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Pantheon
The original
Pantheon built by Marcus Agrippa was destroyed along with
other buildings in the great fire of Rome in 80 AD. The
Pantheon was subsequently rebuilt circa 118 AD during the
reign of the Emperor
Hadrian, however the name of the Agrippa can still be
seen inscripted across the facade of the Pantheon. The
building was repaired by the emperors
Septimius
Severus and
Caracalla in 202 AD, for which there is another, smaller
inscription. This inscription reads "with every refinement
they restored the Pantheon worn by age'. In 609
the Byzantine emperor Phocas gave the building to Pope
Boniface IV who converted the Pantheon into a Christian
church. The Pantheon temple is still standing, with little
alteration, besides the loss of the old ornaments and
statues. The artist Raphael was buried in the Pantheon at
his own request, and in recognition of his achievements.
Pantheon Architecture
The structure is a hundred
and fifty-eight feet high, and about the same width. The
facade has the classical appearance of a Roman Temple with a
colonnaded portico surmounted by a triangular front. The
entrance leads to the interior of the Pantheon and its round
shape makes up the supporting drum for the celebrated
cupola. A cupola is a rounded vault resting on a usually
circular base and forming a roof or a ceiling. The cupola
opening, or oculus, is 8.7 meters (29 feet) wide. The
opening in the cupola is completely open to the elements and
is not covered with glass. Rain water can therefore
soak the Pantheon floor and there are rain water drains,
which are holes in groups of four, in the floor. At its
base, the dome is 23 feet thick, but only two feet thick at
the rim of the oculus. The
roof of the Pantheon is curiously vaulted, void places being here and there
for the greater strength. The rafters were pieces of brass
of 40 feet in length. There are no windows in the whole
of the Pantheon, only a round hole at the top of the roof, which
serves very well for the admission of light. The walls on
the inside are either solid marble or incrusted with marble. The front,
on the outside, was covered with brazen plates, gilt, the
top with silver plates which have now been changed to lead. The
brass doors were of extraordinary work and magnitude. The
massive 60 tons columns used for the portico were quarried
in Egypt. They were transported all the way to Rome using
barges. However the columns for the building of the Pantheon
were wrongly sized, as can be seen by the size of the
building immediately above and backing the portico.
Pantheon Statues
The interior of the
Parthenon is surrounded by by large niches which housed
statues of Roman Gods. It is round so as to place all gods
at the same level of importance. The seven magnificent
niches are situated between 2 Corinthian columns where every
niche held a statue. These statues were believed to
represent the seven gods linked to worship of the planets.
The niche in front of the entrance stands out from the rest
due to it's greater size and different framing.
The seven astrological
planets known to the ancient Romans were the Sun, Moon,
Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn. It therefore
would be a reasonable assumption that the Roman gods
affiliated to these planets were depicted in the Pantheon
statues. It might also be reasonable to assume that the
Pantheon statue of Jupiter (Jove) the king of the gods held
the prominent position of all the Pantheon statues. For
facts and information about these gods and goddesses please
click the appropriate link:
Apollo the God of the Sun
Diana the Goddess of the Moon
Jupiter the King of the Gods
Mars the God of War
Mercury the Messenger of the Gods
Saturn the God of Time
Venus the Goddess of Love
Pantheon
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