pylon
Sign in to savemonumental gateway of an Egyptian temple
In the Vinony graph
Within Vinony's link graph, pylon is referenced by 397 other articles, and connects out to Greek, pyramid and pharaoh.
Vinony files it under Architectural elements and Gates.
Its subject is documented across 42 Wikipedia language editions.
~3 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Temple of Isis first pylon, Philae
In ancient Egyptian architecture, a pylon is a monumental gate of an Egyptian temple (Egyptian: bxn.t in the Manuel de Codage transliteration). The English word "pylon" comes from the Greek term πύλη 'gate'. The Egyptian pylon consists of two pyramidal towers, each tapered and surmounted by a cornice, joined by a less elevated section enclosing the entrance between them. The gate was generally about half the height of the towers. Contemporary paintings of pylons show them with long poles flying banners.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “pylon” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.