In ancient Greek architecture, a large open area at the heart of the city whose boundries are defined by the public buildings that surround it. The 'stoa' and the 'bouleterion' are two of the buildings typically defining the edges of the agora.

The Greek word 'akro' means top or high, + 'polis' or city. The sacred precinct in ancient Greek architecture. Today the term is generally reserved for the sacred precinct in Athens.

The name of this ancient Greek building type comes from 'boule', the council of the 'polis'. It was used to hold public meetings; the council chamber. It was roofed and had tiers of benches on three sides either rectangular or semicircular in shape. The columns that were used to support the roof interruped the view of some of the attendees.

The topmost element of the column, helps to transfer loads from beams to columns. In classical Greek architecture, there are three formal types: the Doric, Ionic and Corinthian. The Corinthian was rarely used by the Greeks, as it was considered too 'showy', but it was very popular with the Romans.

The preferred term when indicating the vertical member in a trabeated (post and lintel) system whose section is round. 'Pillar' is rarely used as it connotes monumental scale, as in 'the Pillars of Hercules'. In Greek architecture, the three main parts are the base, shaft and capital.

Mausoleum comes from the Greek word 'mausoleion', meaning a large tomb.

The system of urban planning employed by the ancient Greeks in determining the placement of buildings in the sacred precinct. This ordering system is based on a single fixed point, usually the propylaea, from which the buildings are placed so that their volume is apparent, and no building is hidden by another. For more information on this subject see 'Architectural Space in Ancient Greece', C. A. Doxiadis, M.I.T. Press.

The ancient Greek 'city-state', was composed of both rural and urban areas. There was only one city for each polis and the citizens of the polis took their name from the principal god that they worshiped; thus the Athenians worshiped the goddess of wisdom and war, Athena.

The ancient Greek structure that is both literally and symbolically the gate to the sacred precinct.
At the Acropolis in Athens, the propylaea contained a library and a picture gallery providing a place to rest after the steep climb, an a place to prepare oneself for worship. It is from the propylaea that the view of the sacred precinct is planned. From this vantage point a 3/4 view of each important building is possible.

In ancient Greek cities, the area reserved solely for religious worship, usually located on the highest ground, and surrounded by a wall. Entry was through the propylaea. The precinct contained temples, shrines, statues and treasuries. The plan or layout of all of the structures is based on a system of polar coordinates.

From the Greek 'stadion', which is both, the place for watching footraces, and the unit of measure, @200 meters. The ancient Greek outdoor structure used for footraces was most often built into a hillside or sloped area to provide seating for the spectators. Long and narrow in shape, the dirt track had markers for the runners in a marble strip of pavement at both ends.

The long and narrow ancient Greek structure that was used for offices and shops at the agora. The enclosed space was only one office in depth, but the entire front of the building provided a wide covered porch for merchants or a convenient place to get out of the rain. Stoas were most often two stories in height.

The ancient Greek structure built to shelter the god statue, and the focus of religious worship. Thus, the Parthenon in Athens is the structure that was built to shelter the 40 foot tall ivory and gold statue of Athena Parthenos.

In ancient Greece, going to the theater was a celebration of community, and the dramas and comedies portrayed moral virtue and vice. The structure was built into a hillside and the wall behind the stage structure was relatively low, so that the the audience could, by looking over the actors heads, view the entire polis.

In ancient Greek architecture, this structure may have been a temple, a tomb, or the building for keeping the weights and measures. It is round in plan, with columns at the perimeter.
At Delphi, the tholos is located in a sacred precinct and dedicated to Athena. In Athens, the tholos is located on the agora.