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
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