01 · The stories
Myths & defining acts
Loved the Spartan prince Hyacinthus and, jealous when the boy preferred Apollo, blew Apollo's discus off course so that it struck and killed him; carried off the nymph Chloris and made her Flora, goddess of flowers, in a garden of eternal spring; wafted the newborn Aphrodite to shore.
02 · Sacred lineage
Family & relations
Parents: the Titan Astraeus and Aurora (Eos). Brothers: Boreas, Notus, Eurus. Wife: the flower-nymph Chloris / Flora. Sons: the immortal horses Xanthus and Balius.
03 · Places of devotion
Abode & sacred sites
Generally the western edge of the world and the mild airs of spring; associated with the Elysian Fields, where only soft west winds blow.
04 · Two traditions
Greek & Roman perspectives
Zephyrus
The mildest and kindliest of the winds; in the tale of Cupid and Psyche it is Zephyrus who gently carries Psyche down to Cupid's hidden palace.
Favonius
One of the four Venti; in Roman poetry Favonius is the warm wind whose arrival in February marks the start of spring and of the farming and sailing season; married to Flora, goddess of flowers.
05 · Extensive analysis
A closer reading
Zephyrus is the soft, warm wind from the west, the exact opposite of his brutal brother Boreas: where the north wind brings winter and takes by force, the west wind brings spring, coaxes flowers open, and in the story of Psyche carries a frightened girl tenderly through the air. The Romans called him Favonius, 'the favourable one', and watched for his return in early February as the signal that the cold was breaking. His marriage to Flora makes him a permanent presence in the garden of spring.
06 · Sources
From the archive
Text from Gods · greek_roman_gods, row 44. Imported 10 September 2026.