An anta (pl. antæ, antae, or antas;

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

, possibly from ''ante'', "before" or "in front of"), or sometimes parastas (pl. parastades), is an

architectural Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings o ...

term describing the posts or

pillars A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

on either side of a

door A door is a hinged or otherwise movable barrier that allows ingress (entry) into and egress (exit) from an enclosure. The created opening in the wall is a ''doorway'' or ''portal''. A door's essential and primary purpose is to provide security b ...

way or entrance of a

Greek temple Greek temples ( grc, ναός, naós, dwelling, 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, s ...

– the slightly projecting piers which terminate the walls of the naos. It differs from the

pilaster In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...

, which is purely decorative, and does not have the structural support function of the anta.

Anta

In contrast to columns or pillars, antae 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 Tiryns or (Ancient Greek: Τίρυνς; Modern Greek: Τίρυνθα) is a Mycenaean archaeological site in Argolis in the Peloponnese, and the location from which the mythical hero Heracles performed his Twelve Labours. It lies south of M ...

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 Rubble stone is rough, uneven building stone not laid in regular courses. It may fill the core of a wall which is faced with unit masonry such as brick or ashlar. Analogously, some medieval cathedral walls are outer shells of ashlar with an inn ...

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''.

Anta capitals

The anta is generally crowned by a stone block designed to spread the load from superstructure (

entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...

) it supports, called an "anta capitals" when it is structural, or sometimes "

capital" if it is only decorative as often during the Roman period. In order not to protrude unduly from the wall, these anta capitals usually display a rather flat surface, so that the capital has more or less a brick-shaped structure overall. The anta capital can be more or less decorated depending on the artistic order it belongs to, with designs, at least in

ancient Greek architecture Ancient Greek architecture came from the Greek-speaking people (''Hellenic'' people) whose culture flourished on the Greek mainland, the Peloponnese, the Aegean Islands, and in colonies in Anatolia and Italy for a period from about 900 BC unti ...

, often quite different from the design of the column capitals it stands next to. This difference disappeared with

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 ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

times, when anta or pilaster capitals have design very similar to those of the column capitals.

Distyle in antis

Early Greek temples such as the 6th century BCE

Siphnian Treasury The Siphnian Treasury was a building at the Ancient Greek cult centre of Delphi, erected to host the offerings of the polis, or city-state, of Siphnos. It was one of a number of treasuries lining the "Sacred Way", the processional route throug ...

had antae on both side of the porch, framing a set of columns (a disposition named "

distyle in antis In classical architecture, distyle in antis denotes a temple with the side walls extending to the front of the porch and terminating with two antae, the pediment being supported by two pilasters or sometimes caryatids. This is the earliest type o ...

", meaning "two columns in between antae"). This was an early type of temple construction (the "distyle temple") meant to reinforce weak wall construction by head posts, the antae. Sometimes, the walls were in

brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

, and thus needed this kind of reinforcement, as in the Heraeum of Olympia (c. 600 BCE).Encyclopædia Britannica, Anta entry
/ref> File:Treasury of the Siphnians by Hansen.JPG, Early Greek temples such as the

had antae on both side of the porch, framing a set of columns. File:EB1911 Greek Art - Restoration of the Treasury of Cnidus.jpg, Front view of the

with framing antae. File:GR-delphi-schatzhaus-athen.jpg, The

Athenian Treasury The Athenian Treasury (Greek: Θησαυρός των Αθηναίων) at Delphi was constructed by the Athenians to house dedications and votive offerings made by their city and citizens to the sanctuary of Apollo. The entire treasury including ...

Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), in ancient times was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The orac ...

is also a distyle in antis design.

Notes

References

* Attribution: {{DEFAULTSORT:Anta (Architecture) Architectural elements Ancient Greek architecture

Anta

Anta capitals

Distyle in antis

See also

Notes

References