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Zephyros and Hyakinthos, detail from a Greek bowl, c. 490 BCE

Zephyros

Or Zephyrus, the god of the West Wind in the ancient Greek pantheon.   He was the son of Eos, goddess of the dawn, and Astraeus, a Titan.   In most myths he was described as a gentle and benevolent deity, the bringer of the wet spring weather which fed the crops and the flowers.  The Romans identified him with Favonius, and his benevolent reputation survives in the modern use of the word "zephyr" to describe a gentle, soothing breeze.   Zephyros was the husband of Khloris (or Chloris), goddess of flowers, with whom he fathered  Karpos, god of fruit.  Some myths also designated him the husband of Iris, the rainbow goddess, and father by her of Eros, god of love, and Pothos, god of longing, though most myths named these two gods as the sons of Aphrodite or even as being self-created.   Zephyros also loved Pordage, one of the Harpies, and the offspring from this union were the immortal horses Xanthos, Balios, and Arion.  Xanthos and Balios were given the power of speech by Hera and later given as gifts by Poseidon to Peleus, who in turn gave them to his son Achilles.

Of course, like most of the Greek gods, Zephyros was bisexual, and counted several males among his conquests.
The most well-known of these was Hyakinthos, a beautiful youth for whose affections Zephyros competed with Apollo.  When Hyakinthos eventually chose Apollo over Zephyros, the normally gentle god was overcome by a jealous rage.  One day, while Hyakinthos and Apollo were engaged in a friendly discus-throwing competition, Zephyros diverted Apollo's discus so that it struck Hyakinthos in the head, killing him.  Unable to save or revive the boy, Apollo caused the beautiful hyacinth flower to grow from the youth's blood as an eternal tribute.  Zephyros was also one of the many males, divine and mortal, who loved the beautiful Trojan prince Ganymede, but it was Zeus who won the young man, carrying him off to Olympus in the form of an eagle.

While depictions of the love between Zephyros and Hyakinthos were fairly common in classical times, more modern depictions of the god seem almost exclusively to emphasize his relationship with Khloris, or as she was known to the Romans, Flora.   Among the most famous of these are the painting Primavera by Sandro Boticelli and the sculpture Zephyrus and Flora by Clodion.

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