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Detail of the Horologion of Andronicus Kyrrhestos, with the Agoranomeion in the background. Archaeological Society at Athens © Η εν Αθήναις Αρχαιολογική Εταιρεία -
The Horologion of Andronicus Kyrrhestos, view of the interior Carl Siele, Γεράσιμος Σκιαδαρέσης Archaeological Society at Athens © Η εν Αθήναις Αρχαιολογική Εταιρεία -
Gathering of Muslims at the Tower of the Winds Edward Dodwell Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation © Ίδρυμα Αικατερίνης Λασκαρίδη -
Dance of the Dervishes in the Tower of the Winds Edward Dodwell Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation © Ίδρυμα Αικατερίνης Λασκαρίδη -
Fethiye mosque and the Horologion of Andronicus Kyrrhestos Eugène Peytier Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation © Ίδρυμα Αικατερίνης Λασκαρίδη -
The Horologion of Andronicus Kyrrhestos Nicholas Revett The British Museum © The Trustees of the British Museum -
Marble Corinthian capital of the "Tower of the Winds" type, found at the Horologion of Andronikos Kyrrhestes The British Museum © The Trustees of the British Museum -
The Tower of the Winds Sir William Gell The British Museum © The Trustees of the British Museum -
Restored elevation of the Tower of the Winds Sebastiano Ittar, Feodor Iwanowitsch Kalmück The British Museum © The Trustees of the British Museum
At the eastern end of the Roman Agora and at a higher elevation, stands today an octagonal tower known as the Horologion (Clock Tower) of Kyrrhestos or Tower of the Winds. The monument, which served as a clock and weather station, was constructed by the astronomer and architect Andronikos from Kyrrhus in Macedonia. While most scholars date its construction to the mid-1st century BCE, according to more recent research it was built after the middle of the 2nd century BCE.
The octagonal tower, made of Pentelic marble, rests on a three-stepped limestone base, and its total height is approximately 14 metres. Each side is 3.2 metres long and at the top of its conical roof, there was a brass Triton – no longer extant – that served as a weathervane. The Triton, as he turned according to the direction of the winds, showed the relief figures, personifications of the winds, which had been carved on the upper part of the monument. Each figure bears its characteristic symbol and their names are inscribed under the eaves of the roof: Boreas (North wind), Skiron (Northwest wind), Zephyr (West wind), Lips (Southwest wind), Notos (South wind), Evros (Southeast wind), Apeliotis (East wind) and Kaikias (Northeast wind). On the northwest and northeast sides of the building there are two Corinthian propylaea and on the southern side a cylindrical structure had been incorporated.
Below the representations of the winds, there are engraved rays that belonged to solar clock systems. At the points where the rays converge, metal rods would have been positioned, in order for their shadows to fall on the rays. Thus, by observing the shadows cast by the sun on the rays, people could calculate the time. For cloudy days or at night, a hydraulic clock was built inside the tower that operated using hydrostatic pressure.
The Horologion of Kyrrhestos, directly connected to the Roman Agora, assisted merchants to determine the direction of the winds so that they could calculate when their goods would reach their destination or, respectively, resellers could consult it for the time of arrival of the goods at the port of Piraeus. The designation “Tower of the Winds” is attributed to the Roman architect Vitruvius.
The Tower of Winds was not destroyed by the raids of the Heruli (267 CE) or Alaric (396 CE) in Athens. However, its use during these early Christian centuries is not known. In the 5th century, the Tower of Winds was converted into a church or baptistery and a cemetery developed to its northeast. Cyriacus of Ancona, a Renaissance traveller and antiquarian, refers to the monument as the temple of Aeolus. Finally, during the Ottoman occupation, the building was used as a tekke (a place for the gathering of dervishes) for the Mevlevi order.
