Name: Aura (Greek Spelling- Αὔρα)

Other Names: Aurae (plural form)

Goddess Equivalents from other Mythologies: Unknown/None

Titles: Goddess of The Breeze

Associated Animals: None/Unknown

Associated Symbols: None/Unknown

Sacred Plants: Unknown/None

Abode/Resistance: Phrygia

Group: Not In one/Unknown

Astrological Symbol: None/Unknown

Planet: Unknown/None

Sacred Day: None/Unknown

(Personal Info)

Parents: Lelantos (Father), Cybele or Periboea (Mother)

Siblings: None/Unknown

Children/Offspring: Iacchus (son), unnamed son

Consort: Dionysus (God of Wine)

God/Goddess Counterpart: Boreas (God of North Wind)
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"Aura, not the noun for "the distinctive atmosphere or quality that seems to surround and be generated by a person, thing, or place". Is the Goddess of The Breeze."

"She's a minor deity of Greek Mythology and her name in Greek means "Breeze", According to Nonnus, Aura is the Daughter of the Titan; Lelantos."
She's the mother of Iacchus another Minor Deity who is fathered by Dionysus the God of Wine."

"Aura has some pretty much crazy myths she is involved in so go into those shall we."

(In Myth)

Nonnus Account- "According to Nonnus he records down about Aura's rape by Dionysus, it's located in the final book of the Epic poem by Nonnus; Dionysiaca."

"In the account, Aura is a nymph and the Daughter of Titan Lelantos, in Nonnus's account Aura's mother is the Oceanid Nymph; Periboea but elsewhere he called Aura the daughter of Cybele."

"Aura was a resident of Phrygia, and is a Companion of Artemis, she was called "Aura the Windmaid" because she was fast as the wind, and was also called by these other names "the mountain maiden of Rhyndacos", "manlike" "virgin, "who knew nothing of Aphrodite".

"She was also a huntress, hence being a companion of Artemis who is the Goddess of The Hunt."
As a Huntress, she was called "ran down the wild bear" and "ravening lions", and "kept aloof from the notions of unwarlike maids".

"Nonnus Describes Aura as so;

"Then [Dionysus] left the halls of Pallene and Thracian Boreas, and went on to Rheia's house, where the divine court of the prolific Cybele stood on Phrygian soil. There grew Aura the mountain maiden of Rhyndacos, and hunted over the foothills of rocky Dindymon. She was yet unacquainted with love, a comrade of the Archeress. She kept aloof from the notions of unwarlike maids, like a younger Artemis, this daughter of Lelantos; for the father of this storm foot girl was ancient Lelantos the Titan, who wedded Periboia, a daughter of Oceanos; a manlike maid she was, who knew nothing of Aphrodite. She grew up taller than her years mates, a lovely rosy-armed thing, ever a friend of the hills. Often in hunting she ran down the wild bear, and sent her swift lance shooting against the lioness, but she slew no pickets and shot no hares. No, she carried her tawny quiver to shoot down hill hanging tribes of ravening lions, with her shafts that were dead to wild beasts. Her name was like her doings: Aura the Windmaid could run most swiftly, keeping pace with the highland winds."

"It was one day when Aura was hunting with Artemis, for relief from the midday heat the Hunting group stopped to take a swim, it was here Aura made fun of Artemis's breasts because they were small and round like a man and Aura says her's are big and voluptuous like a Woman."
(And Obviously saying something like this to Artemis.... you're asking for Trouble).

"Artemis is deeply offended by this because it made her feel the failure of her unviolated maidenhood."
Artemis goes to Nemesis the Goddess of Divine Retribution about what Aura had said, and Nemesis arranges Aura's punishment for this claim by that Aura will lose her virginity."

"They make Dionysus madly in love for Aura by shooting him with one of Eros's arrows, Dionysus did know that he would never be able to seduce Aura easily so as the God of Wine he drugs her!, Then he ties her up and rapes her while she's not moving and is unconscious.....(Yeah one thing to know about Greek Mythology there's a lot of rape, although this doesn't come back to Nemesis's punishment that Aura will lose her virginity and this was that....so did she sort of deserve it.... probably not but knowing Artemis maybe a little)."

"After Aura wakes up and discovers she's no longer a virgin, and upon waking up she did not know it was Dionysus who had done this, and that's not all, she was also pregnant with Dionysus's Children."
Aura becomes enraged and it's described that she "made empty the huts of the mountain hanging herdsmen and drenched the hills with blood".

