Frankish Tower (Acropolis of Athens)

The Frankish Tower was a medieval tower built on the Acropolis of Athens by the Franks as part of the palace of the Dukes of Athens. It was demolished by the Greek authorities in 1874.

Construction of the tower is usually ascribed to the Acciaioli family, who ruled Athens between 1388 and its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1458, since it was they who converted the Propylaea complex into a palace. However, according to medievalist Peter Lock, the tower "might equally be ascribed" to the first dynasty of Frankish dukes of Athens, the 13th-century de la Roche, who also had a residence on the site, of which no details are known.

The tower was situated on the northeast corner of the Acropolis, next to the Propylaea, but probably did not communicate directly with them, as paintings and photographs from the 19th century show the entrance above ground, on the tower's eastern face at the second floor level, some 6 m above the architrave of the Propylaea. The tower was built of stone from the quarries of Penteli and Piraeus, making heavy use of material from the ancient buildings of the Acropolis, and was square in shape, 28.5 ft long and 25.5 ft wide, and its walls had a thickness of 5.75 ft at their base. With a height of 85 ft, its top, accessible through a wooden staircase, held a commanding view over the central plain of Attica and the surrounding mountains. High up, on the north side of the tower, was a little square turret projecting from the wall, on top of which beacon-fires could be kindled which would be visible as far as the Acrocorinth in the Peloponnese.

The tower was dismantled in 1874.