The Pantheon

Pantheon or ΠΑΝΘΕΟΝ

• comes from 2 Greek words– παν = all– θεος = god

• temple to all the gods

-originally built by Marcus Agrippa in 27 B.C.E.-rebuilt by the Emperor Hadrian in 126 C.E.

-M·AGRIPPA·L·F·COS·TERTIVM·FECIT-standing for Latin: Marcus Agrippa, Lucii filius, consul tertium fecit -Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, Consul for the third time, built this

-converted to a church dedicated to St. Mary and the Martyrs in the 7th century C.E.

South east view of the Pantheon from Piazza della Minerva

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/DesgodetzPantheon.jpg

The building is circular with a portico of huge granite columns under a pediment opening into the rotunda

A rotunda (from Latin rotundus) is any building with a circular ground plan, often covered by a dome

Under the Portico of the Pantheon

The rotunda is under a coffered, concrete dome, with a central opening (oculus) to the sky. Almost two thousand years after it was built, the Pantheon's dome is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome.

Oculus

oculus

oculus