The Pantheon as we know it, with its monumental domed roof sitting squarely in the heart of today's historic center of Rome, has impressively occupied the site since the 2nd century CE. Situated on the ancient Campus Martius (Field of Mars), a vast floodplain originally used as a military training ground, the Pantheon is a building that has served as imposing backdrop to Rome's civic and religious life for almost two thousand years.
By the fifth century BCE, the Campus Martius was no longer a military training ground but contained a temple dedicated to Apollo and an alter to Mars. By the first century BCE, the site was a thriving civic area with baths, temple complexes, gymnasiums, theaters, amphitheaters, and more. The Pantheon was part of this mix of first century public structures. And it is the Pantheon that survives to this day. Long gone are many of the other structures whether dismantled, demolished, or buried. But the Pantheon survived, is there, still welcoming visitors. Its dome gently rising above the skyline as it has done for millennia. Of course, it's an architectural marvel, one of the most complete examples of ancient Roman architecture to survive. But why did this building survive and not the many others?
The Pantheon as seen from Piazza della Rotunda
Walking up to the Pantheon, it's impossible to not let the grandeur and scale of the architecture completely wallop you. Whether approaching from the rear on Via della Rotunda or Via della Minerva, or from the front through the open Piazza della Rotunda, the building is immediately impressive, both in scale and classical adornment. The sight of the great drum encircling and holding aloft the massive and expansive domed roof remains an architectural marvel. Quite literally one of the most complete examples of Roman architecture, the Pantheon lies in architectural harmony. Its perfect classicism serving as influence to buildings throughout history, especially during the Neoclassical enthusiasm felt in 18th century Britain and America.
The Pantheon's rotunda and porch
Its massive portico containing 40 Roman ft. Corinthian columns attaches the porch to the rotunda itself. Whether visiting during the crushing crowd of the day, or in the evening when the outside piazza is awash in spotlights, the Pantheon's grandeur will impress. Crowned with an oculus in the middle of a coffered ceiling, it remains one of the largest unreinforced concrete domes in the world. In fact, the height from the floor to the oculus measures the same as the dome's diameter - 142 feet.
The Pantheon's interior coffered dome
The sophistication of Roman engineering is clearly evident here. Grand though the architecture may be, the Pantheon's brick walls and concrete dome are stripped back, exposed and showing more of their construction than originally intended. The gleaming marble that would have clad the building as a brilliant veneer is long gone, stripped by many over the centuries.
The current iteration of the building was likely commissioned by Emperor Trajan towards the end of his reign and completed by his successor Hadrian between 125-128 CE. The building we see today, was actually erected on the site of an earlier Roman temple built by Marcus Agrippa, a first century BCE Roman consul and general, during the reign of Augustus, the first Roman emperor (31 BCE–14 CE).
A prominent inscription on the building's frieze declares in abbreviated Latin, “M[arcus] Agrippa L[ucii] F[ilius] Co[n]s[ul] Tertium Fecit” (“Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, thrice Consul, built this”). Accepting this inscription as fact, this text identifies Marcus Agrippa as the patron. Though as handy as it is, this was disproved in the late 19th century when stamped bricks found around the building showed that the Pantheon, as we see it today, was actually a rebuilt site benefitting from the patronage of Emperor Hadrian and likely constructed between 118-128 CE.
Panorama of the Pantheon's interior
Long called the Pantheon, meaning "dedicated to all Roman gods", art historians now question whether the site was really a temple to the gods at all. Rather, the building may have been used as a site of dynastic reverence, that is, a temple dedicated to Julius Caesar, the ancestor of Agrippa (whose name is inscribed on the portico frieze) and Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Additionally, the Pantheon sits within the ancient Campus Martius, which also still holds the mausoleum of Augustus, a building complex contemporary to the Pantheon.
Interior of the Pantheon
Whatever the original intent of the temple in the second century, by the fourth century CE, primary sources indicate that the interior niches held statues of Roman emperors and not Roman gods and goddesses. These statues reinforced the ruling party's lineage by visually connecting themselves with this important heritage, erasing any doubt of their divine right to rule.
Approaching the Pantheon from Via della Minerva
The fact that this building survives at all is a marvel given all the human history the city of Rome has endured since its construction almost two centuries ago. However, at some point during this long history, (likely in the seventh century) the site was consecrated and converted to an important Christian church. The Pantheon became a station church, one of the city churches where the Pope delivers Mass during Lent. This religious importance ensured the Pantheon, or as it was now called, the Basilica of St. Mary and the Martyrs would remain protected for centuries to come.
To get an incredible sense of scale and how the Pantheon sits within its current civic environment, visit Google Earth.
