THE GOD NOTUS IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY
In Greek mythology the Anemoi were the personifications of the wind, and in particular the four main directional winds.
The four Anemoi were Boreas, the north wind, Zephyrus, the west wind, Eurus, the east wind, and Notus the south wind.
Notus and his three bothers were the sons of the Titan Astraeus, the god of stars and planets, and Eos, the dawn goddess. This parentage also made Notus brother to the five Astra Planeta, the wandering stars.
The four Anemoi were Boreas, the north wind, Zephyrus, the west wind, Eurus, the east wind, and Notus the south wind.
Notus and his three bothers were the sons of the Titan Astraeus, the god of stars and planets, and Eos, the dawn goddess. This parentage also made Notus brother to the five Astra Planeta, the wandering stars.
The Home of Notus
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As god of the south wind, Notus was said to reside within a palace in Aithiopia; Aethiopia being the unmapped land to be found south of the Sahara desert.
Whilst it was assumed that each of the Anemoi had their own palace at the furthest reaches of the earth, the four Anemoi, Notus included, were also often found together, especially in the home of Aeolus, the Keeper of the Winds. |
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Descriptions of Notus
Notus, and the other Anemoi, were normally depicted in the form of winged men, with the ability to fly at the fastest speeds. Alternatively, the wind gods were also thought of in terms of swift horses galloping ahead of the winds that followed them. The belief that the Anemoi could transform themselves into horses also gave rise to claims by many ancient kings that their swiftest horses had been sired by one of the Anemoi.
Ancient writers would often proclaim the benefits that the Anemoi brought to men, although Notus was rarely considered to be as beneficial as Boreas or Zephyrus. This was because the coming of Notus was associated with the hot, wet and stormy winds of late summers, winds that could easily destroy unharvested crops.
Notus was often fought of as being quick to anger, but this was no different to the majority of deities within the Greek pantheon. Ancient Greeks though often believed that the most violent storms when the four Anemoi fought with one another, and the fights between Notus, the south wind, and Boreas, the north wind, were especially deadly.
Ancient writers would often proclaim the benefits that the Anemoi brought to men, although Notus was rarely considered to be as beneficial as Boreas or Zephyrus. This was because the coming of Notus was associated with the hot, wet and stormy winds of late summers, winds that could easily destroy unharvested crops.
Notus was often fought of as being quick to anger, but this was no different to the majority of deities within the Greek pantheon. Ancient Greeks though often believed that the most violent storms when the four Anemoi fought with one another, and the fights between Notus, the south wind, and Boreas, the north wind, were especially deadly.
Neptune's Horses - Walter Crane (1845–1915) - PD-art-100
Notus in Greek MythologyNotus does appear occasionally in ancient sources, in either Greek form, or as his Roman equivalent Auster. Gaius Valerius Flaccus, in his version of the Argonautica, tell of how Notus and the other Anemoi battered the Argo as Jason quested for the Golden Fleece. Poseidon had to come to the aide of Jason to prevent the ship and vessel from being sunk.
Notus also appears in Ovid’s Metamophoses, when Zeus makes use of the power of Notus to bring forth storm clouds that led to the Deluge, the flooding of the earth; Zeus having previously locked Boreas away so that Notus would be free from his brother’s interference. The Anemoi Notus also appears in the Dionysiaca (Nonnus), where a tale is told of the wind god. Once Notus burnt the crops belonging to Psyllos of Libya, a king Nonnus described as “Psyllos the harebrained”. To gain some form of vengeance Psyllos enlisted his brothers and a large army to attack Notus, but when Notus observed the armada carrying troops, the wind god attacked the fleet, sinking it in its entirety so that there was no trace of man or boat. |
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