Aiolos - God of Wind

Even though I had not set an alarm I woke well before dawn. I decided to sit quietly and watch the light of the new day wash over the island, fueled by coffee and some remnants of cake. 

 

I hear lots of Greek voices below me in the street, revelers making their way home after a long night of partying. It’s 5 am and the bars have just closed for the night.

 

Finally, at least for the moment, the wind has stopped. Astypalaia is a windy place, not doubt about it. However, this year was different. A sustained wind of 20mph for several days is quite common here, but these windy periods are punctuated with several still blazing hot days. It is during these hot days that we promise Aiolos, the god of wind, that if he gifts us with wind we will never complain about it again. 

 

This year the wind has been different, blowing at an incessant 40 mph without a single hot day. Aiolos must be punishing Asty for some insult, probably committed by some lesser god.

 

Boats have been unable to safely reach harbor, turned back to Kos or Rhodes until weather conditions improve. Landing a plane at the airport is a scary endeavor. Shutters and doors slam, you must take care to make sure everything is weighed down, like the moto in the photo with a large stone on the seat.

 

If you live in a windy place, like I do in So Cal, you know that the wind has it’s own voice and energy. Santa Ana winds crash over you in big gusty waves, with a dry edge that desiccates everything, leaving you moody, unsettled. They sound like a low moan that builds with each gust. On very windy days the gusts sneak into your attic between the rafters and roof tiles, their voices are quicker and higher pitched.

In Astypalaia the wind seems angry and confused, insistent. Sometimes my mind just gets stuck concentrating on it, exhausting me, whirling away all of my thoughts. I imagine that it is a million voices all trying to give conflicting advice simultaneously. Maybe this is the sound that the Oracle of Delphi heard when she gave advice, her mind altered by noxious gasses seeping out of a crack in the earth.

 

More soon.