Of the many wonderful ancient buildings in Rome, the Pantheon is the one that has remained virtually intact over thousands of years. There is no other building the size, age or scope of the Pantheon that has kept the integrity of its original design so well. You cannot discount this amazing power of preservation to luck It is clearly a phenomenal feat of engineering.
The reasons the Pantheon is copied so often but never outdone is that it represents more sheer architecture genius than even modern buildings can boast. This is even more amazing considering the designers of this building did their work in 125 AD during the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian.
The basic design is one that is brilliantly simple, placing a round enclosure next to a rectangular entryway. The gateway to the Pantheon is built in the style of a Greek portico, using columns made of granite and finished off with a triangular pediment on top. The entrance is supported by three rows of 39 foot Corinthian columns. Eight of those supports are at the front and then there are two sets further in - each with four supports that lead you onward toward the central rotunda. So the rectangular section serves the function of joining the rotunda and the portico.
This design seems amazingly simple but under scrutiny you find dozens of examples of pure genius.
One of the most noticeable sections of the building is the huge concrete dome that is the roof of the building. This component of the Pantheon is so well designed that in any other architecture, that heavy dome would have come crashing down ages ago.
That dome is nothing short of massive. At 142 feet in diameter, the Pantheon dome is 46 feet larger than the dome over the White House. At the crown of the dome there is an opening known as the oculus that is 25 feet across. The fact that the dome does not compromise the building and continues to survive after 2000 year is in part due to the design of that oculus and the composition of the dome.
That simple opening at the top of the dome known as the oculus decreases the weight of the dome tremendously. In addition the perfect circle of the circumference distributes the stress of the weight around the edges of the dome perfectly so there is no balance shift that could cause stress fractures. So that dome has rested in virtual perfect balance for millennia.
That opening also allows light into the interior, providing a perfect natural lighting. However it also lets in the elements such as the rain so the floor below is well designed to drain off water accumulation to drains that keep it safely out from underfoot.
Along with the oculus, the tapering steps used in the dome's design provide more insight into the genius that was at work by the designers of the dome. The dome is thickest at the base where the thickness is 20 feet and made of heavier material than at the oculus where the thickness tapers to 7.5 feet which causes the dome to center and rest on that weight without creating excessive stress on the structure. This kind of engineering might be routine today but seeing such advanced engineering knowledge at work thousands of years ago is awe inspiring.
It seems that the two thousand years that the Pantheon has stood has not changed its stability one bit. And if that isn't awe inspiring enough, consider that it was built without any of the modern technology, tools or machines that we use to build our buildings today.
Furthermore, the Pantheon engineering team had to bring off this brilliant plan without any sophisticated transpiration resources. That means that everything used in the creation of the building was floated in on the Tiber River and then slowly and laboriously moved by carts to the site using sheer muscle power of men and animals.
The huge bronze doors of the Pantheon have undergone a number of restorations over the years. But there has never been any serious structural repair needed or done to the Pantheon at any time in the history of the building. That record is even more amazing considering that the Pantheon was built on marsh land.
The weakness of the ground under the Pantheon is similar the Leaning Tower of Pisa which has had numerous preservation projects that have lasted decades to keep it from falling. Also by comparison, the Greek Parthenon is a stunning building in every respect but 2000 years past when it was created, it is in shambles compared to the Pantheon. It just goes to show how magnificent a job the designers and builders did when creating the Pantheon.
In the 8th century, the Roman Pantheon was converted to be used as a church. And unlike buildings of similar age that are carefully left untouched, the Pantheon continues to serve as a church to this very day. Since it was built in the first century, the Pantheon has never known a time when it was not in constant use.
Many modern architects have copied the amazing design of the Pantheon. Some famous architecture that was inspired by the Pantheon includes the Thomas Jefferson Rotunda at the University of Virginia as well as the Reading Room of the British Museum.
That background makes your time with the original Pantheon even more fascinating.
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