Torre dei Venti
أثينا
The Tower of the Winds is an eight-sided marble tower from the first century BC. A wind is carved on each face: it is considered the world's first weather station.
A marble laboratory
The tower was designed by the astronomer Andronicus in the first century BC. It helped people understand time: the weather in the sky and the hours of the day.
Inside was a water machine for measuring time. On top turned a bronze weathervane that showed the wind of the moment.
The eight winds
Each side faces one direction. High up, a winged figure represents the wind that blows from there, with its name carved. There are winds of the north and south, of the east and west.
Some winds are young, others old and bearded. They carry in their hands the gifts of their season.
Beside the Roman market
The tower closed off the east side of the market of Roman times. The market was paid for with gifts from Julius Caesar and the emperor Augustus.
For centuries earth covered the tower up to halfway. It was brought back to light in the 1800s and is one of the best-preserved ancient monuments in the city. In Ottoman times it was a place of prayer for a brotherhood of dervishes.
