81 Aeolus Facts: Everything About The Divine Keeper Of the Winds
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Like the son of Poseidon, Aeolus, the god of winds, also had 12 children.
A love affair was recorded between the daughter of Aeolus, Polymele, and Odysseus in the Parthenius of Nicaea. However, she was eventually married off to her own brother Doires.
Aeolus was the name of various characters in Greek mythology, however, the common personality associated is the god of winds. He also plays a vital role in Homer's Odyssey. Aeolus of Greek mythology was a king of Aeolia Island and keeper of the winds.
Aeolia island is one of the Lipara rocky Islands, located close to Sicily. Although Aeolus was originally a human being, he was later regarded as a god by classical writers. Aeolus was born to Hippotes, Mimas' son.
He was often confused with the sea-god Poseidon's son, Aeolus. As per a few accounts, Hippotes married Melanippe, the mother of Arne.
It is said that Aeolus lived with his family on the floating island of Aeolia. This island was encircled by a wall of smooth rocks and unbreakable bronze. This Greek term, Aeolus, means 'nimble' or 'quick-moving'.
If you enjoyed reading these fun Aeolus facts, then make sure to read some more interesting facts on Ancient Greek culture, and Ancient Greek temples facts here on Kidadl.
Fun Facts About Aeolus
A fun fact about Aeolus is that he was the keeper of different types of winds like light breezes, stormy winds, and gale-force winds.
As per the Diodorus Siculus, the first Aeolus was born to Helen and the founder of the Aeolian race. The second Aeolus was a colony leader in islands located in the Tyrrhenian Sea. The last Aeolus was the famous Greek god of winds.
One of the pieces of literature in which Aeolus played a huge role is the Odyssey, written by Homer. Homer described the Greek god, Aeolus, as a mortal who controlled winds.
As he was the Greek god of winds, he had the power to release violent storms that could destroy the world.
Symbols of Aeolus are open bag, horse, and Aeolian harp. Other names of Aeolus are 'Reiner of the horses' and 'master of winds'.
Many authors draw great similarities between the wind god Aeolus and Hesiod's Uranus or Ouranos.
Mythological Facts About Aeolus
A mythological fact about Aeolus is that the island of Aeolia was hollow from the inside with numerous caves as holding regions for storm winds.
Greek Mythology has many stories and myths on Greek gods and heroes, the nature around them, and their lives. Among the Greek gods, Aeolus was described as a minor god.
Aeolus had the ability to control winds and Zeus, the king of Greek gods, appointed him as 'Keeper of Winds'.
To preserve affection and concord among Aeolus' children, he got his sons and daughters married. As he was a favorite among gods, he spent days, banqueting and feasting with his children and wife.
In Virgil's Aeneid, Hera, or Juno, offered Aeolus the Deiopea nymph, if he released the winds on the Aeneas fleet, however, Poseidon or Neptune later calms the sea.
As per the myth, the Aeolian island freely floated, surrounded by bronze walls to contain storms and wind.
Facts About Aeolus' Family
A fact about the family of Aeolus is that the mythology states that the four sons of Aeolus also became the Gods of winds. Aeolus, keeper of winds was a son of Hippotes. Hippotes was a mortal king.
As per Homer, Aeolus had six daughters and six sons and another myth suggests that four of his sons became four types or gods of winds, chiefly the West wind, the East wind, the South wind, and the North wind.
One account mentions that Aeolus was the son of the water nymph, founder of the Aeolian race, Hellen. She was the daughter of Pyrrha and Zeus.
In the same account, Enarete, the daughter of Deimachus is said to be the wife of Aeolus. This marriage produced several children, which includes Mimas, Magnes, Makednos, and Laodice. Aeolus also had children from another affair with the daughter of Centaur Chiron, Melanippe, and the child was known as Arne.
As per Diodorus, Aeolus was a father to his six sons by the daughter of Liparus, Cyane. The sons were named Pheraemon, Locastus, Agathyrnus, Androcles, Astyochus, and Xuthus, while the daughters are not mentioned.
It is said the sons went on to become kings. Androcles and Pheraemon were kings of the Sicily region, between Lilybaeum and Strait of Messina, Locastus was the king of the southern Italian region until Rhegium, Astyochus was king of Lipara, Agathyrnus of Agathyrnitis, and Xuthus was of Leontini.
Facts About Aeolus' Personality
A fact about the personality of Aeolus is that God Aeolus was identical to a few other Gods of Greek Mythology.
The two-part story, 'The Odyssey', is an account of the king of Ithaca, Odysseus, and his misfortunes and encounters when he was returning home after the Trojan War. One of the popular stories of this journey was the story of Aeolis' floating island and the bag with the wind.
According to the story, Odysseus got lost at sea and reached the island of Aeolia, where Odysseus and his men received good hospitality from the keeper of winds, Aeolus. They lived on the island for a month, as per the Odyssey, and when they had to leave Odysseus asked Aeolus' help to navigate the sea.
Aeolus tied a bag bound with silver fiber to the ship of Odysseus.
The bag contained all kinds of winds. Aeolus ordered the west wind to blow on its own to take those men back home.
As per legends, into the tenth day of sailing from the island, they were close to the land and also spotted fires onshore. However, the crew then made a huge mistake.
When Odysseus was sleeping, the crew opened the ox hide bag believing that there were riches in the bag.
This action unleashed all the winds within the bag casting their ship away and back to the deep sea and then to the island of Aeolia. When Aeolus saw them back onshore, he regarded their actions as misfortunes and actions as bad luck, banishing them from his island and sending them away.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestion for 181 Aeolus facts, then why not take a look at Ancient Greek astronomy facts or Ancient Greek gods and goddesses facts!
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Bachelor of Engineering specializing in Aeronautical/Aerospace Technology, Master of Business Administration specializing in Management
Arpitha RajendraBachelor of Engineering specializing in Aeronautical/Aerospace Technology, Master of Business Administration specializing in Management
With a background in Aeronautical Engineering and practical experience in various technical areas, Arpitha is a valuable member of the Kidadl content writing team. She did her Bachelor's degree in Engineering, specializing in Aeronautical Engineering, at Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology in 2020. Arpitha has honed her skills through her work with leading companies in Bangalore, where she contributed to several noteworthy projects, including the development of high-performance aircraft using morphing technology and the analysis of crack propagation using Abaqus XFEM.
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