Friday, January 28, 2011

The Tower of the Winds



Measurements: 6 and 7 October 2002


The Horologion of Andronikos

The Horologion of Andronikos (Tower of the Winds) is an octagonal building made of white marble. It was built by the astronomer Andronikos from the city Kyrrhos of Macedonia around 100 BC and is situated in Plaka at the eastern end of the Roman Agora. Inside there was a cistern that was used as a clepsydra (water clock). The water was coming from the northern slope of the Acropolis through a pipe. On the outside it was decorated with a frieze of eight men in relief, representing the winds that blow from every direction, and a rotating bronze Triton on the top that showed this direction. The men were carved from left to right.

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