In the past, inventions, discoveries and historical buildings were at the forefront during the Roman Empire. The gods of Ancient Greek Mythology were effective in the inventions made. One of them is Aneomi, known as the god of eight winds in Ancient Greek mythology. The Wind Tower was built with the wind power of the god Aneomi and was considered one of the most important inventions in the Roman period. Here is the Tower of the Wind built on a god!
8 God of Wind Aneomi
When we look at ancient Greek mythology, we see that many gods have a structure. According to Greek mythology, many natural elements and elements in the world are represented as the power of a god. One of these natural elements is the wind. In Greek mythology, there are eight wind gods known as Anemoi. These wind gods or Aneomi are named according to the direction in the winds blow. These names were named not only according to the direction of the winds but also according to the season. These are;
- Boreas (North Wind Bringing Cold Winter Weather)
- Notus (South Wind Bringing Late Summer and Fall Storms)
- Zephyrus (West Wind Bringing Spring and Summer Breezes)
- Eurus (East Wind)
- Kaikias (North East Wind)
- Apeliotes (South East Wind)
- Skiron (Northwest Wind)
- Lips (Southwest Wind)
Each wind has its symbol and the evidence is personalized as men. The Anemoi, on the other hand, have their symbol. This symbol is seen on the Athenian monument known as the Tower of the Wind.
Structure of the Tower of the Wind and Aneomi
In 50 BC, during the Roman Empire, an astronomer from Cyrrhus designed and built the Tower of the Winds. This astronomer was a Macedonian named Andronicus. The Tower of the Wind was built as a clock and is still intact today. It is an octagonal tower with a total height of approximately 13 meters and a width of approximately 8 meters. The tower is decorated with personalized symbols of the Anemoi and faces in the directions described above. This is exactly where the name of the tower comes from.
Water Flowing Inside the Wind Tower
We said that the Wind Tower is a clock tower. To find out the time, sundials were placed under the motifs on the top. But one of the interesting features of the tower is the water clock inside the tower. The water clock inside the Tower of the Wind worked with the water flowing from a stream in the Acropolis, and with it, it showed us not only the time but also the direction of the wind.
Roman belief in seeing the future with the wind Wind Roses, which are still used today, was used in the Tower of the Wind to find the direction of the wind. The Wind Tower, which turns in the direction of the wind as the wind blows and shows us the direction of the wind in this way, had a very different meaning for the Romans. According to the Romans, the direction of the winds was also a sign that foretold the future. This belief made the Tower of the Wind stand out with this feature in addition to the water clock and sundial.
Wind Tower Used for Other Purposes
Wind Towers built during the Roman period were used for purposes other than determining the time and wind direction. Some wind towers were quite large due to their structure. For example, the Parthenon Wind Tower was used as the bell tower of the Byzantine church. Later, the Wind Towers in these lands, which came under Ottoman protection, were used as resting places and lodges in line with beliefs.
