The Pantheon

Two years passed between the dedication of the Pantheon in 27BC and its completion in 25. The Pantheon stood close to the baths of Agrippa and may even have been in integral part of them. The (rectangular) Pantheon of Agrippa was burnt down in AD 80 during the reign of Titus and was restored by Domitian. During the reign of Trajan, in AD 100, a bolt of lightening struck it and again it was destroyed. Hadrian had the building rebuilt to its present circular design between 120 and 124 and he gained praise by "generously" copying the original inscription. "M. Agrippa L.F. Cos. Tertium. Fecit" or Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, Consul for the 3rd time, had this built"

The story does not end here. The Pantheon was restored by Antoninus Pius and then later underwent internal restoration by Septimus Severus and his son Caracalla. These later repairs dealt with the damage caused to the roof by lightening, and to the foundations, floors, and walls due to flooding.

The building that survives today is almost fireproof and was designed that way. The wooden framework for the portico is a later addition and dates from the 17th century when pope Urban VIII (Barberini) stripped the portico of its bronze roof and supports to make 80 guns which he placed on the Castel St. Angelo. The decorations on the inside, which had lasted since the reigns of Severus and Caracalla, were destroyed by pope Benedict XIV in 1747. The coarse look of the Pantheon's exterior is due to the fact had been incorporated into the baths of Agrippa, and only the front was meant to be visible

Inside the building, the dome forms a hemisphere the diameter of which is equal to the distance from the top of the dome to the floor. This means that if the roof was mirrored and placed underneath, then you would have a perfect sphere. Inside the building are recesses which originally held statues to the 12 celestial gods (see the Portico Dei Consentes for details of who they were). In AD609, under the pontificate of Saint Boniface IV the Pantheon was turned into a Christian church, dedicated to Our Lady and all the Martyrs, which it remains to this day.

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