When was the Pantheon in Rome constructed?
Pantheon (religion)
In order to avoid the difficulty of giving an exhaustive list of deities when devoting a temple or sacred building, a structure explicitly dedicated to "all deities" also came to be referred to as a "Pantheon". The best known of such structures is the Pantheon of Rome, first built between the years 27 BCE and 14 CE. The building standing today was constructed on the same site around 126 CE. It was dedicated to "all gods" as a gesture embracing the religious syncretism in the increasingly multicultural Roman Empire, with subjects worshipping gods from many cultures and traditions. The building was later renovated for use as a Christian church in 609 under Pope Boniface IV.
Panthéon
In 1851, physicist Léon Foucault demonstrated the rotation of the Earth by constructing a Foucault pendulum beneath the central dome. The original sphere from the pendulum was temporarily displayed at the Panthéon in the 1990s (starting in 1995) during renovations at the Musée des Arts et Métiers. The original pendulum was later returned to the Musée des Arts et Métiers, and a copy is now displayed at the Panthéon. It has been listed since 1920 as a "monument historique" by the French Ministry of Culture. From 1906 to 1922 the Panthéon was the site of Auguste Rodin's famous sculpture "The Thinker". In 2006, Ernesto Neto, a Brazilian artist, installed "Léviathan Thot", an anthropomorphic installation inspired by the biblical monster. The art installation was in the Panthéon from 15 September 2006 until 31 October for Paris's Autumn Festival.
Pantheon, Rome
Pope Urban VIII (1623 to 1644) ordered the bronze ceiling of the Pantheon's portico melted down. Most of the bronze was used to make bombards for the fortification of Castel Sant'Angelo, with the remaining amount used by the Apostolic Camera for various other works. It is also said that the bronze was used by Bernini in creating his famous baldachin above the high altar of St. Peter's Basilica, but, according to at least one expert, the Pope's accounts state that about 90% of the bronze was used for the cannon, and that the bronze for the baldachin came from Venice. Concerning this, an anonymous contemporary Roman satirist quipped in a pasquinade (a publicly posted poem) that "quod non fecerunt barbari fecerunt Barberini" ("What the barbarians did not do the Barberinis [Urban VIII's family name] did").
Louis XVI style
The Pantheon, designed by Jacques Germain Soufflot as the Church of Sainte-Geneviève and begun in 1757 under Louis XV, was the most prominent example of religious architecture under construction during the period. It replaced the colossal columns modeled after those of the Church of the Jesu and St. Peter's in Rome with slender, graceful corinthian columns supporting a continuous entablement. The plan was also classical; the long nave with a vaulted ceiling was replaced by a Greek cross, with the dome in the center. Soufflot employed novel engineering techniques to support the dome; a system of contreforts and arches, and the use of iron bars to support the stone structure. The building was begun in 1764 but not completed until 1790, after the Revolution.
Great Marlborough Street
The Pantheon was based at the far eastern end of Great Marlborough Street. It was built on what had previously been gardens in 1772, becoming a popular place of entertainment during the late 18th century. The building burned down in 1792 and was rebuilt; it ceased to be an entertainment venue in 1818. It was later used as a bazaar in the mid-19th century before being demolished in 1937. The site is now the main Oxford Street branch of Marks and Spencer which has a side entrance onto Great Marlborough Street.
Older Parthenon
The Old Parthenon was still under construction when the Persians sacked the city in the Destruction of Athens in 480 BC, and razed the acropolis during the Second Persian invasion of Greece. The existence of the proto‐Parthenon and its destruction was known from Herodotus and the drums of its columns were plainly visible built into the curtain wall north of the Erechtheum. Further material evidence of this structure was revealed with the excavations of Panagiotis Kavvadias of 1885-1890. The findings of this dig allowed Wilhelm Dörpfeld, then director of the German Archaeological Institute, to assert that there existed a distinct substructure to the original Parthenon, called Parthenon I by Dörpfeld, not immediately below the present edifice as had been previously assumed. Dörpfeld’s observation was that the three steps of the first Parthenon consist of two steps of "poros" limestone, the same as the foundations, and a top step of Karrha limestone that was covered by the lowest step of the Periclean Parthenon. This platform was smaller and slightly to the north of the final Parthenon, indicating that it was built for a wholly different building, now wholly covered over. This picture was somewhat complicated by the publication of the final report on the 1885–90 excavations indicating that the substructure was contemporary with the Kimonian walls, and implying a later date for the first temple.
If the original Parthenon was indeed destroyed in 480 BC, it invites the question of why the site was left a ruin for 33 years. One argument involves the oath sworn by the Greek allies before the battle of Plataea in 479 BC declaring that the sanctuaries destroyed by the Persians would not be rebuilt, an oath the Athenians were only absolved from with the Peace of Callias in 450. The mundane fact of the cost of reconstructing Athens after the Persian sack is at least as likely a cause. However the excavations of Bert Hodge Hill led him propose the existence of a second Parthenon begun in the period of Kimon after 468 BC. Hill claimed that the Karrha limestone step Dörpfeld took to be the highest of Parthenon I was in fact the lowest of the three steps of Parthenon II whose stylobate dimensions Hill calculated to be 23.51x66.888m.
Acropolis of Athens
While there is evidence that the hill was inhabited as far back as the fourth millennium BC, it was Pericles (c. 495 – 429 BC) in the fifth century BC who coordinated the construction of the site's most important present remains including the Parthenon, the Propylaia, the Erechtheion and the Temple of Athena Nike. The Parthenon and the other buildings were damaged seriously during the 1687 siege by the Venetians during the Morean War when gunpowder being stored in the Parthenon was hit by a cannonball and exploded.
Pantheon, Rome
In the aftermath of the Battle of Actium (31 BC), Marcus Agrippa started an impressive building program: the Pantheon was a part of the complex created by him on his own property in the Campus Martius in 29–19 BC, which included three buildings aligned from south to north: the Baths of Agrippa, the Basilica of Neptune, and the Pantheon. It seems likely that the Pantheon and the Basilica of Neptune were Agrippa's sacra privata, not aedes publicae (public temples). This less solemn designation would help explain how the building could have so easily lost its original name and purpose (Ziolkowski contends that it was originally the Temple of Mars in Campo) in such a relatively short period of time.
Pantheon, Rome
The weight of the Roman concrete dome is concentrated on a ring of voussoirs in diameter that form the oculus, while the downward thrust of the dome is carried by eight barrel vaults in the thick drum wall into eight piers. The thickness of the dome varies from at the base of the dome to around the oculus. The materials used in the concrete of the dome also varies. At its thickest point, the aggregate is travertine, then terracotta tiles, then at the very top, tufa and pumice, both porous light stones. At the very top, where the dome would be at its weakest and vulnerable to collapse, the oculus actually lightens the load.
Amphitheater of Statilius Taurus
It was not a large amphitheatre. Dissatisfaction over the Amphitheatre of Statilius Taurus led Nero, in 57 AD, to build a new wooden amphitheatre, the Amphitheatrum Neronis. During the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD, which left Rome in ashes, both amphitheatres were completely destroyed.
Culture of Rome, Italy
One of the symbols of Rome is the Colosseum (70-80 AD), the largest amphitheatre ever built in the Roman Empire. Originally capable of seating 60,000 spectators, it was used for gladiatorial combat. The list of the very important monuments of ancient Rome includes the Roman Forum, the Domus Aurea, the Pantheon, Trajan's Column, Trajan's Market, the several catacombs area, the Circus Maximus, the Baths of Caracalla, Castel Sant'Angelo, the Mausoleum of Augustus, the Ara Pacis, the Arch of Constantine, the Pyramid of Cestius, and the Bocca della Verità.
Roman amphitheatre
The fourth-largest Roman amphitheatre, the Julia Caesarea, was erected after the time of Julius Caesar. It was built in Mauretania between the times of 25 BC and 23 AD by the Roman-appointed ruler Juba II and his son Ptolemy, which is now considered to be modern day Cherchell, Algeria. Although it has not endured, its building dimensions are known to have been 168 × 88 meters with an arena dimension of 72.1 × 45.8 meters.
