The Pantheon, temple to all the gods, is the perfect masterpiece of ancient Rome’s architecture. The Rome's symbol is the best-preserved historical monument in the center of the old city. It was included in the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1980. Agrippa built this temple in 27 BC to honor the Roman gods. However, it was burnt and then rebuilt by Emperor Hadrian (117–38 AD) circa 126 AD. Although the architect remains unknown, some scholars think that the architect is Apollodorus of Damascus. Firstly, the Pantheon served as a temple to all the gods; only priests could enter the building. However, the situation changed under the Emperor Phocas. In the 7th century, the Pantheon became a Christian church with free access for common people. In the Renaissance epoch, the church was transformed in a burial place. Today, the Pantheon is a church and historical site that appreciated by millions of tourists.
The Pantheon presents a breathtaking view. The magnificent circular building is a combination of traditional Greek-style entryway with a traditional Roman interior space. It has a porch with sixteen granite columns and marble column caps, an intermediate area of brick, and the massive dome. The use of a vast dome ceiling was innovative feature at that time (Cline 3). The porch connects with the rotunda and has niches for statues. The perfect construction of a huge dome is supported by arches and vaults. Its diameter is equal to its height. It has a unique hole (oculus), 27 feet across, at the top of the dome. A coffered ceiling originally contained bronze ornament which fulfilled not only decorative function, but reduced the weight of the roof, as did the oculus. Oculus is surrounded by the bronze cornice with diameter 9 meters. In fact, this hole is the only source of light in a circular room. It symbolizes the light-giving sun, and the massive roof symbolizes heavens. It is worth noting that the huge size of the dome constructed of plain concrete has a tremendous weight. It was a big challenge for architects. However, talent architects ingeniously solved the problem of weight reduction without the use of internal support in the middle. The stable arches hold the weight and distribute it to the thick walls and giant piers. The other secrets of weight reduction are different thickness of the dome (from 6.2 m at the base to 1.4m thick at the top), step-rings and internal brick arches. In addition, they decided to add volcanic tuff and pumice into the concrete to reduce the weight.
In my opinion, the Pantheon is one of the most stunning architectural creations of all the ancient remains. It has stood for thousands of years. Beauty and symbolism of this work of art inspire millions of tourists. The Pantheon changed the world of architecture. Roman architects were masters of building, and many architects studied architectural achievement of this temple and used in own projects. Therefore, the Pantheon had impact on other public building (universities, libraries). Moreover, the Pantheon influenced religion and became the first temple with general public access in the ancient world. In my view, this impressive building of the Romans with magnificent external colonnade and massive dome has a secret charm. The Pantheon is deservedly considered by many people to be the most breathtaking site.
Works cited
Cline, Austin. Architecture of the Pantheon: Diagram of the Pantheon in Rome, Showing the Interior Architecture. About.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 May 2014.
