Tower of the Winds

This forty-foot octagonal tower, built in Athens about 150 B.C.E., used scientific knowledge developed in Hellenistic Alexandria to tell time and predict the weather. Eight sundials (now missing) carved on the walls displayed the time of day all year; a huge interior water clock showed hours, days, and phases of the moon. A vane on top showed wind direction. The carved figures represented the winds, which the Greeks saw as gods. Each figure’s clothing predicted the typical weather from that direction, with the cold northern winds wearing boots and heavy cloaks, while the southern ones have bare feet and gauzy clothes. What were the goals, do you imagine, in erecting such a large clock in a public place? (De Agostini Picture Library / S. Vannini / Bridgeman Images.)