Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - The Pantheon

Starting point is 00:00:00 Located in the heart of Rome is one of the oldest standing buildings in the world. Unlike other ancient structures, it isn't a ruin. For almost 2,000 years, it's been in continuous use. When it was built, it was an unrivaled architectural masterpiece. Today, it remains the largest building of its type, having never been surpassed in all of history. Learn more about the Roman pantheon, how it was built and what makes it unique,

Starting point is 00:00:24 on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Do you ever climb into bed ready to sleep, only to have your mind start racing the moment your head hits the pillow? Thoughts bouncing around, replaying the day or jumping ahead to tomorrow? That is exactly why Catherine Nikolai created Nothing Much Happens. Each episode is a gentle, cozy bedtime story where, well, nothing much happens. No drama, no tension, nothing you need to follow closely. Just soft narration, calming repetition, and soothing sensory details designed to help your mind slow down and your body relax.

Starting point is 00:01:07 It's not about entertainment, it's about rest. and millions of listeners around the world use it every night to quiet their thoughts and finally fall asleep. If you've ever struggled to shut your brain off at night, this might be exactly what you've been missing. You can listen to Nothing Much Happens wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are every Monday and Thursday. The Pantheon holds the distinction of being the building from the ancient world,

Starting point is 00:01:35 which has survived into the modern day in the best condition. Despite showing its age, especially on the exterior, it isn't fundamentally different from what it looked like about 1900 years ago. It has been kept in remarkable condition and still brings in millions of visitors annually. Basically, it's not a ruin. It isn't crumbling and it doesn't require us to envision what it might have looked like when it was built. The story of the Pantheon begins with someone who was the subject of a previous episode, Marcus Agrippa. As I noted previously, Agrippa was arguably the best number two guy in history. He was the best friend of Emperor Augustus since they attended school together, and it was Agrippa who Augustus turned to when he needed to get

Starting point is 00:02:18 something done. Whether it was military or civil, Agrippa could be counted on to make sure that things happened and that they were seen through to completion. After the Battle of Actium, where Augustus and Agrippa defeated Mark Antony, it effectually ended the civil war and the period of instability which had plagued Rome for 50 years, starting with the war of Marius and Sulla. In this new era of peace, Augustus set to rebuilding much of Rome, which at the time was in the the city of monumental structures it later became. It was dingy and sprawling, and Augustus didn't think it befitting the capital of the world's largest empire. Agrippa was tasked with overseeing much of the construction of the city. As part of the construction, outside the city limits,

Starting point is 00:02:59 Agrippa oversaw the building of several structures on property he owned in the Campus Marius. The campus Marius was the land between the Tiber River and the Pomerium, which was the ritual boundary of the city, which I also covered in a previous episode. The buildings he constructed here, here were a complex of three structures, the baths of Agrippa, the Basilica of Neptune, and the Pantheon. The word Pantheon literally means all the gods, and the name would imply that this was a temple for all the gods. However, there's a good reason to believe that this wasn't the case, and that it wasn't the original name or purpose of the building. Cassius Dio, a Roman senator who lived almost 200 years after Agrippa, hinted that Pantheon may have just been a nickname for the building.

Starting point is 00:03:42 The idea of a building for all the gods was something that didn't exist anywhere else in the Roman world. Moreover, there is evidence to suggest that the Pantheon wasn't even a public temple. It may have been built for the personal use of Agrippa, which would explain why there was such confusion about the original name and purpose of the building. Regardless, the structure built by Agrippa, sometime around 25 BC, burned down in the year 80 when a major fire swept through Rome. and this was a different fire than the great fire during the reign of Nero. The structure was immediately rebuilt by the Emperor Domitian, and that new building burned down just 30 years later. During the reign of Trajan, the building was rebuilt yet again,

Starting point is 00:04:23 and this is the version of the building that stands today. The construction of the current building is often credited to Emperor Hadrian. However, it's now believed that construction actually started during the reign of Trajan, perhaps during the late reign of Trajan around the year 113. If this is true, then the architect of the building was probably Trajan's principal architect, Apollodorus of Damascus. And this would make a lot of sense, as Apollodorus was the greatest architect of his era and was well known for his use of domes. Construction, dated by the use of brick stamps, was most probably completed and mostly took place under the reign of Emperor Hadrian. This is why Hadrian is usually credited with the construction of the current building, and this is not untrue, but

Starting point is 00:05:07 it's also not wholly true. Hadrian was one of the least egotistical emperors when it came to buildings. Most emperors slapped their names on everything built during their reign. In the case of the Pantheon, Hadrian's name is nowhere to be seen on the building. Rather, in the front of the building, located prominently on the facade, is an inscription that reads as follows. M. Agrippa, L. Fosturtium, Fecke. Even if you know Latin, inscriptions such as this can be tricky to read because they use lots of abbreviations. So here's what it means with the abbreviations translated. M. Agrippa obviously means Marcus Agrippa. L.F. means Lucii philius, which means son of Lucius. Kosturtium has a bit of controversy behind it. It could mean third consulship or three-time

Starting point is 00:05:59 consul. The distinction is subtle, but it would indicate if the description was there when Agrippa was alive, or if it was written about him after he was dead. The only other references to cost tertium with regards to Agrippa were on coins minted after he was dead, meaning that this may have been written about Agrippa, not by Agrippa. And finally, Feckett simply means he made or was made by. So this inscription was most probably to honor Agrippa, who was still thought of highly in Rome, and was the person who commissioned the original building. The inscription has led to centuries of confusion as to when the current building was made and who built it.

