Very little is known of the Titans, much less, the younger Titans, those who were
believed to have dominion over the world’s more natural features such as the sea, the earth,
the sky or in today’s episode, the air. Lelantos, a more ethereal god than we’ve come to expect, was
thought to have been formless, or at least, moved unseen through the world, much as the wind does.
Yet, as we still today feel the wind through our hair or against our skin,
the ancient Greeks once attributed such a sensation to the presence of Lelantos.
As far as the etymology of his name goes, Lelantos was believed to have derived from the Greek words
lêthô, lanthanô, and lelathon, meaning to either escape or to move unseen.
This would make sense given Lelantos’ association with the wind, that which is unseen. It might also
link in with Lelantos’ association with hunting, where he was also believed to be a deity who
assisted hunters in the wild, aiding them in their attempts to move upon prey without detection.
Despite being relatively unknown in the mythology, his parentage would suggest otherwise.
His father was said to have been the Titan Coeus, he who was a Titan of inquisitive minds and
questioning, as well as one of the four essential pillars of the world during the reign of the once
almighty Cronus. Lelantos’ mother meanwhile was Phoebe, the Titan goddess of bright intellect.
With this in mind, it would suggest that Lelantos was something of a long lost sibling
of the Titans Leto and Asteria, however an accurate family tree of the wind deity is yet
to be established, especially given how he appears to be overlooked by many Greek writers and poets.
In this, there may be a suggestion that as the air - or a physical representation of it - Lelantos
was not necessarily born to the world, but was always a part of it, having manifested
from the atmosphere. Though, this would contradict his classification as a second generation Titan.
Another interesting idea presents Lelantos as the male counterpart to the Titan Leto, the goddess of
motherhood. This comes about due to the fact that Aura, the daughter of Lelantos was considered to
be the counterpart to Leto’s daughter Artemis. Sources however are not concrete on this idea
and no writer makes any real association to such a claim. The closest we get to any writer really
exploring Lelantos at all is the epic Greek poet Nonnus, who speaks of the god in his Dionysiaca,
though even here, much of the focus is aimed towards his daughter Aura. We are told,
"There in Phrygia grew Aura the mountain maiden of Rhyndacus, and hunted over the foothills of rocky
Dindymon. She was unacquainted with love . . . like a younger Artemis, this daughter of Lelantos;
for the father of this storm foot girl was ancient Lelantos the Titan, who wedded Periboea,
a daughter of Oceanus; a manlike maid she was, who knew nothing of Aphrodite."
Here, we are told of Aura, the daughter of Lelantos who Nonnus explains was like
a younger version of Artemis. It is by a daughter of Oceanus in Periboea, that
Lelantos was believed to have been married to, and it was through her that Aura was conceived.
There is an implication here by Nonnus that Aura was by no means a looker. Indeed, he specifies
that Aura had the look and build of a man and that she knew nothing of Aphrodite, or that she was
far from beautiful. Whilst not specified here by Nonnus, we also understand that Aura did
indeed take after her father, for whilst he was considered to be a god of the winds,
she was once considered to be a goddess of the breeze. This is concurrent with other offspring
of deities who would either adopt a portion of their parents’ dominion or usurp the entire
demonion for themselves. In Aura’s case, it would seem she only embraced a portion of her father’s
power - the breeze to be more specific and did not appear to possess the ambition to seek more.
Lelantos certainly falls into one of the more awkward and shamefully overlooked periods of
Greek Mythology. As a second generation Titan he wasn’t recognised as a primordial or any sort of
originator and he didn’t serve in any capacity during the great Titanomachy. Essentially,
Lelantos would be one of the many Titans who were ultimately overshadowed
by the dominion of Zeus. However, you might say that his invisibility during this period
is quite fitting to his character -a god who, like the air, goes unseen. Moreover,
given that he was believed to be the aid of hunters, or an essence that represented
their necessary stealth and vigilance that a hunter would require, him being relatively
removed from the narrative would make sense and may even have been by his own design. Indeed,
it is believed by some scholars that the presence of Lelantos could have been more significant,
but because he personified the formless state of the wind, he would not have been perceived.
It’s not uncommon that in a world as vast and vivid as Greek Mythology
that some gods would outshine others and some, like Lelantos, would get left by the wayside.
It’s an unfortunate truth when we look at any ancient mythology
that there may be no retribution for some of these sidelined deities,
especially with the more interesting ones such as Lelantos. Indeed, the only surviving account
of Lelalntos does appear to be from Nonnus’ Dionysiaca, but beyond this, we may never know the
true meaning behind Lealantos as either a god who aided hunters or a god who controlled the winds.
As always guys, if you enjoyed today’s episode then don’t forget
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Additionally, if you like Greek Mythology as much as I do, you might want to check out a
copy of our book Greek Mythology Explained, where we retell a few of our favorite myths
and explore the meanings and themes behind them. With that being said, I hope you all have a good
evening and I’ll see you in the next one. Until next time!