prytaneum

[prit-n-ee-uhm]

noun

1. a public building in ancient Greece, containing the symbolic hearth of the community and commonly resembling a private dwelling in plan, used as a community meeting place and as a lodging for guests of the community.

prytaneum

/ ˌprɪtəˈniːəm /

noun

1. the public hall of a city in ancient Greece

Word History and Origins

Origin of prytaneum¹

1590–1600; < Latin prytanēum < Greek prytaneîon, akin to prýtanis prince, ruler, chief

Word History and Origins

Origin of prytaneum¹

Latin, from Greek prutaneion, from prutanis, prutaneus

Example Sentences

As Hestia had her home in the prytaneum, special temples dedicated to her are of rare occurrence.

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In this character her special sanctuary was in the prytaneum, where the common hearth-fire round which the magistrates meet is ever burning, and where the sacred rites that sanctify the concord of city life are performed.

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To the east of the space in front of the temple was an oblong building of two chambers, with a colonnade on each side but not in front; this may have been the Prytaneum or some other official building; beyond it is the most interesting and characteristic of all the monuments of Delphi.

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Perhaps, the most striking is a scene from Smith's Classical Dictionary, in which Agamemnon is represented as blowing a kiss, across the Prytaneum, to Clytemnestra, who is pacing the Bema, in the absence of her guardian on a secret expedition. �gisthus appears in the background, detained by some law business, and the Chorus is endeavouring to convince him that he is in the wrong.

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Prytaneum, prit-an-ē′um, n. the town-hall of an ancient Greek city where ambassadors were received, and citizens who had deserved well of the state were sometimes allowed to dine at the public expense.

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