This monument has the few names. Athenians call the tower “Aerides” which translated as the “winds”. Often the tower called as the Temple of Aeolus (Aeolus is a god of winds in the Greek mythology). But official name of the monument is a “Watch of the Kirrist” because the tower has been built in the 1 century BC by the astronomer Andronicus from the Kirrist.
In the ancient times inside the tower was the hydraulic watch which worked from the water which is flowed from Acropolis.
All sides of the tower adorned by the friezes dedicated to the winds. Under the friezes there is sundial and the tower in the ancient time served as the watch. At dark time clepsydra used in place of sundial and that helped for the continuous time measurement in Athens.
Christians converted the tower into the church and I think that this saved the building from the destruction. Also it’s worth mentioning that in the Middle Ages was belief that the Tower of the Wind is the shrine of the Alexander the Great. Of course, it was the myth without any connection with reality.
The tower had very interesting purpose in the times of the Ottomans Empire. It was the residence of the special Turkish order called the “dervishes”. Of course, in our days, you can’t find any vestiges of this. Now it’s entirely ancient construction.
During the centuries of its existence the tower was submerged deeply into the ground. In the middle of the 19 century the tower has been cleaned and excavation of the Tower began under the supervision of the famous Greek Archaeologist Anastasios Orlandos.
