Example Of Essay On Pantheon

Roman civilisation was famous for many extraordinary accomplishments. One of the most famous and remarkable for the contemporary observers is their architectural achievements which survived centuries and could be viewed and marvelled by people today. One of architectural pieces of Roman art is Pantheon. Pantheon is a building situated in the capital of Italy - Rome. It was built around 126 AD by the Emperor Hadrian instead of the previous building destroyed in 80AD. It is believed that like many other massive architectural pieces the initial building was built to commemorate the Battle of Actium of 31 BC by Marcus Agrippa. So, the decision to build this temple corresponded to the existing Roman culture of that time. In other words, each victory of the Roman army was not just celebrated, but had to be embodied in this or that building or sculpture in order for the next generations to remember the event and the ruler behind it.
Nowadays, the purpose of the building remains debatable. However, the most common explanation is that it was a temple for worshipping of multiple gods. Although, from the religious perspective, it may seem that the devotion of building to multiple gods was aimed at unity of worshipers, the intentions were more pragmatic. Like many important and famous buildings and places in Ancient Rome, they were not used only for religious purposes, but also for social and cultural. So, attraction of different worshipers served a great place for forums and political manifestos and as a place for spreading information among people.
The shape of the building is of a circle with a portico entrance, which consists of groups of columns designed in Corinthian style. The first group of eight columns is followed by groups of four behind them. The material for portico was granite. The main chamber itself was made of concrete and has a shape of rotunda which ends with an opening in the ceiling, called oculus. The inner side of the ceiling up to oculus is designed as cascades of niches used to expand the space inside the dome and concentrate attention on the oculus as a path to the sky. Originally, statues of gods were situated inside the dome.
Pantheon is a striking place of harmony of contradicting features and attributes. First of all, the fact that Roman engineers could create something to stand for millennia with plain concrete and arch balancing is incredible. In this regard, the balancing between massive walls and gradually lighter bricks of concrete creating the ceiling still remains fascinating. Although architects find cracks in different segments of the building it is still stands and serves it purpose - attracting attention to the building and its creators.
Except for the evidence of amazing engineering work, the building has significant psycho-social properties. First of all, relatively narrow entrance creates the impression of transition from the ordinary world of people into something different - a sacred world of gods and divinities. In this regard, entering the dome feels like the breath of life, because the narrow space is followed by the open space of the spherical dome. In this context, oculus serves the most significant purpose. If there was no opening in the ceiling, the general impression of the chamber would be of a tomb only with one entrance and no complexity in the internal architecture. However, the oculus creates the impression of the never-ending space. From the pragmatic perspective, it is also the only source of sunlight. Therefore, the structure of the building was aimed at inspiration and realisation of the presence of divine powers in lives of people who attended it. In this regard, spherical shape and oculus served this purpose perfectly well.