Apollodorus (crater)
Apollodorus of Damascus is credited as the architect of the Pantheon in Rome.
Roman engineering
The Pantheon in Rome still stands a monument and tomb, and the Baths of Diocletian and the Baths of Caracalla are remarkable for their state of preservation, the former still possessing intact domes. Such massive public buildings were copied in numerous provincial capitals and towns across the empire, and the general principles behind their design and construction are described by Vitruvius writing at the turn of millennium in his monumental work "De architectura".
Fontana del Pantheon
The Fontana del Pantheon (English: "Fountain of the Pantheon") was commissioned by Pope Gregory XIII and is located in the Piazza della Rotonda, Rome, in front of the Roman Pantheon. It was designed by Giacomo Della Porta in 1575 and sculpted out of marble by Leonardo Sormani.
Palazzo Giustiniani, Rome
The palace was built near the Pantheon at the end of the 16th century for Monsignor Francesco Vento, but in 1590 it was acquired by Giuseppe Giustiniani, a member of the Genoese who had served as Governor of Chios. His son, Cardinal Benedetto Giustiniani, linked it to other buildings until it encompassed an entire city block. The Cardinal's brother, Vincenzo Giustiniani, acquired an art collection of some 1600 items for the palace, including ancient statues and paintings by Giorgione, Titian, Raphael, and Caravaggio.
Fontana del Pantheon
In 1711, Pope Clement XI requested that the fountain be modified and had Filippo Barigioni design a new layout, which included a different basin, made of stone, and the Macuteo obelisk, created during the period of Ramses II, set in the centre on a plinth with four dolphins decorating the base.
Baths of Agrippa
The first version of the Baths of Agrippa, also known as the "Laconicum", was finished in 25 BCE. A "laconicum" appears to have been an earlier version of a heated bath which was also associated with a running track and exercise facilities for youths. Dio tells us that they “gave the name "Laconian" to the gymnasium because the Lacedaemonians had a greater reputation at that time than any one else for stripping and exercising after anointing themselves with oil”. Agrippa also dedicated his Pantheon, the original structure where the current Trajanic reconstruction sits, in the same year. In fact, Cassius Dio claims that three structures were completed by Agrippa in this year, the third being the Stoa of Neptune, suggesting that all three were related.
Théâtre du Panthéon
It was built in 1831 on the remains of the église Saint-Benoît to designs by Alexandre Bourla and commissioned by Éric Bernard, an actor at the Odéon. It opened on 18 March 1832 with "Un panorama", a vaudeville by Thomas Sauvage. Bernard gathered a cast of a dozen actors alongside whom he put on nearly fifty shows in a single year, but such a high turnover took its toll on his health and he passed its management to MM. Georges and Pierre Perrin fils in February 1833. They put on the first appearances of Mademoiselle Judith, which proved promising, but even so the new managers gave up after only two months.
Pantheon Theatre
The Pantheon Theatre was constructed in 1919 on the corner of 5th and Main Street in Vincennes, Indiana. It was built to hold 1200 people. One of the highest paid interior decorators in the world was hired to supervise the decorating of the theatre. The Pantheon's interior was highly embellished with ornamental plaster, draperies and painted details such as the birds of paradise. Over six miles of electrical wiring and 15 miles of rope for rigging was installed. With its large stage, orchestra pit, eleven dressing rooms, and fifty-two curtains and backdrops the Pantheon was the only facility in the area that could handle Broadway shows. The Pantheon featured live shows from Broadway, vaudeville, live music, cooking shows, fashion shows, and movies. At first the movies were silent and the Pantheon had a modest Wurlitzer theatre organ to play along with the silent movies. In 1929 the Pantheon showed the first "talkie" in Vincennes. The Pantheon was also the first building in Vincennes to be air-conditioned.
Florence Cathedral
The commitment to reject traditional Gothic buttresses had been made when Neri di Fioravanti's model was chosen over a competing one by Giovanni di Lapo Ghini. That architectural choice, in 1367, was one of the first events of the Italian Renaissance, marking a break with the Medieval Gothic style and a return to the classic Mediterranean dome. Italian architects regarded Gothic flying buttresses as ugly makeshifts. Furthermore, the use of buttresses was forbidden in Florence, as the style was favored by central Italy's traditional enemies to the north. Neri's model depicted a massive inner dome, open at the top to admit light, like Rome's Pantheon, but enclosed in a thinner outer shell, partly supported by the inner dome, to keep out the weather. It was to stand on an unbuttressed octagonal drum. Neri's dome would need an internal defense against spreading (hoop stress), but none had yet been designed.
The building of such a masonry dome posed many technical problems. Brunelleschi looked to the great dome of the Pantheon in Rome for solutions. The dome of the Pantheon is a single shell of concrete, the formula for which had long since been forgotten. The Pantheon had employed structural centring to support the concrete dome while it cured . This could not be the solution in the case of a dome this size and would put the church out of use. For the height and breadth of the dome designed by Neri, starting above the floor and spanning , there was not enough timber in Tuscany to build the scaffolding and forms. Brunelleschi chose to follow such design and employed a double shell, made of sandstone and marble. Brunelleschi would have to build the dome out of brick, due to its light weight compared to stone and being easier to form, and with nothing under it during construction. To illustrate his proposed structural plan, he constructed a wooden and brick model with the help of Donatello and Nanni di Banco, a model which is still displayed in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo. The model served as a guide for the craftsmen, but was intentionally incomplete, so as to ensure Brunelleschi's control over the construction.
Roman amphitheatre
The Amphitheatre of Pompeii is the oldest surviving Roman amphitheatre. It is located in the Roman city of Pompeii, and was buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, that also buried Pompeii itself and the neighboring town of Herculaneum. It is also the oldest surviving Roman amphitheatre built with stone.
The second-largest Roman amphitheatre was the Faleria, built 43 A.D. It was located in Picenum (now Falerone), Italy. Its building dimensions were 178.8 × 106.2 meters, and it had an arena shaped like an ellipse. It had twelve entrances, four of which led to the arena and had eight rows of seats divided into three sections. Only the outside wall of the amphitheatre remains and the arena is covered in grass all the way to the podium.
Roman temple
Some remains of many Roman temples survive, above all in Rome itself, but the relatively few near-complete examples were nearly all converted to Christian churches (and sometimes subsequently to mosques), usually a considerable time after the initial triumph of Christianity under Constantine. The decline of Roman religion was relatively slow, and the temples themselves were not appropriated by the government until a decree of the Emperor Honorius in 415. Santi Cosma e Damiano, in the Roman Forum, originally the Temple of Romulus, was not dedicated as a church until 527. The best known is the Pantheon, Rome, which is however highly untypical, being a very large circular temple with a magnificent concrete roof, behind a conventional portico front.
Amman
Roman rule in Jordan left several ruins across the country, some of which exist in Amman, such as the Temple of Hercules at the Amman Citadel, the Roman Theatre, the Odeon, and the Nymphaeum. The two theatres and the Nymphaeum fountain were built during the reign of Emperor Antoninus Pius around AD 161. The theatre was the larger venue of the two and had a capacity for 6,000 attendees. It was oriented north and built into the hillside, to protect the audience from the sun. To the northeast of the theatre was a small odeon. Built at roughly the same time as the theatre, the Odeon had 500 seats and is still in use today for music concerts. Archaeologists speculate that the structure was originally covered with a wooden roof to shield the audience from the weather. The Nymphaeum is situated southwest of the Odeon and served as Philadelphia's chief fountain. The Nymphaeum is believed to have contained a pool which was deep and was continuously refilled with water.
