What is "tholos"

n. 1 A dome, or domed building; a cupola. 2 A dome-shaped tomb from the Mycenaean period of Ancient Greece.

Τholos may refer to:

• Tholos (building), a circular structure, often a temple, of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, and in classical or neoclassical architecture
  • Tholos (Ancient Rome), a structure found in the centre of the macellum
  • Tholos (Athens), a building which housed the Prytaneion, or seat of government, in ancient Athens
  • Tholos (Delphi), a circular building located approximately 800 metres from the main site of the ruined Temple of Apollo at Delphi
  • Tholos ( Epidaurus), a circular building with an ornate astronomical floor design
  • Tholos (Washington DC), the tallest part of the United States Capitol dome, on which the Statue of Freedom stands
• Other circular buildings, either predating ancient Greece or from different geographical areas
  • Tholos tomb, or Beehive tomb
  • Tholos, keyhole-shaped houses of the Halaf culture of the Ancient Near East

Other meanings

• Tholos, an alternative name of Theologos, Rhodes, a village in Greece

A tholos (pl. tholoi), from Ancient Greek θόλος), in Latin tholus (pl. tholi), is an architectural feature that was widely used in the classical world. It is a round structure, usually built upon a couple of steps (a podium), with a ring of columns supporting a domed roof. In Roman cities they could often be found in the center of the macellum, where they might have been where fish were sold. Other uses for the central tholos have been suggested, such as the place where official weights and measures were held for reference or as shrines to the gods of the market place. Some macella had a water fountain or water feature in the centre of their courtyard instead of a tholos structure.