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An oculus (from Latin oculus 'eye'; pl.: oculi) is a circular opening in the center of a dome or in a wall. Originating in classical architecture, it is a feature of Byzantine and Neoclassical architecture. A horizontal oculus in the center of a dome is also called opaion (from Ancient Greek ὀπαῖον '(smoke) hole'; pl.: opaia).
Seven interior niches and the entrance way divide the wall structurally into eight virtually independent piers. These openings and additional voids account for a quarter of the rotunda wall's volume. The only opening in the dome is the brick-lined oculus at the top, 9 meters (30 ft) in diameter, that provides light and ventilation for the interior.
In architecture, a pendentive is a constructional device permitting the placing of a circular dome over a square room or of an elliptical dome over a rectangular room. [1] The pendentives, which are triangular segments of a sphere, taper to points at the bottom and spread at the top to establish the continuous circular or elliptical base needed for a dome. [2]
In carpentry, architecture, and shipbuilding, a compass is a curved circular form. Compluvium The Latin term for the open space left in the roof of the atrium of a Roman house for lighting it and the rooms round. [16] Coping The capping or covering of a wall. Corbel
The Pantheon in Rome.Largest dome in the world for more than 1,300 years. Oculus of the Pantheon. This is a list of Roman domes.The Romans were the first builders in the history of architecture to realize the potential of domes for the creation of large and well-defined interior spaces. [1]
In Christianity, Psalms 118:22, [6] translated in the Authorized Version as "The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner", is taken to refer to Jesus. Referring to the Book of Mormon , Joseph Smith said that it "was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get ...
A dome can rest directly upon a rotunda wall, a drum, or a system of squinches or pendentives used to accommodate the transition in shape from a rectangular or square space to the round or polygonal base of the dome. The dome's apex may be closed or may be open in the form of an oculus, which may itself be covered with a roof lantern and cupola.
Drawing of an Assyrian bas-relief from Nimrud. Small domes in corbelled stone or brick over round-plan houses go back to the Neolithic period in the ancient Near East, and served as dwellings for poorer people throughout the prehistoric period, but domes did not play an important role in monumental architecture. [17]