01 · The stories
Myths & defining acts
Carries off Oreithyia (Ovid, Metamorphoses 6.675–721) and is invoked by the Athenians against the Persian fleet (Herodotus 7.189).
02 · Sacred lineage
Family & relations
In Hesiod, Eos bears the winds, including Zephyrus and Boreas, to Astraeus (Theogony 378–380). In Ovid's account, Boreas carries off Oreithyia and becomes the father of the winged Zetes and Calais (Metamorphoses 6.675–721).
Greek literary genealogies and Roman cult identities are not interchangeable. Explore the family tree and its traditions.
03 · Places of devotion
Abode & sacred sites
Not described in the sources cited here.
04 · Two traditions
Greek & Roman perspectives
The Greek perspective
Herodotus says the Athenians invoked Boreas, the north wind, as their son-in-law to help them against the Persian fleet (7.189).
The Roman perspective
In Ovid, Boreas abducts Oreithyia, the daughter of the Athenian king Erechtheus (Metamorphoses 6.675–721).
05 · Extensive analysis
A closer reading
In Hesiod Boreas is one of Eos's winds; in Ovid he carries off Oreithyia; in Herodotus the Athenians treat him as a son-in-law and call on him for help.
06 · Primary sources
What the sources say
These are the main ancient passages behind this entry, with what each one actually says.
- Hesiod, Theogony lines 378–380
Eos bears the strong-hearted winds, brightening Zephyrus and Boreas, to Astraeus.
Read the passage - Ovid, Metamorphoses book 6, lines 675–721
Boreas carries off Oreithyia, daughter of the Athenian king Erechtheus; their sons are the winged Zetes and Calais.
Read the passage - Herodotus, Histories book 7, chapter 189
The Athenians invoke Boreas, the north wind, as their son-in-law, to help them.
Read the passage
07 · Story & deeper insight
Boreas and the abduction of Oreithyia
Boreas takes Oreithyia, the daughter of the Athenian king Erechtheus, and carries her north. In Ovid's telling, persuasion gives way to force when the wind god declares that violence suits his nature. Their children include the winged brothers Zetes and Calais, linking the union to heroic travel and the Argonauts.
The narrative should be described as an abduction rather than a harmless romantic flight. It turns a weather power into a figure whose behaviour resembles the physical force of his wind. The imagery preserves the difference between the experience of the pursuer and the vulnerability of the person taken.
Herodotus reports that Athenians invoked Boreas as a relative through Oreithyia during the Persian invasion and credited him with help against the enemy fleet. Mythic kinship thus supported a civic religious relationship. Roman Aquilo supplies a Latin name for the north wind, but the Athenian family connection belongs to a specific local tradition.