The Myth of Aeolus | From the Moment the Wind Bag Was Opened to the Second Refusal

A ship arrives at an island surrounded on all sides by bronze walls like a fortress. The ruler of this island, which seems to float upon the sea, offers Odysseus and his men an unexpected gift—but that gift turns everything to nothing right before they reach home.

The Island of Aeolus, the Ruler of the Winds

After leaving Troy and passing several islands, Odysseus and his men arrive at the island where Aeolus, son of Hippotes, lives. The island is said to be encircled by sheer bronze cliffs as solid as fortress walls.

Aeolus had twelve children—six sons and six daughters—and he married them off to one another, having them all live together under one roof. Feasts continued day after day, and the palace was always filled with the smell of roasting meat.

The text portrays him as someone "beloved by the gods," a figure to whom Zeus entrusted the authority over the winds. However, based on this passage alone, it cannot be determined whether he was one of the twelve Olympian gods or a mortal ruler favored by the gods. This article deals only with what the text of the Odyssey shows, and does not separately confirm the differing genealogies or interpretations from later periods.

A Month of Hospitality, and a Special Gift

Aeolus hosted Odysseus and his men for a full month, constantly asking them about the Trojan War, the Achaean fleet, and their journey home. When Odysseus said that it was now time for them to leave, Aeolus willingly agreed to send them on their way.

Aeolus flayed the hide of an ox to make a bag, trapped the loudly roaring winds inside it, and tied the mouth of the bag tightly with a silver cord. It was such a meticulous knot that not even a single gust of side wind could escape.

Then he left only the west wind out of the bag, letting it blow freely. It was the wind that would push the ship carrying Odysseus and his men straight toward home. The bag was loaded aboard the ship, and Odysseus did not tell his companions what it was.

Nine Days and Nights, Never Letting Go of the Tiller

Riding the west wind, the ship sailed smoothly for nine days and nights. On the tenth day, they finally came close enough to see their homeland before their eyes—so close that they could even make out the smoke of bonfires rising from the shore.

Throughout those nine days, Odysseus held the tiller himself, never once handing it over to anyone else so that the ship could go faster. But when home came within sight, he finally succumbed to exhaustion and slipped into a brief sleep.

The Companions' Suspicion, and the Moment the Bag Was Opened

While Odysseus slept, his companions talked among themselves about the bag. They complained that this man was always received with such honor and given fine gifts wherever he went, while they themselves had returned from Troy with next to nothing.

They guessed that the bag must contain the gold and silver Aeolus had given him, and finally decided to untie the knot. It was a situation that arose after a mistaken judgment had taken hold.

The moment the bag was opened, the winds trapped inside all burst out at once with a roar. The winds became a storm that drove the ship straight back out to the open sea, and the homeland that had been right before their eyes was suddenly far away again.

Blown Back to the Island by the Winds

Awakened by the commotion, Odysseus realized what had happened. With the entire ship drifting out of control, all he could do was briefly ponder whether to end his own life or to endure and remain among the living.

In the end, he chose to endure, and the ship was carried by the winds back to the island of Aeolus. Having let slip the sight of home, he now had to retrace the same sea route in reverse.

The Refusal: "One Hated by the Heavens"

Having landed on the island again, Odysseus went to Aeolus and explained what had happened. He begged for help once more, saying that his companions and wretched sleep had brought him to this state.

But Aeolus's answer was firm. He declared that it was not right to help someone hated by the gods again, and that the very fact of returning in this condition was proof that heaven's will had turned against him.

He demanded that Odysseus leave the island at once, and Odysseus had no choice but to depart with a heavy heart, having obtained no further help. It was a farewell completely different from the hospitality he had received when he first arrived.

Without the help of the winds, Odysseus and his men now had to row onward. Immediately after this setback, they headed for the harbor of the Laestrygonians, where man-eating giants lived—a journey in which they would soon pay the price for losing the fair wind, the only comfort they had gained from Aeolus's island.

Characters Leading into the Next Stories

The episode in which Odysseus and his men faced the one-eyed giant before meeting Aeolus is covered in detail in the Myth of Polyphemus. The story of the witch's island, toward which they rowed again after the wind bag was opened, continues in the Myth of Circe.

Where this episode falls within Odysseus's overall journey home can be seen in the Odyssey Plot in Order, and the scene structure of the film adapted from the original can be explored in Film Information.