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propylaeum

 
Dictionary: prop·y·lae·um   (prŏp'ə-lē'əm, prō'pə-) pronunciation
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n., pl., -lae·a (-lē'ə).
An entrance or vestibule to a temple or group of buildings. Also called propylon.

[Latin, from Greek propulaion : pro-, before; see pro-2 + pulē, gate.]


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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: propylaeum
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In ancient Greek architecture, a structure forming an entrance or gateway to a sacred enclosure, usually consisting, at the least, of a porch supported by columns both outside and within the actual gate. The term is often used in the plural (propylaea). The most famous example is the great Propylaea designed by Mnesicles for the Athenian Acropolis. The name propylaea was also applied to various 18th – 19th-century Neoclassical and Romantic monumental gateways.

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Architecture: propylaeum
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1. The monumental gateway to a sacred enclosure.
2. (pl., cap. Propylaea) Particularly, the elaborate gateway to the Acropolis in Athens.

propylaea, 2

 
Columbia Encyclopedia: propylaeum
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propylaeum (prŏpĭlē'əm), in Greek architecture, a monumental entrance to a sacred enclosure, group of buildings, or citadel. A roofed passage terminated by a row of columns at each end formed the usual type. Known examples include those at Athens, Olympia, Eleusis, and Priene. The most splendid example are the Propylaea at Athens upon the west end of the Acropolis; their restored remains still stand. Of Pentelic marble, they were built (437-432 B.C.) at the command of Pericles by the architect Mnesicles.

 
 
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propylon
Vasily Petrovich Stasov (architecture)
Karl Christoph Joachim Haller, Freiherr von Hallerstein (architecture)

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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.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Architecture. McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/.  Read more

 

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