Pantheon

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Pantheon

Introduction

The Romans and Greeks built great structures during the rise of their civilizations. In fact, they were very famous for their architecture and buildings. During the reign of Romans and Greeks, multiple new types and forms of architecture were discovered and many forms of architecture were revamped and flourished all over the Roman and Greek empire. One of such famous masterpieces of architecture was the Pantheon. The Pantheon is a rectangular building with a gabled roof and colonnade supporting it on all sides. It is actually one of the best-preserved monuments of Rome.

Discussion

Pantheon was first started to be built up by the famous political figure Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa in the early 27 BC, as an ordinary temple classical temple building. It was completely rebuilt and revamped by the emperor Hadrian during 118 AD and 128 AD. The temple also underwent certain amendments during the 3rd century by the emperors Caracalla and Septimius Severus.

Structure

The Pantheon includes a building in circular shape, built up of concrete and brick. The building contains a big dome made up of concrete rising up from the walls and a porch in the front containing columns or pillars made up of Corinthian that support a gabled roof with a triangular pediment (MacDonald). The building also includes large doors, 24 feet, or 7 meters high, beneath the porch. These doors were made up of bronze and were the largest of their kind (Rykwert).

The pantheon has its own unique structure. It is known for its colossal size, unique design and different way of construction. Till date, the architects and constructors are fascinated by the amazing artwork and the construction style that had been used by the builders of that time (Marder). The domes were largely built measuring about 142 feet or 43 meters in diameter and going up to a height of 71 feet or 22 meters above its base. The ancient construction material does not show any signs of bricks used in supporting the arch, inside the dome. Only the lower part seems to have the support through a tough material including bricks and mortar.

The most interesting part about these buildings is that their exact method of construction is still unknown to the experts. There have been only limited discoveries in this respect that tell us about the construction techniques and the material used for the construction of these buildings. The major factor that contributed to the successful construction and strength of these Pantheons was the excellent quality of the mortar and careful selection and grading of the aggregate material.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, it can be concluded that Pantheons were amazingly beautiful structures of construction that still amaze the experts and researchers of the architectural field. These are huge buildings with large domes supported by big pillars or columns. Pantheons were built for religious purposes and social gatherings. The pantheon was considered as a greater temple, as a temple of all gods. The construction was kept grand, and huge, by the Romans and Greeks, keeping in mind the purpose and the number of people who were supposed to gather here and perform the rituals.

Works Cited

MacDonald, William Lloyd. The Pantheon: design, meaning, and progeny. Harvard University Press, 2002.

Marder, Tod A., and Mark Wilson Jones, eds. The Pantheon: from Antiquity to the present. Cambridge University Press, 2015.

Rykwert, Joseph. The dancing column: on order in architecture. Vol. 27. Cambridge, MA: Mit Press, 1996.