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The Pantheon (UK: / ˈ p æ n θ i ə n /, US: /-ɒ n /; [1] Latin: Pantheum, [nb 1] from Ancient Greek Πάνθειον (Pantheion) '[temple] of all the gods') is a former Roman temple and, since AD 609, a Catholic church (Italian: Basilica Santa Maria ad Martyres or Basilica of St. Mary and the Martyrs) in Rome, Italy.
Interior view of the Pantheon showing the oculus of the building. Many ancient Roman temples were constructed for religious purposes. The most influential example is the Pantheon. Pantheon is a Greek adjective meaning “honor all Gods”, in fact it was first built as a temple to all gods.
The Roman Pantheon had the largest dome in the world for more than a millennium and is the largest unreinforced solid concrete dome to this day [1]. The Roman architectural revolution, also known as the concrete revolution, [2] is the name sometimes given to the widespread use in Roman architecture of the previously little-used architectural forms of the arch, vault, and dome.
In fact, many commentators have cited the Pantheon as an example of the revolutionary possibilities for monolithic architecture provided by the use of Roman pozzolana concrete. However, vertical cracks seem to have developed very early, such that in practice the dome acts as an array of arches with a common keystone, rather than as a single unit.
Roman architecture covers the period from the establishment of the Roman Republic in 509 BC to about the 4th century AD, after which it becomes reclassified as Late Antique or Byzantine architecture. Few substantial examples survive from before about 100 BC, and most of the major survivals are from the later empire, after about 100 AD.
When it comes to superlative Roman buildings, Rome’s own amphitheater is by far the most famous. With a maximum seating capacity of 80,000, it’s the largest ancient amphitheater ever built.
The Pantheon in Rome: Contributions to the conference, Bern, November 9–12, 2006. Bern, Switzerland: Bern Studies. Hetland, Lisa. 2007. "Dating the Pantheon." Journal of Roman Archaeology 20:95–112. Johnson, Peter and Ian Haynes eds. 1996. Architecture in Roman Britain. Papers presented at a conference organized by the Roman Research Trust ...
Facade of the Pantheon, Rome. By far the most famous roofed round Roman building is the Pantheon, Rome.However this sharply differs from other classical tholoi in that it is entered though a very large flat temple front with a projecting portico with three rows of columns, while the rest of the exterior is a blank wall without columns or windows, so the circular form is rather obscured from ...