The Pantheon united all the gods in one location,

and elevated Rome to a heavenly world. Sunlight

Founded: 126 AD and proportion were carefully crafted using a
symbolism of the earth uniting with the sun.The
double pediment commonly thought to be a
Architect: Unknown design mistake actually had a deeper purpose.
Geometry unites both pediments with the entire
Patron: Marcus Aggripa, Emperor Hadrian design composition.

Style: Roman (Hadrian era)

Location: Campus Martius, Rome

Innovations of Design

Funeral Dome Domes had previously always been kept

small.
It was a challenge to make circular buildings. It was difficult to
separate rooms and provide an entrance to a round space. They
didt fit well into a city site, and details such as the roof were
tricky to figure out. a

There were two kinds of domes before the Pantheon.

The Tholos was an underground domed tomb used since Neolithic times. The Treasury
of Atreus was constructed around 1250 BC. Concentric slabs of stone were stacked like
a beehive to form a pointed dome. The dome in this tomb has an impressive diameter of
27 ft (14.5m).

The other kind of dome was the Tumulus mound. These burial mounds
were dug all around the world from the earliest of times and reached all
scales of size.The interior of the Tholos was domed, while the exterior
of the Tumulus was domed. In both cases the function was for burial.
The Pantheon forever changed this.

The Pantheon revealed the dome shape both in the inside and on the
outside.

Round Temples Circular temples were often used in Greece. The design
language was detailed by Vitruvius. Corinthian columns were freestanding or
surrounded a circular wall. They held up a dome with a diameter equal to the
height of the columns.The Pantheon changed this. The dome is much larger in
proportion to the columns, forming a sphere that fits entirely inside the space.
The Pantheons columns switch places with the cella wall, which emphasizes
the structure of the interior rather than the exterior space. The roots of this
transformation can be seen at Hadrians Temple of Apollo in Tivoli.

Round temples were typically dedicated to Vesta. Here they offered sacrifices to protect
life on earth and the family. Corinthian columns in these temples represent rebirth and
youth.

The Pantheon uses the same Corinthian columns. But the Pantheon was not funeral in
nature. The dome of the Pantheon stacks in ribs like the Tholos to form a drum, but then
a proper concrete dome like that of the common circular temple completes the dome. It
is a synthesis of construction techniques.
Trajans Market The same people who built the Pantheon
probably built the Trajan Markets. The Markets show that
vaulted, brick-faced architecture had become fully accepted and
could be used in almost any kind of building. Since they were
built just a few years before the Pantheon, they clearly record
the kind of design and construction that Hadrians architects
knew well and perhaps even worked on. b

The arch and barrel vault were constructed to a monumental

scale, with the same construction technique as the Pantheon.

The need for light and air in the Market contributed to the Pantheons expansive feeling.
The openings for shops in the Market became niches for statues to the gods in the
Pantheon.

Traditional Greek & New Roman The first Pantheon was built in 25 BC by general
Marcus Aggripa. It was called Pan all Theos gods, meaning a temple to all the
gods. Little is known about this original building, except that it contained statues of
gods and probably was south facing. It probably was a traditional round temple.

The new Pantheon was completed about 128 AD by Emperor Hadrian with a radical
new design. As a student of architecture himself, Hadrian gathered ideas during his
travels and studies. Architecture was his particular passion. A massive building
program would please the citizens, and it would also please him. Seated under the
heavenly dome, he would be the son of a god, surrounded by the heavens. c

He attached a traditional Greek temple entrance to a domed rotunda. Such a thing had
never been done. The clash of two totally separate things certainly must have riled the
conservative sensibilities of Rome. The architect Apollodoros was one great critic of
Hadrian (who Hadrian later put to death.)

At 142 ft diameter (43m), the dome is the largest unreinforced masonry dome in the
world. The walls are 19 ft thick and distribute the great weight on 3 tiers of arches. And
it was built in only 10 years.

Site Relationships

The Pantheons location and orientation relates to buildings around it. North of the
Pantheon is the obelisk of Ramses II from the sun temple in Heliopolis. Due north of
that the Mausoleum of Augustus. Beyond that on this northern axis is the obelisk of
Ramesses II, moved there from the Circus Maximus in 1589.

The sun reaches closest to the center of the Pantheon on the summer solstice. This
summer solstice is a yearly event that reveals an important alignment of monuments.
The setting summer solstice sun forms this axis:
From the Pantheon, one can see the summer solstice sun set behind the mausoleum of
Hadrian. The axis continues to the column of Trajan, the Colosseum, and the Lateran
obelisk of Karnak, which is the largest obelisk in the world and was moved there in the
16th century. The axis continues on to the Monte del Grano burial site which bears
striking resemblance to the Pantheon.

