Boreas is the son of the titan Astrea and the goddess of the dawn Eos (myth of Eos here), and his name (Βορέας) means “northern” because he is the god of the north wind. He inhabited Thrace and was glorified as a rebellious deity, and when he met Oritia, he swore love, but she refused him and abducted her to his northern home. There she gave birth to twins Z and Kalaid as described with wings, who later took part in the march of the Argonauts.

Myth of Boreas and Oritia

Fearful is Boreas, the god of the indomitable, stormy north wind. It floats furiously over lands and seas, causing storms with its flight that destroy everything. Once Boreas, flying over Attica, saw Erechtheus’ daughter Oritia and fell in love with her. Boreas prayed to Orita to become his wife and allow him to take her with him to his kingdom in the far north. Oritia disagreed because she feared the terrible cruel god. And Erechtheus, the father of Oritia, refused Boreas. No requests, no insistence from Boreas helped. The terrible god got angry and shouted:

“I deserved this humiliation myself! I forgot my terrible, furious power! Does it seem to me humbly to beg anyone? I must act only by force! I chase the storm clouds across the sky, I raise waves like mountains in the sea, I pluck centuries-old oaks from the roots like dry stalks of grass, I whip the ground with hail and turn the water into ice-hard ice, and I pray like a powerless mortal. When I blow in a furious flight over the earth, the whole earth shakes and trembles even the underworld of Hades. And I begged Erechtheus as if I were his servant. I must not beg to be given to me as a woman Oritia, but I must take her by force!”

Boreas fluttered his powerful wings. A storm was raging all over the earth. Centuries-old forests swayed like reeds, great waves covered with foam swept terribly across the sea, dark clouds covered the whole sky. Boreas’ dark cloak spread just above the mountains, and the icy cold of the North blew from it. Destroying everything in his path, Boreas rushed to Athens, got there, grabbed Oritia, climbed up and flew with her to his home north.

There Oritia became Boreas’ wife. She bore him two twin sons, Zethus and Kalaid. They were both winged, as was their father. Great heroes were the sons of Boreas; both took part in the march of the Argonauts to Colchis for the golden fleece and performed many great feats.