Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities of ...

, Aeolus, the son of Hippotes, was the ruler of the winds encountered by

Odysseus Odysseus ( ; grc-gre, Ὀδυσσεύς, Ὀδυσεύς, OdysseúsOdyseús, ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; lat, UlyssesUlixes), is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the ''Odyssey''. Odys ...

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the '' Iliad'' and the '' Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of ...

's ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major Ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek Epic poetry, epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by moder ...

''. Aeolus was the king of the island of Aeolia, where he lived with his wife and six sons and six daughters. To ensure safe passage home for Odysseus and his men, Aeolus gave Odysseus a bag containing all the winds, except the gentle west wind. But when almost home, Odysseus' men, thinking the bag contained treasure, opened it and they were all driven by the winds back to Aeolia. Believing that Odysseus must evidently be hated by the gods, Aeolus sent him away without further help. This Aeolus was also sometimes confused with the

Aeolus In Greek mythology, Aeolus or Aiolos (; grc, Αἴολος , ) is a name shared by three mythical characters. These three personages are often difficult to tell apart, and even the ancient mythographers appear to have been perplexed about which A ...

who was the son of

Hellen In Greek mythology, Hellen (; grc, Ἕλλην) is the eponymous progenitor of the Hellenes. He is the child of Deucalion (or Zeus) and Pyrrha, and the father of three sons, Dorus, Xuthus, and Aeolus, by whom he is the ancestor of the Gree ...

and the eponym of the

Aeolians The Aeolians (; el, Αἰολεῖς) were one of the four major tribes in which Greeks divided themselves in the ancient period (along with the Achaeans, Dorians and Ionians).. Name Their name mythologically derives from Aeolus, the mythical ...

Family

All that Homer's ''Odyssey'' tells us about Aeolus' family is that his father was Hippotes, that he had six sons and six daughters, that Aeolus gave his six daughters to his six sons as wives, and that Aeolus, his wife, and all their children lived happily together on the idyllic island paradise of Aeolia. In Euripides' lost tragedy ''Aeolus'', one of Aeolus' six sons is named Macareus, and one of his six daughters is named Canace (also the name of one of the five daughters of Aeolus son of Hellen). The

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantin ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wr ...

John Tzetzes John Tzetzes ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης Τζέτζης, Iōánnēs Tzétzēs; c. 1110, Constantinople – 1180, Constantinople) was a Byzantine poet and grammarian who is known to have lived at Constantinople in the 12th century. He was able to pr ...

(c. 1110–1180) gives the following names for Aeolus' children: the sons

Periphas Periphas (; Ancient Greek: Περίφᾱς ''Períphās'' means 'conspicuousness') in Greek mythology may refer to: * Periphas, a legendary king of Attica who Zeus turned into an eagle. *Periphas, an Egyptian prince as one of the sons of King Aegy ...

Agenor Agenor (; Ancient Greek: Ἀγήνωρ or Αγήνορας ''Agēnor''; English translation: "heroic, manly") was in Greek mythology and history a Phoenician king of Tyre or Sidon. The Doric Greek historian Herodotus (c. 484–425 BC), born in ...

, Euchenor, Klymenos, Xouthos and

Macareus In Greek mythology, Macar (; Ancient Greek: Μάκαρ ''Makar'') or Macareus (; Μακαρεύς ''Makareus'' means 'happy') or Macareas (, ''Makareas''), is the name of several individuals: * Macareus, an Arcadian prince as one of the 50 sons ...

, and daughters Klymene, Kallithyia, Eurygone, Lysidike, Kanake and an unnamed one.

Mythology

Ruler of the winds

According to Homer, Aeolus the son of Hippotes was the king of the floating island of Aeolia, whom Zeus had made the "keeper of the winds, both to still and to rouse whatever one he will." In

Apollonius of Rhodes Apollonius of Rhodes ( grc, Ἀπολλώνιος Ῥόδιος ''Apollṓnios Rhódios''; la, Apollonius Rhodius; fl. first half of 3rd century BC) was an ancient Greek author, best known for the ''Argonautica'', an epic poem about Jason and t ...

's ''

Argonautica The ''Argonautica'' ( el, Ἀργοναυτικά , translit=Argonautika) is a Greek epic poem written by Apollonius Rhodius in the 3rd century BC. The only surviving Hellenistic epic, the ''Argonautica'' tells the myth of the voyage of Jas ...

'', at the request of

Hera In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; grc-gre, Ἥρα, Hḗrā; grc, Ἥρη, Hḗrē, label=none in Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she ...

, he calmed all the winds but the "steady" west wind, to aid

Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek Greek mythology, mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was marri ...

and the Argonauts on their journey home. In

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...

's ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan_War#Sack_of_Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to ...

'', Aeolus keeps the winds contained in a cave on Aeolia: François_Boucher_-_Kimbell_'Juno_Asking_Aeolus_to_Release_the_Winds'

Because of her hatred of the Trojans, Juno (the Roman equivalent of the Greek Hera) pleads with Aeolus to destroy

Aeneas In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus (mythology), Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both ...

