The
Tower of Winds or just Winds (as the Greeks unofficially call it) is
an octagonal 12 meter pentelic-marble tower in the Roman Agora in
Athens. It was built probably around 50 BC by Andronicus of Cyrrhus.
Below its frieze, we can see the eight wind deities; Boreas
(N), Kaikias (NE), Eurus (E), Apeliotes (SE), Notus (S), Livas (SW),
Zephyrus (W) and Skiron (NW). Each one is depicted
"flying" at its direction.
The
interesting thing about the tower is its multiple uses. It
was constructed as a sundial.
On a sunny day one could estimate time based on the position of the
sun. In the interior, there was a water
clock, like a clepsydra, working with water coming down
from the Rock of Acropolis (to estimate time on a
cloudy day or at night). A wind-wane
was also visible on the top of
the tower. Today we have a
Corinthian capital atop its roof which
possibly served as the base of the wind-wane. All
the above make the tower perhaps the oldest
weather station in the world.
During
Christian times in Athens, it became a bell tower for a church and
later, under Ottoman rule, a tekke used by dervishes. It was
excavated in the 19th
century by the Archaeological society of Athens. The tower, at that
time, was buried up to half its height. In the
summer of 2014, the Athens Ephorate of Antiquities began
conserving the structure; restoration work was completed in August
2016. Situated in one of the most picturesque
districts of Athens, the Tower catches immediately the eye of the
visitor and impresses with its unique history.
