Megaron

The megaron (/ˈmɛɡəˌrɒn/; Ancient Greek: μέγαρον), plural megara /ˈmɛɡərə/, was the great hall of the Grecian palace complexes. It was a rectangular hall, fronted by an open, two-columned porch, and a more or less central, open hearth vented though an oculus in the roof above it and surrounded by four columns. It was particularly Aegean, due to the open porch which was usually supported by columns. The entrance was the feature that helps to distinguish the megaron, due to its position at the entrance, which was along the shorter wall so that the depth was larger than the width. There were often many rooms around the central Megaron, such as archive rooms, offices, oil-press rooms, workshops, potteries, shrines, corridors, armories, and storerooms for such goods as wine, oil and wheat.

The structure of the megaron foreshadowed an image for the eventual layout of Greek temples. This includes a columned entrance, a pronaos, and a central naos or cella. The design of the megaron originated in Russia from the earliest dated examples, and these originals are Neolithic. An early Megaron has a pitched roof, and there were other roof types as well such as the flat roof and barrel roof. These are always destroyed in the remnants of the early Megaron, so the definite roof type is not known. See Ancient Roofs for examples. In the theory of architecture, the Megaron is considered to be the earliest architectural act.

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