Aeolus - Æolus (son of Hellen), Æolus (son of Poseidon), Æolus (son of Hippotes)

In Greek mythology, the god of the winds. In the Odyssey Aeolus lived on an island, and gave Odysseus the winds tied in a bag so that his ship would not be blown off course. The ship had nearly reached Ithaca when Odysseus' men opened the bag, thinking it contained treasure. As a result, the ship was blown far away.

These three personages are often difficult to tell apart, and even the ancient mythographers appear to have been perplexed about which Æolus was which. Briefly, the first Æolus was a son of Hellen and founder of the Æolian race; and the third Æolus was a son of Hippotes who is mentioned in the Odyssey as Keeper of the Winds in Greek Mythology. All three men named Æolus appear to be connected genealogically, although the precise relationship is often ambiguous.

Æolus (son of Hellen)

This Æolus was son of Hellen and the nymph Orseis, and a brother of Dorus, Xuthus and Amphictyon. Æolus and Enarete had many children, although the precise number and identities of these children vary from author to author in the ancient sources. Those listed as the sons of Æolus and Enarete include Cretheus, Sisyphus, Deioneus, Salmoneus, Athamas, Perieres, Cercaphas and perhaps Magnes (who is usually regarded as a brother of Macedon). Another son is named Mimas, who provides a link to the third Æolus (see below) in a genealogy that seems very contrived. This Arne became the mother of the second Æolus, by the god Poseidon.

Æolus (son of Poseidon)

This Æolus was a son of Poseidon by Arne, daughter of Æolus. Æolus, however, did not believe her, and handed her over to a man named Metapontus, King of Icaria. but their stepmother (Autolyte, wife of Metapontus) quarrelled with their mother Arne, prompting Bœotus and Æolus to kill Autolyte and flee from Icaria. but Æolus went to a group of islands in the Tyrrhenian sea, which received from him the name of the Aeolian Islands; Æolus had six sons and six daughters, and the family lived happily together - that is until the day Æolus learned that one of his sons, named Macareus, had committed incest with his sister Canace. (Other accounts claim that the child, a daughter named Amphissa, was rescued and later beloved by Apollo.)

Æolus (son of Hippotes)

This Æolus is most frequently conflated with Æolus, the son of Poseidon. It is difficult to delineate this Æolus from the second Æolus, as their identities seem to have been merged by many ancient writers. The father of this third Æolus is given as Mimas, a son of the first Æolus (son of Hellen). This Æolus lived on the floating island of Aeolia and was visited by Odysseus and his crew in the Odyssey. He gave hospitality for a month and provided for a west wind to carry them home. This Æolus was perceived by later authors (i.e., after Homer) as a god, rather than as a mortal and simple Keeper of the Winds (as in the Odyssey).

In Roman mythology, this Æolus also instigates a storm at the request of Juno (Hera) at the beginning of the Aeneid.