Pantheon, London
The Pantheon opened on Monday, 27 January 1772. Up to fifty pounds was paid for tickets for the first night which attracted over seventeen hundred members of high society including all the foreign ambassadors and eight dukes and duchesses. Initially the social tone was very high (though a policy that patrons should only be admitted on the recommendation of a peeress was soon dropped), and good profits were made. During the first winter there were assemblies only, without dancing or music, three times a week. In subsequent seasons the entertainments included a mixture of assemblies, masquerades (masked balls) and subscription concerts. For a while the shares commanded high prices and James Wyatt claimed to have sold his two shares for £900 each.
Pancras of Rome
Devotion to Pancras definitely existed from the fifth century onwards, for the basilica of Saint Pancras was built by Pope Symmachus (498–514), on the place where the body of the young martyr had been buried; his earliest "passio" seems to have been written during this time. Pope Gregory the Great gave impetus to the cult of Pancras, sending Augustine to England carrying relics of that saint and including his legend in "Liber in gloria martyrum" (for this reason, many English churches are dedicated to Pancras; St Pancras Old Church in London is one of the oldest sites of Christian worship in England). In medieval iconography, Pancras was depicted as a young soldier, due to his association with the paired soldier saints Nereus and Achilleus. By the mid-nineteenth century, pious embroidery set Pancras's martyrdom in the arena among wild beasts, where the panther refrains from attacking and killing him until the martyr gives the beast permission.
Ancient Roman architecture
The amphitheatre was, with the triumphal arch and basilica, the only major new type of building developed by the Romans. Some of the most impressive secular buildings are the amphitheatres, over 200 being known and many of which are well preserved, such as that at Arles, as well as its progenitor, the Colosseum in Rome. They were used for gladiatorial contests, public displays, public meetings and bullfights, the tradition of which still survives in Spain. Their typical shape, functions and name distinguish them from Roman theatres, which are more or less semicircular in shape; from the circuses (akin to hippodromes) whose much longer circuits were designed mainly for horse or chariot racing events; and from the smaller stadia, which were primarily designed for athletics and footraces.
The earliest Roman amphitheatres date from the middle of the first century BC, but most were built under Imperial rule, from the Augustan period (27 BC–14 AD) onwards. Imperial amphitheatres were built throughout the Roman empire; the largest could accommodate 40,000–60,000 spectators, and the most elaborate featured multi-storeyed, arcaded façades and were elaborately decorated with marble, stucco and statuary. After the end of gladiatorial games in the 5th century and of animal killings in the 6th, most amphitheatres fell into disrepair, and their materials were mined or recycled. Some were razed, and others converted into fortifications. A few continued as convenient open meeting places; in some of these, churches were sited.
Concrete
Famous concrete structures include the Hoover Dam, the Panama Canal and the Roman Pantheon. The earliest large-scale users of concrete technology were the ancient Romans, and concrete was widely used in the Roman Empire. The Colosseum in Rome was built largely of concrete, and the concrete dome of the Pantheon is the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome. Today, large concrete structures (for example, dams and multi-story car parks) are usually made with reinforced concrete.
Montpellier Rotunda
In 1826, Henry Thompson's son Pearson Thompson asked John Buonarotti Papworth to oversee the project and it was during this period that the dome was erected. The dome is inspired by Rome’s Pantheon and has almost identitical proportions.
Odeon of Athens
It was first built in 435 BC by Pericles for the musical contests that formed part of the Panathenaea, for audiences from the theatre to shelter in case of bad weather and for chorus rehearsals. Few remains of it now survive, but it seems to have been "adorned with stone pillars" (according to Vitruvius and Plutarch) and square instead of the usual circular shape for an odeon. It was covered with timber made from captured Persian ships, culminating in a square pyramid-like roof resembling a tent. Pausanias wrote that the 1st century BC rebuild of it was "said to be a copy of Xerxes' tent", and that might well have applied to the original building.
Mark Wilson Jones
An abiding subject of study and controversy has been the Pantheon, Rome, which despite being one of the most famous icons of architectural history is arguably a flawed masterpiece. The theory of a compromised design, first published in 1987 together with Paul Davies and David Hemsoll, was further developed in the final pair of chapters in Principles of Roman Architecture. Although widely embraced, the ‘compromise hypothesis’ has been contested by Lothar Haselberger, a fellow authority on ancient design. Wilson Jones has published further corroboration in the volume of essays, "The Pantheon from Antiquity to the Present" (Cambridge University Press, 2015). Two decades of research into the nature of the orders and the Greek temple and the orders have culminated in the book "Origins of Classical Architecture: temples, orders and gifts to the gods in ancient Greece" (Yale University Press, 2014).
Godfrey of Viterbo
The "Memoria seculorum" was very popular during the Middle Ages, and has been continued by several writers. A revision of this work was drawn up by Godfrey himself from 1185 as "Pantheon", or "Universitalis libri qui chronici appellantur", a history of the world which enjoyed an unmerited fame during the Middle Ages. The author borrowed from Otto of Freising, but the earlier part of his chronicle is full of imaginary occurrences. "Pantheon" was first printed in 1559, and extracts from it are published by L. A. Muratori in the "Rerum Italicarum scriptores, tome vii" (Milan, 1725). The author, delighting as he does in fables, has gathered much material for the history of folklore.
Augustus
He also built the Temple of Caesar, the Baths of Agrippa, and the Forum of Augustus with its Temple of Mars Ultor. Other projects were either encouraged by him, such as the Theatre of Balbus, and Agrippa's construction of the Pantheon, or funded by him in the name of others, often relations (e.g. Portico of Octavia, Theatre of Marcellus). Even his Mausoleum of Augustus was built before his death to house members of his family. To celebrate his victory at the Battle of Actium, the Arch of Augustus was built in 29 BC near the entrance of the Temple of Castor and Pollux, and widened in 19 BC to include a triple-arch design.
After the death of Agrippa in 12 BC, a solution had to be found in maintaining Rome's water supply system. This came about because it was overseen by Agrippa when he served as aedile, and was even funded by him afterwards when he was a private citizen paying at his own expense. In that year, Augustus arranged a system where the Senate designated three of its members as prime commissioners in charge of the water supply and to ensure that Rome's aqueducts did not fall into disrepair.
Pantheon, Rome
Cassius Dio, a Graeco-Roman senator, consul and author of a comprehensive "History of Rome", writing approximately 75 years after the Pantheon's reconstruction, mistakenly attributed the domed building to Agrippa rather than Hadrian. Dio appears to be the only near-contemporaneous writer to mention the Pantheon. Even by the year 200, there was uncertainty about the origin of the building and its purpose:
History of Roman and Byzantine domes
Domes reached monumental size in the Roman Imperial period. Although imprints of the formwork itself have not survived, deformations from the ideal of up to at the so-called "Temple of Mercury" in Baiae suggest a centering of eight radiating frames, with horizontal connectors supporting radial formwork for the shallow dome. The building, actually a concrete bath hall dating from the age of Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD), has the first known large Roman dome. There are five openings in the dome: a circular oculus and four square skylights. The dome has a span of and is the largest known dome built before that of the Pantheon. It is also the earliest preserved concrete dome.
Pantheon, London
The Pantheon was promoted by Philip Elias Turst, of whose life very little else is known. In 1769 he inherited a plot of land which had a frontage of on Oxford Street and contained two houses, behind which there was a large piece of ground enclosed by the gardens of houses in Great Marlborough Street, Poland Street and Oxford Street. He had some connections with fashionable society, including a lady of means named Margaretta Maria Ellice, who was involved in the management of a fashionable set of assembly rooms in Soho Square. Miss Ellice was briefly Turst's main financial backer, and took soundings to ensure that a new place of public entertainment on an ambitious scale for the winter season similar to Ranelagh Gardens for the summer, would be "likely to meet with the Approbation of the Nobility in General". This assurance being forthcoming the scheme went ahead.
Piazza della Rotonda
In the center of the piazza is a fountain, the "Fontana del Pantheon", surmounted by an Egyptian obelisk. The fountain was constructed by Giacomo Della Porta under Pope Gregory XIII in 1575, and the obelisk was added to it in 1711 under Pope Clement XI.
