Tower of the Winds, Radcliffe Observatory, Oxford:
The figures of the Eight Winds appeared on the original Tower of the Winds in Athens and were used by the sculptor John Bacon (1740-99) as the basis for his designs for the flying figures round the top of the stonework of the Observatory. Bacon also designed the two statues (in cast iron) of Atlas and Hercules who support the globe on the roof.
Zephyros was the Greek god of the west wind. The gentlest of the winds, Zephyrus is known as the fructifying wind, the messenger of spring, with flowers signifying a mild light breeze.
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Isisbridge said:
The figures of the Eight Winds appeared on the original Tower of the Winds in Athens and were used by the sculptor John Bacon (1740-99) as the basis for his designs for the flying figures round the top of the stonework of the Observatory. Bacon also designed the two statues (in cast iron) of Atlas and Hercules who support the globe on the roof.
Zephyros was the Greek god of the west wind. The gentlest of the winds, Zephyrus is known as the fructifying wind, the messenger of spring, with flowers signifying a mild light breeze.
www.gtc.ox.ac.uk/about/history/radcliffe-observatory