peristyle

In Greek and Roman architecture, a columned porch surrounding the perimeter of a building or an interior courtyard enclosed by columns.

Plan: Temple of Hera I, Paestum, Italy. Archaic. Ca. 540 BCE.

House of the Vettii, Pompeii, Italy. Courtyard with peristyle. Roman Empire. 62–79 CE.

A free resource for students and teachers, created by Dr. James Terry. Art History Glossary by James Terry is licensed under Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 .