Boreas

Boreas

    Boreas was the Greek god of the north wind, him and his four brothers were the only gods who had wings. His brothers were the east, south and west winds. He is shown as having a violent temper and being very strong, which is why he was considered the King of all winds. He was also the god of the winter, and bringer of cold winter airs. He would go down the mountains of Thrake, and chill the air with his breath. Boreas was well known for kidnapping Oreithyia, the daughter of the King and Queen of Athens. He had loved the princess for a long time and had repeatedly asked her parents for her hand in marriage. He began to loose his patience with their words, "telling him to wait" and putting him off, so he decided to go with a new tactic of taking her. While she was playing near a riverside he swooped down and kidnapped her unseen by anyone, then wrapped her in a cloud and ravished her. Oreithyia became his wife and she bore him two twin sons, who were born normal but grew golden wings once they were adults. These two boys were famous for their Quest for the Golden Fleece where they accompanied Jason as part of the Argonauts but during their Quest they were killed by Hercules. Boreas and Oreithyia later had two more children, daughters, Cleopatra and Chione.