Heinrich Lossow’s “Boreas and Orithya” depicts another mythological abduction from Greek tradition—the story of Boreas, god of the north wind, seizing the Athenian princess Orithya. Like many classical myths involving divine pursuit of mortal women, this narrative raises complex questions about power, consent, and the relationship between gods and humans.
The Myth of Boreas and Orithya
According to Greek mythology, Boreas fell in love with Orithya, daughter of Erechtheus, king of Athens. After his courtship was refused, Boreas wrapped Orithya in clouds and carried her away to Thrace. There she bore him several children, including the winged warriors Zetes and Calais who would join the Argonauts.
The Athenians later claimed special relationship with Boreas based on this myth. They called upon the north wind during the Persian Wars, and when storms destroyed portions of the Persian fleet, credited Boreas with coming to Athens’ aid, remembering his connection to the city through Orithya.
Artistic Interpretations
Artists depicted the abduction of Orithya from ancient times through the 19th century. The scene offered dramatic visual possibilities—the god of wind sweeping down to seize a mortal woman, the contrast between divine power and human vulnerability, the moment of transformation from ordinary life to mythological destiny.
Some versions emphasized Orithya’s terror and resistance, depicting violent abduction. Others showed her yielding to divine will or even accepting Boreas’s advance, softening what ancient sources described as forcible seizure. These variations reveal how different eras understood and represented sexual violence in mythological contexts.
Wind Gods in Art and Imagination
Depicting wind gods presented particular artistic challenges. How to represent air, movement, and invisible force? Ancient art often showed wind deities as winged figures or blowing faces. Later artists developed sophisticated techniques for suggesting motion through flowing drapery, agitated landscape elements, and dynamic compositions.
The north wind specifically carried associations with coldness, harshness, and wild power. Boreas represented untamed natural forces, making his pursuit of the civilized Athenian princess a narrative of wild nature claiming refined culture—another dimension to the already complex power dynamics of divine abduction.
Lossow and Mythological Subjects
For Lossow, trained in the Academic tradition that valued classical subjects, mythological themes provided opportunity to demonstrate knowledge of ancient sources and engagement with art historical tradition. The abduction of Orithya offered dramatic subject matter involving movement, conflict, and the relationship between divine and mortal realms.