The Pantheon is a building in Rome, Italy, on the site of an earlier building commissioned by Marcus Agrippa
The Pantheon is a building in Rome, Italy, on the site of an earlier building commissioned by Marcus Agrippa during the reign of Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD). The present building was completed by the emperor Hadrian and probably dedicated about 126 AD. He retained Agrippa's original inscription, which has confused its date of construction. The building is circular with a portico of large granite Corinthian columns (eight in the first rank and two groups of four behind) under a pediment. A rectangular vestibule links the porch to the rotunda, which 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. The height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, metres (142 ft). It is one of the best-preserved of all Ancient Roman buildings. It has been in continuous use throughout its history, and since the 7th century, the Pantheon has been used as a church dedicated to "St. Mary and the Martyrs" (Latin: Santa Maria ad Martyres) but informally known as "Santa Maria Rotonda". The square in front of the Pantheon is called Piazza della Rotonda. Pantheon is derived from the Ancient Greek "Pantheon" (Πάνθεον) meaning "of, relating to, or common to all the gods": (Pan /"Παν" meaning "all" + Theon / "θεον"= meaning "gods"). Cassius Dio, a Roman senator who wrote in Greek, speculated that the name comes either from the statues of so many gods placed around this building, or from the resemblance of the dome to the heavens. His uncertainty strongly suggests that "Pantheon" (or Pantheum) was merely a nickname, not the formal name of the building. In fact, the concept of a pantheon dedicated to all the gods is questionable. The only definite pantheon recorded earlier than Agrippa's was at Antioch in Syria, though it is only mentioned by a sixth-century source.
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Location: The Pantheon is a building in Rome, Italy
Photo credit: © Rik Hamilton / Alamy / Afripics
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Keywords: ., 126, ad., agrippa, augustus, building, commissioned, completed, dedicated, earlier, emperor, hadrian, italy, marcus, pantheon, present, reign, rome, site
