The Boreads are the two “wind brothers” in Greek mythology. They consist of Zetes (also Zethes) and Calaïs. Their place of origin was Thrace, home of their father Boreas (the North wind). Zetes and Calais were credited with very delicate and graceful hair, which was said to give them the ability to fly (though in some tales they have wings). They had great pride in who had the longest curls between the two of them and by boasting about these locks, they were uplifted. They had dusky wings which gleamed with golden scales. They were Argonauts and played a particularly vital role in the rescue of Phineus from the harpies. They succeeded in driving the monsters away but did not kill them, at a request from the goddess of the rainbow, Iris, who promised that Phineas would not be bothered by the harpies again. As thanks, Phineas told the Argonauts how to pass the Symplegades. It is said that the Boreads were turned back by Iris at the Strophades. The islands’ name, meaning “Islands of Turning”, refers to this event.
Appearance List Literature: Homer’s Odyssey (mentioned, c. 8th century BCE, English 1614), Homer’s Iliad (mentioned, c. 8th century BC), Hesiod’s Theogony (c. 700 BCE), Medea by Euripides (431 BC), poetry by Appolonius, Diodorus, Valerius, Apollodorus, Ptolemy, Pausanias, Hyginus, Tzetzes, Apollonius of Rhodes’ epic poem Argonautica (late 3rd century BC), The Argonautica by Gaius Valerius Flaccus (late 1st century AD), Argonautica Orphica, Dante’s Divine Comedy (briefly, 1308–1320), William Morris’ epic poem The Life and Death of Jason (1867). Film: Jason and the Argonauts (1963).
Description The Boreads are the two “wind brothers” in Greek mythology. They consist of Zetes (also Zethes) and Calaïs. Their place of origin was Thrace, home of their father Boreas (the North wind). Zetes and Calais were credited with very delicate and graceful hair, which was said to give them the ability to fly (though in some tales they have wings). They had great pride in who had the longest curls between the two of them and by boasting about these locks, they were uplifted. They had dusky wings which gleamed with golden scales. They were Argonauts and played a particularly vital role in the rescue of Phineus from the harpies. They succeeded in driving the monsters away but did not kill them, at a request from the goddess of the rainbow, Iris, who promised that Phineas would not be bothered by the harpies again. As thanks, Phineas told the Argonauts how to pass the Symplegades. It is said that the Boreads were turned back by Iris at the Strophades. The islands’ name, meaning “Islands of Turning”, refers to this event.
