Ancient Roman Architecture
1: The Pantheon
The Pantheon is the strongest architectural building that the ancient Romans created, since it is the most intact and preserved building from Ancient Rome, having been completed in 125 CE (making this building two thousand years old), under Hadrian’s rule. The dome is the strongest source of proof that the Roman architects were builders and thinkers that were capable of much more than they left behind, but ensuring that their definitive buildings were able to withstand the test of time. The Pantheon was built for the emperor, where others would see his status, and some speculate that it could have been built as a temple to the Roman gods. This was also the third attempt at a building, the previous two had burned down, one from fire, another from lightning. Due to the fact that the frame is built out of wood, and then coated in concrete, it is assumed that the frame had been completed partially or maybe fully, and the concrete had not been laid yet.
The front porch consists of eight Corinthian columns that are about twelve meters high. There is a pediment above the columns, and drill holes, which suggest that there was an emblem, bronze eagle or a wreath that hung there, which was also removed. The entrance is between two bronze doors twelve feet high and seven and a half feet wide, which although ancient, are not original. The room is forty-three meters in diameter, and the height is also a matching forty three meters. This makes the dome a perfect hemisphere, and the room has the matching space for another upside down hemisphere. The dome is created from a mix of concrete and other lighter pumice, and then further lightened by five rings of twenty-eight coffers that become smaller the higher they rise.
In the Middle Ages, the left side of the porch was damaged and three columns required replacement. One came from Domitian’s Villa and was installed in 1626. The other two came from Nero’s baths and were installed in 1666. There were also bronze girders that were removed by Pope Urban VIII in 1626, which means that the porch roof required additional support from being coated in heavy marble tiles.
There is text on the front of the building that states, “Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, three-time consul, made this.” and smaller text underneath that says, “with every refinement they restored the Pantheon, worn by age.” Although the Pantheon has had minor retouches, no other building has survived in such quality as the Pantheon. The front steps are made of a yellow colored marble, and the building is classified as having two parts. The first, being the porch, is Grecian styled, and the main building seems to be inspired by others like the Roman baths. The main building used to have white marble stucco that matched the porch, now worn down to brick and concrete. The dome also used to have bronze sheeting that covered it, but later was removed by the emperor, Constans II in 663 CE.
