Greek Wind Rose

  • The Greek Wind Rose developed from the four Cardinal Points to eventually become the Twelve Wind Rose.

The Four Winds

  • Homer (c. 800 BCE) mentioned the four winds in the Odyssey and the Iliad.
    • N – Boreas
    • E – Euros
    • S – Notos
    • W – Zephyrus

The Eight Winds

  • Eratosthenes (275-194 BCE) described eight winds.
    1. N Boreas (a variant of Aparctius)
    2. NE Caecias
    3. E Apeliotes
    4. SE Eurus
    5. S Notus
    6. SW Lips
    7. W Zephyrus
    8. NW Sciron (a variant of Argestes)

The Ten Winds

  • Aristotle (c.340 BCE), described 10 winds, with 8 principal winds and 2 half winds, and Theophrastus (c.300 BCE) followed Aristotle.
    1. (N) Aparctius
    2. (NE) Caecius
    3. (E) Apeliotes
    4. (SE) Eurus
    5. (S) Notos
    6. (SW) Lips
    7. (W) Zephyrus
    8. (NW) Argestes
    9. (NNW) Thrascias
    10. (NNE) Meses.

The Twelve Winds

  • Timosthenes of Rhodes, a Navigator writing in c.282 BCE described 12 Winds: he added 4 to the existing 8, and named the peoples they pointed to:
    1. N Aparctius – The Scythians
    2. NNE Boreas – The Sarmatians
    3. NE Caesias – The Sakas
    4. E Apeliotes – The Bactrians
    5. SE Eurus – The Indians
    6. SSE Euronotos – The Red Sea and the Aethiopians
    7. S Notos – Aethiopians beyond Egypt
    8. SSW Libonotos – The Garamantes
    9. SW Lips – The Ethiopians beyond the Mauri
    10. W Zephyrus – Pillars of Hercules, Africa and Europe
    11. NW Argestes – The Iberians
    12. NWW Circius – The Celts

The Tower of Winds (c. 50 BCE)

  • The Tower of Winds was built in Athens by Andronicus of Cyrrhus c.50 BCE.
  • It was an octagonal clocktower featuring a sundial, water clock and a windvane.
  • It was built on Eratosthenes system of eight, not twelve, winds. The Eight Winds on the Tower were named:
  • Boreas (not Aparctias, N), Caecias (NE), Apeliotes (E), Eurus (SE), Notos (S), Lips (SW), Zephyrus (W) and Sciron (NW, variant of Argestes).

Roman Wind Rose

  • An 8 wind rose was described by Pliny the Elder and Aulus Gellius and unusually, Vitruvius described a 24 wind compass rose.
  • A 12 Wind rose was described by Seneca:
    1. N Septentrio
    2. NNE Aquilo
    3. NE Caecias
    4. E Subsolanus
    5. SE Vulturnus or Eurus
    6. SSE Euronotus
    7. S Auster
    8. SSW Libonotus
    9. SW Africus
    10. W Favonius or Zephyrus
    11. NW Corus or Argestes
    12. NNW Thrasias

 

Tower of Winds, Athens

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