Constans II
In 663 Constans visited Rome for twelve days—the only emperor to set foot in Rome for two centuries—and was received with great honor by Pope Vitalian (657–672). Although on friendly terms with Vitalian, he stripped buildings, including the Pantheon, of their ornaments and bronze to be carried back to Constantinople, and in 666 declared the Pope of Rome to have no jurisdiction over the Archbishop of Ravenna, since that city was the seat of the exarch, his immediate representative. His subsequent moves in Calabria and Sardinia were marked by further strippings and request of tributes that enraged his Italian subjects.
According to Warren Treadgold, the first "themes" were created between 659 and 661, during the reign of Constans II.
Pantheon, Rome
In 1747, the broad frieze below the dome with its false windows was "restored," but bore little resemblance to the original. In the early decades of the 20th century, a piece of the original, as could be reconstructed from Renaissance drawings and paintings, was recreated in one of the panels.
Pales
Marcus Atilius Regulus built a temple to Pales in Rome following his victory over the Salentini in 267 BC. It is generally thought to have been located on the Palatine Hill, but, being a victory monument, it may have been located on the route of the triumphal procession, either on the Campus Martius or the Aventine Hill. According to the "Fasti Antiates Maiores", there was a festival for "the two Pales" "(Palibus duobus)" on July 7, probably to mark the dedication of this temple.
Concrete shell
The oldest known concrete shell, the Pantheon in Rome, was completed about AD 125, and is still standing. It has a massive concrete dome 43m in diameter, with an oculus at its centre. A monolithic structure, it appears to have been sculpted in place by applying thin layers on top of each other in decreasing diameter. Massively thick at the bottom and thinning (with aerated volcanic pumice as part of the concrete mix) at the top, the Pantheon is a remarkable feat of engineering.
Roman amphitheatre
The Flavian Amphitheatre in Rome, more generally known as the Colosseum, is the archetypal and the largest amphitheatre. Built from 72 to 80 AD, it remains as an icon of ancient Rome. Its building and arena dimensions are 188 × 156 and 86 × 54 meters respectively. It was commissioned by the Emperor Vespasian for the capital city of the ancient Roman Empire from 70-80 AD but was not completed and opened until 80 AD by his son Titus, as a gift for the people of Rome.
Pantheon, Rome
In the Chapel of the Crucifixion, the Roman brick wall is visible in the niches. The wooden crucifix on the altar is from the 15th century. On the left wall is a "Descent of the Holy Ghost" (1790) by Pietro Labruzi. On the right side is the low relief "Cardinal Consalvi presents to Pope Pius VII the five provinces restored to the Holy See" (1824) made by the Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen. The bust is a portrait of Cardinal Agostino Rivarola. The final niche on this side has a statue of "St. Evasius" ("Sant'Evasio") (1727) by Francesco Moderati.
Colosseum
Construction of the Colosseum began under the rule of Vespasian in around 70–72 AD (73–75 AD according to some sources) The Colosseum had been completed up to the third story by the time of Vespasian's death in 79. The top level was finished by his son, Titus, in 80, and the inaugural games were held in AD 80 or 81. Dio Cassius recounts that over 9,000 wild animals were killed during the inaugural games of the amphitheatre. Commemorative coinage was issued celebrating the inauguration. The building was remodelled further under Vespasian's younger son, the newly designated Emperor Domitian, who constructed the "hypogeum", a series of underground tunnels used to house animals and slaves. He also added a gallery to the top of the Colosseum to increase its seating capacity.
Roman amphitheatre
These changes meant that there were ever fewer uses for amphitheatres, and ever fewer funds to build and maintain them. The last construction of an amphitheatre is recorded in 523 in Pavia under Theoderic. After the end of "venationes", the only remaining purpose of amphitheatres was to be the place of public executions and punishments. After even this purpose dwindled away, many amphitheatres fell into disrepair and were gradually dismantled for building material, razed to make way for newer buildings, or vandalized. Others were transformed into fortifications or fortified settlements, such as at Leptis Magna, Sabratha, Arles and Pola, and in the 12th century the Frangipani fortified even the Colosseum to help them in Roman power struggles. Yet others were repurposed as Christian churches, including the arenas at Arles, Nîmes, Tarragona and Salona; the Colosseum became a Christian shrine in the 18th century.
Culture of ancient Rome
Life in ancient Rome revolved around the city of Rome, its famed seven hills, and its monumental architecture such as the Colosseum, Trajan's Forum, and the Pantheon. The city also had several theaters, gymnasia, and many taverns, baths, and brothels. Throughout the territory under ancient Rome's control, residential architecture ranged from very modest houses to country villas, and in the capital city of Rome, there were imperial residences on the elegant Palatine Hill, from which the word "palace" is derived. The vast majority of the population lived in the city center, packed into "insulae" (apartment blocks).
Palazzo Pamphilj
Between 1651 and 1654, the painter Pietro da Cortona was commissioned to decorate the Gallery vault. His secular fresco cycle depicts scenes from the life of Aeneas, the legendary founder of Rome, as recounted by Virgil. The Pamphili claim to be descended from Aeneas. Unlike the large spacious volume of the Palazzo Barberini in which he had painted his fresco celebrating the reign of Innocent’s predecessor, Urban VIII Barberini, the Pamphilj Gallery was long with a low vault which meant that a single viewpoint to see the frescoes was not possible. So Cortona devised a series of scenes around a central painted framed ‘Apotheosis of Aeneas’ into the Olympian heavens. The elaborate doorframes regularly spaced along the longer walls of the Gallery display a combination of motifs typically used by Borromini and by Cortona
Lucius Vipsanius Agrippa
The Pantheon, built by the Roman Emperor Hadrian in Rome in 118, replaced a much smaller temple built by Vipsanius's son Marcus when he was Consul by the third time. The name of Lucius Vipsanius and his son are inscribed on the building.
Temple of Claudius
The Temple of Claudius, also variously known as the "Temple of the Divus Claudius", the "Temple of the Divine Claudius" and the "Temple of the Deified Claudius", was an ancient structure that covered a large area to the south of the Colosseum in Rome, Italy. Little remains visible today.
Construction of the Temple of Claudius on the Caelian Hill was begun by Agrippina, the fourth wife of the Emperor Claudius, on his death in 54 AD. It was subsequently damaged by the Great Fire of Rome and further destroyed by Agrippina's son, Nero, but later rebuilt by the Emperor Vespasian, who became emperor in 69 AD. The destruction by Nero was probably due to his extension of the Aqua Claudia aqueduct to the Caelian Hill but part may also have been removed to make way for the construction of his Domus Aurea. The last mention of the temple is from the fourth century and nothing is known of what happened to it after Vespasian’s reconstruction. If still in use by the 4th-century, the temple would have been closed during the persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire.
Pantheon, Rome
Since the Renaissance the Pantheon has been the site of several important burials. Among those buried there are the painters Raphael and Annibale Carracci, the composer Arcangelo Corelli, and the architect Baldassare Peruzzi. In the 15th century, the Pantheon was adorned with paintings: the best-known is the "Annunciation" by Melozzo da Forlì. Filippo Brunelleschi, among other architects, looked to the Pantheon as inspiration for their works.
Pantheon (book)
The Liber universalis ("universal book") is a work of Gottfried von Viterbo (c. 1120 – c. 1196). In this work, completed in 1185, he chronicles world history from the creation of the world to the time of Heinrich VI (Henry VI). The "liber" was written around 1185 and is an extended version of the previous Memoria seculorum ("remembrance of the ages") by the same author which again builds on the Speculum regum ("mirror for kings/princes") dated to around 1185. It is subdivided into 20 „particulae” ("(small) parts"), the last of which is the so-called "Gesta Friderici"' ("Frederics achievements") first dedicated to Heinrich VI but ultimately to Pope Gregory VIII. The famous prosimetrum Pantheon builds upon the liber universalis and exists in 3 editions (1187,1188,1191). The Pantheon manuscript enjoyed a wide distribution in the late middle ages.
