Pantheon

pantheon

pantheon (pănˈthēŏnˌ, –thēən), term applied originally to a temple to all the gods. The Pantheon at Rome was built by Agrippa in 27 B.C., destroyed, and rebuilt in the 2d cent. by Hadrian. Remarkably well preserved, it is mainly of brick with a great hemispherical dome whose supporting walls are set in concrete. In 609 it was converted into a Christian church consecrated to Santa Maria dei Martiri. The term is now applied to a monument in which illustrious dead are buried. The Panthéon (päNtāôNˈ) in Paris was designed by J. G. Soufflot and was begun in 1764; the dome was completed (1781) after his death. An earlier church on the site was dedicated to St. Geneviève. The Panthéon was several times secularized and reconsecrated, becoming finally a mausoleum and memorial for France's illustrious citizens.

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Pantheon

Temple dedicated to all the gods of a people; specifically the temple built in 25 B.C. in Rome by Emperor Hadrian, with a coffered concrete dome illuminated by an oculus at the top, set on a very thick circular drum, and having an octastyle portico attached to the drum outside.

Illustrated Dictionary of Architecture Copyright © 2012, 2002, 1998 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Pantheon

 

a burial vault of prominent persons. Normally such pantheons are housed in buildings that have, or initially had, religious importance. Examples include Westminster Abbey in London (1245–1745) or the church of Ste. Geneviève in Paris (1764–90; J.-G. Soufflot, architect), which became the French Pantheon in 1791, during the French Revolution.

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Pantheon

 

a temple in Rome dedicated to all the gods and an outstanding example of ancient Roman architecture. It was erected circa A.D. 125 on the site of a temple of the same name constructed by Agrippa. The Pantheon is a rotunda covered by an enormous, coffered dome, with a diameter of more than 43 m. A round opening approximately 9 m in diameter in the center of the dome serves as the source of light for the interior. The dome is made from concrete interlaid with brick. The wall supporting the dome is divided into two tiers on the inside, the lower of which is broken up into seven niches.

There is a harmonious balance in the interior between the height and diameter of the structure. The dome, which dominates the space of the rotunda, is divided into caissons and, not overwhelming the viewer with its weight, majestically towers above him like a firmament. The entrance is accentuated by a portico of 16 Corinthian columns, with eight in the front and eight in the back. Remarkable for its breathtaking grandeur and unity of form, the Pantheon exerted a great influence on the architecture of its time and of succeeding eras. In the Middle Ages, when it was subjected to frequent partial alterations, the Pantheon was converted into a church. Today it is a national mausoleum where prominent figures in Italian art, including Raphael and B. Peruzzi, are buried.

REFERENCE

Fine Licht, K. de. The Rotunda in Rome. Copenhagen, 1968.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

pantheon

pantheon, 2

1. A temple dedicated to all the Gods.

2. (Cap.) The Rotunda in Rome, formerly a temple to all the gods, now a church.

3. The Pantheon in Paris, the former church of Sainte-Geneviève, now a shrine to national heroes.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

pantheon

1. (esp in ancient Greece or Rome) a temple to all the gods

2. all the gods collectively of a religion

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Pantheon

a circular temple in Rome dedicated to all the gods, built by Agrippa in 27 bc, rebuilt by Hadrian 120--24 ad, and used since 609 ad as a Christian church

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005