The Tower of the Winds, Athens, Greece (50 B.C.)

ARCH 161- M21

Zhuan Liang

                                              Plan of Tower of the Wind                            Section of Tower of the Wind

                                         Elevation of Tower of the Wind                                                 Tower of the Wind

               The Tower of the Winds is built around 50 B.C. in Plaka, Athens, Greece. It was built by a Greek astronomer Andronicus of Cyrrhus who chose to use Pentelic marble.(1) Pentelic marble is quarried from Penteli mountains located north of Athens. This material has a white crystalline surface that contributes to the delicate look of glass, but it has a long life span. It is well used by many Greek sculptors such as Phidias and Praxiteles.(2) The Tower of the Winds stands 12 meters in height (40 feet) and 8 meters in diameter (26 feet). It takes on an octagonal shape pointing to the eight directions of a compass. (3)

 

                             The Tower of the Wind is at center of market                                          The eight winds

              Since the Tower of the Winds is located in the center of a prosperous trade market, it is used for many purposes during the ancient times. It was used to keep track of time and tell time for all citizens, traders and foreigners based on the position of the sun. For such use, they incorporated two systems, a water clock in the interior and a sundial. The water clock or clepsydra, they used the inflow method, water flows in from a nearby stream on top of the Acropolis to help estimate the time of day.(1) Another use of The Tower of the Winds is to forecast the weather and tell the direction of the wind with a wind wane in the shape of Triton using his staff to point to the direction the wind blows.(4) The frieze of the structure contains the eight wind deities, each side classify to a specific wind deity. They include the four major winds: the north wind, Boreas, the south wind, Notos, the east wind, Apeliotes and the west wind, Zephyrus. The four minor winds are: the north east wind, Kaikias, the south east wind, Euros, the south west wind, Lips and the north west wind, Skiron. These winds can be personalized in the details of their sculpture to indicate the type of wind they bring. For example, Boreas would be shown wearing a heavy cloak since the north wind is cold.(3) The Tower of the Winds help traders estimate their shipments’ arrival and help navigators forecast the best weather to set sail etc.

                                          Water clock                                                   Sundial

              Throughout time, The Tower of the Winds was completely buried under ground, but between 1837- 1845 the Greek Archaeological Society was able to excavate and revive the structure. Restorations were made, but throughout the years the Tower of the Winds take on other purposes. For example, during the Christian period, it was transformed into a bell tower for a Byzantine church. Then, when the Ottomans took over Athens, the tower was used as a tekke, a place of spiritual retreat and character formation.(3) This structure was so well constructed that it inspired  many later architecture such as the 18^th century Radcliffe Observatory in Oxford, England or the tower in Sevastopol, Crimea built in 1849. Many still visit today and it still continues to inspire many future architects. 

                                                                    Transformed into a tekke

1. "Tower of the Winds in Athens - Greeka.com." Greeka. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2016.

2.  "Tower of Winds." Tower of the Winds. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2016.

3. @ancientorigins. "The Ingenious Invention of the Tower of the Winds." Ancient Origins. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2016.

4. "The Tower of the Winds." The Tower of the Winds. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2016.

5. "A Turkish Description of the Tower of the Winds" Pierre A. MacKay American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 73, No. 4, (Oct., 2016), pp. 468-469.