Propylaea
In ancient Greek architecture, a propylaea, propylea or propylaia (; Greek: προπύλαια) is a monumental gateway. The prototypical Greek example is the propylaea that serves as the entrance to the Acropolis of Athens. The Greek Revival Brandenburg Gate of Berlin and the Propylaea in Munich both evoke the central portion of the Athens propylaea. Etymology. The Greek word προπύλαιον "propylaeon" ("propylaeum" is the Latin version) is the union of the prefix προ- "pro-", "before, in front of" plus the plural of πύλη "pyle" "gate," meaning literally "that which is before the gates," but the word has come to mean simply  gate building. Propylaea of the Athenian Acropolis. The Propylaea was the monumental gateway to the Acropolis commissioned by the Athenian leader Pericles in order to rebuild the Acropolis at the conclusion of the Persian Wars. Propylaea outside the Greco-Roman world. The oldest known freestanding propylaeum is the one located at the palace area in Pasargadae, an Achaemenid capital. A covered passage, called "the Propylaeum", used to face the Palace of Darius at Susa. In the 18th Century, the Athenian Propylaea inspired Carl Gotthard Langhans in construction of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.