Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

, Podarge () is a

harpy In Greek and Roman mythology, a harpy (plural harpies, , ; ) is a half-human and half-bird mythical creature, often believed to be a personification of storm winds. They feature in Homeric poems. Descriptions Harpies were generally depict ...

, a personification of a swift wind and mate of

Zephyrus In Greek mythology and religion, Zephyrus () (), also spelled in English as Zephyr (), is the god and personification of the West wind, one of the several wind gods, the Anemoi. The son of Eos (the goddess of the dawn) and Astraeus, Zephyrus is t ...

, the West Wind. She is the mother of Balius and Xanthus — two divine horses renowned for their swiftness and who were gifted to

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus () was a hero of the Trojan War who was known as being the greatest of all the Greek warriors. The central character in Homer's ''Iliad'', he was the son of the Nereids, Nereid Thetis and Peleus, ...

, running as fast as the wind. In the ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...

'', she is described by

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

as having taken horse form, and 'grazing in a meadow by the stream of Ocean'. Some classical authors also regard her as Zephyrus' wife. However as the rainbow goddess Iris is his other wife and sister of Podarge, there is confusion between the two.

Stesichorus Stesichorus (; , ''Stēsichoros''; c. 630 – 555 BC) was a Greek Greek lyric, lyric poet native of Metauros (Gioia Tauro today). He is best known for telling epic stories in lyric metres, and for some ancient traditions about his life, such as hi ...

says the divine horses Phlogeus and Harpagos are the offspring of Podarge.''RE'', s.v. Podarge (1);

fr. 1 Campbell
Her other names are ''Podarkes'', ''Podarke-Aellopos'' and ''Podarces''.

Sources

* Homer. ''Iliad'' xvi, 148. * Hyginus. ''Fabulae'' Preface, Fabulae 14. * Quintus Smyrnaeus. ''Fall of Troy 3'' 743. * Stesichorus. ''Funeral Games of Pelias'' Fragment 178. * Nonnus. ''Dionysiaca 37'' 155.

Notes

References

* Campbell, David A., ''Greek Lyric, Volume III: Stesichorus, Ibycus, Simonides, and Others'',

Loeb Classical Library The Loeb Classical Library (LCL; named after James Loeb; , ) is a monographic series of books originally published by Heinemann and since 1934 by Harvard University Press. It has bilingual editions of ancient Greek and Latin literature, ...

No. 476, Cambridge, Massachusetts,

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou. The pres ...

, 1991. {{ISBN, 978-0674995253
Online version at Harvard University Press
Greek legendary creatures Legendary birds Harpies Mythological hybrids