The pantheon is the most preserved building of ancient Rome and served as a temple that was dedicated to “pan theos” which translates to “all the gods”. Marcus Agrippa, the deputy of Rome’s first emperor, is responsible for the construction of the first pantheon. Marcus built the pantheon in 27 BC as a commemoration for his victory in the battle of Actium, where he defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra. This pantheon was destroyed in 80AD and was rebuilt by emperor Domitian. The second pantheon was also destroyed and was soon rebuilt. In 118AD, emperor Hadrian completely remodeled the pantheon and saw that it was rebuilt. Construction was completed in 128AD. Emperor Hadrian loved architecture, but he was no architect himself. It is believed …show more content…
Several fights broke out over who would control the empire which weakened the whole of the empire. During this rough time of fighting, Christianity was largely adopted and the Roman empire permanently split into the West Roman Empire and the East Roman Empire. In 476 AD, a German general named Odoacer conquered the West Roman Empire. This was a terrible time for Rome. The population started to decline as there was no centralized government with the new rulers. Buildings, roads, and aqueducts began to deteriorate during this time, for no one bothered to take care of them. The pantheon was no exception. It soon became overgrown with vegetation. All over the outside, vegetation could be seen growing on the walls and ceilings. The Tiber River flooded several times during this period, and with no one there to clean up the area, the mud and water built up. Dirt eventually piled up to where the porch was ground level. With lack of maintenance, the drainage systems in the pantheon became clogged. The rain that came through the oculus had nowhere to go, so it pooled up in the floor and vegetation was quick to grow. By around 600 AD the pantheon was in dire need of maintenance and was almost lost. It very well might have been lost to nature if it wasn’t for Pope Boniface IV. He wanted the pantheon to serve as a catholic church and quickly worked to repair the building. To transition from a pagan temple to a catholic church, Pope Boniface had many of the statues in the temple removed and
After learning more about these two buildings, I discovered that the Romans were “inspired” by Greek architecture. The columns used in both are common to Greek architecture. Based on the photos that were viewed from online searches, it appears that the Romans were more ornate during the construction of their temple which can be seen by their choice of building materials, such as marble. The Parthenon seems to have had more simple lines. It was rectangular in shape as opposed to the Pantheon that was rounded in many areas, particularly where the sculptures of the gods were. This was to lend to the idea that they were on the same level and that no god was given more preferential treatment since the Pantheon was to honor all of them equally. The structures resemble one another in that they both have those ominous columns as a way to emphasize the dominion the gods had over the
After military victory in Spain, he returned to Rome. Then the Roman Senate commissioned the Ara Pacis, also known as the Altar of Peace. This altar honored Augustus’ return from his successful military campaign. The altar is known for its magnificent friezes, or horizontal bands of sculpture. The north and south walls depict members of the empire, including the most important member: the first citizen of Rome: Augustus himself.. The east and west walls depict scenes of Roman Peace such as Rome’s most famous origin story. The founding of Rome is a traditional story about how Romulus and Remus (sons of the god of war, Mars) were suckled and nurtured by a she-wolf until a shepherd began to care for the boys. When the boys became men, they reestablished the city but the brothers fought amongst themselves. Romulus killed Remus, and the name of the city now refers to the brother who lived. By depicting the believed origin of Rome in stone, Augustus made the story canon. This was the story he wanted his people to
It was built on the same site as the two before it, the first commissioned by Marcus Agrippa, and the second by Domitian. The first was destroyed by fire in 80 CE and the second burned down after being struck by lightning in 110 CE. The Pantheon standing today was started by Trajan in 114 CE and completed by Hadrian in 125 CE. The text of the original inscription was added to the new façade. The inscription reads “M·AGRIPPA·L·F·COS·TERTIVM·FECIT”, meaning "Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, made [this building] when consul for the third time.” In 609 CE the Byzantine Emperor Phocas gave the building to Pope Boniface IV. It was then consecrated as a Christian church called Santa Maria ad Martyres, which has been in constant use ever since. Dedicated to every god, it is one of the best preserved Roman temples. The Pantheon has also served as a tomb since the Renaissance. Among those buried are the architect Baldassare Peruzzi, the painters Raphael and Annibale Caracci, and two kings of Italy: Vittorio Emanuele II and Umberto I, as well as Vittorio Emanuele's Queen, Margherita. The building stands on a base, originally extended a further twenty-two feet in front of the colonnade. “The front of the temple is a deep portico with eight unfluted Corinthian columns across the front and four interior columns, thus dividing the porch into a barrel-vaulted nave, which leads
Pantheon and Hagia Sophia Pantheon and Hagia Sophia are two extremely outstanding architectural pieces of their times. They have been built according to the traditions of those particular times. The materials used to built these buildings and the purpose for which they were used are all very important aspects and have been briefly covered in this report. Pantheon The statesman Agrippa built pantheon in 27 B.C. Then it was completely rebuilt by the emperor Hadrian. The Pantheon is remarkable for its size, its construction, and its design. The dome was the largest built until modern times. The present structure was probably originally built as a temple for all the pagan gods. We do hear of it as being a law-court and a reception area for Emperor Hadrian meeting his quests too. Some say that the rotunda of the building was once a Roman bath. Due to all this mystery, the Pantheon is often referred to as the Sphinx of Rome. The visitor will probably not appreciate the construction as much as the Flavian amphitheatre, but it is still a great masterpiece of engineering and well worth a visit. Most Roman and Greek temples at the time of the Pantheon's construction were large, colonnaded, rectangular enclosures with sanctuaries situated in their centers. The Pantheon was different. It consisted of a large circular drum topped with a hemispherical dome. It is a masterpiece of both engineering and art a lasting memory of Ancient Rome’s might. Roman architecture is architecture of wall and enclosed tactile space. Individual column with entablature is no longer the basic architectural unity. Spatially, it shows a development from closed, simple space units and regular articulation to more complex spatial relations, more fluid interpenetrati...
