ANDRONICUS of Cyrrha, a Greek astronomer, about B.C. 100, built at Athens an octagon tower, with figures carved on each side, representing the eight principal winds. A brazen Triton at the summit, with a rod in his hand, turned round by the wind, pointed to the quarter from whence it blew. From this model is derived the custom of placing weathercocks on steeples. A considerable portion of this tower still exists, and, instead of "tower of the winds," it should be called horologium, the name by which it is designated by Varro.
ANDRONICUS of Cyrrha
sub_entry · 531 chars · lineage ↗ · page image at NLS ↗