The wind is an indispensable tool for humans. Now they use it to receive electricity, grow crops, etc. Therefore, in the legends and myths of different nations, the wind took its rightful place. So, among many pagans, one of the most important characters in myths and legends was the god of the wind. However, each nation called and depicted it in different ways.
No wind is raging over the forest
If you study the mythology of all nationalities, you can find more than a hundred different gods, who were considered the patrons of the wind. Not the last place in the pantheon of gods of almost every nation is occupied by the pagan god of wind - the lord of one of the fundamental elements of the universe - air. The names of the lord of the air element can not be counted, they were called differently for each people, while endowing them with similar powers and abilities. Borea, Noth, Zephyr, Aeolus, Evreus, Egyptian Amon, Indian Vayu and Slavic Stribog - an incomplete list of the names of the god of the wind.
Do not count the names of the lord of the air element
Let's look at characters from the most famous pagan religions.
1. Ancient Iran. The god of the wind is Vayu. This is not even one god, but twins. Only the first Vayu is evil, he is trying to harm the souls of the dead believers. This hypostasis of his corresponds to the evil north wind. And the second Vayu is good, he smuggles them across the Chinvat Bridge into the valley of eternal rest. This god among the inhabitants of Ancient Iran was associated with a warm spring wind, which carries life. Such a plot is given in the Pahlavi sacred texts. And the anthem “Yasht” XV tells of Vayu, a formidable deity who mediates between earth and heaven. Among other things, the ancient Iranians considered him the patron of warriors and the entire military class.
2. Ancient India. The god of the wind is Vayu. Of course, the name of this deity is similar to the nickname of the ancient Iranian Vayu, but they are very different from each other. Vayu is a god who has a pleasant appearance, distinguished by a thousand eyes and speed of thought. The mount of this deity is a deer. But often Vayu rushes under the sky in a sparkling chariot along with Indra himself. The god of the wind is famous for his generosity, favor, wealth. White animals are sacrificed to him. In gratitude, Vai often sends his son to the donor (and in general, his house is filled with children's laughter), and this is the biggest reward. Also, the god of the wind does not deprive property, horses, bulls, glory, refuge and protection from enemies of those who worship him.
3. Ancient Egypt. The god of the wind is Shu. In Egyptian drawings, this deity was depicted as a man with one knee resting on the ground and holding the heavenly vault with his hands. Shu is also one of the judges in the afterlife.
4. Ancient China. The god of the wind is Fenbo. This deity does not have a certain appearance. He was depicted, then a dog with a human face, then a comet, then Feilan - a sika, like a leopard, deer with a bird's head and a snake tail.
5. Ancient Japan. The god of the wind is Fujin. He was depicted in the form of a man carrying a bag behind his back, in which all the tornadoes, winds and winds are stacked. According to ancient Japanese legend, at the dawn of the world, Fujin released one hurricane to disperse the fog between the earthly firmament and the vault of heaven.
Wind - element of the wind
The soul is not equal to the spirit, but close to it. Spirit is a breath, this is the movement of air, which means wind. That is why the gods of the winds are much closer to man than the rest of the elemental. They are already inside, they are already forming intentions, behavior, worldview.
It is interesting to see the genealogy of the wind gods. Most often they are not included in the general hierarchical systems and are aliens. The god of wind flies in with the wind and flies away just as unexpectedly.
You can think about the images of the gods of the winds. Almost everywhere (except China) they are winged and resemble angels. Or demons - the winged messengers of the gods of the ancient Greek philosophers were demons, regardless of the plus or minus in ethical motivation. It is tempting to continue the line of the god of the wind - angel - soul, but since this can lead to unnecessary thoughts and discoveries, it is better to simply take this resemblance for granted.
What is the name of the god of the wind and when is his name? Only at the beginning of the battle or for ships to sail. God of the wind as the first patron of geopolitics. And this is also a reason to think.