This 1641 map of Rome shows this axis terminating at the obelisk of Heliopolis in front
of St. Peters, though this orientation is skewed and not actually the case.

The ara pacis Museum of Peace originally stood due north, past the obelisk in front of
the Pantheon. At 30m heigh, the obelisk would have cast a shadow that touched the
Museum on the equinox.

The Pantheon is therefore a unifying element in the layout of Rome. It suggests

Hadrians resurrection with the sun. A monument to peace in an area originally
dedicated to Mars suggests a turning of purpose, a purpose which involved the
Pantheon and the emperors apotheosis.

Sacred Proportions of the Sun

The name Pantheon had a deeper meaning according to ancient historians:

It has this name, perhaps because it received among the images which decorated it the
statues of many gods, including Mars and Venus; but my own opinion of the name is
that, because of its vaulted roof, it resembles the heavens. e

Finding The Form The dome and its symbolism is whats

important. The dome maps a relationship of earth and man
to heaven. This is why they went to such great effort to
make a solid concrete ceiling.The floor tiles give an overall
layout for how this done- a circle inside a square. The circle
represents the celestial and the square the earthly. The form
of the Pantheon is derived from the circle and square in plan
and section view.

The Pantheons design begins with a square subdivided into

a grid. Certain points of the grid intersect circles. These
intersection points help a designer form a circle from
rectilinear lines. Curves are rendered in much the same way
by modern computers using rectilinear perspective. (microbe flickr/creative commons license)
If we take these circles and arrange them into overlapping quadrants, we render a
complex star pattern. The intersections of circles form an 18 pointed star, which divides
the Pantheon into 18-part quadrants. These intersection points also render a five-
pointed star. These stars give us the over-all dimensions for the Greek entrance
pronaos.

The section view of the Pantheon likewise starts out with a subdivided grid. A
rectangular form derives from fairly simple geometric subdivisions.

Apply the same circles and stars in section view, and we find that the intersection points
bring the rectilinear form together with curves. Overlap the circles at the top to find the
dimensions of the beehive drum around the outside of the dome and the oculus.
The Bi Disc in China used the same design method in 2-dimensions. Concenric circles
reconciled with a square to uncover sacred dimensions. It is found that these objects
testify to the notion of a covering sky (gaitian) that revolves around a central axis, the
cycle of the Ten Suns, and the use of an early form of the carpenters square. f

Movement Of The Sun We know the summer equinox determined the location of the
Pantheon. It also has a lot to do with the Pantheons form and function.

Why does the Pantheon face north? Temples always face east or west, sometimes
south, never north. Buildings in general should not face north. The northern entrance
makes the Pantheon feel cold, dark, and harder to enjoy.

Well, that was on purpose. The northern axis respects the Mausoleum of Augustus, as
we discussed. It also dramatizes the entrance into sunlight and the buildings symbolic
function as a time keeper. The hemicyclium was a necessary device in any city to tell
the days and hours. The Pantheon took on this role- symbolically. It makes symbolic
connections through time.

At the autumn equinox, the light of the oculus reaches the upper hemisphere of the
coffered dome. At the winter solstice it reaches its height. At spring equinox it touches
the base of the dome and shines through the grill above the front door. At the summer
solstice it is totally on the floor. g

The important date is April 21, the anniversary of Romes founding. This is when the
front entrance is totally illuminated, when the sun is at high noon.

Three of the niches in the walls get illuminated in the course of the sun. Just like at Abu
Simbel, only three of the statues of the gods receive light, each once a year.
The sun shines through the grill above the the door at noon
at the spring equinox. The light filters through to the front
entrance and invites the visitor to pass through the dark
doors to a heavenly splendor inside. An aperture can also
be seen above the entrance to the Treasury of Atreus. The
Treasurys aperture above the entrance is triangular, like the
pediment in front of the Pantheon.A veil of separation is
frequently used in temples to give visitors a murky glimpse
or quick communication with deity inside.

The dimensions of the oculus, door, and grill were carefully

proportioned to make these events on these dates stand
out. (mabris1 flickr/creative commons license)

The appearance of a comet at Julius Caesers funeral was another date commemorated
by the Pantheon. But if we take observations through the oculus on the supposed
dates of the sighting of Caesars comet in 44 BC- within the period of 20-30 July then
we find that the last part of the sky to be visible through the oculus just before sunrise is
that band of sky in which the comet may have been placed. h

Domus Aurea Palace The octagonal room at Neros palace has a

domed ceiling with a large oculus. Built in the years before the
Pantheon, it provided a precedent for solar markings of important dates.
The noon suns hits directly on the rooms entrance. The travel of the
sun revolves around October 13, the date of Neros accession as
emperor. g And the solar solstice and equinoxes are marked.The visitor
is able to find his place on earth and in a cosmic order. The architecture
is a device for mapping relevance of date and time.