Baiae
The "Temple of Mercury" consists of an enormous diameter dome, a miracle of engineering and the largest in the world prior to the construction of Rome's Pantheon in  128. The dome has a central hole or oculus and was made with large tuff blocks.
Pantheon, Rome
Upon entry, visitors are greeted by an enormous rounded room covered by the dome. Off to either side, the building is divided into two parts or naves, excluding the center part of the temple. The oculus at the top of the dome was never covered, allowing rainfall through the ceiling and onto the floor. Because of this, the interior floor is equipped with drains and has been built with an incline of about to promote water run off. There are three floors in the Pantheon; the second is made up of lessens that allow sunlight to filter through to the first floor, assisted by the light flowing in through the oculus.
Temple of Diana (Rome)
The Temple of Diana in ancient Rome was a Roman temple which, according to the early semi-legendary history of Rome, was built in the 6th century BC during the reign of the king Servius Tullius.
Piazza della Rotonda
Its present appearance was threatened with destruction under the French administration of 1809-1814, when Napoleon signed decrees calling for the demolition of the buildings around the Pantheon. The short life of French rule in Rome meant that the scheme never went ahead but it re-emerged in an altered form in the urban plan of 1873. This scheme proposed that the piazza should be enlarged and made into the focus of new boulevards converging on it from the direction of Piazza Borghese and Largo Magnanapoli. In the event, this did not happen, though several structures adjoining the north end of the square and the Pantheon were demolished under Popes Pius VII and Pius IX.
Amphitheatre of Catania
The Roman Amphitheatre of Catania was an imposing structure built in the Roman Imperial period, probably in the 2nd century AD, on the northern edge of the ancient city at the base of the Montevergine hill. Only a small section of the structure is now visible, below ground level, to the north of Piazza Stesicoro. This area is now the historic centre of the city, but was then on the outskirts of the ancient town and also occupied by the . The structure is part of the .
Pantheon, Rome
The name "Pantheon" is from the Ancient Greek "Pantheion" (Πάνθειον) meaning "of, relating to, or common to all the gods": (pan- / "παν-" meaning "all" + theion / "θεῖον"= meaning "of or sacred to a god"). Cassius Dio, a Roman senator who wrote in Greek, speculated that the name comes either from the statues of many gods placed around this building, or from the resemblance of the dome to the heavens. His uncertainty strongly suggests that "Pantheon" (or Pantheum) was merely a nickname, not the formal name of the building. In fact, the concept of a pantheon dedicated to all the gods is questionable. The only definite pantheon recorded earlier than Agrippa's was at Antioch in Syria, though it is only mentioned by a sixth-century source. Ziegler tried to collect evidence of panthea, but his list consists of simple dedications "to all the gods" or "to the Twelve Gods," which are not necessarily true panthea in the sense of a temple housing a cult that literally worships all the gods.
Campus Martius
A large portion of events occurring on Campus Martius were associated with either Roman military or Roman electoral or political activities. On it, troops trained for war, and successful generals displayed their riches taken from conquered lands, erecting temples and public buildings to impress the Roman populace in order to curry favor in the elections. In the 30s and 20s B.C.E Rome was experiencing unparalleled growth in public building projects sponsored by many different leading men in the Roman State. In Rome, the sponsorship of these public buildings provided special prestige to each of the individual builders and their families. Augustus, however, expanded past receiving simple prestige, in favor of a much more powerful role. Augustus was amongst numerous builders during the time, but by focusing on the construction of buildings to hold political functions, Augustus was able to occupy a central place in Rome's political atmosphere. The first building on Campus Martius to be associated with Augustus was the Saepta Julia, which was designed to manage the crowds at elections and prevent fraud. Voters would gather in the pen space north of the Saepta and enter the structure on its northern end, where they would then cast their ballots. Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa completed the Saepta Julia and dedicated it in honor of Augustus. The Pantheon, which was also built by Agrippa and associated with Augustus, was completed within a year of the Saepta Julia and was used for pre-election functions. Agrippa tried to name the Pantheon after Augustus but was denied, instead he erected a statue of Augustus, Julius Caesar and himself in the porch of the Pantheon, forever associating the Pantheon with Augustus, Julius Caesar and Agrippa. So when the crowds gathered to listen to speeches concerning important political events, they did so in buildings dedicated to Augustus, automatically drawing the connection between Augustus and important Roman politics. All of the sites built specifically to host political activities, meetings of the Senate and both legislative and electoral assemblies, were sponsored by or closely associated with Augustus. The ancient Roman historian Strabo describes the presence Augustus left throughout Campus Martius:
Rome
One of the symbols of Rome is the Colosseum (70–80 AD), the largest amphitheatre ever built in the Roman Empire. Originally capable of seating 60,000 spectators, it was used for gladiatorial combat. A list of important monuments and sites of ancient Rome includes the Roman Forum, the Domus Aurea, the Pantheon, Trajan's Column, Trajan's Market, the Catacombs, the Circus Maximus, the Baths of Caracalla, Castel Sant'Angelo, the Mausoleum of Augustus, the Ara Pacis, the Arch of Constantine, the Pyramid of Cestius, and the Bocca della Verità.
Pantheon, Rome
The building's consecration as a church saved it from the abandonment, destruction, and the worst of the spoliation that befell the majority of ancient Rome's buildings during the early medieval period. However, Paul the Deacon records the spoliation of the building by the Emperor Constans II, who visited Rome in July 663:
"Remaining at Rome twelve days he pulled down everything that in ancient times had been made of metal for the ornament of the city, to such an extent that he even stripped off the roof of the church [of the blessed Mary], which at one time was called the Pantheon, and had been founded in honour of all the gods and was now by the consent of the former rulers the place of all the martyrs; and he took away from there the bronze tiles and sent them with all the other ornaments to Constantinople."
Roman art
During the Republican era, Roman architecture combined Greek and Etruscan elements, and produced innovations such as the round temple and the curved arch. As Roman power grew in the early empire, the first emperors inaugurated wholesale leveling of slums to build grand palaces on the Palatine Hill and nearby areas, which required advances in engineering methods and large scale design. Roman buildings were then built in the commercial, political, and social grouping known as a forum, that of Julius Caesar being the first and several added later, with the Forum Romanum being the most famous. The greatest arena in the Roman world, the Colosseum, was completed around 80 AD at the far end of that forum. It held over 50,000 spectators, had retractable fabric coverings for shade, and could stage massive spectacles including huge gladiatorial contests and mock naval battles. This masterpiece of Roman architecture epitomizes Roman engineering efficiency and incorporates all three architectural orders – Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. Less celebrated but just as important if not more so for most Roman citizens, was the five-story "insula" or city block, the Roman equivalent of an apartment building, which housed tens of thousands of Romans.
It was during the reign of Trajan (98–117 AD.) and Hadrian (117–138 AD) that the Roman Empire reached its greatest extent and that Rome itself was at the peak of its artistic glory – achieved through massive building programs of monuments, meeting houses, gardens, aqueducts, baths, palaces, pavilions, sarcophagi, and temples. The Roman use of the arch, the use of concrete building methods, the use of the dome all permitted construction of vaulted ceilings and enabled the building of these public spaces and complexes, including the palaces, public baths and basilicas of the "Golden Age" of the empire. Outstanding examples of dome construction include the Pantheon, the Baths of Diocletian, and the Baths of Caracalla. The Pantheon (dedicated to all the planetary gods) is the best preserved temple of ancient times with an intact ceiling featuring an open "eye" in the center. The height of the ceiling exactly equals the interior diameter of the building, creating an enclosure that could contain giant sphere. These grand buildings later served as inspirational models for architects of the Italian Renaissance, such as Brunelleschi. By the age of Constantine (306-337 AD), the last great building programs in Rome took place, including the erection of the Arch of Constantine built near the Colosseum, which recycled some stone work from the forum nearby, to produce an eclectic mix of styles.
