ROMAN ART

        PANTHEON  

                

Built  Name :  Trajan, Hadrian

Artwork Name : Pantheon 

Location : Region IX Circus Flaminius

The Pantheon is the best preserved building from ancient Rome and was completed in (c.125 CE)  in the reign of Hadrian. Its magnificent dome is a lasting testimony to the genius of Roman architects and as the building stands virtually intact it offers a unique opportunity for the modern visitor to step back 2,000 years and experience the glory that was Rome.  

FUNCTION & DEDICATION

The Pantheon was built on the exact site of two earlier Pantheon buildings, one commissioned by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa (27-25 BCE) and the second by Domitian. The first was destroyed by fire in 80 CE and the second was struck by lightning in 110 CE and again burned down. The third Pantheon was probably begun in the reign of Trajan (98-117 CE) but not finally finished until around 125 CE when Hadrian was emperor.

Following Hadrian’s usual practice of dedicating rebuilt buildings and monuments in honour of the original dedicator, the Pantheon is dedicated to Marcus Agrippa and the prominent inscription on the porch façade reads:  M. Agrippa L.F. Cos Tertium Fecit (Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, three-time consul, made this).

Below the main inscription is a smaller one indicating the restorations carried out by Septimius Severus and Caracalla in 202 CE .

                                           

EXTERIOR

• The whole building stands on a 1.3 m high base which originally extended a further 7 metres in front of the colonnade. Steps in Numidian yellow marble extended from the outer ends of this base. 

• The building consists of two principal parts .The porch, which is very Classical Greek in presentation, and the circular main building which is much more Roman in style and reminiscent of the architecture of the large Roman baths. The circular building is built with brick and concrete but was originally faced with white marble stucco to match the porch in appearance. 

The porch measures 33.1 x 13.6 m and presents a front colonnade of eight Corinthian columns 11.8 m high. The monolithic column shafts are in Mons Claudianus and Aswan grey granite with the bases and capitals in white Pentelic marble. The pediment above the columns is now empty but drill holes suggest there was originally an emblem of some sort, possibly an eagle or wreath which would have been in gilded bronze and symbolised Jupiter. 

                                  

INTERIOR

• 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 measuring 12 x 7.5 m (those of today are ancient but not original). The rotunda measures 43.2 m in diameter 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) which is 8.8 m in diameter and 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 wall of the rotunda is 6 metres thick and has seven alcoves which are alternatively semi-circular  and rectangular . 

In my conclude , The Pantheon show was for centuries a source of materials for new buildings and other purposes including the making of cannons and weapons. In addition to the loss of original finishing, sculpture, and all of its bronze elements, many other changes were made to the building from the fourth century to today.

References 

Paul Godfrey and David Hemsoll. “The Pantheon: Temple or Rotunda?” in Pagan Gods and Shrines of the Roman Empire, edited by Martin Henig and Anthony King (Oxford: Oxford University Committee for Archaeology, 1986), pp. 195-209. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/.../the-pantheon.

Cartwright, M. (2013, June 12). Pantheon. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.ancient.eu/Pantheon/