- propylaeum
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/prop'euh lee"euhm/, n., pl. propylaea /-lee"euh/.Often, propylaea. a vestibule or entrance to a temple area or other enclosure, esp. when elaborate or of architectural importance.Also, propylon.[1700-10; < L < Gk propýlaion gateway, n. use of neut. of propýlaios before the gate, equiv. to pro- PRO-2 + pýl(e) gate + -aios adj. suffix]
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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.* * *
in ancient Greek architecture, porch or gatehouse at the entrance of a sacred enclosure, usually consisting of at least a porch supported by columns both without and within the actual gate. The most famous propylaeum is the one designed by Mnesicles as the great entrance hall of the Athenian Acropolis (begun in 437 BC).The name propylaea is also applied to various monumental gateways, Neoclassical and Romantic in style, built in the late 18th and 19th centuries. They include the Propyläen of Munich (1862) and Berlin's Brandenburg Gate (1784).* * *
Universalium. 2010.
