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Cella

Architecture
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A cella is the central enclosed room of a classical temple, usually housing the deity’s image. It can represent an inner chamber of worship or imagination.

Detailed Definition
The cella is the protected room at the heart of an ancient temple, where the divine presence was formally lodged. A poet may use it for the inward place where a cherished image is kept: a dead parent, a guiding idea, a private god, or a memory too important for public display. Its enclosure suggests both reverence and the limits placed around what is sacred.
Example
Example in poetry:
In a classical temple, the cella is the enclosed central room that houses the god’s image; “Her childhood was a cella, dark around one bright idol” uses the term for an inward sacred space; A poet may contrast the public colonnade with the private cella to explore appearance and belief; In a poem about archaeology, an empty cella can make the absent deity more powerfully felt
Additional Notes
The cella was the enclosed central room of a Greek or Roman temple, containing the cult statue rather than serving as a large congregational space. Its association with a housed deity gives it powerful inwardness. A poet might describe the cella as the chamber where imagination keeps its image, or where devotion becomes private and still. Related terms include naos, sanctuary, shrine, and temple interior.
Also Known As
Naos
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