What does cella mean?
In classical architecture, the cella is the innermost chamber of an ancient Greek or Roman temple — the enclosed room that housed the cult statue of the deity and was generally accessible only to priests rather than ordinary worshippers. While the colonnaded exterior of temples such as the Parthenon dominates our mental image, the cella was functionally the heart of the building, the sacred core toward which ritual activity was directed. The term derives from Latin, where cella meant any small enclosed room or storeroom, and it shares ancestry with words like 'cell' and 'cellar'. Today it appears almost exclusively in scholarly and specialist contexts — archaeological reports, art history, and architectural writing — where precision about temple structure matters. Its plural is cellae. For readers of classical literature or museum guides, recognizing the word unlocks a more accurate picture of how ancient sanctuaries were actually organized and used.
nounThe inner chamber or sanctuary of a classical temple, especially the room housing the cult statue of the deity.
- The inner chamber of a classical temple housing the cult image of the deity.
"Visitors to the temple of Aphaia could once enter the cella, where a statue of the goddess stood in dim lamplight."
"Only priests were permitted beyond the columns into the cella of the Parthenon's predecessor."
"Archaeologists measured the cella walls to reconstruct the temple's original floor plan."
The plural follows the Latin first-declension pattern and is standard in scholarly writing.
"Both temples had cellae oriented toward the east."
The word 'cell' for your body's tiny units and the 'cella' of a Greek temple both come from the same Latin root meaning a small enclosed space.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cella
The word cella comes directly from Latin, where it denoted a small enclosed room, storeroom, or dwelling within a larger structure; Roman writers applied it to the hidden inner chamber of a temple. It entered English usage through Renaissance and later antiquarian scholarship on classical architecture. The Latin root is traditionally connected to the verb celare, 'to hide,' making cella a relative of English 'conceal,' as well as of 'cell' and 'cellar.'
How cella is actually used
A technical term used mainly in archaeology, classical studies, and architectural history; in everyday speech it would typically need explanation.
Easily confused with cella
A cellar is an underground storage room in a building, whereas a cella is the sacred inner chamber of an ancient temple.