10 Beautiful Latin and Ancient Greek Architectural Words

Arkhitekton – master builder, director of works, also known as an architect. Apollodorus (image above) of Damascus is a Greek Architect and Engineer. If you’re wondering why the noses are missing in almost all of Greek and Egyptian sculptures (including the Great Sphinx of Giza), this is because they are deliberately removed by early Christian and Muslims due to their religious beliefs, according to their religion, there is a prohibition against depicting representational images in religious art and sculptures. From my limited knowledge, most modern Christian no longer practices this, with the exception of Methodist (they do not have any sculpture of Jesus on the cross nor any images of him on their walls in their church) and Jehovah Witness.

Renovatio – Supposedly meaning rebirth, renewal, renovation or restoration. This is by far my favorite Latin word I learnt from the movie ‘The Island‘ (Nice Movie). If you do not know the movie, you’ve probably heard the soundtrack on other movies too – My Name Is Lincoln (Awesome).

Fresco – wet paint on wet plaster. Fresco was a technique where paint was applied to wet plaster. This technique was very durable when done properly and were widely used during the Renaissance.

Odeion – building for musical competitions.

Caryatid – a sculptured female figure serving as an architectural support, also known as a column. The later male counterpart of the caryatid is referred to as a telamon.

Agora – an open “place of assembly” in ancient greek city-states.

Mosaic – the art of creating images with small pieces of colored glass, stone. or other materials. The Alexander Mosaic, dating from circa 100 BC, is a Roman floor mosaic originally from the House of the Faun in Pompeii.

Domus – the type of house occupied by the upper classes and wealthy.

Arcus – an arcade, it is a succession of arches, latin word for ‘bow’.

Oculis – a hole in the ceiling. Oculus on the other hand means ‘an eye’ in Latin.