Illustrated Architecture Dictionary
In antis
Anta: (pl. antę or antas): Architectural term describing the posts or pillars on either side of a doorway or entrance of a Greek temple
In antis: Between two antas (antae).
In antis: Having a recessed portico with a row of columns between the antae, as in some Greek temples
In antis: Having a recessed portico with a row of columns between the antae, as in some Greek temples.
Distyle in antis: Early Greek temples had antae on both side of the porch, framing a set of columns (a disposition named "distyle in antis", meaning "two columns in between antae").
Pilaster: Purely decorative, and does not have the structural support function of the anta.
Portico: A roofed entrance porch supported on at least one side by columns
Anta, plural antas, or antae, in architecture, slightly projecting column at the end of a wall, produced by either a thickening of the wall or attachment of a separate strip. The former type, commonly flanking porches of Greek and Roman temples, is a masonry vestige of the wooden structural posts used to reinforce the brick walls of such early antique temples ...
The bases and capitals of these antas were not required to conform to the style, or order, of the temple column. The attached strip anta is commonly found in Renaissance and post-Renaissance styles of architecture influenced by classical antiquity. As a decorative feature, the anta is considered to be the forerunner of the pilaster.
Columns set in the space between antas, such as those in the temple of Ramses III at Madīnat Habu, Egypt, are termed “in antis.”
- Encyclopędia Britannic: Anta (online Jan. 2018)
Examples:
- Illustration above: West Register House, Charlotte Square, Edinburgh, Scotland
