The Patheon
Also known as the Pantheon snake, it is located at Piazza della Rotonda Rome, Italy. The Pantheon was built on the site of two earlier Pantheon buildings, one commissioned by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and the second by Domitin. The first was destroyed by fire in 80 CE and the second was struck by lightning in 110 CE and burned down. The third Pantheon began construction in the reign of Trajan but wasn’t finished until 125 CE when Hadrian was emperor. The Pantheon is dedicated to Marcus Agrippa and the prominent inscription on the porch: M. AGRIPPA L.F. Cos TERTIUM FECIT (Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, three-time Consul, made this).
The building consists of two principal parts: the porch and the circular main building. This much more Roman in style and has several architectural similarities to large Roman Baths. The circular building is built using brick and concrete but originally had a white marble stucco to match the marble porch in appearance. The dome is concrete but was originally covered in sheets of bronze however the bronze was removed by Constans II in 663 CE.
The Pantheon may well be the first building from Classical architecture where the interior is deliberately made to outshine the exterior. The circular part of the building or rotunda was entranced via two bronze doors. The rotunda which is exactly the maximum height of the dome, itself a perfect hemisphere. At the very top of the dome is an opening to the sky (oculus) has a decorative bronze sheet frieze. The dome is made from a light tufa and scoria (a type of pumice) mix of concrete (caementa) and its interior is further lightened by five rings of 28 coffers which reduce in size as they rise towards the centre of the dome. These may have been originally covered in bronze sheets.
The Pantheon is still discussed today as a building clouded in mystery. The original purpose of the building is unknown. Although the temple is dedicated to all Greek gods the scale and size of the temple emphasized power and Roman duty. There is also celestial symbolism present in the temple. The representation of celestial symbols and Roman power could be linked to the idea of the empire's far reaches. Hadrian, was a military emperor and conquered many countries during his reign. But we are still unsure of the building's true meaning and purpose. The building today represents the architectural advancements during the late Roman Empire . The Pantheon is attributed with inspiring many other buildings such as the Panthéon in Paris and Thomas Jefferson's rotunda at University of Virginia .
The building consists of two principal parts: the porch and the circular main building. This much more Roman in style and has several architectural similarities to large Roman Baths. The circular building is built using brick and concrete but originally had a white marble stucco to match the marble porch in appearance. The dome is concrete but was originally covered in sheets of bronze however the bronze was removed by Constans II in 663 CE.
The Pantheon may well be the first building from Classical architecture where the interior is deliberately made to outshine the exterior. The circular part of the building or rotunda was entranced via two bronze doors. The rotunda which is exactly the maximum height of the dome, itself a perfect hemisphere. At the very top of the dome is an opening to the sky (oculus) has a decorative bronze sheet frieze. The dome is made from a light tufa and scoria (a type of pumice) mix of concrete (caementa) and its interior is further lightened by five rings of 28 coffers which reduce in size as they rise towards the centre of the dome. These may have been originally covered in bronze sheets.
The Pantheon is still discussed today as a building clouded in mystery. The original purpose of the building is unknown. Although the temple is dedicated to all Greek gods the scale and size of the temple emphasized power and Roman duty. There is also celestial symbolism present in the temple. The representation of celestial symbols and Roman power could be linked to the idea of the empire's far reaches. Hadrian, was a military emperor and conquered many countries during his reign. But we are still unsure of the building's true meaning and purpose. The building today represents the architectural advancements during the late Roman Empire . The Pantheon is attributed with inspiring many other buildings such as the Panthéon in Paris and Thomas Jefferson's rotunda at University of Virginia .