West wind

Zephyrus, the Greek god of the west wind and the goddess Chloris, from an 1875 oil painting by William-Adolphe Bouguereau

A west wind is a wind that blows from the west, in an eastward direction. In Western tradition, it has usually been considered the mildest and most favorable of the directional winds.

In Greek mythology, Zephyrus was the personification of the west wind and the bringer of light spring and early summer breezes; his Roman equivalent was Favonius. In the myth of Cupid and Psyche, Zephyrus was the attendant of Cupid, who brought Psyche to his master's palace.

Geoffrey Chaucer wrote of the "swete breth" of Zephyrus, and a soft, gentle breeze may be referred to as a zephyr, as in Shakespeare's Cymbeline (IV, ii): "They are as gentle / As zephyrs blowing below the violet, / Not wagging his sweet head."

In Iroquois tradition, the west wind is brought by the Panther, ugly and fierce.

See also

• East wind
• Fremantle Doctor
• North wind
• South wind
• Westerlies