Aedis
A temple that housed a specific deity
Aedis (plural aedes) is a Latin term that refers to a temple building in ancient Rome. Not to be confused with the Latin word templum, which means a religiously consecrated sanctuary, aedis refers to the actual architectural structure of a temple, whether or not it contains a templum. This said, most aedes were built in conjunction with templa, or had templa consecrated after their construction. Templa were the spaces where priests could interact with and honor the gods, aedes were the buildings in which such worship sometimes took place and where statues and shrines to gods were housed. This is an important distinction to make, because our modern understanding of the English word “temple” tends to encompass the meanings of both templum and aedis. As a result, many tend to use the Latin word templum to mean a “temple,” when in fact aedis would be a more correct word to use (Seindal, 2003). Thus, for example, the Temple of Hercules Victor in Latin would be Aedis Herculis Victoris. In later centuries of antiquity some writers did begin referring to aedes as templa, which has added confusion to an already often-overlooked distinction. Aedes were sometimes the location of political decisions and senate meetings as well, because political decisions could only be made within a templum. When the senate could not meet in a curia (the main Roman senate building), they would often meet in an aedis because they would usually contain a templum (Seindal, 2003). Roman aedes often followed a typical style which was adapted from both Etruscan and Greek influences. Aedes often were built on a podium with a staircase at the front of the building. The front would have a porticus (a collonaded porch extending across the front of the building), which would then lead into the interior of the building where there would be one or more cellae (rooms within aedes containing shrines or statues to gods). The building would be closed off on the sides and back, and the exterior would have false columns wrapping the entire building. The A-shaped roof of the aedis was called the pediment, and the front triangular face above the porticus was called the tympanum - this was often used for decoration along with the frieze below it and the entablature which wrapped around the building below the roof line. While stylistic variations exist among all of these features, these were the typical features of a Roman aedis (A touch of Rome, n.d.).
Bibliography
Latin Dictionary Entry
Aedis - Perseus Digital Library
Jay Brodzeller, 2022