Sunday, August 27, 2017

Re - discovering ancient treasures today...in modern Athens...



I believe that, at least once in our lives, all of us have asked ourselves what it would be like, to live in ancient times. How would we live, what would we do, what good or bad (or just different) situations we would encounter. Such questions remain unanswered, since there’s no “time machines” readily available for sale at the stores, at least not for now…Right?

…Or wrong?

What if there was a place we could walk around, (in a city for example), and every 50, 100 meters, be able to see EXACTLY what the ancient people would see, some 2000+ years ago? Now, would not that be something worth living? And what a better way to spend my holidays, other than making a trip to the past? I have always thought of holidays as a perfect time to rest, enjoy, free your mind and explore at the same time. So, on with the (re)discovering…
Recently, a 1909 publication, “Time and its measurement” by James Arthur (copyright 1909, by H. H. Windsor), caught my attention. In page 20, there was a reference about an ancient building – clock, located somewhere in Athens. Sure it must have been intact at the time the book was published, but does it still exist today? For me, as a researcher, there were no second thoughts; I HAD to find out.
But first, I must mention…


 A few facts about the ancient Greeks…

In ancient Greece, the different cities were also different States, they had their own coin, their own political system and their own army. One of the ancient greek cities that can still be found intact, having survived many historical war conflicts (raids, Romans, Ottomans, World Wars, etc) in modern Greece, is Athens.
The number of ancient structures that can be found (almost) intact today in modern Athens, is astonishing. Most people know only about the “Parthenon” (which really is an excellent example of ancient architecture and full of optical illusions, or better say “architectural secrets”). But there are a great deal of other sites worth “rediscovering” also, since the ancient Greeks were famous not only for their way of thinking (i.e. philosophers, mathematicians, doctors), but also for their technical innovations and advanced engineering.
It’s widely accepted that “he who holds knowledge, holds power”. And the ancient people who could calculate TIME, and therefore could foresee tides, changes of seasons, when the moon or the sun would show or disappear, could even stop wars, manipulate Kings, or even play God. That’s how powerful they were, in the eyes of the ignorants.
But the Greeks were different, in a way that they would always share their knowledge with everyone. And they would place their discoveries out in the open, for everyone to see and use.
So, on with the…

(Re)discovery…

Such a place is the ancient “Clock of Andronikos”, or let’s say, the “Big Ben” of ancient Athens. It was a solar AND hydraulic clock (in case there’s no sun rays - for the cloudy days, or for measuring time through the night) and a wind direction device at the same time, allowing the viewer to predict the weather. Therefore it was a complete “weather station”, open for everyone and for every day/night use, and the OLDEST known ancient weather station IN THE WORLD! The building is now believed to have been used by the ancients as a “planetarium” (Study of architect Hermann Kienast).  

  
It was built by the ancient astronomer Andronikos, some 100 years B.C. Through the ages, the building was also used as a church by the Christians and as a gathering place for the Muslim monks of the Ottoman Empire. After 1828, it was abandoned, until the recent times, when it was first opened to public after structural restoration, in 2016. Its shape is octagonal, 13,85m high, 7,9m wide (diameter), with each side of the octagon measuring 3,25m. The whole structure is built with “Pentelikon” marble. The top (roof) formed a pointed top, on which there was a metallic wind pointer, in the shape of the mythical sea creature “Triton”...


...which rotated by the wind, showing one of the eight sides of the building, and at the same time, pointing at one of the eight statues of the different winds, located to the upper external sides of the building.


Each wind (statue) in each side, would indicate the weather, as following;

N-    Cold weather (Vorias)
NW-Warmer winter weather (Skiron)
W-   Mild weather (Zephyr)
SW- Warm weather (Livas)
S-     Rainy weather (Notos)
SE-   Strong winter winds, and start of spring season (Evros)
E-     Warm rainy spring weather (Apiliotis)
NE-  Heavy storms weather (Kekias)

     So, there you have it; the oldest weather station in the world. If you find yourself walking in Athens, make sure to visit this site. It’s unique, and worth your time. As for me, on with the next (re)discovery, deep into the ancient times…
Thanks for reading.

Anais Zolie