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.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
Temple of Hera 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.
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