Who is Aeolus?
According to Odysseus’s own account, on his way home after the Trojan War, he stopped at Aeolus’s Isle. Aeolus entertained him royally for a whole month. and sent him on his way with a favorable wind, locking up all the others in a bag. Within sight of his homeland, Odysseus relaxed his vigilance and fell asleep. His companions, sure that the bag contained treasure, opened it, allowing the adverse winds to escape and forcing Odysseus to wander ten more years before reaching home and his wife and child. So runs Homer’s tale (Book 10 of the Odyssey.) My planet, “Aeolus,” was given that name by colonists because of the fierce storms they encountered there. Few of them had heard of Homer, but the reputation of his wind god survived even in a relatively illiterate age.
