Adyton

The adyton (

Greek or Roman temple. The adyton was frequently a small area at the farthest end of the cella from the entrance; at Delphi it measured just 9 by 12 feet (2.7 by 3.7 m). The adyton often would house the cult image

of the deity.

Adyta were spaces reserved for oracles, priestesses, priests, or acolytes, and not for the general public. Adyta were found frequently associated with temples of

Nyx). Those sites often had been dedicated to deities whose worship preceded that of Apollo and may go back to prehistoric eras, such as Delphi, but who were supplanted by the time of Classical Greek culture.^[1]

In modern scholarship, the term may denote the innermost sacred space of a temple in the ancient Near Eastern cultures predating Classical Greece, such as ancient Israel. It is also known by various names such as "holy of holies," "debir".^[2] The term is sometimes extended to similar spaces in other cultural contexts, as in Egyptian temples or the Western mystery school, Builders of the Adytum.

The term abaton (

Greek Orthodox

tradition, usually of the parts of monasteries accessible only to monks or only to male visitors.

Truncated variants of the term, adyt or adyte (plural: adites, addittes, adyts) are found in English as early as the late 16th century. By the early 19th century, the term acquired a figurative meaning, referring to the innermost parts of any structure or of the human psyche.^[3]

Sources

Broad, William J. The Oracle: The lost secrets and hidden messages of ancient Delphi. Penguin Press, 2006.

References

Gaia. Themis, who is associated with her in tradition as her daughter and partner or successor, is really another manifestation of the same deity: an identity which Aeschylus himself recognized in another context. The worship of these two, as one or distinguished, was displaced by the introduction of Apollo. His origin has been the subject of much learned controversy: it is sufficient for our purpose to take him as the Homeric Hymn represents him—a northern intruder—and his arrival must have occurred in the dark interval between Mycenaean and Hellenic
times. His conflict with Ge for the possession of the cult site was represented under the legend of his slaying the serpent."

ISBN 978-965-221-013-5
.

^ OED, s.v., adyt, n., entry 3059.

Authority control databases: National

Germany

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Adyton&oldid=1220672985"

[1] Gaia. Themis, who is associated with her in tradition as her daughter and partner or successor, is really another manifestation of the same deity: an identity which Aeschylus himself recognized in another context. The worship of these two, as one or distinguished, was displaced by the introduction of Apollo. His origin has been the subject of much learned controversy: it is sufficient for our purpose to take him as the Homeric Hymn represents him—a northern intruder—and his arrival must have occurred in the dark interval between Mycenaean and Hellenic
times. His conflict with Ge for the possession of the cult site was represented under the legend of his slaying the serpent."

[2] ISBN 978-965-221-013-5
.

[3] OED, s.v., adyt, n., entry 3059.

[1]

[2]

[3]

See also

Sources

References