The floor of the Pantheon swells upward at the center to visually

emphasize the horizon break in the celestial sphere, a similar design
device as that used at the Parthenon. Materials were carefully
fashioned, such as the marble sheathing on the interior which was
attached to the brick with hidden bronze clamps. It shimmers
seamlessly in the sun to give the effect of an unbroken heavenly
surface.
(benjami flickr/creative commons

Mistake In The Pediment Construction?

The pediment on the Greek pronaos is lower than the pediment on the Rotunda. It
appears that the pronaos was built 13.5ft (4m) too short and couldnt reach where it was
supposed to meet the main building. Archeologists universally blame this on a flaw in
construction. Maybe the columns were too high for what the stone could support.

First, consider the design of this front porch. The columns are unfluted Egyptian gray
granite. One of the purposes of fluting is to make the columns appear thinner than they
really are. If the columns needed to be beefed up to reach taller heights, the builder
could have simply made them wider and added fluting.

The roof is sheathed in bronze and has imitation barrel vaulted ceilings. The builders
could have used a lighter roofing material. Clearly, structural overload was not the
problem. And if it was a mistake, why did they leave behind evidence of the mistake?
They could have easily chiseled away the pediment outline from the Rotunda.

The double pediment was not a mistake.

As we already discussed, the overall dimensions of the front pronaos was determined
by the circular and rectilinear grids for the overall form. It is united as part of the overall
form. A front view with the same circles, stars, and intersection points reveal how the
pediments fit in to the overall design. The pentagram star unifies both pediments with
the columns, rotunda, and dome drum. The existing columns fit perfectly with the
Pantheons geometric design.

The pentagram determines the slope of the pediment, which explains why the triangle is
steeper than what was typical for temples.

The base of the upper pediment is at the center of the buildings design composition. It
is here that a bronze eagle was originally placed on the lower pediment, with spread
wings and a wreath held in the beak.i This point of overlap of the pediments is the focal
point of the entire building.

The upper pediment rises 100ft to its tip at the base of the dome, which is the same
height as the obelisk in front of the Pantheon (30m). The lower pediment rises 84 ft, the
same height as the obelisk in front of St. Peters Basillica g, which map-makers skewed
to appear in axis with the Pantheon.

Similarities To Stonehenge

The dimensions of Pantheon fit perfectly with Stonehenge. If we take Stonehenge at

roughly half scale and overlay it on the Pantheon, we see Stonehenges trench and
banks perfectly align with the walls of Pantheon.
The Aubrey holes align with the rotundas columns. The Aubrey holes date back to
3,000 BC and contained some of the first features built at Stonehenge. They likely
contained posts which suspended some kind of firmament over the site or held blue
stones. k The circles diameter of 282 ft is half the diameter of the Pantheon dome (142
ft).

The outer bluestones align with the outside circumference of the oculus, and the
Trilithon horseshoe aligns with the inside circumference of the oculus.

Did Stonehenge serve a similar solar function as the Pantheon? We know that
Stonehenge tracked equinoxes, solstices, and other time markers. We see similarities in
its religious function to Pantheon and other temples as a procession through states of
holiness and cosmic rings. It appears these two monuments served very similar
functions.

But considering the Trilithon stones track the moonrise, moonset, sunrise, and sunset at
winter and summer solstice, perhaps the Pantheons oculus has a similar function. Or
maybe the proportions on the two sites were simply derived using similar geometry.

Later Architects Influenced

Brunelleschi Filippo Brunellesci

designed the dome for the Florence
cathedral in 1420. The original design by
Neri had an oculus at the top like the
Pantheon. Brunellesci did away with the
oculus, but used the Pantheon as a model
for the structure. He used brick instead of
concrete because the original formula had
been forgotten and wooden forms for
concrete would be impractical at such a
great height. He used a double shell of (auggie tolosa flickr/creative commons license)
marble and sandstone to keep the weight
down.

Michelangelo & Brunellesci The design for the dome at St. Peters was
inspired by the Pantheon in much the same way, except that Bramantes plan
was supported by four piers instead of a continuous wall. The geometry of the
St. Peters dome became more complex with four smaller domes and a grid
of columns and piers.

Michelangelo used similar geometric methods of incorporating curves and

rectilinear proportions, and he took it further with St. Peters. He also
converged very different design elements in much the same spirit as the (Images George Rex flickr/c
Pantheon. This became a favorite tactic of the Baroque movement, as design commons license)
languages frequently became mixed and matched.

Burial sites Michelangelo and others styled burial sites after the Pantheon. Despite
Hadrians attempt to separate the dome from the tomb, the Pantheon came to be
popularly associated with burial, well into the 1800s.