The naiskos (pl.: naiskoi; Greek: ναΐσκος, diminutive of ναός, "temple") is a small templeinclassical order with columns or pillars and pediment.
Often applied as an artificial motif, it is common in ancient art. It is also found in the funeral architecture of the ancient Attic cemeteries as grave reliefsorshrines with statues, such as the stele of Aristonautes from KerameikosinAthens[1] and in the black-figure and red-figure pottery of ancient Greece at the Loutrophoros and the Lekythos and the red-figure wares of Apulia in South Italy.[2]
There also exist naiskos-type figurines or other types of temples formed in terracotta, examples of which abound at the Louvre MuseuminParis. The form of the naiskos suggests a religious context, relating especially to Greek funerary culture. Some of the Hellenistic inscriptions found in the Bay of Grama are placed inside a naiskos, and in this case the religious context is an invocation of Castor and Pollux (Dioskouroi) for a safe passage across the Adriatic, rather than funerary.[3]
A similar style, called the aedicula, is observed in Roman art.
Media related to Naiskoi at Wikimedia Commons
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