"She gives birth to the Children; which are twin boys, Aura seems to try and kill her children as she tries to get rid of them, she tries to give one to a Lioness to eat but it refuses to devour the Baby."
So Aura does something else, she flings one child into the air and when it falls down and hits the ground she eats them like a cannibal!......Oh my that's so gross! And poor baby?!)."

"But luckily the other Child is saved by Artemis and takes them away from Aura's madness, Aura's madness then drives her to drown herself into the Sakarya River (which resides in Turkey and was called Sagraphos in the myth)."

"It's also where Zeus had turned Aura into a spring as it was described; "her breasts became the spouts of falling water, the stream was her body, the flowers her hair, her bow the horn of the horned River in bull-shape, the bowstring changed into a rush and the whistling arrows into vocal reeds, the quiver passed through to the muddy bed of the river and, changed to a hollow channel, poured its sounding waters."

"Aura's Surviving son that was saved By Artemis was Iacchus who was Minor Greek Deity connected to Eleusinian Mysteries although some accounts have Iacchus as the Son of Persephone or Demeter."

"The only other account about Aura's rape was in a twelfth-century lexicon called the Etymologicum Magnum."
Where it says Aura is a huntress in Artemis's group and instead of Aura making fun of Artemis, Dionysus sees her and rapes her and since Artemis's Group one rule was to remain a virgin, Aura was threatened to be kicked out."

"So in fear Aura flees to the Ancient Greek Town; Cyzicus, where she gives birth to twins, there names, gender or identities are not identified are not revealed in Etymologicum Magnum."
The nearby mountain was named 'Dindymon' which means "Twin" and it was named after Aura's children."

Ovid's Account- "Augustan poet Ovid has a different account on Aura from his book called Ars Amatoria or The Art of Love in English and he also talks about Aura in his poem; Metamorphoses."

"Aura is introduced within the tragic story of Cephalus and Procris, this could be in verbal similarly with Aura and Aurora which is the Roman name of Eos the Goddess and Personification of Dawn, who is Cephalus' Lover."
In Metamorphosis, Ovid has Cephalus say how it is a habit that when after a hunt he would seek out a cool breeze;

"I wooed the breeze, blowing gently on me in my heat; the breeze I waited for. She was my labour's rest. 'Come, Aura,' I remember I used to cry, 'come soothe me; come into my breast, most welcome one, and, as indeed you do, relieve the heat with which I burn.' Perhaps I would add, for so my fates drew me on, more endearments, and say: 'Thou art my greatest joy; thou dost refresh and comfort me; thou makes me to love the woods and solitary places. It is ever my joy to feel thy breath upon my face."

"But then one day, Cephalus says "Some one overhearing these words was deceived by their double meaning; and, thinking that the word 'Aura' so often on my lips was a nymph's name, I was convinced that I was in love with some nymph."
When Cephalus reports to his wife; Procris, she seems to be in grief and in fear over from according to Cephalus a "mere nothing" and "an empty name".
It was the next day that after another successful hunt, Cephalus cries out; "Come, Aura, come and soothe my toil".

"He then hears a groan that says "Come, dearest". And when hearing a rustling of leaves he throws his spear because he thought it was an animal however it was actually his wife Procris who was spying on her husband and she gets hit by his spear and dies."

"But in her dying breath she says to Cephalus; "By the union of our love, by the gods above and my own gods, by all that I have done for you, and by the love that still I bear you in my dying hour, the cause of my own death, I beg you, do not let this Aura take my place."
And Cephalus says after; "And then I knew at last that it was a mistake in the name".

(Oooh!, That's gonna hurt in some way even though Aura is only mentioned in this story but ya....you get what it says here... hopefully).

(Known Images of Aura)

"There's not really a lot of Images of Aura due to her being a Minor Greek Deity and that a lot of it has been lost to time, it's rare to find images of Aura, but by inspection there are two known artifacts of Aura known."

"The oldest is a 5th Century Skyphos, which is a two-handled deep wine-cup, it was in Taranto, Italy but now is in the Nicholson Museum at University of Sydney in Australia."
"The Skyphos shows a figure that's labeled as "Aura" sitting on a rock by the sea." And a lot more others that I can't really explain all here that much."
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"And that's what I'll talk about Aura, this will end so far on the known Goddesses of Greek Mythology who start with the letter "A" in their names, If I missed anything tell me."