Author:
Jan Scholten
Book:
Secret Lanthanides
Type:
Mythology 2
Chapter:
2.7.2
2.7.2 Stage 2, Barium: Aeolos
Odysseus and his men land on the island of Aeolos, the God of the winds. Aeolos gives them shelter for a month and gives them a sack of cow’s leather into which he has put the winds. He tells them not to open the sack and causes a west wind to blow that brings Odysseus fast to Ithaca, his homeland. When they’ve almost reached Ithaca, the men cannot restrain their curiosity and open the sack when Odysseus is asleep. All the winds come out of the sack and they blow Odysseus and his men back to Aeolos. But Aeolos doesn't want to help them further.
The mistake of the men is only that they are curious; they just want to know what’s in the sack. They just observe, which is a typical aspect of Stage 2.
When they do look, they are blown with the wind as if they are playthings. This is the adapting aspect of Stage 2, the inability to resist outer forces.