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Rural School Leaflet. 





weather, a south wind warm weather and rain, while a northeast wind 

 brings cloudy weather with rain in the summertime, and snow and sleet 

 in the winter. 



This is true for most places north of the equator but south of the 

 equator the north wind is warm, and the south wind cold. There are 



_ very good reasons why each 



'.^^^-Jjf ■ wind brings its own kind of 

 weather. Why does a wind 

 from the north bring cold 

 weather, and a wind from the 

 south bring warm weather? 



The ancient Greeks did not 

 know why the wind blows, 

 but they knew very well that 

 a north wind brought cold, 

 freezing weather to Athens, 

 a south wind warm rains, and 

 a northeast wind snow and 

 sleet, especially in winter. 

 They thought that one of 

 their gods, Aeolus, kept the 

 winds in a cave in the moun- 

 tain, and when he was pleased 

 with the people he would 

 open the door of the cave 

 and let out the warm south 

 wind, Notos, to bring warmth 

 and rain to make the grass grow and the flowers bloom; but when he 

 was angry he let out old Boreas, the north wind, who frosted the windows 

 and covered the land with snow and the rivers with ice. 



They often tried to gain the favor of Aeolus, the keeper of the winds, 

 by offering him gifts of corn, wine, and fruits. They finally thought it 

 would please Aeolus to have a temple of his own where he could receive 

 their gifts, and so they built the temple of the winds at Athens. This 

 temple was built with eight sides, one side facing each of the eight winds, 

 and on each side was carved in the stone a human figure, representing 

 the kind of weather that the wind from that particular direction brought 

 to Athens. 



In the figures near the top of the temple, Boreas, the cold north wind, 

 is represented by the figure of an old man wearing a thick mantle with 

 high buskins (boots), and blowing on a "weathered horn." 



^^^i^ 



\''' 



Tower of the winds in Athens 



