An opisthodomos (ὀπισθόδομος, 'back room') is either the rear room of an

ancient Greek temple Greek temples (, semantically distinct from Latin language, 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 Ancien ...

or to the inner shrine, also called the

adyton In Classical architecture, the ''adyton'' ( , 'innermost sanctuary, shrine', ) or (Latin) was a restricted area within the ''cella'' of a Greek temple, Greek or Roman temple. The ''adyton'' was frequently a small area at the farthest end of ...

('not to be entered'). The confusion arises from the lack of agreement in ancient inscriptions. In modern scholarship, it usually refers to the rear porch of a temple. On the Athenian Acropolis especially, the opisthodomos came to be a treasury, where the revenues and precious dedications of the temple were kept. Its use in antiquity was not standardised. In part because of the ritual secrecy of such inner spaces, it is not known exactly what took place within opisthodomoi; it can safely be assumed that practice varied widely by place, date and particular temple. Architecturally, the opisthodomos (as a back room) balances the

pronaos 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 ...

or porch of a temple, creating a plan with diaxial symmetry. The upper portion of its outer wall could be decorated with a frieze, as on the Hephaisteion and the

Parthenon The Parthenon (; ; ) is a former Ancient Greek temple, temple on the Acropolis of Athens, Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the Greek gods, goddess Athena. Its decorative sculptures are considered some of the high points of c ...

. Opisthodomoi are present in the layout of: *Temples ER, A and O at Selinus * Temple of Aphaea 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. ...

Temple of Zeus Temple of Zeus may refer to: Organization *Temple of Zeus (organization), an occult religious organization Greece * Temple of Zeus, Olympia * Temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens * Sanctuary of Zeus Polieus, Athens Italy * Temple of Olympian Zeus, ...

at Olympia * Hephaisteion in the

Agora The agora (; , romanized: ', meaning "market" in Modern Greek) was a central public space in ancient Ancient Greece, Greek polis, city-states. The literal meaning of the word "agora" is "gathering place" or "assembly". The agora was the center ...

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 ...

on the Acropolis in Athens *

Temple of Concordia, Agrigento The Temple of Concordia (, Greek language, Greek: ''Ναός της Ομόνοιας'') is an ancient Greek temple of Magna Graecia in the Valle dei Templi (Valley of the Temples) in Agrigento (Greek: ''Ακράγας'', Akragas) on the south co ...

* Temple of Poseidon on Cape Sounion * Temple of Apollo Epikourios at Bassae *Temple of Athena Lindia at Lindos *Temple of Dionysus at Teos

References

Architectural elements Ancient Greek architecture Rooms {{Architecturalelement-stub