Circe

In the ancient Greek tale of the Odyssey, Circe was a bad-tempered but beautiful sorceress. She had turned Scylla into a monster, out of jealousy. She was a daughter of the sun. She turned men into swine. or other animals. When Odysseus (Ulysses to the Romans) showed up on Circe's island, she turned his men into pigs. However, Mercury had warned Ulysses of what Circe would do, and gave him an herb that protected him from her spell. In order to rescue his men, Ulysses forced Circe to release them. Nevertheless, he fell under her spell. She, likewise, fell in love with him, and and he stayed on with her, on her island for about a year or two. They had at least two children together.

Eventually, when Odysseus decided to leave Circe, and return to his home in Ithaca, Circe told him what he needed to know about the two possible ways he might take his ship.

Calypso

In ancient Greece, Calypso was a water nymph, the queen of a "western" island. She kept Odysseus (Roman Ulysses) and his men on her island for seven years after he was shipwrecked. She tried him to persuade him to stay longer, until Zeus commanded her to let him go.

English word: Our word calypso refers to a ballad-like improvisation in African rhythms. It is often a satire on current events, composed and sung by natives of Trinidad. It is also played in the British West Indies at an annual pre-Lenten carnival.

Aeolus

In ancient Greece myth, Aeolus was the keeper of the winds. He was the king of an island near Sicily. In The Odyssey, he received Odysseus (Ulysses to the ancient Romans), and provided a west wind to sail home, and gave him a leather bag containing the other winds. Unfortunately, Odysseus' men opened the bag of the winds, which blew them off course and greatly prolonged their voyage.

English word: In English, aeolian means borne or produced by the wind. An aeolian harp is a box fitted with strings so that when the wind blows across it, it produces musical tones. The Aeolian islands are the group of islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea, supposedly the home of Aeolus.