Tourist Attraction in Athens:
Tower of the Winds

The Tower of the Winds, octagonal Pentelico marble, located in the Roman Agora of Athens. The builder is presumably Cyrus Andronicus, who would have built it in 50 BC; but according to other sources it would have been realized in the second century BC, before the remainder of the forum. The structure is 12 meters high and has a diameter of about 8 meters. In the past, the roof was surmounted by a Triton windshield windshield, indicating the direction of the wind. Below a frame adorned with lion heads, with gutter function, runs the famous frieze depicting the eight deities of the winds: Borea (North), Kaikias (Nort estE), Euro (East), Apeliote (South East), Noto (Astreo ) (South), Lips (South West), Zefiro (West), and Skiron (North West). The Winds are depicted in flight, with wings spread, bearing fruit, horns, or water bouquets as symbolic gifts of the season in which they spin. At a later time, when the tower changed function, they were added under the nine meridian frieze to be able to check the sunshine every season. Inside there was also a hydraulic watch powered by the source Klepsidra, located on the Acropolis. The tower had two entrances with a covered porch that allowed public access. The internal clock has only the basin and the drainage channel of the water. In the early Christian period the building was used as a bell tower for a Byzantine church and then as a minaret from the Turks. It was partially buried underground until the nineteenth century, when it was completely excavated and restored by the Archaeological Society of Athens.

Attractions in Athens