Having put to sea with all his ships, he came to the island of Aeolia, of which the king was Aeolus.1 He was appointed by Zeus keeper of the winds, both to calm them and to send them forth. Having entertained Ulysses, he gave him an oxhide bag in which he had bound fast the winds, after showing what winds to use on the voyage and binding fast the bag in the vessel. And by using suitable winds Ulysses had a prosperous voyage; and when he was near Ithaca and already saw the smoke rising from the town,2 he fell asleep.
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2 Homer says （Hom. Od. 10.30） they were so near land that they could already see the men tending the fires （πυρπολέοντας）; but whether the fires were signals to guide the ship to port, or watchfires of shepherds tending their flocks on the hills, does not appear.
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