Pantheon

Sunday, June 14, 2009

The Pantheon was a temple that was built in Ancient Rome meant to honor all the gods. Marcus Agrippa originally built the temple, but it was destroyed by the great fire of 80 AD. The Emperor Hadrian rebuilt the Pantheon circa 126 AD, however Hadrian made sure that credit was still given to Agrippa when he had the Latin words for “Marcus Agrippa built this” carved into the façade of the pediment.

The Pantheon is an incredible building. It is the oldest large-scale dome in Rome, and it was the largest in the world until Florence Cathedral was built in 1436. The portico at the front of the Pantheon is built Hypostyle with three rows of eight columns, which were quarried in Egypt making the portico itself very expensive. Once you walk through the portico and enter in through the large bronze doors you come into the great circular “rotunda” or circular vault. This rotunda is amazing in the fact the height of the room with its dome would match the diameter to create a perfect sphere.

The Dome of the Pantheon is what makes the building incredible and unmistakable. Because the dome was set to be so massive the Romans need to find some way to have the dome support itself. At the time the most common building material was concrete. By adding very thick base concrete to the bottom and gradually using lighter concrete as they continued to the top the Romans were able to create a free standing Dome. The use of square coffers also helped to diminish the weight of the dome. In the center of the dome there is a grand oculus (or “eye”) that is 29 feet in diameter and is the only source of natural light in the building.

By: Michelle Paz