Peristyle

In ancient Greek and Roman architecture, a peristyle (/ˈpɛrɪˌstaɪl/; Ancient Greek: περίστυλον, romanized: perístulon) is a continuous porch formed by a row of columns surrounding the perimeter of a building or a courtyard. Tetrastoön (τετράστῳον/τετράστοον, tetrástōion/tetrástoon, 'four arcades') is a rarely used archaic term for this feature. The peristyle in a Greek temple is a peristasis (περίστασις, perístasis). In the Christian ecclesiastical architecture that developed from the Roman basilica, a courtyard peristyle and its garden came to be known as a cloister.