Notus
In ancient Greek, people believed in mythical beings and each aspect of their lives was associated with them. One of the Greek gods was Notus.
Notus was known as the god of the south wind. This wind god was also linked to the southwest winds. He was one of the four wind gods who were collectively referred to as Anemoi. The other wind gods, who were said to be his brothers, were Boreas, Zephyrus, and Eurus.
These brothers were portrayed as winged men who were capable of moving at a pretty high speed. The four wind gods were also depicted as swift horses that would ride ahead of the strong winds that blew in the seas. From this claim, some ancient Greek gods considered their swiftest horses to be born of one of the Anemoi gods.
The gods of wind were all the sons of Eos, who was the mother and Astraios, the father. Eos was the dawn goddess while Astraios was referred to as the god of the stars. Due to this relation, Notus was also seen by the Greeks as the brother of the five Astra Planeta that were said to be the wandering stars.
Each of the brothers was named after the cardinal direction from where their winds blew. They were respectively linked to varying seasons and weather conditions. Notus was known to reside in one of the older South American settlements. The Greek believed that the palace of Notus was somewhere at the coast of northern Africa.
Aethiopia, which is a place in the south of Sahara, has often been thought to be the location of the god’s palace. Although each of his other brothers had his own palace, the Greek believed that they would be found at the home of Aeolus who was described as the keeper of winds.
Notus was also known as the god of summer. In his appearance, Notus was represented as The Last Olympian, The Lost Hero, The House of Hades, or The Blood of Olympus.
The winds blown by Notus were described as heavy and moist. He, therefore, was believed to be the god that caused misty and foggy weather conditions. At the end of summer and autumn, Notus was also feared to bring storms and sometimes destroy all the field crops.
Immediately after the midsummer season, Notus was linked to the dehydrating hot winds of the rise of Sirius. These acts of Notus led the people to view him as a harsh god who was not as beneficial to the people as his brothers were.
The Romans also presented Auster as the avatar of Notus who was associated with the sirocco wind. Auster is a wind that originates from the south and comes in form of strong winds, clouds, and rains in the southern parts of Europe.
Notus was thought to be easily angered. Whenever he fought with his brother Boreas, the outcome would be catastrophic. Boreas was the god of the north winds.
A tale of Notus is told in Dionysiaca (Nonnus). The anger of this wind god was experienced by Psyllos of Libya where his crops were burnt before harvest. Psyllos then planned an attack against Notus but the former faced the wrath of the god of south wind. He was buried alive alongside his army and fleet.
Notus was also believed to be a danger to sailors in the sea as well as shepherds on the mountaintops. The Greeks also believed that the wind god was lenient to the thieves.
Like his mother, the dawn goddess, who poured dew from a vase, Notus was portrayed pouring rain from a vase.
Sources
GREEK
Homer, The Iliad - Greek Epic C8th B.C.
Homer, The Odyssey - Greek Epic C8th B.C.
Hesiod, Theogony - Greek Epic C8th - 7th B.C.
Hesiod, Works and Days - Greek Epic C8th - 7th B.C.
The Homeric Hymns - Greek Epic C8th - 4th B.C.
Pindar, Fragments - Greek Lyric C5th B.C.
Greek Lyric IV Bacchylides, Fragments - Greek Lyric C5th B.C.
The Orphic Hymns - Greek Hymns C3rd B.C. - C2nd A.D.
Aelian, On Animals - Greek Natural History C2nd - 3rd A.D.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, Fall of Troy - Greek Epic C4th A.D.
Nonnus, Dionysiaca - Greek Epic C5th A.D.
Musaeus, Hero and Leander - Greek Poetry C6th A.D.
ROMAN
Hyginus, Fabulae - Latin Mythography C2nd A.D.
Ovid, Metamorphoses - Latin Epic C1st B.C. - C1st A.D.
Ovid, Fasti - Latin Poetry C1st B.C. - C1st A.D.
Ovid, Heroides - Latin Poetry C1st B.C. - C1st A.D.
Virgil, Georgics - Latin Bucolic C1st B.C.
Seneca, Medea - Latin Tragedy C1st A.D.
Seneca, Phaedra - Latin Tragedy C1st A.D.
Valerius Flaccus, The Argonautica - Latin Epic C1st A.D.
Statius, Thebaid - Latin Epic C1st A.D.
OTHER
"Greek Gods & Goddesses"
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