The Tower of the Winds in Athens

The Tower of the Winds has stood in the shadow of the Acropolis in Athens for more than 2,100 years. This tall octagonal building, one of the best preserved monuments from the classical period, was built by the architect-astronomer Andronikos of Kyrrhos as a horologion for keeping time. Almost all its features have been attributed to the period of construction by the Greeks or renovations made by the Romans. The building, however, was in use almost continuously for two millennia, which includes Byzantine and Ottoman phases. Pamela Webb, a classical archaeologist, examines the Tower throughout its entire functional existence. A series of appendices helps to put the Tower in broader context for the post-classical periods. Winner of the 2016 John Frederick Lewis Award. Full-color illus.