Notus- Greek GodDeity"The South Wind"

The South Wind

Notus was one of the four Anemoi, the wind gods born to the Titan Astraeus and the dawn goddess Eos. His brothers were Boreas (north), Zephyrus (west), and Eurus (east). Where Boreas brought the sharp cold of winter, Notus carried the hot, humid air of the south — late summer storms heavy with rain, fog, and squalls that Greek sailors dreaded. In the Works and Days, Hesiod warns against putting to sea when the south wind blows after the harvest. The Horologion of Andronikos in Athens, the octagonal Tower of the Winds built around 50 BCE, depicted Notus as a bearded figure emptying a water vessel — a reminder that the south wind meant rain.

The Great Flood

When Zeus resolved to destroy the human race by flood, he imprisoned Boreas and all the dry winds, then unleashed Notus alone. Ovid describes the south wind flying forth with dripping wings and a face shrouded in pitch-black darkness. His beard was heavy with rain, his white hair streaming water, as he wrung the hanging clouds with his great hands. The torrents poured down. Working alongside Poseidon, who struck the earth with his trident to release the rivers, Notus flooded the world until dolphins swam through the forests and sea-creatures brushed against the treetops. Only Deucalion and Pyrrha survived, clinging to a small craft that came to rest on Mount Parnassus. When Zeus finally relented, he imprisoned Notus and released Boreas to clear the skies.

The Bag of Aeolus

All four Anemoi were subject to Aeolus, whom Zeus appointed keeper of the winds. When Odysseus visited Aeolia, Aeolus contained all the adverse winds — including Notus — in an ox-hide bag and released only Zephyrus to speed the fleet home. Within sight of Ithaca, Odysseus's crew opened the bag. All the winds burst forth, Notus among them, and blew the ships back across the sea to Aeolia.