Compare And Contrast The Panhenome And The Parthenon

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Introduction

The Pantheon in Rome and the Parthenon in Athens are 2 very influential structures and architectural breakthrough milestones in the history of humanity. They have inspired designers and architects of all generations since their erection and continue to draw visitors to admire and study their majestic natures.

There are varying similarities seen in the forms of the buildings along with their original purposes. One similarity is the context for why both structures were built. They were both created as places of worship for the gods. In Athens, a statue of Athena was placed in the Parthenon and she was worshiped for her victory in battle. Where as in Rome, the Pantheon was built to worship many gods and emperor deities. These
This shows that Rome was the successor of Greek culture and design. It is important to note that Roman culture was known to imitate and copy ancient Greek architectural style. Often for more aesthetic reasons, and not the mathematical or design reasons the Greeks originally saw in their creations (as mentioned above). But this was not the case with the Pantheon. There are many references to geometric shapes (circles and squares) throughout the building. In addition, the dome was created at a height that is a perfect sphere above the ground which was a mathematical and structural
This is quite different than the Parthenon, which focused on the pillars both inside and outside of the building. Marble stone pillars are a focal point on the façade and entrance was inside the Pantheon, but they were not made with meticulous seamless vertical fluting down them nor were they pieced together to change the width of the pillar to create an optical illusion of straightness. Instead, each pillar on the Pantheon has a Corinthian design atop it’s header region for some decoration and not much else to make it stand out. Furthermore, the pillars inside are only decorative, not structural.

The main focus of the Pantheon is the dome at its centre. The dome is made of cement, which was not available to Greek civilizations. As mentioned in the Khan Academy video referenced, the Romans were the society that perfected the use of concrete for their design and structural needs. The dome is supported by large concrete crutches in the barrel on the outside of the building. This was not something the Greeks could’ve

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