propylées

The term propylaea is a masculine noun that comes from the Greek πρόπυλον / προπύλαιον, which, in ancient Greece, designated a monumental gateway. A propylaea was originally an entrance hall leading to a sanctuary; it was the entrance between a profane place (the city) and a divine world (the sanctuary). But today, it designates a monumental access. The most famous propylaea is that of the Acropolis of Athens.