In Athens on the north side and near the base of the hill on which the
upper city--the Acropolis--is built, there is a small temple still
standing, altho its walls were completed twenty-two centuries ago. It is
known as the Tower of the Winds; but as a matter of fact, the citizens
of Athens used it to tell the hour of the day and the seasonal position
of the sun. It was a public timepiece. It served as a huge sun dial.
Water from a spring on the hillside filled the basins of a water clock
in the basement of the Tower. And so, whether the day was clear or
cloudy the measure of the outflow of water indicated the time elapsed.
Also there were markings or dials on each of the eight walls of the
temple, and the position of the shadow of a marker indicated the
seasonal advance or retreat of the sun as it moved north from the time
of the winter solstice and then south after the summer solstice.
The sun is not an accurate time keeper and no one to-day runs his
business or keeps engagements on sun time. But the old Athenians were
quite content to do so; and their Tower served excellently for their
needs. And they did what we moderns fail to do, namely, give distinctive
names to the winds. They represented figuratively the characteristics of
the weather as the wind blew from each of the eight cardinal directions.
[Illustration: FIG. 1. THE TOWER OF THE WINDS