' ships, promising to give Aeolus the nymph Deiopea as wife. So Aeolus unleashed his winds against Aeneas. But

Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 time ...

, angry at this usurpation of his sovereignty over the sea, commands the winds to: Neptune then quelled the monstrous waves that Aeolus' winds had stirred up, and Aeneas was saved.

Encounter with Odysseus

In Homer's ''Odyssey'', Odysseus and his men, after escaping from the Cyclops

Polyphemus Polyphemus (; grc-gre, Πολύφημος, Polyphēmos, ; la, Polyphēmus ) is the one-eyed giant son of Poseidon and Thoosa in Greek mythology, one of the Cyclopes described in Homer's ''Odyssey''. His name means "abounding in songs and le ...

, came next to the island of Aeolia: Aeolus entertained Odysseus and his men for a month, questioning Odysseus about all that had happened to him. When Odysseus was ready to set sail again for home, Aeolus gave him a bag made of oxhide in which he had bound "the blustering winds", all except for the west wind, which Aeolus sent forth to bear Odysseus and his men safely home. But when they came within in sight of Ithaca their home, Odyesseus was overcome with sleep, and his men, thinking that the bag held gifts of gold and silver that Odysseus intended to keep for himself, opened the bag letting loose all the unruly winds which drove their ship all the way back to Aeolus' floating island. And when Odysseus asked again for help, Aeolus replied: The same story is also recounted by

Hyginus Gaius Julius Hyginus (; 64 BC – AD 17) was a Latin author, a pupil of the scholar Alexander Polyhistor, and a freedman of Caesar Augustus. He was elected superintendent of the Palatine library by Augustus according to Suetonius' ''De Gramma ...

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the ...

, and Apollodorus.

Aeolia

In the ''Odyssey'', Aelolus' kingdom of Aeolia was purely mythical, a floating island surrounded by "a wall of unbreakable bronze". Later writers came to associate Aeolia with one of the

Aeolian Islands The Aeolian Islands ( ; it, Isole Eolie ; scn, Ìsuli Eoli), sometimes referred to as the Lipari Islands or Lipari group ( , ) after their largest island, are a volcanic archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea north of Sicily, said to be named a ...

, north of Sicily.

Confused with Aeolus son of Hellen

This Aeolus was sometimes confused (or identified) with

the son of

and eponym of the

. The confusion perhaps first occurs in Euripides' ''Aeolus'', where, although clearly based on the ''Odysseys Aeolus, Euripides' Aeolus is the father of a daughter Canace, like Aeolus the son of Hellen, and if the two are not identified, then they seem, at least, to be related.

, describes the Aeolus encountered by Odysseus as "Aeolus, son of Hellen". While

, has the ruler of the winds, like Aeolus the son of Hellen, the father of a daughter Alcyone, as well as the tragic lovers Canace and Macareus, and calls Alcyone "Hippotades", ie. a descendant of Hippotes.

Diodorus Siculus' account

The rationalizing Greek historian

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus, or Diodorus of Sicily ( grc-gre, Διόδωρος ; 1st century BC), was an ancient Greek historian. He is known for writing the monumental universal history '' Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which ...

, explains how Aeolus came to be considered the ruler of the winds. According to Diodorus, Aeolus was said to be:

—perhaps in order to resolve a confusion between this Aeolus and the Aeolus who was the son of Hellen—also made Aeolus's father Hippotes the son of a Mimas, who was the son of Aeolus the son of Hellen. And while Homer does not name Aeolus' mother, wife, or children, Diodorus supplies names for all but his daughters. According to Diodorus, Aeolus' mother was Melanippe, his wife was Cyanê, and his six sons were Astyochus, Xuthus, Androcles, Pheraemon, Jocastus, and Agathyrnus.

4.67.3
(Melanippe)

(Cyanê),

(sons).

Gallery

Aeolus and Odysseus

File:Jan van der Straet Odysseus in the Cave of the Winds.jpg, Odysseus in the Cave of the Winds by Stradanus (possibly 1590-1599) File:Isaac Moillon - Éole donnant les vents à Ulysse.jpg, Aeolus Giving the Winds to Odysseus by Isaac Moillon

Aeolus and Juno

File:Aeolus_and_Juno_-_Lucio_Massari.jpg, ''Aeolus and Juno'' by Lucio Massari File:Charles Dupuis - Air (Juno orders Aeolus to release the winds) (Aeneid I), 1718.jpg, Air (Juno orders Aeolus to release the winds) (Aeneid I) by Charles Dupuis (1718) File:Cornelis Bos - Juno en Aeolus, 1546.jpg, Juno en Aeolus by Cornelis Bos (1546) File:D.Muzzi Giunone e Eolo.jpg, Giunone ordina Eolo di liberare i Venti (particolare), affresco nel Palazzo Sanvitale di Parma. (circa 1790) File:Manuel Samaniego y Jaramillo - Air (Juno orders Aeolus to release the winds), 1800.jpg, Air (Juno orders Aeolus to release the winds) by Manuel de Samaniego (circa 1800) File:Juno and King Aeolus at the Cave of winds by Antonio Randa.jpg, Juno and King Aeolus at the Cave of winds by Antonio Randa (Italy, 1577-1650)

Other

File:Eole.jpg, Aeolus File:Siemiginowski Allegory of Winter.jpg, Allegory of Winter by Jerzy Siemiginowski-Eleuter (1683) File:Licht der Zeevaert, Frontispiz.jpg, Book frontispiece of the sailing handbook "The light of navigation". (On the left side, Neptune, the god of water and the sea, on the right Aeolus, the ruler of the winds)

Notes

References

* Apollodorus, ''Apollodorus, The Library, with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts,

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the reti ...

; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921.
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
*

, ''Apollonius Rhodius: the Argonautica'', translated by Robert Cooper Seaton, W. Heinemann, 1912
Internet Archive
* Collard, Christopher and Martin Cropp, ''Euripides Fragments: Aegeus–Meleanger'',

Loeb Classical Library The Loeb Classical Library (LCL; named after James Loeb; , ) is a series of books originally published by Heinemann_(publisher), Heinemann in London, but is currently published by Harvard University Press. The library contains important works ...

No. 504, Cambridge, Massachusetts,

, 2008.
Online version at Harvard University Press
*

, ''Library of History, Volume III: Books 4.59-8'', translated by C. H. Oldfather,

No. 340. Cambridge, Massachusetts,

, 1939.
Online version at Harvard University Press
* Gantz, Timothy, ''Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources'', Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, Two volumes: (Vol. 1), (Vol. 2). * Grimal, Pierre, ''The Dictionary of Classical Mythology'', Wiley-Blackwell, 1996.
Internet Archive
* Hard, Robin, ''The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology"'', Psychology Press, 2004,
Google Books
*

, ''The Odyssey with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, PH.D. in two volumes''. Cambridge, Massachusetts,

; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1919
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* Hyginus, Gaius Julius, ''

Fabulae Gaius Julius Hyginus (; 64 BC – AD 17) was a Latin author, a pupil of the scholar Alexander Polyhistor, and a freedman of Caesar Augustus. He was elected superintendent of the Palatine library by Augustus according to Suetonius' ''De Grammat ...

'', in ''The Myths of Hyginus'', edited and translated by Mary A. Grant, Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1960
Online version at ToposText
* Kerényi, Karl, ''The Gods of the Greeks'', Thames and Hudson, London, 1951
Internet Archive
* Nauck, Johann August, ''Tragicorum graecorum fragmenta'', Leipzig, Teubner, 1889
Internet Archive
* Parthenius, ''Love Romances'' translated by Sir Stephen Gaselee (1882-1943), S. Loeb Classical Library Volume 69. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. 1916.
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
*

, ''The Epistles of Ovid, translated into English prose, as near the original as the different idioms of the Latin and English languages will allow; with the Latin text and order of construction on the same page; and critical, historical, geographical, and classical notes in English, from the very best commentators both ancient and modern; beside a very great number of notes entirely new''; London. J. Nunn, Great-Queen-Street; R. Priestly, 143, High-Holborn; R. Lea, Greek-Street, Soho; and J. Rodwell, New-Bond-Street, 1813
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
*

, ''

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his '' magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the ...

'', Brookes More, Boston, Cornhill Publishing Co. 1922
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* Parada, Carlos, ''Genealogical Guide to Greek Mythology'', Jonsered, Paul Åströms Förlag, 1993. . * Rose, H. J., s.v. Aeolus in the ''

Oxford Classical Dictionary The ''Oxford Classical Dictionary'' (''OCD'') is generally considered "the best one-volume dictionary on antiquity," an encyclopædic work in English consisting of articles relating to classical antiquity and its civilizations. It was first pub ...

'', second edition, Hammond, N.G.L. and Howard Hayes Scullard (editors),

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...

, 1992. . *

, ''

'', Theodore C. Williams. trans. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1910
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* Smith, William, ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' (1849, originally published 1844 under a slightly different title) is an encyclopedia/biographical dictionary. Edited by William Smith, the dictionary spans three volumes and 3,700 p ...

'', London (1873)
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* Strabo, ''Geography'', translated by Horace Leonard Jones; Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. (1924)
LacusCurtisOnline version at the Perseus Digital Library, Books 6–14
* Tripp, Edward, ''Crowell's Handbook of Classical Mythology'', Thomas Y. Crowell Co; First edition (June 1970). . * Tzetzes, John, ''Allegories of the Odyssey'', translated by Adam J. Goldwyn, and Dimitra Kokkini, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, London, England, 2019. . *

, ''

'', Theodore C. Williams. trans. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1910
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
{{Authority control Greek gods Wind gods Kings in Greek mythology Characters in the Odyssey Characters in the Aeneid Characters in Greek mythology Deeds of Zeus

Family

Mythology

Ruler of the winds

Encounter with Odysseus

Aeolia

Confused with Aeolus son of Hellen

Diodorus Siculus' account

Gallery

Aeolus and Odysseus

Aeolus and Juno

Other

See also

Notes

References