arch, the
A curved structure, as a masonry, that covers openings in the stonework and is capable to supports the weight of material over an open space, as in a bridge, doorway, etc. It is often used as a decorative element.

freedman, the
a slave that was set free.

hippodamian plan
A town-planning system, developed by architect Hippodamus from Miletus. It was based on a grid-shaped plan which laid out roads and streets intersecting each other in opposite directions.

niche
Semi-circular recess on the surface of the wall.

palaestra
A colonnaded enclosure for athletic exercise. The palaestra functioned both independently and as a part of the Greek gymnasium. It was formed as an open court surrounded by colonnades with adjoining rooms.

proconsul, -lis
A quite high ranking official, vir spectabilis according to the rank of the senate, who was inequable only to the Domestikos of the Scholae and to the Magister Militum per Orientem. The proconsul usually served as a governor of the Imperial provinces (i.e. in Asia Minor the provinces of Asia and Cappadocia). The office was demoted from the 9th century onwards and the term was in use until the 12th century meaning a dignity.

stoa, portico, the
A long building with a roof supported by one or two colonnades parallel to its back wall.