On the Canton-Milton line, on top of Great Blue Hill, is the Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory, which has, inside, mounted in the gift shop, copies of figures representing the eight winds of Greece.
The observatory is an-odd shaped structure that has a cylindrical tower. The public entrance is around to the right of the tower. It is open most weekends late winter to late fall. Check the web site for details. There is a small fee for the tour, but you don't need to go on the tour to see these figures. They are located in the gift shop, two in each corner, just below the ceiling. Each is about four feet long and two feet high. Figures at each corner face out from it. The figures are:
Boreas - the north wind, depicted as an old man holding a conch shell.
Kaikias - the northeast wind, a man well clothed with a shield half full of hailstones
Apheliotes (blowing from the sun) - the east wind, a young man who bears the harvest
Euros - the southeast wind
Norros - the south wind, a young man bearing an emptied water jar
Lips - the southwest wind (which includes the strong and hot wind, sirocco), a man bearing the piece of a ship.
Zephyros - the west wind, as a young man with flowers on his skirt
Skiron - the northwest wind, an old man warmly clothed, holding a vase.
There is a copy of a professional article that provides a more indepth description of the figures in the gift shop.
The article also describes that these are copies of the ones found on a tower in Athens, Greece, which still stands. The tower was built by Andronicus Cyrrhestes of Athens sometime around 100 BC - 37 BC. It's purpose was to tell the time and day, and the direction of the wind. At one time, it had a bronze figure that changed direction with the wind direction. A Wikipedia article makes the claim that it is the first instance of a weather vane.
One difference between the original and copies is that in the originals, all figures have the figures reclined from left to right (facing the sculpture), while half of them at Blue Hill lie in the other direction.
Source:
Wikipedia (Andronicus of Cyrrhestes):
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