The Hagia Sophia was constructed first and it was meant as the main church of the Byzantine Empire. It is said that they built the Hagia Sophia in only 5 years, while it took nearly a century for the Notre Dame cathedral to be completed. While it did have what some would consider an extremely short construction time, they did have many issues with the dome. It nearly collapsed more than a few times. Once the builders and architects figured a plan to keep it stable, one on looker said, ”it is as if the Dome is suspended from Heaven itself”. The Dome of the rock was constructed for Christians, Jews, and Muslims but was to attract new followers to Malik’s Islamic brotherhood. The project for the construction had many issues, not only with the Dome itself, but also with revolts that would postpone construction for years. Once completed, many followers believed that Jerusalem was the third holiest place in the world due to Muhammed’s journey to Heaven in order to talk to God. The art within the Hagia Sophia was beautiful Mosaics and paintings of the Virgin Mary with Jesus. These were meant to represent how holy the building was. When the Muslims claimed the Hagia Sophia they did not want to destroy it due to beliefs so they renovated the building. They did this by breaking down images of humans and animals due to their belief that no images of figures
The Roman Pantheon built by the Romans using advanced engineering skills combined a cylindrical structure with an outer colonnade Greek classical design to make an architectural monument. The amount of time and effort that went into the building of this structure shows a cultural emphasis on quality workmanship and perfectionism. This workmanship and perfectionism showed the importance given to the worship and honoring of the Gods. This pantheon is the only active place of worship amongst Rome’s ancient temples still in existence. Modern commentators tend to view the building as a high point in an "architectural revolution" brought about mainly through the Roman development of a superior pozzolana concrete that lent itself to the forming of unitary, three-dimensional structures. Other factors cited for the technical success of the Pantheon include the use of a series of massive, concentric stepped rings and the lightening of the dome by coffering and gradated light-weight aggregates. ( Mark, Robert, and Paul Hutchinson, 1986) The concrete dome was one of the world’s largest unreinforced concrete builds for over a millennium until the modern era. The success of the Pantheon longevity was largely attributed to acquired new techniques of construction and materials that shaped the development of Roman construction technology. This allowed for the use
The first Etruscan king of Rome was L. Tarquinius Priscus (616-579 BCE). Priscus chose and cleared the site for the great temple JUPITER OPTIMUS MAXIMUS (meaning “Jupiter best and greatest”), which would be located on CAPITOLINE, on one of the Seven Hills of Rome. In its later years, the civilization of Rome focused itself on CAPITOLINE. This was the temple dedicated to Jupiter who was the father of the gods and therefore most powerful. Priscus also allegedly built the CLOACA MAXIMA, or great sewer.
As one of the greatest structures in Rome, the Pantheon was built between 118 and 128 CE. It is described as the most remarkable ancient building surviving in Rome. After being destroyed and rebuilt twice, it was renamed the “Temple of the Gods”. In 126 AD, the Pantheon was restored to its glory, by the architects who at that time has learned and mastered their craft in concrete construction in the Greek Classical order. They constructed a massive 25 foot thick walls which was to support the huge dome made of concrete to be placed at the top. The dome was the largest ever made of unreinforced concrete at 43.4 meters in diameter (Matthews, Roy and Platt pg. 5).
