Tower of the Winds in Athens

This octagonal tower built of Pentelic marble is characterised by a conical roof, an annex plus two Corinthian porches. Each of its eight sides includes a relief representing a certain mythical wind. The allegorical figures invariably carry the appropriate attributes of each certain wind, with an inscription of its name. Formerly, the external walls also included sundials, while the tower contained an intricate water clock. Erected in the early 1st Century BC, it was the work of the astronomer Andronicus.

The Tower of the Winds represents eight winds: Boreas of the North, Kaikias of the North-East, Apeliotes of the East, Euros of the South-East, Notos of the South, Lips of the South-West, Zephyros of the West and Skiron of the North-West. During the Christian period, the tower was transformed into a church and received a Christian cemetery. Until the 18th Century it had various uses, but it was continuously falling into decay. The Greek Archaeological Society conducted excavations on the site during the first half of the 19th Century, unearthing the tower and restoring it in the years 1916 – 19.