Sail with us and learn about the nature that surrounds you

Introduction

There are many names for the wind, and we want to share them with you. There are many names for the wind, and we want to share them with you.

Sail with us and learn about the nature that surrounds you: a blog about sailing.

There are many names for the wind, and we want to share them with you.

You may have noticed that the winds are named in many different languages. The names are often descriptive or metaphorical, and they’re given to the winds by sailors.

The Greeks, for example: Zeus (the god of thunder) is responsible for creating some of the most powerful gusts—the Mistral Wind, which blows in from France and Italy; and Bora, which comes from Croatia and Slovenia.

Romans often attributed their winds to Neptune (god of water). Notable Roman-named winds include Sirocco (from North Africa) and Föhn (from Switzerland).

What’s in a name? Getting to know the winds of the world

You may have heard the winds referred to by their Latin names, but did you know that most of them have Greek counterparts? The anemoi (wind gods) were named Apeliotes, Boreas, Caicias, Euros, Eurus, Notus and Zephyros.

In English we use words like “Easterly” or “Northwesterly” when referring to the direction of a wind. But these names come from Latin and not Greek. The ancient Romans used simple terms like “Bora” or “Auster” (north), etc., which they translated into their own language as they colonized different parts of Europe.

The anemoi are Greek gods of winds.

The anemoi were Greek gods of winds. They’re personified by old men with wings, and they are Boreas (the North Wind), Notus (the South Wind), Eurus (the East Wind) and Zephyrus (the West Wind).

They were associated with weather and the seasons.

In ancient times, people associated weather with gods, and named winds accordingly.

In ancient times, people associated weather with gods. The ancient Greeks believed that the air was filled with spirits called anemoi (“winds”) who were personified as winged men. They identified each spirit with a different direction and season. The four main winds were: Boreas—north; Notos—south; Zephyrus—west; and Eurus—east.

The winds were also given poetic names: Boreas (North Wind) was known for being cold, harsh and strong; Zephyrus (West Wind) was gentle and soft; Notus (South Wind) brought heat during summer months; while Eurus (East Wind) was associated with rainy weather in springtime.

A list of the famous anemoi

The four famous Anemoi (wind gods) of ancient Greek mythology were:

Boreas – the north wind, who lived in a cave on Mount Hymettus. He was strong and very cruel to ships.
Zephyrus – the west wind, who also lived in a cave on Mount Hymettus. He was gentle and kind, but he could sometimes be too strong for sailing.
Notus – the south wind, who lived at Cape Malea on Crete. He was short tempered like his brother Boreas, but not as strong or malicious as him.
Eurus – The east wind is said to have been born from Astraeus and Pura Panoptes (the all-seeing giant). Eurus had several siblings including Zephyrus mentioned above; Euros; Thrascios/Thracius; Caurus/Ceraunus; Corus/Coronaeus

Boreas is the god of the North wind, personified by a bearded old man with wings, said to be one of the wisest of all Greek gods. Sometimes called Aquilo in Roman mythology.

Boreas was the god of the north wind in Greek mythology, and sometimes called Aquilo in Roman mythology. He was depicted as a bearded man with wings who had the power to make hurricanes with his breath, and he carried off any mortals who dared to defy him. He also fell in love with Orithyia, but Zeus turned her into a swallow first before the two could mate.

Zephyrus was the West wind in ancient Greece; he was not only associated with gentle breezes but also with devastating hurricanes. In Rome he was known as Favonius or Faunus (god of fertility).

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiU6H-lKjI8&feature=youtu.be

Notus was god of the South wind, viewed as both a deity of fertility and growth as well as one associated with violent storms and heavy rains. In Rome, he was known as Vulturnus and was worshipped by those who crossed water bodies due to his association with safe sea journeys.

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Eurus is the god of the East wind whose name literally means ‘good east winds’ in some languages, though it can mean ‘violent east wind’ in others (like Latin).

Eurus is the god of the East wind whose name literally means ‘good east winds’ in some languages, though it can mean ‘violent east wind’ in others (like Latin). Eurus was a son of Astraeus, Titan god of light or the morning star. Eurus is said to be one of three titan gods whose task was to hold up heaven while their father Uranus slept with other female Titans such as Mnemosyne and Tethys.

Eurus, however, did not participate in this task because he was busy chasing his own wife Aeria who fled from him every day. In Greek mythology Aeria also means ‘east wind’ since she was running away from her husband who often chased after her with an open mouth ready to swallow her whole if he could have caught up with her!

Conclusion

We hope this article has given you a bit of insight into the world of sailing and the different winds that surround us. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them below! We’d love to hear from you.

Introduction