Aura

Aura was the Titan goddess of the breeze and the fresh, cool air of early morning.

Residence: Mount Didymon, Phrygia
Parents: Lelantus and Periboea
Consort: Dionysus
Children: Iacchus
Roman equivalent: Aura

Roman marble relief caryatid of Aura from the agora of Thessalonica, 2nd c. AD. Louvre. (c) Marie-Lan Nguyen

She was a virgin huntress who was excessively proud of her maidenhood. In her hubris she dared compare her body with that of the goddess Artemis, claiming the goddess was too womanly in form to be a true virgin. Artemis sought out Nemesis to avenge her and as punishment Aura was attacked by the god Dionysus. The crime drove her mad and in her fury she became a ruthless, slayer of men. When her twin sons were born, Aura swallowed one whole, but the second was snatched safely away by Artemis. Zeus then transformed Aura into a spring.

A pair of Aurae on the Ara Pacis. (c) Chris Nas
Detail of an Attic red-figure vase, 5th c. BC, depicting Aura. (c) theoi.com

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