an·ta  (ān'tə)   (click for larger image in new window) n. pl. an·tae (-tē) A pilaster forming the end of a projecting lateral wall, as in some Greek temples, and constituting one boundary of the portico. [From Latin antae, pilasters.] |
| an·tae (ān'tē) n. Plural of anta. |
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 as the Heraeum of Olympia (c. 600 BC).
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