Roman Capriccio: The Pantheon and Other Monuments
Roman Capriccio: The Pantheon and Other Monuments is a 1735 oil painting by Italian artist Giovanni Paolo Panini, located in the Indianapolis Museum of Art, which is in Indianapolis, Indiana. It depicts an array of famous Roman monuments in a rural setting.
List of Ancient Roman temples
Ancient Roman temples were built during antiquity by the people of ancient Rome or peoples belonging to the Roman Empire. These temples were dedicated to divinities from the Roman pantheon.
Pantheon, Rome
Manfredo Manfredi won the competition, and started work in 1885. The tomb consists of a large bronze plaque surmounted by a Roman eagle and the arms of the house of Savoy. The golden lamp above the tomb burns in honor of Victor Emmanuel III, who died in exile in 1947.
Pantheon, Rome
The first niche to the right of the entrance holds a "Madonna of the Girdle and St Nicholas of Bari" (1686) painted by an unknown artist.
The first chapel on the right, the Chapel of the Annunciation, has a fresco of the "Annunciation" attributed to Melozzo da Forlì. On the left side is a canvas by Clement Maioli of "St Lawrence and St Agnes" (1645–1650). On the right wall is the "Incredulity of St Thomas" (1633) by Pietro Paolo Bonzi.
History of Roman and Byzantine domes
Procopius wrote that the original dome seemed "not to rest upon solid masonry, but to cover the space with its golden dome suspended from heaven." Byzantine chronicler John Malalas reported that this dome was 20 byzantine feet lower than its replacement. One theory is that the original dome continued the curve of the existing pendentives (which were partially reconstructed after its collapse), creating a massive sail vault pierced with a ring of windows. This vault would have been part of a theoretical sphere in diameter (the distance from the base of one pendentive to the base of the one opposite), 7 percent greater than the span of the Pantheon's dome. Another theory raises the shallow cap of this dome (the portion above what are today the pendentives) on a relatively short recessed drum containing the windows. This first dome partially collapsed due to an earthquake in 558 and the design was then revised to the present profile. Earthquakes also caused partial collapses of the dome in 989 and 1346, so that the present dome consists of portions dating from the 6th century, on the north and south sides, and portions from the 10th and 14th centuries on the west and east sides, respectively. There are irregularities where these sectors meet.
Achille Leclère
In 1813, Leclère made a noted restoration of the Pantheon in Rome. Indeed, Achille Leclere's architectural drawings of the Pantheon are regarded by many as the best ever made.
Culture of ancient Rome
In its initial stages, the ancient Roman architecture reflected elements of architectural styles of the Etruscans and the Greeks. Over a period of time, the style was modified in tune with their urban requirements, and civil engineering and building construction technology became developed and refined. The Roman concrete has remained a riddle, and even after more than two thousand years some ancient Roman structures still stand magnificently, like the Pantheon (with one of the largest single span domes in the world) located in the business district of today's Rome.
Temple of Hadrian
The Temple of Hadrian (Templum Divus Hadrianus, also Hadrianeum) was dedicated to the deified emperor Hadrian on the Campus Martius in Rome, Italy by his adoptive son and successor Antoninus Pius in 145 C.E. This temple was previously known as the Basilica of Neptune but has since been properly attributed as the Temple of Hadrian completed under Antoninus Pius. With one cella wall and eleven columns from the external colonnade surviving, the remains of the temple have been incorporated into a later building in the Piazza di Pietra (Piazza of Stone – derived from use of the temple's stones to build the piazza), whereby its facade, alongside the architrave which was reconstructed later on, was incorporated into a 17th-century papal palace by Carlo Fontana, now occupied by the Borsa Italiana, Italy's main stock exchange. While only part of the structure remains, excavations and scholarship have provided us with information regarding its construction techniques and stylistic influences, helping us recreate the building dynamics and significance of the Temple of Hadrian in Imperial Rome.
St. Peter's Basilica
Pope Julius' scheme for the grandest building in Christendom was the subject of a competition for which a number of entries remain intact in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence. It was the design of Donato Bramante that was selected, and for which the foundation stone was laid in 1506. This plan was in the form of an enormous Greek Cross with a dome inspired by that of the huge circular Roman temple, the Pantheon. The main difference between Bramante's design and that of the Pantheon is that where the dome of the Pantheon is supported by a continuous wall, that of the new basilica was to be supported only on four large piers. This feature was maintained in the ultimate design. Bramante's dome was to be surmounted by a lantern with its own small dome but otherwise very similar in form to the Early Renaissance lantern of Florence Cathedral designed for Brunelleschi's dome by Michelozzo.
Panthéon
The foundations were laid in 1758, but due to economic problems work proceeded slowly. In 1780, Soufflot died and was replaced by his student, Jean-Baptiste Rondelet. The re-modelled Abbey of St. Genevieve was finally completed in 1790, coinciding with the early stages of the French Revolution. Upon the death of the popular French orator and statesman Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau on 2 April 1791, the National Constituent Assembly, whose president had been Mirabeau, ordered that the building be changed from a church to a mausoleum for the interment of great Frenchmen, retaining Quatremère de Quincy to oversee the project. Mirabeau was the first person interred there, on 4 April 1791. Jean Guillaume Moitte created a pediment sculptural group "The Fatherland crowning the heroic and civic virtues" that was replaced upon the Bourbon Restoration with one by David d'Angers. Twice since then it has reverted to being a church, only to become again a meeting house dedicated to the great intellectuals of France. The cross of the dome, which was retained in compromise, is again visible during the current major restoration project.
Pantheon Fossae
The name is taken from the Pantheon in Rome, an ancient temple with a classic domed roof. The dome of the Pantheon has a series of sunken panels that radiate from a central circular opening at the top of the dome, and Mercury’s Pantheon Fossae is reminiscent of this pattern. Consequently, the crater near the center of Pantheon Fossae is now named Apollodorus, after the Greek engineer Apollodorus who is credited by some as being the architect of the Pantheon. "MESSENGER" scientists are debating whether Apollodorus played a role in the formation of Pantheon Fossae or whether the crater is simply from a later impact that occurred close to the center of the radial pattern.
Palatine Hill
In July 2006, archaeologists announced the discovery of the Palatine House, which they believe to be the birthplace of Rome's first Emperor, Augustus. Head archaeologist Clementina Panella uncovered a section of corridor and other fragments under Rome's Palatine Hill, which she described on July 20 as "a very ancient aristocratic house." The two story house appears to have been built around an atrium, with frescoed walls and mosaic flooring, and is situated on the slope of the Palatine that overlooks the Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine. The Republican-era houses on the Palatine were overbuilt by later palaces after the Great Fire of Rome (64), but apparently this one was not; the tempting early inference is that it was preserved for a specific and important reason. On the ground floor, three shops opened onto the Via Sacra.
Ancient Rome
Life in ancient Rome revolved around the city of Rome, located on seven hills. The city had a vast number of monumental structures like the Colosseum, the Forum of Trajan and the Pantheon. It had theatres, gymnasiums, marketplaces, functional sewers, bath complexes complete with libraries and shops, and fountains with fresh drinking water supplied by hundreds of miles of aqueducts. Throughout the territory under the control of ancient Rome, residential architecture ranged from modest houses to country villas.
Temple of Asclepius, Rome
It was first built between 293 and 290 BC and was dedicated in 289 BC. According to legend, a plague hit Rome in 293 BC, leading the senate to build a temple to Asclepius, Latinised to 'Esculapius'. After having consulted the Sibylline Books and gained a favourable response, a delegation of Roman elders was sent to Epidaurus in Greece, famous for its sanctuary to Asclepius, to obtain a statue of him to bring back to Rome.
Pantheon, Rome
The height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, , so the whole interior would fit exactly within a cube (also, the interior could house a sphere in diameter). These dimensions make more sense when expressed in ancient Roman units of measurement: The dome spans 150 Roman feet; the oculus is 30 Roman feet in diameter; the doorway is 40 Roman feet high. The Pantheon still holds the record for the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome. It is also substantially larger than earlier domes.
