The allegorical figures of the winds used in this little book are reproductions of the eight bas-reliefs in the library of the Blue Hill Observatory, placed there by the late Professor A. Lawrence Rotch. They are copied from the frieze of the Tower of the Winds at Athens.
Boreas, the north wind, is perhaps the most important of all winds. At Athens this a cold, boisterous wind from the mountains of Thrace. The noise of the gusts is so loud that the Greek sculptor symbolized the tumult by placing a conch shell in the mouth of Boreas. His modern namesake, the Bora of the Adriatic, is the same noisy, blustering, cold wind-rush from the north.
The northeast wind Kaikias is a trifle more pleasant looking than Boreas, but still not much to brag about. Master of the squall and thunderstorm, he carries in his shield an ample supply of hailstones, ready to spill them on defenseless humanity. He might well serve as the patron saint of air raiders dropping their bombs on helpless humans below.
Apheliotes, the east wind, is a graceful youth, with arms full of flowers, fruit and wheat. Naturally this was a favorite wind, blowing in from the sea, with frequent light showers. Some of us who dwell on the Atlantic Coast, in more northern latitudes than Athens, do not always regard with favor the east wind, associating it with chilly, damp and sombre weather. Yet it is the harbinger of good--tempering the cold of winter and the heat of summer. It is an angel of mercy in mid-summer when the temperature is above the nineties and there is no air stirring. Then it is, that we all welcome the refreshing wind from the sea.
Euros, the southeast wind, and neighbor to Apheliotes, is a cross old fellow, intent on the business of cloud making. He alone of all the winds carries nothing in his hands. In the New Testament he becomes Euroclydon, wind of the waves. He is no friend of the sailor; and the seasick traveler prays to be rid of his company.
The figure on the south face of the tower, Notos, is the master of the warm rain. He carries with him a water jar which has just been emptied. Compare his light flowing robes and half-clad neck and arms with the close fitting jacket of old Boreas. At his shrine, hydraulic engineers well might worship.