megaron
American Heritage Dictionary:
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meg·a·ron
(mĕg'ə-rŏn') 
n., pl., -a·ra (-ər-ə).
The main hall or central room of a palace or house, especially of Mycenaean Greece, having a pillared porch and a more or less central hearth.
n., pl., -a·ra (-ər-ə).
The main hall or central room of a palace or house, especially of Mycenaean Greece, having a pillared porch and a more or less central hearth.
[Greek.]
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia:
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megaron
In ancient Greece and the Middle East, an architectural form consisting of a porch, vestibule, and large hall with a central hearth. The megaron was found in all Mycenaean palaces and also in houses. It probably originated in the Middle East, later attaining the uniquely Aegean aspect of the open porch supported by columns.
For more information on megaron, visit Britannica.com.
1. In many Greek temples, a space divided off and sometimes subterranean, where only the priest was allowed to enter.
2. The great central hall of a palace.
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(pl. megara) [MC]
Form of tripartite rectangular hall or building particularly associated with Mycenaean citadels, in which a rectangular room is approached through a forecourt and vestibule forming an extension of one end. The principal room commonly contained a central hearth surrounded by four columns and a dais to one side.
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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Megaron
This article is about Grecian palace complexes. For the Megaron Mousikis, see Athens Concert Hall.
The megaron (plural megara) (Greek: μέγαρον) is the great hall of the Grecian palace complexes. It was a rectangular hall, fronted by an open, two-columned porch, and a more or less central, open hearth vented though an oculus in the roof above it and surrounded by four columns. It is the architectural predecessor of the classical Greek temple. It was used for poetry, feasts, worship, sacrifice, formal royal functions, councils, and is said to be where guests of the king would stay during their visits. Originally it was very colorful — made with the Minoan architectural order, the insides made of fired brick and a wooden roof supported on beams. The rooftop was tiled with ceramic and terracotta tiles.
In the theory of architecture, the Megaron is considered to be the earliest architectural act. It is the earliest intervention that transforms utilitarian buildings into buildings with architectural qualities. The Megaron creates the notion of special approach and axis and thus is considered to be the predecessor of all orders in architectural theory.
A famous megaron is in the large reception hall of the king in the palace of Tiryns, the main room of which had a throne placed against the right wall and a central hearth bordered by four Minoan-style wooden columns that served as supports for the roof.
The megaron of Odysseus is well described in the Odyssey.
- Biers, William R. 1987. The Archaeology of Greece: An Introduction. (Ithaca: Cornell University Press)
- Klein, Christopher P. (Editor in Chief) Gardner's Art Through the Ages. Tenth edition. Harcourt Brace (1996). ISBN 0-15-501141-3
- Vermeule, Emily, 1972. Greece in the Bronze Age (Chicago: University of Chicago Press).
- Another of Homer's works is The Iliad, which is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters.
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American Heritage Dictionary
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 1994-2012 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture & Construction
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology. Copyright © 2002, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
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Mentioned in
Year 2100 bce
(in Science & Technology)
Tiryns
(in archaeology)
Mycenaean
(in archaeology)
Troy
(in archaeology)
Agraphon, for soprano, percussion & string orchestra
(Classical Work)
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