The Aeolian Harp, invented in Germany in the seventeenth century, is an instrument in which strings are made to vibrate by the movement of the air, without any human interference. It is named after Aeolus, an abiguous figure from Greek mythology who was thought to be the master of the four winds.
He appears most famously in a story of the hero Odysseus, who is said to have arrived at a mysterious floating island where Aeolus reigned along with his six sons and daughters (who were, disturbingly, all married to each other).
Strange domestic arrangements notwithstanding, Aeolus entertained the hero kindly, and gave him a gift to help him on his way home: a magical bag in which all the winds were trapped, fastened ith silver string. By only letting out the favourable West ind, Odysseus was able to make swift progress, and before long, the shores of his beloved homeland were in sight.
But some of Odysseus. men greedy for loot, decide to see what their captain was keeping in his mysterious bag and, whle he slept, they untied the silver string. Immediately, the winds that were trapped insid rushed out in allmighty squall, which blew Odysseus all the way back to Aeolus' island.
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