In Greek mythology, Boreas is the personification of the North Wind. He loved Orithyia, the daughter of a legendary king of Athens, and carried her off, against her will, to be his bride.

In the present group, Boreas holds the struggling figure of Orithyia, who throws up her left arm as she attempts to escape.

There is a bronze of this model in the Wallace Collection, catalogue no. S197, by Louis Simon Boizot (1743 - 1809). It was designed as the companion to the group of Pluto carrying off Persephone.