Starting point is 00:06:39 As for the building itself, the front of the structure has a traditional temple facade, its rectangular with several columns, and a triangular pediment above the columns. The eight front Corinthian columns and eight rear columns form the portico. This is not the noteworthy part of the building, however. What makes this building special is what's behind it. The rest of the structure is a giant, unreinforced concrete dome. The diameter of the dome is approximately 43 meters or 142 feet, and the height of the dome is exactly the same. This means that the entire dome approximates the

Starting point is 00:07:17 shape of a giant sphere. There was no other building like this ever built in Rome or the entire ancient world that we know of. No other ruins have been found, and no references to such a building were ever made. Previously, I did an episode about Roman concrete and how it had incredible properties which allowed projects built with it to have survived so long. The Pantheon is probably the best and most prominent example of the strength of Roman concrete. I mentioned that the Pantheon was the largest unreinforced concrete dome. Modern concrete used in roads and bridges is reinforced with a metal known as rebar. Rebar does improve the tensile strength of concrete. However, it comes at a cost. reinforced concrete deteriorates much faster than unreinforced concrete.

Starting point is 00:08:05 This is why so many modern bridges and buildings made out of reinforced concrete are already falling apart. However, that's for another episode. At the top of the dome is an opening known as the Oculus. The Oculus allows sunlight to enter the dome, and it also allows rain to enter the dome. I visited the Pantheon on days when it rained, and they had to cordon off the center part of the floor because it gets wet inside. The Pantion Dome really is a wonder of ancient engineering, and it's evidenced by the fact that it remains the largest such dome in the world today. The construction of the dome is only one part of the legend of the Pantheon. The other part has to do with the fact that it's still standing and is in relatively good condition.

Starting point is 00:08:47 As with many buildings, it did fall into a state of disrepair after a while. In 2002, the building was renovated by the Emperor Septimius Severus and his son and future emperor Caracalla, and there is a scripture inside that documents this. The thing that changed the trajectory of the building occurred in 609, when the Byzantine Emperor Foccus, who still controlled the city of Rome at that time, gave the building to Pope Boniface the 4th. This was the first time that a pagan Roman building was converted to use as a Christian church. The medieval historian John the deacon noted, quote,

Starting point is 00:09:22 Another Pope Boniface asked the same Emperor of Focus to order that in the old temple called the Pandey, After the pagan filth was removed, a church should be made to the Holy Virgin Mary and all the martyrs, so that the commemoration of the saints would take place henceforth, not where gods but demons were formerly worshipped. The building was renamed the Church of St. Mary and the martyrs. Relics from Christian saints were taken from the catacombs around Rome and brought to the newly consecrated church. Its conversion to a church is what protected the building in the years since. Unlike other Roman buildings, the Pantheon was in continuous use, and there was always an incentive to keep the building in a condition where it could be occupied. That being said, some parts of the structure are gone. Much of the exterior marble was taken to be reused in other projects, which was the case for most of the ancient structures in the city.

Starting point is 00:10:14 However, much of the interior marble has remained. There was a bronze roof on the portico, which was removed by Pope Urban the 8th in the 17th century. He also added two bell towers to the building, which became known as the ass's ears, which were taken down in the 19th century. The family name of Urban the 8th was Barbarini, and that led to a joke in Rome, which was in Latin. Quote non-fechorant Barbari, and that translates to what the barbarians didn't do, the Barbarini did. The Renaissance saw a revival of all things Roman, and the Pantheon took on a new life as an inspiration to artists and architect. Most design elements of the neoclassical style came from the façade and portico of the pantheon, which was the best example that could actually be studied. Several notable artists from the period were buried in the pantheon, including Raphael and Annabelle

Starting point is 00:11:06 Karate. Two modern kings of Italy, Vittorio Emmanuel II, and Umberto I first, are both buried there as well. Today, the building is still used as a church, and services are held every Sunday. Visitors are asked to dress appropriately for visiting a church. and despite being used as a church, the building is actually owned by the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism. One interesting thing I'll close with has to do with the buildings around the Pantheon. Over time, cities were built on the ruins of what came before them. It was cheaper and easier to just build on top than it was to remove rubble.

Starting point is 00:11:41 The Pantheon, however, has never moved. It's where it was 1900 years ago and remains at the same original level. But if you look at an image of the Pantheon, you will also. see the roads ramp upward on either side of the building. This isn't because the Pantheon was built on the side of a small hill. It's because the rest of the city moved upwards over time. The Pantheon is rightly considered one of the greatest architectural wonders in the world, and for good reason. The Romans managed to create a concrete dome so large that it has never been surpassed in almost 2,000 years. A design that's proven so strong and durable that it can still be enjoyed by millions of people,

Starting point is 00:12:20 today. The executive producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Charles Daniel. The associate producers are Thor Thompson and Peter Bennett. I just want to thank everyone, including the show's producers, who support the show over on Patreon. If you'd like to support the show, just head over to Patreon.com, which is currently the only place where you can get show merchandise. Also, if you want to talk to other listeners about the show, head over to our Facebook group or Discord server, both of which have links in the show notes.

Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - The Pantheon

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.