Pope Boniface IV
Boniface obtained leave from the Byzantine Emperor Phocas to convert the Pantheon in Rome into a Christian church, and on 13 May 609, the temple erected by Agrippa to Jupiter the Avenger, Venus, and Mars was consecrated by the pope to the Virgin Mary and all the Martyrs. It was the first instance at Rome of the transformation of a pagan temple into a place of Christian worship. Twenty-eight cartloads of sacred bones were said to have been removed from the Catacombs and placed in a porphyry basin beneath the high altar.
Pantheon of National Revival Heroes
In order to build the Pantheon in 1977, the "All Saints" church in the old Rousse cemetery was demolished. The new building was opened to visitors on 28 February 1978. After a public discussion in 2001, the Patheon was "Christianised" by placing a cross on top of its dome. The "St Paisius of Hilendar" chapel, as well as a museum exposition, were founded at that time.
Panthéon
The Panthéon (, from Greek πάνθειον (ἱερόν) '(temple) to all the gods') is a building in the Latin Quarter in Paris, France. It was originally built as a church dedicated to St. Genevieve and to house the reliquary châsse containing her relics but, after many changes, now functions as a secular mausoleum containing the remains of distinguished French citizens. It is an early example of neo-classicism, with a façade modelled on the Pantheon in Rome, surmounted by a dome that owes some of its character to Bramante's "Tempietto". Located in the 5th arrondissement on the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève, the Panthéon looks out over all of Paris. Designer Jacques-Germain Soufflot had the intention of combining the lightness and brightness of the Gothic cathedral with classical principles, but its role as a mausoleum required the great Gothic windows to be blocked.
Hadrian
Hadrian had an abiding and enthusiastic interest in art, architecture and public works. Rome's Pantheon (temple "to all the gods"), originally built by Agrippa and destroyed by fire in 80, was partly restored under Trajan and completed under Hadrian in the domed form it retains to this day. Hadrian's Villa at Tibur (Tivoli) provides the greatest Roman equivalent of an Alexandrian garden, complete with domed Serapeum, recreating a sacred landscape. An anecdote from Cassius Dio's history suggests Hadrian had a high opinion of his own architectural tastes and talents, and took their rejection as a personal offense: at some time before his reign, his predecessor Trajan was discussing an architectural problem with Apollodorus of Damascus – architect and designer of Trajan's Forum, the Column commemorating his Dacian conquest, and his bridge across the Danube – when Hadrian interrupted to offer his advice. Apollodorus gave him a scathing response: "Be off, and draw your gourds [a sarcastic reference to the domes which Hadrian apparently liked to draw]. You don't understand any of these matters". Dio claims that once Hadrian became emperor, he showed Apollodorus drawings of the gigantic Temple of Venus and Roma, implying that great buildings could be created without his help. When Apollodorus pointed out the building's various insoluble problems and faults, Hadrian was enraged, sent him into exile and later put him to death on trumped up charges.
Colosseum
The site chosen was a flat area on the floor of a low valley between the Caelian, Esquiline and Palatine Hills, through which a canalised stream ran. By the 2nd century BC the area was densely inhabited. It was devastated by the Great Fire of Rome in AD 64, following which Nero seized much of the area to add to his personal domain. He built the grandiose "Domus Aurea" on the site, in front of which he created an artificial lake surrounded by pavilions, gardens and porticoes. The existing "Aqua Claudia" aqueduct was extended to supply water to the area and the gigantic bronze Colossus of Nero was set up nearby at the entrance to the Domus Aurea. Although the Colossus was preserved, much of the Domus Aurea was torn down. The lake was filled in and the land reused as the location for the new Flavian Amphitheatre. Gladiatorial schools and other support buildings were constructed nearby within the former grounds of the Domus Aurea. Vespasian's decision to build the Colosseum on the site of Nero's lake can be seen as a populist gesture of returning to the people an area of the city which Nero had appropriated for his own use. In contrast to many other amphitheatres, which were located on the outskirts of a city, the Colosseum was constructed in the city centre; in effect, placing it both symbolically and precisely at the heart of Rome.
History of construction
In striking contrast to previous cultures, an enormous amount is known about Roman building construction. A very large amount survives, including complete intact buildings like the Pantheon, Rome and very well preserved ruins at Pompeii and Herculaneum. We also have the first surviving treatise on architecture by Vitruvius which includes extensive passages on construction techniques.
Pantheon, Rome
The large bronze doors to the cella, once plated with gold, are not the original ones of the Pantheon. The current doors – manufactured too small for the door frames – have been there since about the 15th century.
Pythagoras
The emperor Hadrian's Pantheon in Rome was also built based on Pythagorean numerology. The temple's circular plan, central axis, hemispherical dome, and alignment with the four cardinal directions symbolize Pythagorean views on the order of the universe. The single oculus at the top of the dome symbolizes the monad and the sun-god Apollo. The twenty-eight ribs extending from the oculus symbolize the moon, because twenty-eight was the same number of months on the Pythagorean lunar calendar. The five coffered rings beneath the ribs represent the marriage of the sun and moon.
Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa
In commemoration of the Battle of Actium, Agrippa built and dedicated the building that served as the Roman Pantheon before its destruction in 80 AD. Emperor Hadrian used Agrippa's design to build his own Pantheon, which survives in Rome. The inscription of the later building, which was built around 125, preserves the text of the inscription from Agrippa's building during his third consulship. The years following his third consulship, Agrippa spent in Gaul, reforming the provincial administration and taxation system, along with building an effective road system and aqueducts.
History of Roman and Byzantine domes
The shallow coffering in the dome accounts for a less than five percent reduction in the dome's mass, and is mostly decorative. The aggregate material hand-placed in the concrete is heaviest at the base of the dome and changes to lighter materials as the height increases, dramatically reducing the stresses in the finished structure. In fact, many commentators have cited the Pantheon as an example of the revolutionary possibilities for monolithic architecture provided by the use of Roman pozzolana concrete. However, vertical cracks seem to have developed very early, such that in practice the dome acts as an array of arches with a common keystone, rather than as a single unit. The exterior step-rings used to compress the "haunches" of the dome, which would not be necessary if the dome acted as a monolithic structure, may be an acknowledgement of this by the builders themselves. Such buttressing was common in Roman arch construction. The cracks in the dome can be seen from the upper internal chambers of the rotunda, but have been covered by re-rendering on the inner surface and by patching on the outside. The Pantheon's roof was originally covered with gilt bronze tiles, but these were removed in 663 by Emperor Constans II and replaced with lead roofing.
James Wyatt
Back in England, his selection as architect of the proposed Pantheon or "Winter Ranelagh" in Oxford Street, London, brought him almost unparalleled instant success. His brother Samuel was one of the principal promoters of the scheme, and it was doubtless due to him that the designs of a young and almost unknown architect were accepted by the Committee. When the Pantheon was opened in 1772, their choice was at once endorsed by the fashionable public: Horace Walpole pronounced it to be "the most beautiful edifice in England".
Hekatompedon temple
The temple was built around 570–550 BC. It was demolished by the Athenians in 490 BC after the victory over the Persians at Marathon to build a larger temple known as the "Older Parthenon". The latter was destroyed in 480 BC by the returning Persians in the Destruction of Athens, and finally replaced by the present Parthenon. The existence of the Hekatompedon is witnessed by historical documents. Its foundations have disappeared, but architectural and sculptural elements found in the southern part of the Mycenaean wall of Acropolis have been assigned by scholars to this temple.
