AEOLUS’ BAG - Ride like the wind to be free again ...

Having escaped Polyphemus and the other Cyclopes, they came to the island of Aeolus, which was like the island on ‘Lost’, as it could move and travel in the sea.

Aeolus was the god of the wind and a big fan of Ulysses, and so he extended a warm welcome to him. He stared in awe at Ulysses, as the latter told him about the Greeks’ double win over the Trojans on their home turf.

In a special award ceremony, he was given an ox-hide bag instead of a plaque. Inside the bag, Aeolus had enclosed all the winds except the western wind Zephyrus, who would steer Ulysses calmly to Ithaca.

“Remember that your men must not know what is contained in the bag before you reach Ithaca; only there will you open it”.

Ithaca appeared in the distance, the journey seemed to be coming to an end, and so Ulysses took a short nap on the deck. While he was sleeping (this would also become a Sandra Bullock movie), his men opened the bag of Aeolus believing that it must contain gold or bitcoins. Naturally, by freeing all the winds, they managed to get themselves into a myriad of storms and lose sight of Ithaca.