''The Situations and Names of Winds'' ( grc-gre, Περὶ θέσεως ἀνέμων; la, Ventorum Situs) is a spurious fragment traditionally attributed to
Aristotle. The brief text lists winds blowing from twelve different directions and their alternative names used in different places. According to the manuscript version of the work, ''The Situations and Names of Winds'' is an extract from a larger work entitled ''On Signs'' (''De Signis'')
[Ross (1995:7).] likely written by a
pseudo-Aristotle of the
peripatetic school. ''Situations'' is notable as an ancient text which reproduces the concepts of the
Anemoi
In ancient Greek religion and myth, the Anemoi (Greek: , 'Winds') were wind gods who were each ascribed a cardinal direction from which their respective winds came (see Classical compass winds), and were each associated with various seasons an ...
or "wind gods" and
classical compass winds, both of which have been historical components of
western culture.
Synopsis
''Situations'' is the shortest piece traditionally attributed to Aristotle as part of the
Corpus Aristotelicum
The Corpus Aristotelicum is the collection of Aristotle's works that have survived from antiquity through medieval manuscript transmission. These texts, as opposed to Aristotle's works that were lost or intentionally destroyed, are technical ph ...
, occupying a single two-column page (973) in
Bekker's standard reference edition of Aristotle's complete works.
The twelve winds, described in order in the text, are:
*
Boreas (N)
* Meses (NNE)
* Caecias (NE)
* Apeliotes (E)
* Eurus (SE)
* Orthonotus (SSE)
*
Notus
In ancient Greek religion and myth, the Anemoi (Greek: , 'Winds') were wind gods who were each ascribed a cardinal direction from which their respective winds came (see Classical compass winds), and were each associated with various seasons and ...
(S)
*
Leuconotus (SSW)
* Lips (SW)
*
Zephyrus (W)
* Iapyx (NW)
* Thracias (NNW)
In addition to these primary names, the document also gives partial information on other traditional names for the same winds, and geographic associations tied to various places.
Although the document usually provides geographic context as opposed to cardinal directions, it is clear by comparing its scheme to other classical accounts that the listing starts in the north, and proceeds clockwise. In particular, the scheme presented in ''Situations'' is very similar to, but distinct from, the one given by Aristotle in his authentic text, ''
Meteorology''.
[ Book II, Chapter 6. Bekker number 363a-365a.] A significant difference between the two texts is that ''Situations'' introduces the names Orthonotus and Leuconotus for the two southerly winds not treated in ''Meteorology''. For another treatment of the text, see the "Theophrastus" section in the classical compass winds article, listed below.
See also
*
Bekker numbering
*
Classical compass winds (Theophrastus)
*
Classical compass winds (Aristotle)
*
Corpus Aristotelicum
The Corpus Aristotelicum is the collection of Aristotle's works that have survived from antiquity through medieval manuscript transmission. These texts, as opposed to Aristotle's works that were lost or intentionally destroyed, are technical ph ...
*
Meteorology (Aristotle)
''Meteorology'' (Greek: ; Latin: ''Meteorologica'' or ''Meteora'') is a treatise by Aristotle. The text discusses what Aristotle believed to have been all the affections common to air and water, and the kinds and parts of the earth and the affect ...
Notes
References
* Ross, David (1995). ''Aristotle''.
Routledge.
External links
Archive.orgnavigate to page 973 for Bekker's presentation of the Greek.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Situations and Names of Winds
Works by Aristotle