Horologion (Athens, Greece) : Close frontal view of the west wind Zephyros, who is a semi-naked youth scattering flowers

Creator:

Andronikos of Kyrrhos, fl. ca. 100-50 BCE

Published/Created:

Athens, Periféreia Protevoúsis, Greece
ca. 50 BCE

Date Depicted:

10/15/1997
8000 BC - 499 AD

Materials:

marble

Notes:

Andronikos of Kyrrhos was a Greek architect and astronomer. He is associated with a single building, the Tower of the Winds (Horologion) on the edge of the Roman agora in Athens, of which he was named the architect by Vitruvius (On Architecture I.vi.4). This elegant and ingenious small marble octagonal building was designed externally as a monumental sundial and weather-vane, with a representation of each of the eight winds carved on the sides of the octagon; at the apex of the roof was a bronze Triton that acted as a weathercock. The interior of the building contained a complicated waterclock; apart from the Triton and the clock, the building is well preserved. The date of the Tower of the Winds, and hence of Andronikos, is uncertain. The tower has usually been dated to the mid-1st century BCE, connecting its construction with that of the Roman agora and relying on the fact that the tower was mentioned by Varro (On Agriculture III.v.17) and Vitruvius, writing just after the middle of the century.

Variant Titles:

Tower of the Winds

Topics:

Architecture -- Greece -- (YVRC)

Period/Style:

Hellenistic

Culture:

Greek (ancient)

Accession Number:

1A3-G-A-TW-C5

Genre:

architecture (AAT)
timepieces: sundials (AAT)
towers (AAT)
water clocks (AAT)

Format:

Image

Content Type:

Furnishings & Decorative Arts
Sculptures, Models, & Architecture
Tools, Equipment & Instruments

Rights:

Copyright Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc
The use of this image may be subject to the copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) or to site license or other rights management terms and conditions. The person using the image is liable for any infringement.

Access Restrictions:

Yale Community Only

Digital:

architectural exteriors; deities; mythology (Classical); Timekeeping carving ; construction buildings; research buildings; observatories

Source Creator:

Gilchrist, Scott

Source Title:

Archivision Module Two

Source Created:

2878 Chamonix, Montreal QC
Archivision, Inc.
10/15/1997

Source Note:

Purchase, Visual Resources Collection, May, 2011; photographer Scott Gilchrist

Yale Collection:

Visual Resources Collection

Digital Collection:

Visual Resources Collection

Local Record Number:

4152

OID:

10169162

PID:

digcoll:1825211