classical architecture Classical architecture typically refers to architecture consciously derived from the principles of Ancient Greek architecture, Greek and Ancient Roman architecture, Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or more specifically, from ''De archit ...

, hypaethral describes a building with no roof and with columns forming a partial wall. The term originates from

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''hypaethrus'', from Ancient Greek ὕπαιθρος ''hupaithros'' ὑπό hupo- "under" and αἰθήρ aither "sky, air". It was described by the Roman architect

Vitruvius Vitruvius ( ; ; –70 BC – after ) was a Roman architect and engineer during the 1st century BC, known for his multi-volume work titled . As the only treatise on architecture to survive from antiquity, it has been regarded since the Renaissan ...

in his treatise ''

De architectura (''On architecture'', published as ''Ten Books on Architecture'') is a treatise on architecture written by the Ancient Rome, Roman architect and military engineer Vitruvius, Marcus Vitruvius Pollio and dedicated to his patron, the emperor Caesa ...

'', written for the emperor

Caesar Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in ...

probably about 15 BC.

Overview

Hypaethral is in contradistinction to cleithral, a term applied to a covered temple.Hypaethral and Roofless Structures
. DrBillong.com. Accessed June 10, 2012. The ''hypaethros'' or ''hypaethral opening'' is the term

(iii. 2) used for the opening in the middle of the roof of

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

s, an example being found 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 ...

in the temple of Jupiter Olympius, which is

octastyle A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cultu ...

. There was no example in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. However, at the time Vitruvius wrote (c. 25 AD) the

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 ...

of this temple was unroofed, because the columns which had been provided to carry, at all events, part of the ceiling and roof had been taken away by

Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (, ; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman of the late Roman Republic. A great commander and ruthless politician, Sulla used violence to advance his career and his co ...

in 80 BC. The decastyle temple of Apollo Didymaeus near

Miletus Miletus (Ancient Greek: Μίλητος, Mílētos) was an influential ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in present day Turkey. Renowned in antiquity for its wealth, maritime power, and ex ...

was, according to

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

(c. 50 BC), unroofed, on account of the vastness of its cella, in which precious groves of

laurel Laurel may refer to: Plants * Lauraceae, the laurel family * Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel People * Laurel (given name), people with the given name * Laurel (surname), people with the surname * Laurel (mus ...

bushes were planted. Temple of Aphaia in February 2005 14

Apart from these two examples, the references in various writers to an opening of some kind in the roofs of temples dedicated to particular deities, and the statement of Vitruvius, which was doubtless based on the writings of Greek authors, that in decastyle or large temples the centre was open to the sky and without a roof (''medium autem sub diva est sine tecto''), render the existence of the hypaethros probable in some cases; and therefore C. R. Cockerell's discovery in the temple at

Aegina Aegina (; ; ) is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina (mythology), Aegina, the mother of the mythological hero Aeacus, who was born on the island and became its king. ...

of two fragments of a coping-stone, in which there were sinkings on one side to receive the tiles and covering tiles, has been of great importance in the discussion of this subject. In the conjectural restoration of the or opening in the roof shown in Cockerell's drawing, it has been made needlessly large, having an area of about one quarter of the superficial area of the cella between the columns, and since in the Pantheon at Rome the relative proportions of the central opening in the dome and the area of the rotunda are 1:22, and the light there is ample, in the clearer atmosphere of Greece it might have been less. The larger the opening, the more conspicuous would be the notch in the roof which is so greatly objected to; in this respect, Jacques Hittorf would seem to be nearer the truth when, in his conjectural restoration of Temple R at

Selinus Selinunte ( , ; ; ; ) was a rich and extensive ancient Greek city of Magna Graecia on the south-western coast of Sicily in Italy. It was situated between the valleys of the Cottone and Modione rivers. It now lies in the of Castelvetrano, b ...

