Haley Ruth-Ann Sterne
Period 3 Humanities.
Due: Friday Feb. 10, 2006/Revision Feb. 15, 2006
The Roman Pantheon

The Pantheon proudly is the greatest temple ever built, the greatest treasure of Roman history, and a tribute to societies ingenious. Though many sites disagree on some of the most common facts there is one thing they all observe, and that is the greatness of the majestic temple. Should you ever doubt that it is the greatest of all Roman works just head over to Rome yourself and see the almost completely there structure built by Histories greatest monarch. It was a tribute to the gods, and now it is a tribute to God.
The first Pantheon was built by Emperor Marcus Vispanius Agrippa around BC 27 (Parker, Freda). It was purchased by his own money, which was either taxed from the citizens or inherited. His temple to the gods was rebuilt after being burned down by Emperor Domitian (Parker, Freda). However, that one too burned down, the cause said to be fire. The greatest Emperor according to the Robert C. Lamm who wrote the text The Humanities in Western Culture was responsible for the next resurrection of the Pantheon. The estimated date of completion was 126 A.D (Matthews, Kevin). It is believed that construction started in 117 A.D (Stage, Sherry)
Emperor Hadrian was not only the politician responsible for the beautiful work of art known as the Pantheon but was also the architect of it (pbs.org). Hadrian moved the portico to the opposite side of which it originally resided. Not only that but his ingenious nature and smart use of resources has caused the building to last for decades, not only physically but in the history books. Perhaps one of the Emperors greatest contribution, besides his funding and architectural achievements, was the way he included public baths (Lamm, Robert C.). Not only was he ingenious but also appreciated Roman history. He credited the completion of the Pantheon to Marcus Agrippa (Parker, Freda).
The original Pantheon, constructed by Marcus Agrippa, was made with concrete. A colonnade supported a rectangular wooden roof (crystalinks.com). When emperor Hadrian rebuilt the Pantheon he made it with such a cement mixture that it still stands sturdy today despite cracks (Moore, David). The amazing thing about the building is that it is completely un-reinforced by rods or any other supportive structures. In fact building such as the Pantheon without steel rods is something no one in this day and age would even dare attempt (Moore, David). According to pbs.org the Pantheon is also made with brick. However, multiple sources indicate the former method rather then the latter in the building of the temple of the gods. The Pantheon has an oculus. In addition the diameter of the dome is a whopping 142 feet in diameter (Parker, Freda). The best thing perhaps about the Pantheon is the aesthetically pleasing quality it has to it. The dome itself is a perfect hemisphere matching in both the height and diameter (Sullivan, Mary Ann).
Not only has the Pantheon been a tribute to 'All the Gods,'� (Sullivan, Mary Ann) but it has also been the burial place of several very prominent people. Among those buried there are Victor Emmanuel II, Raphael-the famous painter, and Umberto I (Erickson, Kristen). It has long served many a Roman as a temple to the Olympus gods and later to the Roman Catholics as a temple to God (crystalinks.org). It was a revolution to building, being the first to use cement (Erickson, Kristen), and lastly it served to boast of the unhumble Emperor Hadrian's greatness (Stage, Sherry).
Perhaps to signify its greatness the Pantheon can be found still close to its entirety today (pbs.org). The only changes have been small alterations made to the majestic temple have been done by Lucius Spetimius Severus and his co-emperor Caracalla (crystalinks.org). It became an official church, Ad Martyres, in 609 A.D. (crystalinks.org). You can enter it today for free during June, July and August from 9 in the morning to 1 in the evening (holidayinrome.com).
In conclusion the Pantheon is one of the most successful civil projects ever created. It is comparable to several of today's cathedrals built to highlight God and the wealth of the creator. You could also compare it to the Smithsonian museums, as it is very rich in history and can be seen for free. No other project that I can ever foresee will be as successful and as helpful as that of the Pantheon.





Works Cited


Books:
Lamm, Robert C. The Humanities in Western Culture, Tenth Edition Vol. 1. Singapore. Rosemary Bradley, 1996. Pages 296-297

Online sources:
Ancient Rome Pantheon. Crystalink. Feb. 7, 2006. <http://crystalinks.com/romepantheon.html>
Erickson, Kristen. Pantheon. Greenwich Academy. Feb. 7, 2006 <http://mail.greenwichacademy.org/~kristen_erickson/kidpages/carolinef/Pantheon%20Web%20p age.htm >
Holiday in Rome. Pantheon. Holiday in Rome. Feb. 8, 2006. <http://www.holidayinrome.com/history/pantheon.html>
Matthews, Kevin. Pantheon. 1994-2006. Artifice Inc. Feb. 7, 2006. <http://greatbuildings.com/buildings/Pantheon.html>
Moore, David. The Pantheon 1995. Roman Concrete . Com. Feb. 7, 2006. <http://romanconcrete.com/docs/chapt01/chapt01.htm>
Nyborg, Chris. 2000. The Churches of Rome. Feb. 7, 2006. <http://roma.katolsk.no/mariamartyres_pantheon.htm>
Parker, Freda. The Pantheon-- Rome -126 AD, A temple to all gods. Monolithic Dome Articles. Feb. 7, 2006 <http://monolithic.com/thedome/pantheon>
PBS. Wonders of the World Database. 2000-2001. WGHB. Feb. 7, 2006. <http://pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/wonder/structure/pantheon.html>
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL). Using Modern Language Association (MLA) Format. December 2003. Purdue University. Feb. 9, 2006. <http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_mla.html>
Stage, Sherry. The Roman Pantheon. November 26, 2002. Edward V. George Course Website. Feb. 7, 2006. <http://www2.tltc.ttu.edu/george/CLAS3330/sherry_stage.htm>
Sullivan, Mary Ann. Pantheon 125-28 C.E. Bluffton University. Feb. 9, 2006. <http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/romanpantheon/pantheon.html>

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