Aeolus was the Greek keeper and ruler of the winds. In Homer’s Odyssey, he controls the winds from the island of Aeolia and can release or restrain them.
When Odysseus reaches Aeolia, Aeolus welcomes him and gives him an ox-hide bag containing the dangerous winds. He leaves the gentle west wind free to push the ship toward Ithaca. Odysseus falls asleep when home is nearly in sight, and his crew opens the bag, mistakenly believing it contains treasure. The released winds blow the ships back to Aeolia.
The wind-keeper is specifically Aeolus, son of Hippotes, a figure distinct from other mythological characters named Aeolus. The individual winds also have names: Boreas is the north wind, Notus the south wind, Zephyrus the west wind, and Eurus the east wind. Aeolus governs these winds in myth; he is not simply another name for any one of them.