It is sometimes believed that, in very remote ages, mankind possessed no names for the winds,[1714] because as they had not yet addicted themselves to navigation, it concerned them very little to observe how or which way they blew. Possibly, however, we somewhat exaggerate the heedlessness and ignorance of the remoter generations of men who must have been singularly obtuse in their intellect if they could not tell whether the wind blew up or down a valley, or on the back or front of their houses, and had failed to designate the several currents of the atmosphere by distinct appellations, whereby to distinguish them when they had occasion to speak of their effects. About the period of the Trojan war some inventive genius sprang up who gave a name to the north and the south winds, and already in the time of Homer the Greeks had contrived to have four points to their compass, at least the poet speaks but of the four cardinal winds, Boreas, the north; Euros, the east; Notos, the south, and Zephyros, the west. To these other four were afterwards added, and at the same time some change was introduced into the ancient nomenclature, the north-east was called Cæcias;[1715] the south-east, Euros; the name of the east being changed to Apeliotes; the south-west, Libs; the north-west, Argestes, and sometimes Olympias,[1716] or Iapyx, or Sciron; which, however, according to Pliny differed from the Argestes, and was peculiar to Athens. These are the winds represented on the tower of Andronicos Cyrrhestes at Athens, spoken of by Varro, Vitruvius,[1717] and many modern travellers. Pliny,[1718] Galen, and Aulus Gellius differ from Aristotle in confining the name of Aparctias to the north wind, and giving that of Boreas to the north-east, or Aquilo of the Romans.[1719] ----- Footnote 1714: See Gœttling’s note on v. 379, of Hesiod’s Theogon. p. 38, seq. Footnote 1715: Called also Ἑλλησποντίας, by Aristot. Probl. xxvi. 58. Plin. ii. 46. Cf. Aristoph. Eq. 435. Footnote 1716: Cf. Theoph. Caus. Plant. v. 2. 5. Hist. Plant. iv. 14. 11. Footnote 1717: l. i. c. 6. Footnote 1718: Nat. Hist. ii. 46. Footnote 1719: See further in Coray, Disc. Prelim. ad Hippoc. § 61. -----