Aeolus and the islands of the winds
Statue of Aeolus leading bottle of winds
The name derives Eolo the greek “Aiolos” meaning fast.
One story of Aeolus, a greek prince who ruled a colony on the Aeolian Islands. Because he is a man of understanding, achieved a certain fame because he could predict the weather by the shape of the clouds of vapor that hung over an active volcano, Stromboli probably.
The locals were fishermen and knowledge of weather conditions was an important element of their daily life. So, probably, with the passing of generations the ability to predict events has been confused with the ability to make them happen, not surprisingly, if mythology which meets Aeolus god of wind. According to Greek mythology Aeolus, God of the Winds, is the son of Poseidon and Arne from Zeus and had the task of checking the Winds. Aeolus directed them, and delivered them into the caves and in custodendoli un’otre in Lipari, one of the Aeolian Islands, where he had his palace.
The Winds, after having caused major damage including the detachment of Sicily on the continent, had to be kept under control. Among these were four brothers who represented the Winds main Boreas, the most violent, the North Wind, which for the sake of mares Dardano turned into horse and had twelve foals as swift as the wind, Zephyrus, the West Wind, sweet and beneficial announcing the spring, Euro, East Wind, sometimes stormy and sometimes dry bore good weather Austro, the South Wind, hot and bringer of rain depicted always wet.
Statue of Aeolus blower
Others winds are: Libeccio, Wind of the Southwest shrouded in mist; Cecia, Wind of the North-East, old man with a serpent’s tail and a plate of olives in hand; Apeliotes, Wind South-East in the hands of which were ripe fruit; Schirone, Wind of the North-West with an urn full of water ready to be reversed on the ground. Aeolus had twelve children, six girls and six boys who joined together creating another twenty.When Ulysses, returning from the Trojan War, she came to the Aeolian Islands, and hosted the Aeolus, moved by the story greek hero, gave him a gift dell’otre of skin in which they were held headwinds to navigation. During the journey, Ulysses did blow but the sweet Zephyr but while the hero slept, his companions navigation, believing that the bottle given to her by Aeolus was full of treasures, opened it releasing the winds unleashed a terrible storm from which you saved only Ulysses’ ship.
