The Pantheon temple, built during the Ancient Roman period, is located in the Piazza della Rotonda area and square in Rome. Pantheon is derived from the Latin word “Pantheon” meaning “temple of all gods”. The temple was designed and built as a temple for all gods. This is an extremely rare practice in Ancient Rome. Usually temples were built for a particular god or goddess. However, the Pantheon Temple stands out as a different type of temple in the Roman Empire.
Today, the term Pantheon is used for monuments in which famous people are buried. The Pantheon is the best preserved of all Roman structures. It is even considered the best preserved building of its era in the world. At the same time, the famous sculptor Michelangelo defined the Pantheon Temple with the words divine and superhuman. The Pantheon Temple was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1990.
The Pantheon Temple is an important building in Rome, whose history is surrounded by many legends. According to belief, the Pantheon Temple was built on the place where Romulus, the founder of Rome, ascended to heaven when he died. However, some sources claim that it was built in the area where the temple is located centuries ago. The temple was later ascended to heaven and dedicated to Romulus by the saints and saints. The history and legends of the temple make an important contribution to Rome’s rich cultural heritage.
History and Architecture of the Pantheon Temple
The Pantheon Temple is a structure built during the Ancient Roman period and dedicated to all gods. Its design is often attributed to Apollodorus of Damascus, who was Trajan’s architect. However, it is possible that the temple was built between 118-128 AD during the reign of Emperor Hadrian. One of the most striking features of the building is that it is one of the oldest concrete domed structures in Rome, used as a church since the 7th century. The Pantheon’s dome is a concrete structure 43 meters in diameter, with a circular cavity at the top. This space is called the “oculus” and has a 26.24 feet (8 meters) diameter opening in its ceiling. Some believe that it is not possible for rain to enter through this opening.
The dome of the Pantheon was made using highly advanced technologies for that period and therefore still remains a question mark. The Pantheon, which initially contained pagan statues of gods, was later destroyed by the church and converted into a Catholic church. Roman people compared the world to a disk covered with a dome of heaven, and therefore the dome of the temple was designed in the shape of a circle. However, the interior architecture of the temple gives a clearer idea of the wisdom of the Romans. The architectural details used in the temple show the importance that the Romans gave to the architectural richness in the building.
The interior architecture of the Pantheon Temple is indeed quite impressive and eye-catching. The dome in the middle of the temple is an incredible engineering marvel. Concrete mix, which can carry tons of weight, was used in the construction of the dome. The concrete material of the temple was obtained from a mixture peculiar to the Romans. Thanks to the Oculus window at the top of the dome, natural light filters in, providing spectacular illumination.
Columns obtained from the ruins of the Agrippa period were used at the entrance of the temple. The entrance gate is 7 meters high and has huge wings made of bronze. In the temple, which has 16 columns in total, the columns were renewed during the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian. The fountain in the temple is also very important. The fountain was built by the Roman Emperor Marcus Agrippa and is important because of the belief that water is sacred.
Interesting Facts About The Pantheon Temple
The Pantheon Temple has been carefully preserved and is still the inspiration for many architectural structures today. Many important structures such as Hagia Sophia and the German Federal Building were influenced by the design of the Pantheon. The temple has a radial structure, but unlike other traditional radial structures, the center of the building is not in the residential area, but is located halfway between the floor and the ceiling. However, the hemispherical architecture that sits on the cylindrical body of the Pantheon is highly detailed and delicately designed. While the temple was being built, a special effort was made to achieve a perfect geometry.
The Pantheon Temple was used as a Pagan temple in ancient times and many animal sacrifice rituals were performed in it. However, the oculus in the temple’s dome was designed to let the smoke out of these victims. In the square in front of the Pantheon Temple, there is the Pantheon Fountain with the statue of Ramses II brought from Egypt. The temple was built by Pope VIII, one of Italy’s respected families. It was plundered and seriously damaged during the period of Urbanus. This plundering left the temple defenseless and the people continued to say that “What the Barbarians did not do, the Barberinis did”.
The Pantheon Temple is home to many royal tombs. Among them, the first king of the Kingdom of Italy II. It is also located in Vittorio Emanuele. Emanuele was buried in the Pantheon Temple in 1878. His son Umberto died as a result of the assassination and he was buried in the Pantheon Temple like his father. In addition, Raffaello Sanzio, who drew the famous Athens School painting, is one of the other famous names buried in the Pantheon Temple. Sanzio died at the age of 37 and his dead body is in a sarcophagus inside the temple.
The Pantheon Temple is thought of as a large sundial. Celebrations are held on April 21, the founding day of Rome, and the sunlight entering from the oculus on this date succeeds in illuminating the entrance door. After that, whenever sunlight enters through the oculus, the Romans believed that their emperor ascended to godhood. There is no clear information about who built the Pantheon Temple and it is referred to as a secret dome.