, he shows an about half the relative size shown in Cockerell's of that at Aegina, the coping on the side elevation being much less noticeable. 1972 bassai temple

The problem was apparently solved in another way at

Bassae Bassae (, – ''Bassai'', meaning "little vale in the rocks"temple of Apollo by Cockerell and Baron Hailer von Hallerstein, three marble tiles were found with pierced openings in them about 18 inches by 10 in.; five of these pierced tiles on either side would have amply lighted the interior of the cella, and the amount of rain passing through (a serious element to be considered in a country where torrential rains occasionally fall) would not be very great or more than could be retained to dry up in the ceila sunk pavement. In favor of both these methods of lighting, the interior of the cella, the sarcophagus tomb at Cyrene, about long, carved in imitation of a temple, has been adduced, because, on the tor of the roof and in its centre, there is a raised coping, and a similar feature is found on a tomb found near

Delos Delos (; ; ''Dêlos'', ''Dâlos''), is a small Greek island near Mykonos, close to the centre of the Cyclades archipelago. Though only in area, it is one of the most important mythological, historical, and archaeological sites in Greece. ...

; an example from

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

now in the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

shows a pierced tile on each side of the roof, and a large number of pierced tiles have been found in

Pompeii Pompeii ( ; ) was a city in what is now the municipality of Pompei, near Naples, in the Campania region of Italy. Along with Herculaneum, Stabiae, and Villa Boscoreale, many surrounding villas, the city was buried under of volcanic ash and p ...

, some of them surrounded with a rim identical with that of the marble tiles at Bassae. On the other hand, there are many authorities, among them

Wilhelm Dörpfeld Wilhelm Dörpfeld (26 December 1853 – 25 April 1940) was a German architect and archaeologist, a pioneer of stratigraphy, stratigraphic excavation and precise graphical documentation of archaeological projects. He is famous for his work on B ...

, who have adhered to their original opinion that it was only through the open doorway that light was ever admitted into the celia, and with the clear atmosphere of Greece and the reflections from the marble pavement, such lighting would be quite sufficient. There remains still another source of light to be considered, that passing through the

Parian marble Parian marble is a fine-grained, semi translucent, and pure-white marble quarried during the classical antiquity, classical era on the Greece, Greek List of islands of Greece, island of Paros in the Aegean Sea. A subtype, referred to as Parian ' ...

tiles of the roof; the superior translucency of Parian to any other marble may have suggested its employment for the roofs of temples, and if, in the framed ceilings carried over the celia, openings were left, some light from the Parian tile roof might have been obtained. It is possibly to this that

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

refers when describing the ceiling and roof of the temple of

Demeter In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Demeter (; Attic Greek, Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric Greek, Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Twelve Olympians, Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over cro ...

Eleusis Elefsina () or Eleusis ( ; ) is a suburban city and Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Athens metropolitan area. It belongs to West Attica regional unit of Greece. It is located in the Thriasio Plain, at the northernmost ...

, where the columns in the interior of the temple carried a ceiling, probably constructed of timbers crossing one another at right angles, and one or more of the spaces was left open, which

Xenocles Xenocles () was an ancient Greek tragedian. He won a victory at the Dionysia in 415 BC with the plays ''Oedipus'', ''Lycaon'', and ''Bacchae'' with the satyr play ''Athamas''. Other plays by Xenocles include ''Licymnius'', parodied by Aristopha ...

surmounted by a roof formed of tiles. PSM V31 D010 James Fergusson

In his 1849 ''Historical Inquiry into the True Principles of Beauty in Art: More Especially with Reference to Architecture'', the architect James Fergusson put forward a conjectural restoration in which he adopted a

clerestory A clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey; from Old French ''cler estor'') is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye-level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, a ''clerestory' ...

above the superimposed columns inside the cella; in order to provide the light for these windows, he indicated two trenches in the roof, one on each side, and pointed out that the great Hall of Columns at

Karnak The Karnak Temple Complex, commonly known as Karnak (), comprises a vast mix of temples, pylons, chapels, and other buildings near Luxor, Egypt. Construction at the complex began during the reign of Senusret I (reigned 1971–1926 BC) in the ...

was lighted in this way with clerestory windows; but in the first place the light in the latter was obtained over the flat roofs covering lower portions of the hail, and in the second place, as it rarely rains in Egyptian Thebes, there could be no difficulty about the drainage, while in Greece, with the torrential rains and snow, these trenches would be deluged with water, and with all the appliances of the present day it would be impossible to keep these clerestory windows watertight. There is, however, still another objection to Fergusson's theory: the water collecting in these trenches on the roof would have to be discharged, for which Fergusson's suggestions are quite inadequate, and the

gargoyle In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed Grotesque (architecture), grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from ...

