Boreads

The Boreads are the sons of Boreas, the personification of the North Wind, and thus are defined by elemental parentage. Their Homeric and later mythic placement locates them as Thracian-born semi-divine heroes who take part in the Argonauts' expedition. Their identity and powers derive from being offspring of the wind-personification rather than being anonymous local spirits; they operate within the heroic network of named gods and heroes and are tied to particular mythic episodes such as the rescue of Phineus and passage of the Symplegades.

Accounts portray Zetes and Calaïs as a pair of graceful, handsome brothers notable for very delicate, graceful hair—legend says their curls were a point of pride and were connected to their power of flight. Some traditions describe them with wings: one variant reports dusky wings that 'gleamed with golden scales,' while Ovid's Metamorphoses specifically says wings sprouted on their backs when they reached manhood. Other sources place wings on their feet; overall descriptions vary by source but consistently mark them as winged or wind-gifted semi-divine youths.

Because they are sons of Boreas the Boreads possess extraordinary swiftness and the capacity for flight in the traditions that attribute wings to them. In the Argonautica cycle they act as active rescuers and pursuers: most notably they drove the Harpies from the blind prophet Phineus, enabling the Argonauts to obtain crucial information for passing the Symplegades. Their prowess in that episode demonstrates an ability to overpower the Harpies, although the goddess Iris intervened to prevent them from killing the monsters. Sources present variant accounts of their end: some traditions say they perished while pursuing the Harpies (a fate tied to a conditional prophecy that they would die if they failed to catch those they chased), while another tradition reports they were later killed by Heracles on Tēnos in revenge for a quarrel related to the Argonauts.