Eurus- Greek GodDeity
Also known as: Euros and Εὖρος
Description
God of the east wind, son of the dawn goddess Eos and the star-titan Astraeus. On the Tower of the Winds in Athens, Eurus stands in a heavy cloak pouring rain from an inverted vase — the warm, wet wind from the direction of sunrise.
Mythology & Lore
The East Wind
Eurus was born to the Titan Astraeus and the dawn goddess Eos alongside his brothers Boreas, Zephyrus, and Notus — the four Anemoi, the cardinal wind gods. He blew from the direction of sunrise, carrying warm rains from the east and southeast. Hesiod counts the four Anemoi among the beneficial winds, born of divine parents, distinct from the random and destructive storm winds that Typhon sired. Where Boreas brought the bitter cold of the north, Eurus carried warm, humid weather from the east.
Storm and Stone
When Poseidon spotted Odysseus sailing from Calypso's island on a makeshift raft, the sea god summoned all four winds at once. Eurus, Notus, Zephyrus, and Boreas battered the raft together and hurled the hero into the churning sea. Odysseus nearly drowned before the sea nymph Leucothea threw him her veil to keep him afloat.
On the Tower of the Winds in Athens — an octagonal marble monument built around 50 BCE — each of the eight wind gods faces his quarter with distinctive attributes. Eurus appears as a mature, bearded man wrapped in a heavy cloak, holding an inverted vase from which rain pours.
Sailors offered prayers and sacrifices to the Anemoi before setting out, and altars to the winds are attested at several Greek sites. For those who sailed the Aegean, the east wind could bring needed rain to the farms or drive sudden squalls across the shipping lanes.