s shown in the celia wall would make the

peristyle In ancient Ancient Greek architecture, Greek and Ancient Roman architecture, Roman architecture, a peristyle (; ) is a continuous porch formed by a row of columns surrounding the perimeter of a building or a courtyard. ''Tetrastoön'' () is a rare ...

insupportable just at the time when it was required for shelter. No drainage otherwise of any kind has ever been found in any

Greek temple Greek temples (, semantically distinct from Latin , " temple") were structures built to house deity statues within Greek sanctuaries in ancient Greek religion. The temple interiors did not serve as meeting places, since the sacrifices and ritu ...

, which is fatal to Fergusson's view. Nor is it in accordance with the definition open to the sky. English cathedrals and churches are all lighted by clerestory windows, but no one has described them as open to the sky, and although Vitruvius's statements are sometimes confusing, his description is far too clear to leave any misunderstanding as to the lighting of temples (where it was necessary on account of great length) through an opening in the roof. There is one other theory that has been put forward, but which can only apply to non-peristylar temples, that light and air were admitted through the metopes, the apertures between the beams crossing the cella, and it has been assumed that because

Orestes In Greek mythology, Orestes or Orestis (; ) was the son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, and the brother of Electra and Iphigenia. He was also known by the patronymic Agamemnonides (), meaning "son of Agamemnon." He is the subject of several ...

was advised in one of the Greek plays to climb up and look through the metopes of the temple, these were left open; but if Orestes could look in, so could the birds, and the statue of the god would be defiled. The metopes were probably filled in with shutters of some kind, which Orestes knew how to open.

Examples

* Trajan's Kiosk (shown above right) on the island of

Philae The Philae temple complex (; , , Egyptian: ''p3-jw-rķ' or 'pA-jw-rq''; , ) is an island-based temple complex in the reservoir of the Aswan Low Dam, downstream of the Aswan Dam and Lake Nasser, Egypt. Originally, the temple complex was ...

near

Aswan Aswan (, also ; ) is a city in Southern Egypt, and is the capital of the Aswan Governorate. Aswan is a busy market and tourist centre located just north of the Aswan Dam on the east bank of the Nile at the first cataract. The modern city ha ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

; now located on

Agilkia Island Agilkia Island (also called Agilika; , from Old Nubian: ⲁ̅ⲅⲗ̅, romanised: ''agil,'' "mouth") is an island in the reservoir of the Old Aswan Dam along the Nile River in southern Egypt; it is the present site of the relocated ancient Egypti ...

. * Intraurban Sanctuary of Demeter and Persephone at Cyrene, Libya * Temple of Apollo at Didyma, at

Didim Didim is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Aydın Province, Turkey. Its area is 424 km2, and its population is 97,000 (2022). It is a popular seaside holiday resort on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of western Turkey, from t ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

* Five rare hypaethral temples dedicated to 64 flying

yogini A yogini (Sanskrit: योगिनी, IAST: ) is a female master practitioner of tantra and yoga, as well as a formal term of respect for female Hindu or Buddhist spiritual teachers in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Greater Tibe ...

s (often with bird mounts) in India: ** Chausathi Jogini Temple, at

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

** Ranipur-Jharial, also in Odisha ** Hirapur near

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar () is the capital and the largest city of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Odisha. It is located in the Khordha district. The suburban region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Chakra ...

Khajuraho Khajuraho () is a city, near Chhatarpur in Chhatarpur district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. One of the most popular tourist destinations in India, Khajuraho has the country's largest group of medieval Hindu and Jain temples, famous ...

and Bheraghat near

Jabalpur Jabalpur, formerly Jubbulpore, is a city situated on the banks of Narmada River in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is the 3rd-largest urban agglomeration of the state and the 38th-largest of the country. Jabalpur is the administrative h ...

** Dudhai near Lalitpur

References

Bibliography

External links

Bartleby entry

{{EB1911 article with no significant updates Temples Sacral architecture Architectural history Types of monuments and memorials Ancient Greek architecture Ancient Roman architecture

Overview

Examples

See also

References

Bibliography

External links