Chloris
Chloris was a nymph whom Zephyrus (the west wind) abducted and married, making her the goddess of flowers — the Romans called her Flora.
The Myth of Chloris
Zephyrus seized Chloris and married her. As compensation, he gave her dominion over all flowers. She became the spirit of spring — wherever she walked, flowers bloomed. Ovid tells how she breathed and roses grew. The Romans identified her as Flora, whose festival (Floralia) was celebrated with wild abandon each April-May. In Botticelli's Primavera, Zephyrus chases Chloris on the right, and she transforms into Flora, scattering flowers.
Children
Carpus (by Zephyrus)
Symbols
Fun Fact
Chlorophyll — the green pigment that allows plants to photosynthesise — is named from chloros (green), the root of Chloris's name.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Ianthe
🌿 nymphViolet flowers, spring
Oceanid nymph associated with violet-colored blossoms and the beauty of spring meadows
Flora
⚡ godFlowers, spring, blossoming plants
Roman goddess of flowers and spring, equivalent to the Greek Chloris
Rhodeia
🌿 nymphRoses, Rhodes
Oceanid nymph associated with roses and the rosy hue of dawn-lit waters
Arethusa
🌿 nymphNymph who became a freshwater spring
Arethusa was a nymph of Artemis who was pursued by the river god Alpheus and transformed into a freshwater spring on the island of Ortygia in Syracuse.
Calirrhoe
🌿 nymphBeautiful flowing water
Oceanid nymph of beautifully flowing springs who married the river god Chrysaor
Idaea
🌿 nymphmountains, springs
A nymph of Mount Ida in the Troad who became the second wife of the river god Scamander — or in other versions, of King Phineus.
Minthe
🌿 nymphthe underworld, plants
A Naiad nymph of the Underworld river Cocytus who was trampled into the mint plant by a jealous Persephone.
Penelope
🌿 nymphnature, pastoral
A mountain nymph of Arcadia who, in one tradition, was the mother of Pan by Hermes — distinct from Odysseus's famous wife.
Salmacis
🌿 nymphdesire
Water nymph of Caria whose desperate embrace of Hermaphroditus caused the gods to fuse them into a single dual-sexed being.
Lilaea
🌿 nymphrivers, springs
A Naiad nymph of the spring that feeds the river Cephissus in Phocis, and the namesake of an ancient Greek town.
Metope
🌿 nymphrivers, motherhood
A river nymph, daughter of the river Ladon, who married the river god Asopus and bore him twenty daughters — many of whom were abducted by gods.
Clytie
🌿 nymphtransformation
Ocean nymph who loved Helios so desperately that she sat watching him cross the sky until she transformed into a heliotrope flower.