Ancient Greeks loved to make a grand entrance. Literally. Their sanctuaries were almost invariably surrounded by a wall that identified and set apart a piece of sacred land. Such a wall should have an entrance. Frequently this entrance required some protection from the sun and the rain, so people placed tree-trunks on each side of the door to support the roof. Eventually the wooden posts were replaced by stone columns and the roof became an elaborate piece of masonry richly adorned. The love of the ancient Greeks for these porches could assume ridiculous proportions. There are examples of porches in sanctuaries where there was no wall and no temple!