Diogenes of Athens (sculptor)
Agrippa's temple was mostly demolished after suffering two fires, and was rebuilt under Hadrian. In the 7th century, the Pantheon was converted for use as a Christian house of worship, and Diogenes' sculptures have either not survived or not been identified as such. Nothing is known for certain about his work beyond Pliny's remark, but it may have resembled fragmentary caryatids recovered from the Forum of Augustus and Hadrian's Villa. Some art historians of the 18th and 19th centuries, including Winckelmann, tentatively attributed fragments to him. Winckelmann conjectured that an atlantid (the male version of a caryatid), formerly at the Palazzo Farnese, was the work of Diogenes.
Diogenes also created sculpture for the Pantheon's pediment, of equally fine quality, but lesser known, Pliny remarks, because the structure's great height made this work difficult to see.
Parthenon
The Parthenon (; ; , "Parthenónas") is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, dedicated to the goddess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their patron. Construction began in 447 BC when the Athenian Empire was at the peak of its power. It was completed in 438 BC, although decoration of the building continued until 432 BC. It is the most important surviving building of Classical Greece, generally considered the zenith of the Doric order. Its decorative sculptures are considered some of the high points of Greek art. The Parthenon is regarded as an enduring symbol of Ancient Greece, Athenian democracy and Western civilization, and one of the world's greatest cultural monuments. To the Athenians who built it, the Parthenon and other Periclean monuments of the Acropolis were seen fundamentally as a celebration of Hellenic victory over the Persian invaders and as a thanksgiving to the gods for that victory. As of 2007 the Greek Ministry of Culture was carrying out a programme of selective restoration and reconstruction to ensure the stability of the partially ruined structure.
Parthenon
The first endeavour to build a sanctuary for on the site of the present Parthenon was begun shortly after the Battle of Marathon (c. 490–488 BC) upon a solid limestone foundation that extended and levelled the southern part of the Acropolis summit. This building replaced a "hekatompedon" (meaning "hundred-footer") and would have stood beside the archaic temple dedicated to "Athena Polias" ("of the city"). The Older or Pre-Parthenon, as it is frequently referred to, was still under construction when the Persians sacked the city in 480 BC and razed the Acropolis.
Pantheon, Rome
In 202, the building was repaired by the joint emperors Septimius Severus and his son Caracalla (fully "Marcus Aurelius Antoninus"), for which there is another, smaller inscription on the architrave of the façade, under the aforementioned larger text. This now-barely legible inscription reads:
Amphitheater of Nero
According to historian Tacitus, work began on the amphitheater in 57 CE, the year of Nero's second consulship with Lucius Calpurnius Piso. Others argue that it was built after the Great Fire of Rome in 64 since Nero wanted to replace the amphitheater of Statilius Taurus, then the only stone amphitheater in Rome, which had been destroyed in the fire. It took only a year to complete and Nero held gladiatorial battles to inaugurate it. According to Suetonius' "Life of Nero" (XII, 2-3): "at the gladiatorial fights which he [Nero] gave in a wooden amphitheatre, built on the Campus Martius in less than a year, nobody was left to kill, even criminals. But he made 400 senators and 600 Roman equestrians fight". However, the building's wooden construction meant it did not last long and was probably destroyed in the fire of 80.
Inaugural games of the Flavian Amphitheatre
The inaugural games were held, on the orders of the Roman Emperor Titus, to celebrate the completion in AD 80 (81 according to some sources) of the Colosseum, then known as the Flavian Amphitheatre (). Vespasian began construction of the amphitheatre around AD 70 and it was completed by his son Titus who became emperor following Vespasian's death in AD 79. Titus' reign began with months of disasters – including the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, a fire in Rome, and an outbreak of plague – he inaugurated the completion of the structure with lavish games that lasted for more than one hundred days, perhaps in an attempt to appease the Roman public and the gods.
Afyonkarahisar
One of the greatest Roman architectural piece, the Pantheon contains Docimian Pavonazzetto as floor pavement along with other marble types. The dominant white color is the Pavonazzetto, also some of the interior main columns and pilasters are made from Docimian marble.
Other buildings in Roman capital which contains or contained Docimian marble were, 
Forum of Augustus, Forum of Trajan (floor and 184 column shafts), Temple of Mars Ultor (floor), Temple of Apollo (floor), Basilica Aemelia (20 statues), Basilica Julia (floor and some columns), Basilica Ulpia (some of the columns),
Basilica San Paolo Fuori Le Mura (24 columns, destroyed by fire in 1823),
The eight statues on the Arch of Constantine,
The greatest Roman bath, Baths of Caracalla (some of the columns and wall veneer.
Acropolis of Athens
During the Julio-Claudian period, the Temple of Rome and Augustus, a small, round edifice, about 23 meters from the Parthenon, was to be the last significant ancient construction on the summit of the rock. Around the same time, on the North slope, in a cave next to the one dedicated to Pan since the classical period, a sanctuary was founded where the archons dedicated to Apollo on assuming office. During 161 AD, on the South slope, the Roman Herodes Atticus built his grand amphitheatre or Odeon. It was destroyed by the invading Herulians a century later but was reconstructed during the 1950s.
Pantheon, Rome
The second niche has a 15th-century fresco of the Tuscan school, depicting the "Coronation of the Virgin". In the second chapel is the tomb of King Victor Emmanuel II (died 1878). It was originally dedicated to the Holy Spirit. A competition was held to decide which architect should design it. Giuseppe Sacconi participated, but lost – he would later design the tomb of Umberto I in the opposite chapel.
Roman Forum
The Temple of Saturn was one of the more significant buildings located in the Roman Forum. It is believed to have been built in 497 BC and located in Regione VIII Forum Romanum. Little is known about when the Temple was built, as the original temple is believed to have been burnt down by the Gauls early in the fourth century. However it is understood that it was also rebuilt by Munatius Plancus in 42 BC. The eight remaining columns are all that is left of the illustrious temple. Though its exact date of completion is not known, it stands as one of the oldest buildings in the Forum Romanum. The temple originally was to be built to the god Jupiter but was replaced with Saturn; historians are unsure why. The building was not used solely for religious practice; the temple also functioned as a bank for the Roman Society.
The Temple stood in the forum along with four other temples. It stood with the Temple of Concord, Vesta, Castor and Pollox. At each temple, animal sacrifices and rituals were done in front of the religious sites. These acts were meant to provide good fortune to those entering and using the temple. Since the Temple of Saturn also functioned as a bank, and since Saturn was the god of the Golden Age, the sacrifices were made in hope of financial success.
Septizodium
The Septizodium (also called "Septizonium" or "Septicodium") was a building in ancient Rome. It was built in 203 AD by Emperor Septimius Severus. The origin of the name "Septizodium" is from "Septisolium", from the Latin for temple of seven suns, and was probably named for the seven planetary deities (Saturn, Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus) or for the fact that it was originally divided into seven parts. The building had no known practical purpose and was probably meant to be a decorative façade, known as a Nymphaeum. Ancient and medieval sources describe its purpose as being intended to impress Severus' fellow Africans as they entered the city, as it was located at the place where the Via Appia passes the Palatine and leads east towards the Forum Romanum. Other examples of septizodia are known, all from Africa.
Pantheon, Rome
It is one of the best-preserved of all Ancient Roman buildings, in large part because it has been in continuous use throughout its history, and since the 7th century, the Pantheon has been used as a church dedicated to "St. Mary and the Martyrs" () but informally known as "Santa Maria Rotonda". The square in front of the Pantheon is called Piazza della Rotonda. The Pantheon is a state property, managed by Italy's Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism through the Polo Museale del Lazio; in 2013 it was visited by over 6 million people.
Parthenon
In the mid-5th century BC, when the Athenian Acropolis became the seat of the Delian League and Athens was the greatest cultural centre of its time, Pericles initiated an ambitious building project that lasted the entire second half of the century. The most important buildings visible on the Acropolis today — the Parthenon, the Propylaia, the Erechtheion and the temple of Athena Nike — were erected during this period. The Parthenon was built under the general supervision of the artist Phidias, who also had charge of the sculptural decoration. The architects Ictinos and Callicrates began their work in 447 BC, and the building was substantially completed by 432, but work on the decorations continued until at least 431.