bold New Exploration of the Ancient World. Random House, New York 2009, ISBN 0-375-50516-4 .
Web links
- Zephyr in Theoi Project (English)
- Hesiod : Theogony . Online German
- Aeschylus : Agamemnon in the Gutenberg-DE project in Greek , English
- Homer : Iliad (in the German translation by Johann Heinrich Voss) in the Gutenberg-DE project , Greek and English
- Quintus of Smyrna . Online English
- Nonnos : Dionysiacs . Online Greek
- Ovid : Fasti . Online latin
- Flavius Philostratos : Imagines . Online English
- Apuleius : metamorphoses . Online Latin , German , English
Individual evidence
- ↑ Zephyr. In: Jacob Grimm , Wilhelm Grimm (Hrsg.): German dictionary . tape 31 : Z-Zmasche - (XV). S. Hirzel, Leipzig 1956 ( woerterbuchnetz.de ).
- ↑ Ludwig Preller : Greek Mythology Theogony, Gods in the Gutenberg-DE Weidmannsche Buchhandlung project, Berlin 1860 (first edition 1854), chapter 41.
- ↑ Hesiod : Theogony 378-380; 869-871.
- ^ Aeschylus : Agamemnon 690.
- ↑ Homer : Iliad 16,150.
- ↑ Quintus of Smyrna 4, 569.
- ↑ Alkaios : Fragment 8 D.
- ^ Nonnos : Dionysiaka 47, 340.
- ^ Ovid : Fasti 5, 195-212.
- ↑ Flavius Philostratus : Imagines 1, 24.
- ↑ Apuleius : Metamorphosen 4, 35 ff .; 5, 4 ff.