A monopteros (

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

: , from: μόνος, 'only, single, alone', and , 'wing'), also called a monopteron or cyclostyle, is a circular

colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...

supporting a roof but without any walls.Curl, James Stevens (2006). ''Oxford Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture'', 2nd ed., OUP, Oxford and New York, p. 500. . Unlike a tholos (in its wider sense as a circular building), it does not have walls making a ''

cella In Classical architecture, a or naos () is the inner chamber of an ancient Greek or Roman temple. Its enclosure within walls has given rise to extended meanings: of a hermit's or monk's cell, and (since the 17th century) of a biological cell ...

'' or room inside. In

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

and especially

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

antiquity, the term could also be used for a tholos. In ancient times, monopteroi (Ancient Greek: ) served among other things as a form of

baldachin A baldachin, or baldaquin (from ), is a canopy of state typically placed over an altar or throne. It had its beginnings as a cloth canopy, but in other cases it is a sturdy, permanent Architecture, architectural feature, particularly over Alta ...

for a cult image. An example of this is the Monument of Lysicrates in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, albeit with the spaces between the columns being walled in, even in ancient times. The

Temple of Roma and Augustus The Temple of Roma (personification), Roma and Augustus was a monopteral circular Ionic order, Ionic temple built on the Acropolis of Athens , likely coincident with Augustus' second visit to Athens. The structure was axially aligned with the east ...

on the Athenian Acropolis is a monopteros from Roman times, with open spaces between the columns. Monopteroi were popular

garden features A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate both ...

in English- and French-style gardens, often given classical names such as "

muses In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

' temple". Many wells in

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

s and spa centres are covered by a monopteros. Many monopteroi have

staffage In painting, staffage () are the human and animal figures depicted in a scene, especially a landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or human-made features, often c ...

structures like a porticus placed in front of the monopteros. These also have only a decorative function, because they are not needed in order to provide an entrance to a temple that is open on all sides. Many monopteroi are described as rotundas due to their circular

floor plan In architecture and building engineering, a floor plan is a technical drawing to scale, showing a view from above, of the relationships between rooms, spaces, traffic patterns, and other physical features at one level of a structure. Dimensio ...

. The tholos also goes by that name. However, many monopteroi have square or polygonal plans, and these would not be described as rotundas. An example is the Muses' Temple with the muse,

Polyhymnia Polyhymnia (; ), alternatively Polymnia (Πολύμνια), is, in Greek mythology, the Muse of sacred poetry, sacred hymn, dance and eloquence, as well as agriculture and pantomime. Etymology Polyhymnia name comes from the Greek words "poly" ...

, in the grounds of Tiefurt House, that has a hexagonal floor plan.

Examples

File:Bayreuth-Hofgartenpavillon-2.jpg, The pavilion in the Court Garden of the New Palace,

Bayreuth Bayreuth ( or ; High Franconian German, Upper Franconian: Bareid, ) is a Town#Germany, town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtel Mountains. The town's roots date back to 11 ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

, Germany File:Munich, 2013 (10383018573).jpg, The monopteros in the

English Garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (, , , , ), is a style of "landscape" garden which emerged in England in the early 18th century, and spread across Europe, replacing the more formal ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, Germany File:Apollotempel Nymphenburg Muenchen-1.jpg, The Apollo Temple in the Nymphenburg Castle Park, Munich, Germany File:SchlossLinderhof Venustempel.JPG, The Venus Temple at the

Linderhof Palace Linderhof Palace () is a schloss in Germany, in southwest Bavaria near the village of Ettal. It is the smallest of the three palaces built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria and the only one which was actually completed and that he lived in most of t ...

, Bavaria, Germany File:Leibniztempel Hannover.jpg, The Leibniz Temple in the Georgengarten,

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

, Germany File:Vilbeltrinkbrunnen retouched.jpg, Well temple in the spa park at

Bad Vilbel Bad Vilbel () is a spa town in Hesse (Hessen), Germany, famous for its many mineral water springs. Bad Vilbel is the largest town in the Wetteraukreis district and part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area with its city center being located 8&n ...

, Germany File:Eutin Monopteros.jpg, Monopteros in the castle park at Eutin Castle (by C. F. Hansen, 1796) File:Wörlitz Venustempel im Winter 2.jpg, Venus Temple in the Wörlitzer Park, Germany File:Fruestueckspavillon-Kassel-I.JPG, The Breakfast Pavilion (''Frühstückspavillon'') in

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...

, Germany File:Siege Bell Memorial monument.jpg, The Siege Bell Memorial in

Valletta Valletta ( ; , ) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 Local councils of Malta, council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital ...

, Malta

References

Literature

* Wolfgang Binder: ''Der Roma-Augustus Monopteros auf der Akropolis in Athen und sein typologischer Ort''. Karlsruhe 1969. * Ingrid Weibezahn: ''Geschichte und Funktion des Monopteros. Untersuchungen zu einem Gebäudetyp des Spätbarock und des Klassizismus''. Hildesheim 1975. . Online

(Google Books).

External links

Wiesbaden monopteros - 360° panoramaPhotographs and historical background to the Leibniz Temple in Hanover
{{Authority control Columns and entablature Temples in Greece Rotundas (architecture) Buildings and structures by shape Garden features

Examples

See also

References

Literature

External links