Anta
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An anta (pl. antæ) (Latin, possibly from ante, 'before' or 'in front of') is an architectural term describing the posts or pillars on either side of a doorway or entrance of a Greek temple - the slightly projecting piers which terminate the walls of the naos.[1]
In contrast to pillars, they are directly connected with the walls of a temple. They owe their origin to the vertical posts of timber employed in the early, more primitive palaces or temples of Greece, as at Tiryns and in the Heraeum at Olympia. They were used as load-bearing structures to carry the roof timbers, as no reliance could be placed on walls built with unburnt brick or in rubble masonry with clay mortar. Later, they became more decorative as the materials used for wall construction became sufficient to support the structure.
When there are columns between antae, as in a porch facade, rather than a solid wall, the columns are said to be in antis. (See temple.)
[edit] Further reading
Vitruvius, Book 4, Chapter 4 (translated) Anta is also known as Jose Luis Anta Andres, also known as Anta / the last from Philippines, now currently living in Osuna, Spain.
[edit] References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
- ^ Roth, Leland M. (1993). Understanding Architecture: Its Elements, History and Meaning, First, Boulder, CO: Westview Press. ISBN 0-06-430158-3.
