Aeolus and the Bag of Winds
Odysseus Stop 3 of 8
In brief
- Aeolus, keeper of the winds, gave Odysseus a magical leather bag containing every storm wind that could blow his ship off course.
- With only the gentle west wind left free, his ship sailed peacefully within sight of Ithaca itself.
- His curious crew, believing the bag held hidden treasure, opened it while Odysseus slept, unleashing every storm at once and blowing them right back to where they started.
On the floating island of the Aeolian Islands lived Aeolus, keeper of the winds, who welcomed Odysseus and his weary crew as honored guests for a full month, delighting in their stories of the fall of Troy. When Odysseus finally asked to continue his voyage home, Aeolus offered him a rare and precious gift.
He gathered every dangerous storm wind of the world into a great leather bag, sealing it shut with a silver cord, and left free only the gentle west wind, Zephyrus, to carry Odysseus's ship steadily toward Ithaca. Aeolus warned him plainly: the bag must remain closed, no matter what, until he reached home.
For nine days the ship sailed smoothly, and on the tenth, the shores of Ithaca finally came into view, so close that Odysseus could see smoke rising from its hearths. Exhausted from steering without rest, he allowed himself to sleep, confident the journey was nearly over.
While he slept, his crew, convinced the mysterious bag was stuffed with gold and silver that Odysseus meant to keep for himself, untied the silver cord to look inside. Every storm wind Aeolus had trapped burst out at once, whipping the sea into chaos and driving the ship backward across the very distance it had just crossed: all the way back to the Aeolian Islands, where Aeolus, believing them cursed by the gods, refused to help a second time.
