The Pantheon of Rome, also called ‘Santa Maria Rotonda’, holds the great cultural heritage of the Roman empire.It is the best-preserved building among all ancient monuments. Its dome was the largest among all of ancient Rome.This monument has been used as a royal court for Italian kings, a Christian church, a pagan temple, and more, over the centuries. In the seventh century, it was given to Pope Boniface IV, and he turned it into a church dedicated to mother Mary and the Martyrs. Since then, it’s been used as a church. Some reports suggest that the original Pantheon had bronze on its ceiling, but pope Urban VIII had it melted down, which caused a lot of anger in the people of Rome.Read on to know more about the Pantheon and if you like this article, then also check out the Great Barrier Reef facts and Disney facts.The Roman Pantheon HistoryThe history of the Pantheon in Rome leads back to 27 BC. From then on, the destruction and rebuilding of the original Pantheon have been done multiple times. The work on the Pantheon we see today was finished around 126-128 AD.Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius Vipsanius and son-in-law to the great Roman Emperor Augustus, was a great architect, among many other things. He built the earlier structure of the Pantheon in the same place as today’s Pantheon in 27 BC. Marcus Agrippa built the monument in honor of the founder of Rome, Romulus. Agrippa named the monument Pantheon probably owing to the statues of some Gods in there, like Venus and Mars. In the words of Dio Cassius, the Pantheon dome or ’the vaulted roof’ resembled ’the heavens’ and hence the name.The Pantheon, Agrippa’s building, burned down in a great fire in 80 AD, but Emperor Domitian built it again. The monument was struck down by another fire yet again in 110 AD, but when Emperor Trajan came into power, he started rebuilding it along with a Nabataean engineer and architect from Damascus, Apollodorus. When Emperor Trajan died in 117 AD, Emperor Hadrian came into power and took over the project. Even Apollodorus died in 120 AD, and the Pantheon’s design was changed a little then. From that point on, the name of the architect who was involved in the rebuilding process and how long it took for them to complete the work remains unknown. It’s assumed that the work of this present building was completed during the rule of Emperor Hadrian, around 118-128 AD. Since then, it has gone through many different kings and rulers, but the hauntingly beautiful structure has stood the test of time for almost 2000 years. In the middle ages, three columns had to be replaced due to extensive damage. The Pantheon Is An Illustration Of Roman Contribution To ArchitectureThe Romans invented cement, concrete, and structures like domes and arches. All of these are present in the Pantheon. In the ancient world, this massive concrete structure had the largest dome with relieving arches made of bricks.The entire Pantheon is made up of bricks and concrete with no support of steel. We can only imagine how many natural disasters and manufactured disasters the monument has gone through. Yet almost 2000 years later, it’s still standing beautiful and tall. Researchers have found that Romans used a perfect blend of volcanic ash and limestone in their mortar. Over time this volcanic ash and limestone reacted and formed Strätlingite crystals, which prevented any cracks from forming in concrete.The Pantheon’s dome is about 71 ft (21.6 m) in height and 142 ft (43.3 m) in diameter. The dome has five rings or rows of 28 sunken panels with a round opening at the top. This opening is as decorative as it is architectural brilliance because this opening relieves the load of the dome to a degree.The Pantheon’s entire dome is made of concrete, but the walls contain bricks as well. To give the dome and the upper walls support, many arches by bricks were built, which can still be seen today from the outside walls. These arches relieve the superincumbent weight of the structure. The arches especially provided the much-needed support when niches were carved out from the insides of the structure to keep ornaments or statues there.https://unsplash.com/photos/3RnR7nmXcqs(The Pantheon is a reminder of the great Roman Empire and their Gods.)The Characteristic Of The Roman PantheonThe few characteristics of the Pantheon in Rome that attract architects, historians, and tourists are the dome, tombs, the large Corinthian columns, and the Fountain of the Pantheon. Even the materials that were used to make the Pantheon still baffle many.The dome was the largest in the ancient world and still remains the largest unsupported dome which is still one of the greatest architectural achievements in itself. The Roman engineers of that time designed the work so beautifully that to decrease the weight of the dome, they decreased its thickness progressively. The upper part has lighter materials and more spaces within its walls. Because of this, even though the dome is spherical on the inside, it still looks flattened from the outside. The dome even has a 25.6 ft (7.8 m) opening above.The Pantheon once contained statues of Venus, Mars, Julius Caesar, Agrippa, and Augustus. Now, the monument is home to tombs of many poets, kings like Vittorio Emanuele II, and renowned artists like Raphael.The Pantheon portico is held by 16 large Corinthian columns. These are 5 ft (1.5 m) in diameter and 128 ft (39 m) in height, and these were brought all the way from Egypt. The transfer of these columns was a feat in itself.The beautiful fountain outside the Pantheon was designed by Giacomo Della Porta, renowned architecture, and sculpted in marble by Leonardo Sormani in 1575. However, this was remodeled, and the stone fountain that we see today was designed by Filippo Barignoni.Every year on 21st April, the light coming from the opening on the dome falls on the metal grill above the Pantheon’s door. It’s said that when the Emperor stood at this entrance, it made a God-like effect owing to the light behind him. Romans also celebrate 21st April as their foundation day.What is the Roman Pantheon of Gods?There are countless Gods and Goddesses of possibly everything in the Roman legend. The Roman Pantheon of Gods is one of the largest in the world.Owing to the geographic location of the city, the mythology of Rome was highly influenced by Greek mythology. There is probably a Roman God and Goddess for every Greek God and Goddess. For example, the main three God and Goddesses are Minerva, Juno, and Jupiter. Minerva was considered to be the Roman Goddess of craft and wisdom who was the equivalent of the Greek Goddess Athena. Jupiter was the Roman Sky God who watched over everyone. He was the equivalent of the Greek God Zeus. Juno was Jupiter’s wife, a Goddess who watched over all the women, and she was the equivalent of the Greek Goddess Hera. While the greek god of medicine, Apollo, remained the same for Romans as well.Some other Roman Gods were the Sea God Neptune, the ruler of the Roman underworld Pluto, the God of War Mars, the two-faced God of passageways Janus, the God of Tiber river Tiberinus, and more.Some other Roman Goddesses were the Goddess of Love Venus, the Goddess of the hunt and wild Diana, the virgin Goddess of family and hearth Vesta, and more.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! 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The Pantheon of Rome, also called ‘Santa Maria Rotonda’, holds the great cultural heritage of the Roman empire.
