naos (redirected from Naos (disambiguation))

naos (nā`ŏs), inner portion of a Greek temple, enclosed within walls and generally surrounded by colonnaded porticoes. In it stood the statue of the deity to whom the temple was consecrated. The naos was provided with a columned porch, typically only in front (pronaos) but often also at the back (opisthodomos). It was the prototype for the cella of the Roman temple.

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cella

 or naos

Enclosed body of a temple (as distinct from the portico), in which the image of the deity was housed. In early Greek and Roman architecture it was usually rectangular, with an entrance at one end; the side walls were often extended to form a porch. In larger temples the cella was sometimes open to the sky. In the Byzantine architectural tradition, the naos is the area of a central-plan church where the liturgy is performed.