The shape, design, and mystery architect emphasizes the inspiring power it creates when one walks into the pantheon. No one knows who built the pantheon, however, there is a clear association with Hadrian who "stands in relation to it as Justinian to the Hagia Sophia or Louis XIV to Versailles" (Macdonald, 2002, pg. 12). Hadrian was born in 76 A.D in Spain , part of roman empire, to a royal family. He worked in the military government and became emperor after the emperor Trajan died in 117 A.D (Macdonald, 2002, pg. 12). Hadrian was well-rounded, intelligent, kind, deceiving, and was knowledgeable in architecture, art, and poetry (Macdonald, 2002, pg. 12). Before the pantheon was built, there was a temple built by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, during the emperor Augustus's reign (Joost-Gaugier, 1998, pg. 22). Although, the sanctuary was burnt, Hadrian commissioned the pantheon and kept the same inscription above the columns with Agrippa's name. Keeping Agrippa's name was intentional and Hadrian liked to exclude his name on structures built during his time (Macdonald, 2002, pg. 13). This illustrates Hadrian's meticulous personality which was different from other emperors who liked to have their names inscribed on every
For much of the last millennia many great architects have looked upon the Pantheon as a staple of classical architecture, as well as a model for many modern day buildings. Created by the Romans, the Pantheon would use many elements better than any other works of architecture to that time. No further than Columbia Missouri is this evident in the construction of what used to be known as the First Academic Building on the University of Missouri campus. The Architects Bell and Binder headed the creation of the new building after the First Academic Building burnt down in 1892. Known today as Jesse Hall, this modern day work of architecture pulls many elements from the Pantheon to create a unique work of public space. The most glaring comparison of both comes from the domes that top both buildings. Each building also shares similar characteristics in their front facades. Yet, while there are many similarities to both works, each contain unique differences in their layout and construction.
The first major construction on the island started in the year 1020 and was completed in 1135. In time structural problems arose with the building, therefore in 1170 Abbot Robert de Toringy started building a new facade on the side of the church.
(Hannah, and Magli, 487). Many buildings surrounding the Pantheon, and the Pantheon itself was changed and ripped off. In 663, Emperor Constantinus II tore off the gilded bronze roof tiles of the Pantheon (Joost-Gaugier, 27). According to Rodolpho Lanciani, “Eugenius IV. lowered the rubbish accumulated against the portico, and paved the piazza and the adjoining streets. Urban VIII., having stripped the roof of the portico of its bronze beams (but no sooner the destruction was completed, he discovered that the alloy of the metal was not hard enough for casting guns), restored the east corner of the colonnade, and destroyed the shops built between the granite pillars. Alexander VII. put two columns from the baths of Nero (found in the Piazza di S. Luigi de' Francesi) in place of those missing, and pulled down some houses from which the canons of the Rotonda derived an income of 1500 scudi a year.” According to The Iconography of Sacred Space: A Suggested Reading of the Meaning of the Roman Pantheon, the exterior was originally covered with glittering gold in the form of gilded bronze tiles. Furthermore, Pope Clement XI commissioned Alessandro Specchi to add a high altar and apses the visitors
The “Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius” was created as propaganda statue for the ruler Marcus Aurelius. Marcus Aurelius was a powerful leader and was best known for military conquests and his intellectual knowledge (Stokstad 200). Marcus Aurelius ruled in Rome from 161 to 180 CE. He was appointed as the ruler by the previous administration though he was not part of the royal family.
During the Hellenistic period, you find the first monument built to celebrate someone who was not a general, god, or ruler. The Monument to Iysicrates is located in Athens, and is the first time a Corthinian column is used on the exterior. There was not a lot of money to spend on new temples but they still managed to build the Temple of Zeus Olympius. There is not much left of it today but it was huge. This temple was decastyle, meaning ten columns across, and the columns were sixty-five feet tall.
Both the Greeks and the Romans dedicated their temples to the gods, however, unlike temples today that are used for congregation, Greek and Roman temples were used differently. Greek temples were used as the home of a certain deity and as a place to worship the specific god that was housed there. The Romans used temples to praise a god for military victory or for a politician to show his increase of wealth and status by commissioning the construction of a temple. Roman Temples were also often used as a meeting place for people to express a multitude of social and political concerns whereas the Greek temples were typically used by one person at a time. Within the cella of both the Greek and Roman temples was an altar dedicated to the gods. The Greeks used elements from their temple design in the creation of these altars, and Romans sometimes modeled their sarcophagi after this design. The Sarcophagus of Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus from his tomb on the Via Appia from 200 B.C.E depicts the elements that the Romans borrowed from Greek temples. It is a mixture of two styles of Greek temple, Ionic and Doric. The Ionic style can be seen in the curves on the lid whereas the Doric style is depicted in the squares on the side of the sarcophagus, where each of the vertical lines of the square is a set of columns. This shows not only Greek