In some accounts, Aoelus was the son of Poseidon, Keeper of the Sea, Earthquakes , and Horses.
However, in Greek mythology Aeolus was also the Keeper of Winds, and the king on the island of Aeolia, one of the abrupt rocky Lipara Islands close to Sicily.
Aeolus is said to have led a colony in the Tyrrhenian Sea which is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy.
It is named for the Tyrrhenian people, identified since the 6th century BCE with the Etruscans of Italy.
The sea is between the western coast of Italy and the islands of Corsica, Sardinia, and Sicily.
The eight Aeolian Islands and Ustica are located in the southern part of the sea, north of Sicily. Ports include Civitavecchia, Pozzuoli, Naples, Salerno, and Palermo (in Sicily).
Aeolus is said to kept the violent Storm-Winds locked safely away inside the cavernous interior of his isle, releasing them only at the command of greatest gods to wreak devastation upon the world.
Since winds were often conceived of as horse-shaped spirits, Aeolus also titled Hippotades, “the reiner of horses,” from the Greek word hippos (“horse”) and tadên (“reined in tightly”).
In Homer’s writing, the hero Odysseus once visited Aeolus‘ isle and was entrusted with a bag containing all of the Storm-Winds to ensure a safe voyage home.
However, during the trip, the hero’s greedy companions opened the bag in a search for gold and the escaping winds carried their ship all the way back to Aeolus‘ shore.
Homer’s Aeolus bears many similarities to Hesiod’s Ouranos (Uranus)– both are described as having six sons and daughters joined in wedlock, and both kept a group of storm-spirits locked behind a threshold of bronze.
In the case of Ouranos, the twelve children were the Titan-gods, and the storm-gods were the Hekatonkheires (Hecatoncheires) and Kyklopes (Cyclopes) in Tartaros.
Aeolus also resembles Astraios (Astraeus), Hesiod’s father of the winds and stars.
Stesichorus seems to confirm this connection when he describes Aeolus Hippotades as the cousin of Iris Thaumantias (“the wondrous rainbow”) for Astraios was a son of Eurybia and Iris a daughter of Eurybia’s brother Thaumas.
The meaning of the name Aeolus is nimble – quite suitable for the “Keeper of the Winds”.
He was assigned this task by Zeus, although Aeolus is sometimes considered a mortal.
However, in ancient literature, there are three personages named Aeolus and they can be difficult to tell apart, and even the ancient mythographers appear to have been perplexed about which Aeolus was which.
Diodorus Siculus made an attempt to define each of these three (although it is clear that he also became muddled), and his opinion is followed here.
- The first Aeolus was a son of Hellen and eponymous founder of the Aeolian race.
- The second Aeolus was a son of Poseidon, who led a colony to islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea.
- The third Aeolus was a son of Hippotes who is mentioned in Odyssey and the Aeneid as the Keeper of the Winds.
All three men named Aeolus appear to be connected genealogically, although the precise relationship, especially regarding the second and third Aeolus, is often ambiguous as their identities seem to have been merged by many ancient writers.
photo:
Morocco, Volubilis, mosaic depicting Aeolus, Roman god of wind, on floor of a recently excavated house
Aeolus was also the name of the following minor characters:
Aeolus was a defender of Thebes against the Seven Against Thebes. He was killed by Parthenopaeus.
Aeolus was a Trojan, companion of Aeneas in Italy, where he was killed by Turnus,
King of the Rutulians. Aeolus was father of Clytius and Misenus.
This story is written for my youngest daughter, whose 2x great grandfather, came to Ellis Island , NY on a boat named the Aeolus.
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Thanks for the super interesting website!