Five Tidbits About Hurricanes and the Greeks

1. Blame it on Poseidon. Calling a hurricane an “act of God” gets a Hellenic endorsement, although the ancient Greeks would tell you that the God on which to pin the stormy weather would be Poseidon, God of the Sea. According to Greek mythology, Poseidon lost a battle of wits against Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom. The coveted prize? A city. The metropolis we know of today as Athens, Greece is named after Athena. In a fit of anger back in the day, Poseidon cursed the Athenians with sea storms, or hurricanes.

2. Or maybe Zeus. If you prefer Greek mythology of an older sort, it’s said that Zeus summoned three scary dudes known as the "Hekatonkheires" for his battle with the Titans. These creatures had 100 hands and 50 heads and wielded the destructive power of storm. When these powerhouses were born, their dad Ouranos was afraid of their power and imprisoned them in the pit of Tartaros, described as an abyss of suffering found beneath the underworld. Zeus later released them to do his bidding. Fast forward several centuries and you get Irene.

3. There are no hurricanes in Greece. Well sort of. Hurricanes are known by different names in different places throughout the world. For example, when the storms happen over the north Atlantic Ocean, they are called hurricanes. Storms that happen over the northwest Pacific Ocean are called typhoons. Hurricanes near Australia and in the Indian Ocean are called cyclones – which is what hurricanes are called in Greece. The word cyclone is derived from the Greek word “kyklos” meaning “circle.”

4. From Alpha to Omega. If the allocated names for tropical storms and hurricanes are used up in a particular year, the weather folks start naming them after the 24 letters of the Greek alphabet, starting with Alpha and ending with Omega. There was talk of this happening in 2005, following Hurricane Katrina, when only four hurricane names were left on the list.

5. How ironic. Hurricane Irene derives her name from the Greek word for peace and the name of the Goddess most associated with peace "Eirene."