templum

Roman holy building

Templum is the Latin word for temple—a space marked out for religious purposes.

In ancient Rome, a templum was specifically a sacred precinct defined by augurs for taking auspices, not necessarily a building.

The term gives English both "temple" and "contemplate," which originally meant to observe such a sacred space carefully.

ritual

altar

Sacred ritual table

sacrificeGiving up something precious
offeringSomething presented or given
priestOne who performs sacraments

priestess · incense · libation · divination · augury · oracle · rites · ceremony · procession · invocation

deities

Jupiter

Largest solar system planet

JunoJupiter's divine consort
MarsRed planet, war deity
VenusLove goddess, or planet

Apollo · Minerva · Diana · Mercury · Neptune · Vesta · Ceres · Bacchus · Saturn · Pantheon

architecture

columns

Upright structural shafts

porticoColumned covered entryway
pedimentTriangular architectural crowning element
friezeOrnamental architectural band

colonnade · naos · peristyle · architrave · capital · entablature · vestibule · atrium · courtyard · foundations

sacred

holy

Dedicated to the divine

divineOf or from gods
consecratedDeclared sacred through ritual
sacrosanctRegarded as too important to alter

hallowed · sanctified · inviolable · precinct · sacred · taboo · purity · reverence · veneration · pious

Categories

Latin Nounsrosa, terra, deus, aqua, via
Latin Wordsad, ad nauseam, et, caveat emptor, affidavit
Roman religionJupiter, Mars, Venus, Apollo, Neptune
Etruscan religionEvan, augury, libation, sacred grove, votive offering
Roman divinationaugury, auspices, omens, augurs, auspex
Roman shrinesPantheon

Opposites

sacred vs. profane space

templumforum

Gathering place for discourse

domus · insula · ager

roman religious architecture

templumbasilica

Colonnaded church with apse

curia · forum · rostra · circus · emporium

polytheistic vs. monotheistic worship spaces

templumecclesia

Citizens' assembly, especially Greek

Phrases

ancient templesOld religious worship buildings
Greek templeClassical columned sanctuary
Shirley TempleNon-alcoholic cherry drink
temple ruinsDecayed religious structure
Buddhist templeShrine for Eastern worship
Roman templeSacred Roman religious structure

Family

temple, temples, contemplate, contemplation, contemplative, contemplates, contemplatively, contemplations, contemplator

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