The+Pantheon

** History: ** One of the first things Michelangelo said once he saw the Pantheon was that it was “angelic and not human design”. There has been much controversy over the years on why the grand temple is still standing after about 2,000 years. Built under the emperor Hadrian around 125 A.D., some people believe the Pantheon is "divinely protected". Others say the construction was just so well built (concrete, etc.) that it still stands today. The purpose of the construction was to have a place that could be dedicated to all gods. There was an original structure built around 27 B.C. under Agrippa (the son of Caesar) but was burned in a fire caused by lighting striking the Pantheon. Across the front of the Pantheon reads: M.AGRIPPA.L.F.COS.TERTIUM.FECIT or "Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, having been consul three times, built it" in reference to the original construction in 27 B.C. The design of the temple influenced many different buildings around Europe and America—one of which was Thomas Jefferson’s home in Virginia.

**Construction Of the Temple:** The way the temple itself was constructed was an amazing and daring practice for architects at the time. Built of marble, brick, and concrete, the construction of the Pantheon was difficult and time consuming, and often needed to be built in stages. One of the most miraculous and amazing attributes of the Pantheon is the large dome and oculus located inside the temple. The //oculus// is an opening in which light enters and moves around a dome. Rain would fall through the oculus and enter the drainpipes the Romans built underneath the floor that are still in use today. A source of natural light in the building, the oculus was one of the constructed aspects of the Pantheon that was a daring attempt to build. Earlier types of holes in domes had been attempted, but not to the grand scale as the one in the Pantheon. On the outside of the Pantheon was a porch that was supported by 16 large granite columns. The Pantheon uses a contrast of porch and drum, creating a big impact on the design (an infusion of construction and mathematics). As expected with a building of such grandeur and complexity, the construction of the Pantheon did not always go smoothly and without flaw. Two of the problems regarding building the Pantheon were a lack of machinery and transportation.



Used as a Christian church since the 7th century, Pope Urban VIII added two bell towers which were then removed in 1833. As no one truly knows the exact age of the Pantheon (historians were able to narrow the date around 126 A.D. because of the types of brick used), many people have different ideas of why the temple was built. One legend states that the first Roman citizens built the original Pantheon on the site where the current one is today. The legend says the Romans built the first Pantheon after Romulus, their "mythological founder" who came down from heaven to the site of the building. The Romans then dedicated the temple to Romulus and worshiped there. Most people, however, say that Agrippa built the first Pantheon during 27 B.C. which burned in a huge fire in 80 A.D., to be rebuilt by an Emporer named Domitian and then struck by lightning and burned once more in 110 A.D.

Hadrian—the Emporer who rebuilt the Pantheon—was a ruler who saw himself as a poet inspired by God. Hadrian had an interest in Hellenistic culture and wanted to design a building that had an entrance portico, a circular domed rotunda or vault, and a connection between the two. “My intentions had been that this sanctuary of All Gods should reproduce the likeness of the terrestrial globe and of the stellar sphere…The cupola…revealed the sky through a great hole at the center, showing alternately dark and blue. This temple, both open and mysteriously enclosed, was conceived as a solar quadrant. The hours would make their round on that caissoned ceiling so carefully polished by Greek artisans; the disk of daylight would rest suspended there like a shield of gold; rain would form its clear pool on the pavement below, prayers would rise like smoke toward that void where we place the gods.” (Hadrian on his intentions for the Pantheon). The oculus was constructed because Hadrian saw himself sitting on a throne underneath it.
 * Extra Facts: **



**__//Bibliography://__**

 * Books:**
 * Ramage, Nancy, and Andrew Ramage. "Hadrian and the Classical Revival." //Roman Art Romulus To Con stantine//. 2000. Reprint. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall Inc., 2001. 213-216. Print.
 * DuTemple, Lesley. //The Pantheon//. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications Company, 2003. Print.


 * Websites:**
 * "Pantheon." //A View on Cities.// N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Marc. 2010. []
 * "Ancient Rome: The Pantheon." //Oracle ThinkQuest Library .// N.p., Web. 30 Mar. 2010. <http://library.thinkquest.org/283
 * "Pantheon, Rome - photo, history, info - Rome Guide hotels in Rome." //Rome, Hotels in Rome, Visit Rome, Rome Tourism, Book a Guesthouse in Rome, Book hotels for groups in Rome//. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2010. [].
 * Parker, Freda. "The Pantheon - Rome - 126 AD | Monolithic." //Home of the Monolithic Dome//. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2010. [].
 * "Roman Architecture - The Pantheon." //Old And Sold Antiques Auction//. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2010.[].


 * Sperling, Gert. //Floor Plan of the Pantheon//. N.d. Lehman College, Rome. //Lehman.edu//. Web. 31 Mar. 2010.
 * Unknown. //The Cross Section of the Pantheon//. N.d. Bluffton University, Rome. //Bluffton.edu//. Web. 31 Mar. 2010.
 * Driver, Tim . //Inside View of Columns in Pantheon//. N.d. National Education Network, Rome. //NEN Gallery//. Web. 31 Mar. 2010.
 * Unknown. //Inside View of the Pantheon//. N.d. Non Applicable, Rome. //Hotels and Vacation Reviews: TripAdvisor//. Web. 31 Mar. 2010.
 * Unknown. //Two Bell Towers of Pantheon//. N.d. Rome: A Guide, Rome. //Italian Hours//. Web. 5 Apr. 2010.