adytum

Latin > English (Lewis & Short)

ădytum: i, n., = ἄδυτον (not to be entered),
I the innermost part of a temple, the sanctuary, which none but priests could enter, and from which oracles were delivered.
I Lit.: in occultis ac remotis templi, quae Graeci ἄδυτα appellant, Caes. B. C. 3, 105: aeternumque adytis effert penetralibus ignem, Verg. A. 2, 297: isque adytis haec tristia dicta reportat, id. ib. 2, 115; 6, 98; Hor. C. 1, 16, 5.—In gen., a secret place, chamber; of the dead, a grave, tomb, in Verg. A. 5, 84, and Juv. 13, 205: descriptionem cubiculorum in adytis, chambers in secret places, i. e. inner chambers, Vulg. 1 Par. 28, 11.—
II Fig.: ex adyto tamquam cordis responsa dedere, the inmost recesses, * Lucr. 1, 737.!*? In Attius also masc. adytus, ūs: adytus augura, in Non. 488, 4 (Trag. Rel. p. 217 Rib.).

Latin > French (Gaffiot 2016)

ădўtum, ī, n. (ἄδυτον, où l’on ne peut pénétrer), partie la plus secrète d’un lieu sacré, sanctuaire : Cæs. C. 3, 105, 5 ; Virg., Hor., etc. ; [en parlant d’un tombeau] : ab imis adytis Virg. En. 5, 84, du fond du mausolée || [fig.] ex adyto tamquam cordis Lucr. 1, 737, sortant comme du sanctuaire de l’âme.
     adytus, ūs, m., Acc. Tr. 624.

Latin > German (Georges)

adytum, ī, n. (ἄδυτον), gew. Plur. adyta, ōrum, n. (ἄδυτα), das Unbetretbare = der innerste, den Laien unzugängliche Raum eines Heiligtums, besond. der, aus dem die Priester die Göttersprüche holten, das Allerheiligste, Verg., Hor. u.a.: ima adyta, eines Grabes, Verg. u. Lucan.: alqm adytis suis accipere (v. den Musen), Col. – übtr., ex adyto tamquam cordis, aus dem Innersten des Herzens, Lucr. 1, 737. – / Nbf. adytus, ūs, m., Acc. tr. 624.

Latin > English

adytum adyti N N :: innermost part of a temple, sanctuary, shrine; innermost recesses/chamber

Wikipedia EN

The adyton (Ancient Greek: ἄδῠτον [ádyton], 'innermost sanctuary, shrine', lit. 'not to be entered') or adytum (Latin) was a restricted area within the cella of a Greek or Roman temple. The adyton was frequently a small area at the farthest end of the cella from the entrance: at Delphi it measured just 9 by 12 feet (2.7 by 3.7 m). The adyton often would house the cult image of the deity.

Adyta were spaces reserved for oracles, priestesses, priests, or acolytes, and not for the general public. Adyta were found frequently associated with temples of Apollo, as at Didyma, Bassae, Clarus, Delos, and Delphi, although they were also said to have been natural phenomena (see the story of Nyx). Those sites often had been dedicated to deities whose worship preceded that of Apollo and may go back to prehistoric eras, such as Delphi, but who were supplanted by the time of Classical Greek culture.

In modern usage, the term is sometimes extended to similar spaces in other cultural contexts, as in Egyptian temples or the Western mystery school, Builders of the Adytum.

The term abaton (Koinē Greek: ἄβατον, [ábaton], 'inaccessible') or avato (Greek: άβατο, [ˈavato]) is used in the same sense in Greek Orthodox tradition, usually of the parts of monasteries accessible only to monks or only to male visitors.