We have walked past the Tower of the Winds many times while in Athens, Greece. This year during our September 2025 trip, we decided to explore this remarkable site in more detail. We arrived in Athens on Sept 3, 2025 and this quick tour put us in the Ancient Athens mood. We did this as a self-guided tour.
Location
The Tower of the Winds is easy to find in Athens, it is near the Acropolis, and also close to the Agora.
About the Tower of the Winds
This octagonal tower made of Pantelic marble is located in the Roman Forum area of Athens. Around the top of this tower are eight panels, one on each side of the octagon. Each panel faces the direction in which the wind blows and each represents one of the gods of the wind. At one time, there was a statue of a Triton on top of the tower which held a weather vane. Although the construction date of this tower is unknown, it was already completed by 50 BC. Its continuous use for many different purposes shows this tower has withstood the test of time. It is the only horologium (clock tower) that is still standing from this time period.
The Purpose of the Tower of the Wind
The purpose of the Tower of the Winds was to tell time with both a sundial and also a water clock. In addition, the weather vane, which Greeks invented, told the direction of the wind.
The Sundial
The sundial which is read by a multiple rods on the tower is rudimentary but innovative for those times. The rods cast their shadow on marked straight lines which are on each side of the tower, telling the time. The tower also has curved lines. The shadow cast upon these lines indicate solstices and equinoxes. The curved lines on the top represent the summer and winter solstice. Whereas, the curved lines on the bottom inform of the spring or fall equinox. From my understanding, you need to be specifically trained on how to read the shadows accurately.
The Water Clock
The water clock is located inside the tower. It gives information on the time during the night or when the sun is not shining. This hydraulic clock used a continuous supply of water, flowing downhill from a large water tank at the Acropolis. Management of the water was a well-thought out system The water flowed into a tank which had a float to regulate the data. The float was connected to pulleys and counterweights. When the float rose to a certain level, it would cause a disc which would slowly turn a certain way thereby displaying the time. In addition, this water clock also informed what month and it was through a system with pegs showing the information.
The Gods of the Wind
The eight panels on each side of the octagon, the frieze, has life-sized sculpted figures of each of the wind gods. There are four primary wind gods Boreas, god of the North wind, think cold and storms; Euros, god of the East wind, brings rain and also a dry wind; Notus, god of the South wind, a wind of summer storms; and Zephyrus, god of the West wind, a gentle wind of spring.
There are also four lesser wind gods. Kaikias, god of the Northeast, associated with hail; Apeliotes, god of the Southeast, believed to bring refreshing rain for farmers; Skiron god of the Northwest, he represents winter coming; and Lips, god of the southwest who represents the power of the wind over the sea.
Conclusion
Personally, I found the Tower of the Winds to be fascinating and a very worthwhile site to see in Athens. The Tower is part of the Roman Forum so you will be able to visit it with your forum ticket. I posted the Tower separately since there is so much involved in this building. A special thanks to my husband who took most of these photos. You can read about the Roman Forum in my next post.
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You can check also out my other Athens posts by following these links!
Wheere to Eat in Plaka and Nearby
Where to Eat in Plaka and Nearby
The Panathenaic Stadium, September 2022
Tour the Temple of Poseidon, September 2021
Anafiotika, Athens, Greece, September 2019
Temple of Hephaestus and Ancient Agora, September 2019
Sunrise from Lycabettus Hill, October 2019
Sunrise From Philopappos Hill, September 2019
Arriving in Athens on our Anniversary, September 2019
The Acropolis and Parthenon, October 2018
A Rainy Day in Athens, September 2018
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An amazing invention, but will it fit on your wrist? Happy Thursday Lori. Allan
lol! I’m betting not! Have a good upcoming weekend!
Impressive feat of engineering back in the day! Today, we take counting time for granted, so it’s humbling to visit these sites and see how the concept of time-keeping came to be. Thanks for sharing!!
I thought it was pretty amazing. Just to think our watch can tell us so much more than that entire Rowe!
A public time block like this would be nice to find more often today?
It would be!