Plan of ancient Greek temple
Top :1.distyle in antis 2.amphidistyle in antis 3. Tholos 4. Prostyle tetrastyle 5. Amphiprostyle tetrastyle bottom 6. Dipteral octastyle 7. Peripteral hexastyle 8. Pseudoperipteral hexastyle 9. Pseudodipteral octastyle
Most Ancient Greek temples were rectangular, and were approximately twice as long as they were wide, with some notable exceptions such as the enormous Temple of Zeus Olympus in Athens with a length of nearly 2 1/2 times its width. The majority of Temples were small, being 30-100 feet long, while a few were large, being over 300 feet long and 150 feet wide. The iconic Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis occupies a midpoint at 235 feet long by 109 feet wide. A number of surviving temple-like structures are circular, and are referred to as tholos.
The temple rises from a stepped base or "stylobate", which elevated the structure above the ground on which it stood. Early examples, such as the Temple of Zeus at Olympus, have two steps, but the majority,
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like the Parthenon, have three, with the exceptional example of the Temple of Apollo at Didyma having six.
The core of the building is a masonry-built "naos" within which was a cella, a windowless room which housed the statue of the god. The cella generally had a porch or "pronaos" before it, and perhaps a second chamber or "antenaos" serving as a treasury or repository for trophies and gifts. The chambers were lit by a single large doorway, fitted with a wrought iron grill. Some rooms appear to have been illuminated by skylights.
On the stylobate, often completely surrounding the naos, stood rows of columns. Each temple was defined as being of a particular type, with two terms: one describing the number of columns across the entrance front, and the other defining their distribution.