Aura: The Breath of the Gods | Greek Mythology Story｜VISMYTH

In ancient Greece and Rome, Aura was a minor deity known for her gentle touch as the goddess of breeze. Her name meant breeze, while her plural form was sometimes referred to as Auri. One day, the god of wine, Dionysus, fell in love with Aura and they had a child, Iacus. However, some legends state that Aura was the daughter of Lelantos, one of the Titans, and the mother of The poet Quintus Smyrnius connects Auri with Boreas, the north wind. Regardless, her gentle touch and association with the breeze made her a beloved figure in mythology. In ancient Athens, she was so popular that a play was written about her. The play, titled Auri, was written by the Athenian comic poet Metagenes, who was a contemporary of Aristophanes, Phrynecus, and Plato. The play likely depicted the various adventures and misadventures Aura and her sisters had while giving life to the world through their gentle breezes. Despite being a lesser-known deity, Aura has left a lasting impact on mythology and continues to be an enduring figure in tales of the ancient world. Once upon a time, in the land of Phrygia, there lived a beautiful mountain nymph named Aura. She was a companion of the goddess Artemis and was known to be a ferocious huntress who excelled in hunting wild animals. Aura was also known as Aura the Windmaid, and she defied the notions of unwarlike maids. One fateful day, while on a hunting trip with Artemis, Aura teased the goddess, which deeply offended her. The goddess of divine retribution, Nemesis, made sure that Aura paid a steep price for her arrogance. Eros, the god of love, was instructed to shoot an arrow toward Dionysus, who then became mad with desire for Aura. Despite Dionysus's attempts to seduce Aura normally, she refused his advances. Eventually, Dionysus resorted to using wine to drug her and then tied her up to rape her. When Aura awoke, she discovered that she had lost her virginity and became enraged. She unleashed her anger on the mountains and the herdsmen who lived in them. Aura eventually gave birth to twin boys but decided to sacrifice one to a lioness, while keeping the other. Luckily, Artemis saved the surviving child. Devastated by her actions, Aura drowned herself in the Sangarios River, but Zeus decided to transform her into a spring. Despite the tragic events that occurred, Aura's child by Dionysus, Iacus, a minor deity connected with the Eleusinian mysteries, survived the ordeal. And so, the story of Aura, the mountain nymph, lives on. Aura was a beautiful nymph who was often sought after by Cephalus, a skilled hunter who enjoyed her soothing presence after a long day of hunting. One day, while calling out for Aura, a passerby mistook her name for that of a nymph and spread the rumor that Cephalus was in love with another woman. Procris, Cephalus' wife, heard the rumor and became paranoid that her husband was cheating on her. She decided to spy on him during his hunts, but one day she accidentally startled him while he was calling out for Aura. In a moment of panic, Cephalus threw a javelin at what he thought was a wild animal, but it turned out to be Procris. As she lay dying, Procris begged Cephalus not to replace her with Aura. Cephalus realized the tragic mistake in the name and was overcome with grief at the loss of his beloved wife. The misunderstanding and paranoia had led to a heartbreaking end for the couple. In Greek mythology, Aura was a rare figure, with only two known images from antiquity. The first image was a Scyphos found in Taranto dating back to the 5th century BC, which depicted a figure named Aura, sitting on a rock by the sea with a Vellificatio. The second image was found on a Vellute crater funerary vase in the British Museum, showing Apollo's crowned head with curls and the inscription Aura above it. Pliny also mentioned two statues of Auri with Vellificants sua vest, who appeared to be spreading their cloaks like sails, at the Porticus Octavii in Rome. A pair of Vellificants that were identified as Auri by Pliny appeared on the Ara Pacis Augusti, but there were many other proposed identifications for them. While Auri resembled Nereids in appearance, the primary distinction was the lack of marine imagery. The female figures with wind-blown drapery on the Nereid monument at Xanthos were sometimes identified as Auri. Interestingly, Aura was sometimes recognized as the female figure being carried by Zephyr in Sandro Botticelli's painting The Birth of Venus. Despite the lack of information about Aura in Greek mythology, her intriguing depictions have piqued the interest of many throughout history.