Source Verification: Zephyrus
Every claim below is either what a named ancient source attests, in its own line or section, or a point where the sources themselves disagree.
What the Sources Attest
Who are Zephyrus's parents and siblings?
Hesiod names Eos, the dawn, as his mother and the Titan Astraeus as his father, and groups him with his brothers Boreas, the north wind, and Notus, the south wind, as the three "strong-hearted winds" born to the pair.
Source: Hesiod, Theogony 378-380
How is Zephyrus connected to Achilles's horses?
Homer explains in the Iliad that Achilles's immortal chariot horses, Xanthus and Balius, were sired by Zephyrus on the harpy Podarge, who conceived them while grazing in a meadow beside the stream of Oceanus, giving the west wind a direct, named role in the story of Achilles's own war-gear.
Source: Homer, Iliad 16.148-16.151
Why does Achilles pray to Zephyrus specifically?
When Patroclus's funeral pyre will not catch fire, Achilles prays to Boreas and Zephyrus together, promising them offerings if they hasten the flames. Iris carries the prayer to the winds' own feasting hall, and Zephyrus and Boreas fly to the shore and fan the pyre until it burns, a rare case of the Anemoi acting as characters rather than background forces in the poem.
Source: Homer, Iliad 23.192-23.226
Sources
- Hesiod, Theogony 378-380
- Homer, Iliad 16.148-16.151
- Homer, Iliad 23.192-23.226
- Timothy Gantz, Early Greek Myth (1993)