Crepidoma (steps)There are usually three steps. They were often too tall to climb easily, so a ramp was sometimes built at the front.
StylobateIt is the crepidoma's top level.
ColumnsThey stand on the stylobate and taper toward the top. Each was normally built from several drums, cut separately.
EntablatureThe capitals at the tops of the columns hold it up.
PedimentIt is the gable end of the roof. The back of the temple has one too.
TympanumIt closes the end of the roof. It is set back, which leaves a ledge for sculpture.
AcroterionThe plural is acroteria. Early ones were plain shapes; later ones were leafy or carved as figures.
The floor plan 7
PeristyleAlso called the peristasis. The covered walk behind the columns sheltered visitors and gave room for processions.
Naos (cella)Held the statue of the god or goddess the temple was for. Cella is its Latin name.
PronaosThe side walls run forward past the door to form it. Two columns stand between their ends.
OpisthodomosNo door joins it to the naos. It repeats the front so that the temple looks the same at both ends.
AntaeOne is an anta. Two columns that stand between them are said to be in antis.
DoorIt leads from the pronaos into the naos.
Cult statueIt stood on a pedestal in the naos. Only its base is drawn here.
How this list was compiled: Every name and detail checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only where both sources use it: (1) Allan Marquand, Greek Architecture, Macmillan, 1909, public domain, https://archive.org/details/greekarchitectur00marquoft (the krepidoma as a stepped base with the stylobate beneath the columns; steps rarely low enough to climb, and the ramp; the tympanum as the triangular wall that ends the gable roof, set back for gable sculpture; the pediment and its acroteria; pronaos or front porch and opisthodomos or rear porch; the naos or cella with the cult statue on a pedestal; peristyle; antae); (2) Wikipedia, Ancient Greek temple, text only, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek_temple (the elevation in three zones: crepidoma, columns, entablature; the stylobate as the top level of the crepidoma; column drums; the capitals supporting the entablature; the tympanon and acroteria; the naos or cella and its cult statue; the pronaos formed by the antae with two columns between them, and its door; the opisthodomos with no door; the peristasis that sheltered visitors and processions; hexastyle for six columns). Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; nothing traced. Not to scale. Licence: own work
How it works
The parts of a Greek temple are easiest to learn from two drawings: the front, with its columns and pediment, and the floor plan, with its rooms.
Read the full guide
The front, from the ground up
The crepidoma is the stepped platform, and its top step is the stylobate. The columns stand on it and hold up the entablature. Above that is the pediment, with the tympanum inside it and an acroterion at its peak and corners.
The parts of a temple: Greek names on the plan
Seen from above, the peristyle is the ring of columns. Inside it are three spaces in a row: the pronaos at the front, the naos in the middle and the opisthodomos at the back. The antae are the ends of the side walls.
The arrow on the plan marks the entrance.
Count the columns across the front: six makes a temple hexastyle, eight octastyle.
Questions and answers
What are the parts of a temple called?
On a Greek temple, from the ground up: the crepidoma with the stylobate as its top step, the columns, the entablature and the pediment. On the plan: the peristyle of columns, the pronaos, the naos or cella, and the opisthodomos.
What is the main room of a Greek temple called?
The naos, or cella in Latin. It held the cult statue of the god or goddess. A door led into it from the pronaos, the porch at the front.
What is the triangle on top of a Greek temple?
The pediment, the gable end of the roof. The flat wall inside it is the tympanum, which was often filled with sculpture, and the ornaments on its peak and corners are acroteria.
What is the difference between the pronaos and the opisthodomos?
Both are porches formed by the side walls, with two columns between the wall ends. The pronaos is at the front and has the door into the naos. The opisthodomos is at the back and has no door into it.