View source for Cella

{{Short description|Inner chamber of Ancient Greek or Roman temples}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Italics title}}
[[Image:Peripteros-Plan-Cella-bjs.png|thumb|right|200px|Temple layout with ''cella'' highlighted in gray]]

In [[Classical architecture]], a '''{{lang|la|cella}}''' ({{ety|la||small chamber}}) or '''{{transl|grc|naos}}''' ({{ety|grc|''{{linktext|ναός}}'' (nāós)|temple}}) is the inner chamber of an [[Greek temple|ancient Greek]] or [[Roman temple]]. Its enclosure within walls has given rise to extended meanings, of a [[Monastery|hermit's or monk's cell]], and since the 17th century, of a [[Cell (biology)|biological cell]] in plants or animals.

==Greek and Roman temples==
[[Image:Paestum, Italy (15222876955).jpg|thumb|[[Ancient Greece|Greek]] [[Paestum|Temple of Apollo at Paestum]] with centrally located ''cella'']]
In ancient [[Greek temple|Greek]] and [[Roman temple]]s, the ''cella'' was a room at the center of the building, usually containing a [[cult image]] or statue representing the particular deity venerated in the temple. In addition, the ''cella'' might contain a table to receive supplementary [[votive offering]]s, such as votive statues of associated deities, precious and semi-precious stones, [[helmet]]s, [[spear]] and [[arrow]] heads, [[sword]]s, and [[war trophy|war trophies]]. No gatherings or sacrifices took place in the ''cella'', as the altar for sacrifices was always located outside the building along the axis and temporary altars for other deities were built next to it.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sarah Iles Johnston |title=Religions of the Ancient World: A Guide |date=2004 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=0674015177 |page=278}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hans-Josef Klauck |title=Religious Context of Early Christianity: A Guide To Graeco-Roman Religions |date=2003 |publisher=A&C Black |isbn=0567089436 |page=23 |edition=reprint}}</ref> The accumulated offerings made Greek and Roman temples virtual [[treasury|treasuries]], and many of them were indeed used as treasuries during [[classical antiquity|antiquity]].

[[Image:La Maison carrée.JPG|thumb|left|The [[Maison Carrée]] at [[Nîmes]] with its ''cella'' offset behind the [[hexastyle]] [[portico]]]]
The ''cella'' was typically a simple, windowless, rectangular room with a door or open entrance at the front behind a colonnaded [[portico]] facade. In larger temples, the ''cella'' was typically divided by two [[colonnade]]s into a central [[nave]] flanked by two [[aisle]]s. A ''cella'' may also contain an ''[[adyton]]'', an inner area restricted to access by the priests—in religions that had a consecrated priesthood—or by the temple guard.

With very few exceptions, Greek buildings were of a [[Peripteros|peripteral]] design that placed the ''cella'' in the center of the plan, such as the [[Parthenon]] and the [[Paestum|Temple of Apollo at Paestum]]. The Romans favoured [[pseudoperipteral]] buildings with a portico offsetting the ''cella'' to the rear. The pseudoperipteral plan uses [[engaged column]]s embedded along the side and rear walls of the ''cella''.{{Citation needed|date=September 2021}} The [[Temple of Venus and Roma]] built by [[Hadrian]] in Rome had two ''cellae'' arranged back-to-back enclosed by a single outer [[peristyle]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}
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==Etruscan temples==
According to [[Vitruvius]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.vitruvius.be/boek4h7.htm |title=Vitruvius, ''De architectura'', Book IV, Chapter 7 |access-date=2005-12-18 |archive-date=2006-01-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060113063700/http://www.vitruvius.be/boek4h7.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> the [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]] type of temples (as, for example, at [[Portonaccio (Veio)|Portonaccio]], near [[Veio]]) had three ''cellae'', side by side,{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} conjoined by a double row of columns on the [[façade]]. This is an entirely new setup with respect to the other types of constructions found in Etruria and the Tyrrhenian side of Italy, which have one cell with or without columns, as seen in Greece and the Orient.

==Egyptian temples==
In the Hellenistic culture of the [[Ptolemaic Kingdom]] in ancient Egypt, the ''cella'' referred to that which is hidden and unknown inside the inner sanctum of an [[Egyptian temple]], existing in complete darkness, meant to symbolize the state of the universe before the act of creation. The ''cella'', also called the [[Shrine|''naos'']], holds many box-like shrines. The Greek word "''naos''" has been extended by archaeologists to describe the central room of the pyramids. Towards the end of the [[Old Kingdom of Egypt|Old Kingdom]], ''naos'' construction went from being subterranean to being built directly into the pyramid, above ground. The ''naos'' was surrounded by many different paths and rooms, many used to confuse and divert thieves and grave robbers.

==Christian churches==
In early [[Christianity|Christian]] and [[Byzantine architecture]], the ''cella'' or ''naos'' is an area at the center of the church reserved for performing the [[liturgy]].

In later periods, a small chapel or [[monk]]'s cell was also called a ''cella''. This is the source of the [[Irish language]] ''cill'' or ''cell'' (Anglicised as Kil(l)-) in many [[Place names in Ireland|Irish place names]].

== See also ==
* [[List of Greco-Roman roofs]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{EB1911|wstitle=Cella|volume=5|page=604}}
* Trachtenberg and Hyman, ''Architecture: From Prehistory to Post Modernity'' (second edition).

==External links==
* [http://www.vitruvius.be/boek4h7.htm Vitruvius, ''De architectura'', Book IV. ch 7 : translation, plans and reconstructions of Tuscan ''cellae''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060113063700/http://www.vitruvius.be/boek4h7.htm |date=2006-01-13 }}
{{Wiktionary|cella}}

[[Category:Ancient Roman architecture]]
[[Category:Greek temples]]
[[Category:Architectural elements]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek architecture]]