Glossary of Architecture - E

E

Ephebeum

Large hall in the ancient Palaestra furnished with seats, the length of which should be a third larger than the width. It served for the exercises of youths of from sixteen to eighteen years of age.

Epinaos

Open vestibule behind the nave. The term is not found in any classic author, but is a modern coinage, originating in Germany, to differentiate the feature from the opisthodomos, which in the Parthenon was an enclosed chamber.

Estrade

French term for a raised platform or dais. In the Levant, the estrade of a divan is called a Sopha, from which comes our word 'sofa'.

Eustyle

intercolumniation defined by Vitruvius as being of the best proportion, i.e. two and a quarter diameters.