ÆOLUS, in Heathen Mythology, the god of the winds, was said to be the son of Jupiter by Acasta, or Sigesia, the daughter of Hippotus: or, according to others, the son of Hippotus by Meneclea, daughter of Hyllus king of Lipara. He dwelt in the island Strongyle, now called Strombolo, one of the seven islands called Æolian from their being under the dominion of Æolus. Others say, that his residence was at Rhegium, in Italy; and others again place him in the island Lipara. He is represented as having authority over the winds, which he held enchain'd in a vast cavern, to prevent their continuing the devastations they had been guilty of before they were put under his direction. Mythologists explain the original of these fables, by saying, that he was a wise and good prince; and, being skilled in astronomy, was able, by the flux and reflux of the tides, and the nature of the volcano in the island Strongyle, to foretell storms and tempests.
Harp of Æolus, or the Æolian lyre. See ACOUS-TICS.