Weatherwatch: Myths behind the capricious god of the north wind

Boreas, whose icy winds herald winter, was regarded as saboteur of heroes and saviour of cities by ancient GreeksThe ancient Greeks personified the north wind as the god Boreas, and his chill breezes were a sign of the imminent arrival of winter. Boreas was depicted as a winged man in a billowing cloak holding a conch shell. He had a notoriously bad temper that produced violent storms, and he shipwrecked Odysseus and Hercules.But in some cities, Boreas was a hero and saviour. When a Persian fleet threatened Athens in about 480BC, an oracle instructed the Athenians to pray to the winds. According to Herodotus, "from clear and windless weather" a storm blew up out of the north that lasted for three days. The storm was said to have destroyed virtually all the Persian ships, causing the invasion to fail. Continue reading...