Tower of the Winds

The Horologion of Andronikos Kyrristos, also known as the Winds Tower or the Tower of the Winds, one of the most charming archaeological monuments of Athens, is located in the area of the Roman Agora of Athens in the Plaka area. It is considered to be the first meteorological station in the world. It was built entirely of Pentelic marble in the first half of the 1st century BC by the Greek astronomer from Kyrros of Macedonia (or Macedonian Syria) Andronikos the Kyrrhestes (or Kyrristos) and has an octagonal shape.

Its height is twelve meters and each side is 3 m. and 20 cm long. There are two entrances on the northeast and northwest sides respectively, where a propyl with two columns opposite each other used to stand, while on the south side there is an additional semi-cylindrical lower building. The conical tiled roof was decorated with a brazen triton, which served as a wind vane. The most impressive element of the monument, however, is undoubtedly the eight carved feathered winds on each side of the metopes, bearing their own symbol and name, which are: Boreas (N), Kaikias (NE), Eurus (E), Apeliotes (SE), Notus (S), Lips (SW), Zephyrus (W) and Skiron (NW). The monument fascinated travelers and historians both for its construction and for its scientific use.

They called it the Tower of the Winds or the Temple of Aeolus, and they described it in great detail, classifying it in two architectural styles: its exterior, due to the columns on the two propylaea, in the Corinthian style, while its interior is in the Doric style. Apart from a meteorological station, it was also a clock tower, as there were sundials and on cloudy days a hydraulic clock was in operation. It is thought that the constructor of the monument combined the inventions of earlier clock constructors, such as Archimedes, Ctesibius and Philon.

During the early Christian era, it was converted into a church or baptistery of a neighboring church, while in the area outside the north-eastern entrance there was a Christian cemetery. In the 15th century the monument was referred to as the Temple of Aeolus and in an anonymous traveler’s description as a church. In the 18th century it was used as a tekkes (Muslim monastery) of the Dervishes, who according to one version saved it from being stripped and transported to Great Britain by Lord Elgin.

The Temple of the Winds was fully excavated by the Greek Archaeological Society in the 19th century and the surrounding area was named after it (“Aerides” meaning winds), which remains one of the most picturesque spots in the historic centre of Athens.