Among the huge number of architectural monuments of ancient Greece, the famous Tower of the Winds, or the Clock Tower of Andronicus of Kyrrhus (Athenians often call the tower simply "aeridis", which means "wind" in Greek), located on the territory of the Roman Agora in Athens, undoubtedly deserves special attention. It is traditionally believed that the tower was built in the middle of the 1st century BC by the famous Greek astronomer Andronicus of Kyrrhus, although scientists still do not rule out that the structure was erected somewhat earlier, possibly in the 2nd century BC.
The Tower of the Winds is an impressive octagonal structure made of Pentelikon marble with a height of about 12 metres and a diameter of about 8 metres. In the ancient period, the tower was crowned by a weather vane in the form of Triton, indicating the direction of the wind. Unfortunately, the weather vane has not survived to this day, but on the frieze girdling the upper part of the tower one can still see images of the eight divine winds of Greek mythology - Boreas, Kekias, Apeliot, Evra, Notus, Lipsus, Zephyrus and Skiron. Under the figures of the deities there was a sundial, and inside the tower there was a water clock or the so-called klepsydra, the water to which was supplied from the Acropolis.
In the early Christian period, the Tower of the Winds was used as a church bell tower, and during the Turkish rule as a "tekke", an abode for dervishes. By the 19th century, when the Archaeological Society of Athens began studying this ancient monument, the tower was almost half covered with earth.
Among the most famous structures modelled on the famous Athenian tower are the Radcliffe Observatory in Oxford (18th century), the tower of the same name in Sebastopol (1849), the Carnaby Temple in East Yorkshire (1170) and the Temple of the Winds at the foot of Mount Stuart in Northern Ireland.
The tower was built in the 18th century.
