Boreas and Oreithyia
Boreas, god of the north wind, carries away the Athenian princess Oreithyia, and their descendants include the winged Argonauts Zetes and Calais.
The Story
Oreithyia was a princess of Athens, commonly described as a daughter of King Erechtheus.
Boreas, the powerful god of the north wind, desired her.
In the best-known tradition he carried Oreithyia away from Athens.
The violent force of the north wind therefore became expressed through a story of divine abduction.
Boreas took Oreithyia to the northern regions associated with his own power.
They became the parents of several remarkable children.
Among them were Zetes and Calais.
The brothers inherited supernatural qualities from their father and became known collectively as the Boreads.
They later joined Jason aboard the Argo.
During the Argonaut expedition their ability to fly became crucial when they pursued the Harpies tormenting the prophet Phineus.
The story of Boreas and Oreithyia therefore reaches far beyond Athens.
It connects the divine family of the winds directly with the heroic generation of the Argonauts.
The myth also became particularly important to Athens.
Boreas could be imagined not simply as a dangerous northern wind but as a figure connected by marriage to the Athenian royal family.
Key Figures
Why It Matters
The myth connects the Athenian royal tradition with the divine winds and provides the parentage of Zetes and Calais, creating a direct bridge between the Anemoi and the Argonaut cycle.
Traditions & Variations
Sources vary in the details and location of Oreithyia's abduction and in lists of the couple's children. Zetes and Calais are consistently prominent as the winged sons of Boreas and Oreithyia.