A sacred precinct, literally, a place cut off, a section.

Greek temenos (τέμενος, from the Greek verb τέμνω "to cut"). It was a piece of land cut off and declared to be an official domain, especially to kings and chiefs, or a piece of land marked off from common uses and dedicated to a god, a sanctuary, a holy grove, or a holy precinct.

Examples of temene: The Pythian race-course was called a temenos; as well as, the sacred valley of the Nile, the Acropolis was the temenos of Pallas, and Olympia was the temenos of Zeus.