- Abacus: Square slab that sits on top of the Doric capital and supports the architrave or arch.
- Acroterion: Sculpted feature mounted at the pediment of a building
- Aedicula: Architectural frame of an opening niche, consisting of two columns supporting a pediment.
- Agora: The central public space of the city, center of the social and political life.
- Altar: Small altar of Dionysus in the middle of the orchestra of a theater.
- thymele: Small altar of Dionysus in the middle of the orchestra of a theater.
- Amphiprostyle: Temple with column rows at the front and the rear
- Analemmata: Supporting walls of the audience seating area
- Antefix: A vertical block which terminates the covering tiles of the roof
- Apse: Semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome
- Arcade: A series of columns or piers spanned by arches.
- Arch: Curved structure that spans an opening.
- Architrave: The lowest entablature element, relied on the column capitals
- Attic basement: Basement of columns of Ionic and Corinthian order
- Buttresses: Pilasters built into the wall to increase durability.
- Capital: The head of the column or pilaster on which the architrave rests.
- Chorus: Performers, who comment with a collective voice on the dramatic actions.
- Corinthian Order: The most elaborate order with bell-shaped capitals decorated with acanthus leaves.
- Cornice: The top element of the entablature including the following elements: the cyma, the corona and the bed-moulding.
- Coryphaeus: The leader of the chorus in ancient drama
- Crepidoma: The platform of one or more steps upon which the superstructure of the building is erected.
- Diazoma: Horizontal, curved walkway separating theatron into horizontal zones
- Distyle in Antis: Shrine with two columns between the antae
- Distyle: Small shrine with two columns.
- Doric Order: The earliest Greek order with unadorned capital and columns that rests directly on the stylobate. The frieze consist of trigylphs and sculpted metopes.
- Dorizant column: Style similar to the Doric style, characteristic for Illyria at the early 3rd century BC. The trunk of the column and echinus have an octagonal section.
- Dromos: Paved road which lead to the mound
- Echinus: Moulding below the abacus
- Entablature: Architectonic structure which lie horizontally above capitals, divided into the architrave, frieze and cornice
- Episkenion: The upper story of the skene, pierced by thre or more openings-thyromata, fitted with painted panels or doors.
- frons scenae: The upper story of the skene, pierced by thre or more openings-thyromata, fitted with painted panels or doors.
- Euripos: Atmospheric water drainage channel of the theater orchestra
- Euthynteria: The uppermost course of a building’s foundations, partly emerging from groundline.
- Exedra: A large semicircular recess
- Flutes: Regular series of vertical concave grooves and convex ribs on columns.
- Frieze: Architectonic element below the cornice and above the architrave. In the Ionic style decorated and continuous. In the Doric style composed of ornamented metopes and dividing triglyphs.
- Hellenistic period: The period between the death of Alexander the Great (323 BC) and the Battle of Actium in (31 BC).
- Heroon: Tomb of a hero or historic founder of the city used for its cult worship.
- Hexastyl: Temple with six columns at the front
- Hypokritēs: Actor, player.
- Hypologeion: The ambience under the logeion, mostly prop store.
- Hyposkene: The ambience under the stage, mostly prop store.
- In sittu: An artifact that has not been moved from its original place of deposition.
- Intercolumn: The space between two columns
- Ionic order: One of the three canonic orders. The columns stand on a base while the capital is characterized by the use of volutes while the frieze richly decorated.
- Isodomic: Masonry with hewn stone blocks, with rows of equal height.
- Kerkis: Wedge-shaped seating section in seating area of theater
- Keystone: Wedge-shaped stone at the apex of an arch allowing to it to bear weight.
- Klimax: stairways in theatron that separated the wedge-shaped seating sections
- Lares: Preroman deities protecting a single object, family or the tribe.
- Lesbian masonry: A system of curvilinear masonry with polygonal blocks of straight facets.
- Liburnian cipus: Gravestones which mimic the truli, cylindrical dwellings of the Illyrian Mesapes
- Logeion: Speaking place, the high stage behind the orchestra and before the scene.
- Mechane (Geranos): Rotating crane which lifted and moved in the air the actors in the roles of the gods. From this Deus ex machina, God from heaven.
- Metope: rectangular architectural element between two triglyphs of the Doric frieze, with painted or sculptural decoration
- Naiskos: Small temple in classical order with columns or pillars and pediment.
- Naos: Main room of the Greek temple where the statue of the god was located.
- Opistodhomos: Small alcove at the back of the temple for the preservation of donors.
- Orchestra: The circular space between theatron and the stage where the old drama took place.
- Orthostates: squared stone blocks greater in height than depth
- Parascenia: Tower-shaped constructions on both sides of the stage.
- Parodos: Passageways leading into the orchestra, between theatron and skene.
- Peripteral: Temple surrounded by a colonnade columns on all four sides.
- Peristyle: Colonnade around the courtyard of a house or monument
- Pilaster: A slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall.
- Pinakes: Painted panels placed between proscene columns or thyromata doors of skene.
- Prohedra: Seats of honor in the first row of theatron for dignitaries and priests
- Pronaos: Vestibule at the front of a temple, enclosed by a portico and antae.
- Propylea: Monumental entrance
- Proscenion: The front wall of logeion decorated with decorated with painted panels (pinakes)
- Prostyle: Temple with a single row of columns at the front
- Pseudoisodomic: Masonry with hewn stone blocks of equal height within a row but different row heights.
- Shaft: The portion of a column between the base and the capital.
- Skene: The part of the theater where the play took place.
- Stage: The part of the theater where the play took place.
- Solenes: large-sized flat tiles, covered with calypters at the joints
- Stela: Upright slab containing engraved or painted decorations or inscriptions
- Stylobat: The floor that carries the rows of columns, the top step of the crepidoma, upon which columns of the temple are placed.
- Theatron: The seating area of the theatre where the audience sat to watch the performance.
- Thesauros: A small temple-shaped building (naiskosi) where the treasures of the temple or city were kept.
- Tholos: Round building with conical roof
- Thyromata: Doorways which pierced the facade of episkenion equipped with painted panels (pinakes).
- Timpan: The triangular part above the colonnade and entablement of the narrow façade of the temple (fronton).
- pediment: The triangular part above the colonnade and entablement of the narrow façade of the temple (fronton).
- Triglyph: In the Doric order, the spaces between metopes.the triglyphs are called
- Urn: Containers for ashes of the cremated persons
- Vault: Self-supporting arched form of stone or brick, serving to cover a space. The simplest form, is the barrel vault
- Volute: Spiral scroll-like ornament in the capital of Ionic column.
- Zonai: Horizontal sectors of theatron
Glossary is based on: C. Harris, Illustrated dictionary of historic architecture. New York, 1977; J. Curl, Classical architecture: an introduction to its vocabulary and essentials, with a select glossary of terms, London, 2001. M. Cartwright. A Visual Glossary of Classical Architecture, 2013; Th. Hines, Greek-Roman theatre glossary.
Source Citation
Baçe, Dr. Apollon. Illyrian World: Architecture, Rituals, Gods and Religion. Tirana: Academy of Sciences of Albania. 2022.