Calais
Winged son of Boreas the North Wind who sailed with the Argonauts and drove off the Harpies
The Legend of Calais
Calais was one of the Boreads, the winged twin sons of Boreas, god of the North Wind, and the Athenian princess Oreithyia. Together with his brother Zetes, Calais was born with the gift of flight, sprouting wings from his back or ankles depending on the tradition. The twins joined Jason's expedition aboard the Argo and proved their worth when the crew reached the court of the blind seer Phineus. The Harpies had been tormenting Phineus by stealing and fouling his food whenever he tried to eat. Calais and Zetes took to the air and chased the Harpies across the sky, driving them far away and freeing Phineus from his torment. In gratitude, Phineus revealed the secret route through the Clashing Rocks. The Boreads were later killed by Heracles in revenge for their counsel to abandon him.
Parents
Boreas and Oreithyia
Symbols
Fun Fact
Calais and his twin brother Zetes are among the very few mortal heroes in Greek mythology who could truly fly
Explore Further
Zetes and Calais
🗡 heroflight
Winged sons of Boreas who joined the Argonauts and chased the Harpies away from the blind prophet Phineus.
Icarus
🗡 heroBoy who flew too close to the sun
Icarus was the son of Daedalus who escaped Crete on wings of wax and feathers but flew too high — the sun melted his wings and he fell into the sea.
Dioscuri
🗡 heroCastor and Pollux, the divine twins
The Dioscuri were twin brothers — Castor (mortal) and Pollux (divine) — inseparable in life, who chose to share immortality by alternating between Olympus and Hades.
Jason
🗡 heroLeader of the Argonauts
The hero who assembled the Argonauts and sailed to Colchis to retrieve the Golden Fleece, aided by Medea's sorcery.
Icarus
🗡 heroBoy who flew too close to the sun
The son of Daedalus who flew on wings of wax and feathers but ignored his father's warning not to fly too close to the sun. The wax melted and he fell to his death.
Phineus
🗡 heroNone recorded
Blind Thracian king tormented by Harpies until rescued by the Argonauts
Castor and Pollux
🗡 heroThe divine twins who share immortality
The twin brothers of Helen — one mortal, one divine — who shared immortality by alternating between Olympus and Hades.
Bellerophon
🗡 heroTamer of Pegasus, slayer of the Chimera
The hero who tamed the winged horse Pegasus and used him to slay the monstrous Chimera. His story is a cautionary tale about hubris.
Oreithyia
🗡 heroabduction
Athenian princess abducted by the North Wind Boreas, mother of the winged Argonauts Zetes and Calais.
Iphicles
🗡 heroMortal twin of Heracles
Iphicles was the mortal twin brother of Heracles — born the same night to the same mother but fathered by a mortal, creating the perfect contrast to divine strength.
Aloeus
🗡 heroFarming, Giant-Fathers, Hubris
Thessalian king whose twin stepsons the Aloadae nearly defeated the Olympian gods.
Bellerophon and Pegasus
🗡 herohubris, fall
The hero who tamed Pegasus and slew the Chimera but was destroyed by his own hubris when he tried to fly to Olympus.