Glossary · H
Hypostyle
Also called hypostyle hall
A hall whose roof rests on many rows of columns (Greek hypo, under, stylos, column). The great example is the hall at Karnak with 134 columns, its taller central aisle lit by a clerestory.
See also: Clerestory
Rules that use the word
Along the axis: floors rise, roofs fall, light fades. Arrange the temple on a single axis (pylon, open court, hypostyle hall, sanctuary) so that at each threshold the floor rises, the roof descends and the light diminishes, until the god’s shrine is reached in darkness.
The hypostyle grows by addition. Make the prayer hall of identical bays of columns and arcades, so that it can be enlarged by adding aisles or bays without changing its character.
Where it appears in the book
In the chapters Post and Lintel, The Ancient World, The Islamic World.
A feature of Ancient Egyptian, Achaemenid Persian, Early Islamic (Umayyad and Abbasid) architecture.
Nearby in the glossary
Horseshoe arch · Hortus conclusus · Hyperbolic paraboloid · Hypocaust · Iconostasis · Imperial staircase · Impluvium · Impost