Architectural Elements of the Thracian Cultic Buildings. The Doors

Abstract

This article is a part of a wider research ofthe Thracian cultic buildings, concerning the different architectural elements that can be distinguished in their structure. In the sacred architecture, along with their utilitarian function these elements are very often bearers of symbolic meaning. This is why most of them have turned into archetypes of the sacred. The focus ofthis article is the door. Doors take partin the definition ofthe boundary between inside and outside, light and darkness, allowed and forbidden, between the sacred and the profane space, and metaphorically, between the different worlds. They are also the places for crossing this boundary, but according to strict rules, restricting the accessibility. The article examines the prototype of this architectural element as well as its geometry with a regard to the sub-elements that every door consists of. It offers several kinds of classification ofthe doors in the Thracian cultic buildings and specifies different functions and meaning they have in creation of the sacred atmosphere inside.

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