naoses

Noun

naos (plural naoses or naosoi or naoi)

1. (historical) The inner part of an ancient Greek temple, containing a statue of the temple's deity and surrounded by a colonnaded portico; (by extension) the Roman cella, which it later gave rise to.
   • The simplest form of the rectangular temple was that in which the two side walls were carried out from the naos to form the porch at one or both extremities of the building.1846, Henry Ellis, The Elgin and Phigaleian marbles of the classical ages, in the British museum

See all 2 meanings of naos