A Visit to the Pantheon

Because of my background that I have gained as being a Classical Humanities major, I have learned quite a bit regarding the Pantheon. However, I had only known about the history of the building and little about the architectural features it displayed. The high expectations that I had set prior to our visit were beyond surpassed.  Everything that I had previously learned was resurrected when I stepped through the door and gazed out of the oculus window in the ceiling.

                  The Pantheon was built by Marcus Agrippa in 27 BCE as a temple to all of the original pagan gods.  It was then rebuilt by the Emperor Hadrian around 126CE. This temple remained untouched until 609CE when it was turned into a Christian church as requested by Pope Boniface. This conversion was significant because it was the first temple changed into a church. There had previously been a stigma against converting churches because they were thought to be haunted by evil spirits. Christianity seemed to be afraid of associating itself with anything from antiquity and paganism. However, this ideology changed due to St. Gregory warding off the evil spirits. The name of the Pantheon was changed to the Church of Santa Maria Rotunda, for it was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and all other martyrs. This was interesting to figure out because it seemed that the main function of the temple remained the same despite becoming a church. It remained as a place worshiping more than one entity even though it was changed from polytheistic to monotheistic. The church even seemed to keep with the theme of celebrating a motherly figure. According to the Mirabilia, it changed from worshiping Cybele, the mother of the gods, to Mary, mother of the son of God.

                  I was amazed at how well preserved the temple was because of the Christian influence. The outside still looked greatly intact. It was cool to see the inscription that accredited Marcus Agrippa with the creation of the building despite being rebuilt by Hadrian. It was interesting to learn that the Pantheon’s architecture seemed to revolve around the number twenty-eight since there were twenty-eight coffers (sunken paneling). I had not previously known that the number twenty-eight was considered a perfect number in antiquity because of its ability to be equal to the sum of its divisors.  Another aspect to note is that the coffers decrease in size in accordance to the distance to the oculus. This helped to alleviate the weight on the top of the structure.  The oculus was also very impressive in size, for it is large enough (27 feet) to even fit a school bus in! Another new fact that I learned about the Pantheon was to find out that it served as the tomb for the famous painter Raphael Sanzio da Urbino. It was cool to see the site that he was buried in.

                  Despite knowing that the Pantheon had been converted to a church, it was still slightly odd to see Christian relics. It was obvious that the interior Christian-influenced design blatantly contrasted with the exterior. This conversion was positive in a sense that it allowed for the preservation of the building, yet it still altered the original appearance.  The Christian decoration in the inside made it difficult for me to fully encapsulate how the original Pantheon must have functioned.  However, its spectacular design did not fail to impress. Overall, the Pantheon has stood as an ancient landmark that has captivated the attention of thousands of its viewers for centuries. It is a must see for tourists and classicists alike for its historical significance and architectural magnificence.


~Kieran McAvoy