The Winds as Directional Markers in Byzantium: Textual and Figurative Evidence

This paper presents the only study to date of the use of the cardinal points in Byzantium and of the wind diagram as preserved in Byzantine manuscripts. We begin with literary evidence on the winds as directional markers, introducing the distinction between winds as κέντρα or cardinal points and as sections in the horizon, the first conception coming from Aristotle, and the second from the field of astronomical geography and ethnography. We then examine the Aristotelian tradition concerning the cardinal points and describe the structure, orientation, and layout of wind diagrams in order to contextualise them and establish their chronological evolution.