The Pantheon
The Pantheon is the best preserved and one of the most impressive of all Roman buildings. It was constructed in AD 118-128 during the reign of Emperor Hadrian. The Pantheon was a temple to all the Olympic Gods, and the word pantheon is Greek for "of all the gods". The Pantheon today is a remake of the original one, which was built by M. Vispanius Agrippa in 27 BC. A fire probably destroyed it. In AD 609, Pope Boniface VIII received the temple as a gift from the emperor of Byzantium. He
The Pantheon is an immense round temple covered by a single dome, fronted by a transitional block and a traditional portico of eight Corinthian columns. 5 metres in length and 18 metres deep. The drum and dome are made of solid monolithic concrete, reinforced with bands of vitrified tile. 1 metres thick, and is hollowed out by a series of alternately rectangular curve niches or recesses. The only window in the building is a central oculus, 9. The diametre of the hemispherical dome and cylinder is 43. 6 metres and the cylinder has a height of 26. Therefore, the dome has a radius of 26. If the dome were a full sphere, the curve of the inner surface would just touch the floor; thus, a perfect sphere is contained, a symbolic reference to the temple's dedication to all gods (pan ("all") plus theos ("god")=in the sphere of the heavens).
Common topics in this essay:
Boniface VIII,
,
Olympic Gods,
Vispanius Agrippa,
Hadrian Pantheon,
266 metres,
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