Deities of the wind in the system of the ancient world order
As you know, the most logical and well-known system of world order, where each god has his own place and his own life stories, the ancient Greeks. Greek myths and legends are so detailed that even Chinese and Japanese hierarchical divine systems cannot be compared with them, where each deity has its own rank and the number of stars on uniform. So, from someone’s light hand the breeze goddesses became harpies.
In China and India, there were no special reforms in the kingdom of the gods, from the very beginning elemental deities were dangerous and hostile, in the affairs of divine government they belong to demons. Vedic Maruta (comparable with our Mara-Morana) is not a god, but a demon of wind and bad weather. Try here to determine what the name of the god of the wind is!
Wind on Olympus
God of the wind the Greeks are not alone. The Olympic winds were run by several deities.
The most severe was Boreas, the god of the north wind. He was the son of Dawn and Starry Sky. An interesting assumption of the Greeks about the connection of the north with the dawn. By the way, they greatly respected Hyperborea, the distant northern country where Russia is now located. From there, for example, Apollo appeared in Greece.
And in many sources (not quite official, of course), it is assumed that many Greek gods are Slavic deities who at some point chose Greece as their place of residence and assimilated there. It is not known, like everyone else, but Borei definitely has Scythian roots. According to Greek legends, he lives according to Thrace and turns into a horse. His brother Zephyr is the god of the west wind. Known for a novel with a harpy (again a windy lady) Gout, and from this marriage the horses of Achilles were born.
The god of the south wind is Noth. It brings fog and humidity. Evreus is the unexpected god of the southeast wind. There is no east wind in the cosmogony of the Greeks. He is not related to other gods, is deprived of his human appearance and destroys ships. I wonder where he rushed to the Greek lands? And the most famous is Aeolus. Just a demigod of the wind. Ellin's son. Mysterious figure and, it seems, from another tale. He gave Odysseus the fur in which the winds were hidden, with the order not to open. Odysseus did not obey.
Stribog and ...
In Slavic mythology, winds are not personified. The name of the Stribog is derived from the word "streg", meaning "father's uncle", "elder". This god appeared thanks to the breath of Rod. The stribog is able to cause and tame the storms, as well as turn into its helper, the mythical bird of Stratim. The god of wind among the ancient Slavs is not so much the deity of the air element as the grandfather of all the winds. If you delve into his genealogy, then the Vedic and Indo-European roots of the name and characteristics of behavior show his initial identity to God-Heaven. The One God, from the marriage with which Mother Earth carried nature and people.
Stribog much more than Perun can claim this function. He is a cosmogonic god, antediluvian, unlike the god of warriors and rulers of Perun. Stribog lives, as expected, on a black rock on the sea-ocean. What he does - the sources are silent. It threatens and blows, as it should be. Ships drowning. Nevertheless, he is one of the gods of the strange and eclectic pantheon of Vladimir. When asked why this particular set mentions The Tale of Bygone Years, it seems that not one of the researchers found an answer.
God of the wind in art
The mysterious Hyperborean Boreas appeared on one of the most famous paintings in world history, on the "Spring" by Botticelli. In the mystical tradition of the Priory of Zion, in this picture they see the arrival of Mary Magdalene to the South of France, after which she became the most revered female symbol of the esoteric tradition. And they meet spring Maria in France, not only the nymphs and France itself (a lady in a dress dotted with blue flowers), but Boreas. True, it is small in the picture, but, interestingly, it flies from the east.
Dedicated to winds verses and prose
Interesting deities of the wind in one of Andersen's tales. The path in search of paradise for a young man passes through the cave of the winds, where the figures of the North, West, East and South winds release storms from their bags that destroy humanity. Despite the fact that the winds brought the young man to Paradise, human nature prevented him from staying there forever, and he again returned to the cave of the winds. It is interesting that Maximilian Voloshin has a good phrase: "I am a pagan in the flesh and believe in the real existence of all pagan gods and demons, at the same time I can not think outside of Christ." Here is the confirmation - the gods of the wind, the early gods of mankind, demons recognize Christ and are ready not only to give him power over human souls, but also to escort people to the Kingdom of God, but people are weak. And in his weakness, he becomes uninteresting even to the windy gods.