# Monopteros

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{{Short description|Type of structure}}
{{Redirect|Cyclostyle|the copying machine|Cyclostyle (copier)}}{{For|the extinct fish|Monopteros (fish)}}thumb|upright|Schematic plan of a monopteros
A '''monopteros''' ([Ancient Greek](/source/Ancient_Greek): {{lang|grc|ὁ μονόπτερος}}, from: μόνος, 'only, single, alone', and {{lang|grc|τὸ πτερόν}}, 'wing'), also called a '''monopteron''' or '''cyclostyle''', is a circular [colonnade](/source/colonnade) supporting a roof but without any walls.<ref>Curl, James Stevens (2006). ''Oxford Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture'', 2nd ed., OUP, Oxford and New York, p. 500. {{ISBN|978-0-19-860678-9}}.</ref> Unlike a [tholos](/source/Tholos_(architecture)) (in its wider sense as a circular building), it does not have walls making a ''[cella](/source/cella)'' or room inside. In [Greek](/source/Ancient_Greece) and especially [Roman](/source/Ancient_Rome) antiquity, the term could also be used for a tholos. In ancient times, monopteroi (Ancient Greek: {{lang|grc|οἱ μονόπτεροι}}) served among other things as a form of [baldachin](/source/baldachin) for a cult image. An example of this is the [Monument of Lysicrates](/source/Choragic_Monument_of_Lysicrates) in [Athens](/source/Athens), albeit with the spaces between the columns being walled in, even in ancient times. The [Temple of Roma and Augustus](/source/Temple_of_Roma_and_Augustus) on the [Athenian Acropolis](/source/Acropolis_of_Athens) is a monopteros from Roman times, with open spaces between the columns.

Monopteroi were popular [garden features](/source/List_of_garden_features) in [English-](/source/English_landscape_garden) and [French-style](/source/French_formal_garden) gardens, often given classical names such as "[muses](/source/muses)' temple". Many [wells](/source/Well) in [park](/source/park)s and spa centres are covered by a monopteros. Many monopteroi have [staffage](/source/staffage) structures like a [porticus](/source/Portico) placed in front of the monopteros. These also have only a decorative function, because they are not needed in order to provide an entrance to a temple that is open on all sides.

Many monopteroi are described as [rotunda](/source/rotunda_(architecture))s due to their circular [floor plan](/source/floor_plan). The tholos also goes by that name. However, many monopteroi have square or polygonal plans, and these would not be described as rotundas. An example is the Muses' Temple with the muse, [Polyhymnia](/source/Polyhymnia), in the grounds of [Tiefurt House](/source/Tiefurt_House), that has a hexagonal floor plan.

== Examples ==
<gallery>
File:Bayreuth-Hofgartenpavillon-2.jpg|The pavilion in the Court Garden of the New Palace, [Bayreuth](/source/Bayreuth), [Bavaria](/source/Bavaria), Germany
File:Munich, 2013 (10383018573).jpg|The monopteros in the [English Garden](/source/Englischer_Garten), [Munich](/source/Munich), Germany
File:Apollotempel Nymphenburg Muenchen-1.jpg|The Apollo Temple in the Nymphenburg Castle Park, Munich, Germany
File:SchlossLinderhof Venustempel.JPG|The Venus Temple at the [Linderhof Palace](/source/Linderhof_Palace), Bavaria, Germany
File:Leibniztempel Hannover.jpg|The Leibniz Temple in the [Georgengarten](/source/Georgengarten), [Hanover](/source/Hanover), Germany
File:Vilbeltrinkbrunnen retouched.jpg|Well temple in the spa park at [Bad Vilbel](/source/Bad_Vilbel), Germany
File:Eutin Monopteros.jpg|Monopteros in the castle park at [Eutin Castle](/source/Eutin_Castle) (by [C. F. Hansen](/source/Christian_Frederik_Hansen), 1796)
File:Wörlitz Venustempel im Winter 2.jpg|Venus Temple in the [Wörlitzer Park](/source/Dessau-W%C3%B6rlitz_Garden_Realm), Germany
File:Fruestueckspavillon-Kassel-I.JPG|The Breakfast Pavilion (''Frühstückspavillon'') in [Kassel](/source/Kassel), Germany
File:Siege Bell Memorial monument.jpg|The Siege Bell Memorial in [Valletta](/source/Valletta), Malta
</gallery>

== See also ==
* [Belvedere (structure)](/source/Belvedere_(structure))
* [Eyecatchers](/source/Eyecatcher_(landscape))
* [Gazebo](/source/Gazebo)
* [Aedicule](/source/Aedicule), often not free-standing
* [Baldachin](/source/Baldachin) (canopy)
* [Ciborium](/source/Ciborium_(architecture)) (canopy)
* [Cupola](/source/Cupola), on top of a dome

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Literature ==
* Wolfgang Binder: ''Der Roma-Augustus Monopteros auf der Akropolis in Athen und sein typologischer Ort''. Karlsruhe 1969.
* Ingrid Weibezahn: ''Geschichte und Funktion des Monopteros. Untersuchungen zu einem Gebäudetyp des Spätbarock und des Klassizismus''. Hildesheim 1975. {{ISBN|3-487-05764-6}}. Online: [https://books.google.com/books?id=g77HQ6gZEtkC] (Google Books).

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Monopteros}}
{{EB1911|wstitle=Cyclostyle |volume=7|page=689}}
*[http://www.stadtpanoramen.de/wiesbaden/aussichtstempel.html Wiesbaden monopteros - 360° panorama]
*[http://www.leibniztempel.de/ Photographs and historical background to the Leibniz Temple in Hanover]

{{Garden features}}
{{Authority control}}

Category:Columns and entablature
Category:Temples in Greece
Category:Rotundas (architecture)
Category:Buildings and structures by shape
Category:Garden features

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Monopteros](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monopteros) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monopteros?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.