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.
Kaikias was the Greek deity of the north-east wind. He is shown as a bearded man with a shield full of hailstones, and his name derives from the Greek κακíα, meaning 'badness' or 'evil'.
1 comment
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.
Kaikias was the Greek deity of the north-east wind. He is shown as a bearded man with a shield full of hailstones, and his name derives from the Greek κακíα, meaning 'badness' or 'evil'.
www.gtc.ox.ac.uk/about/history/radcliffe-observatory