The Pantheon and the Neverending Divinities

Word of the Post: Propoganda (Propoganda)

I refer to the Pantheon as the Cloverfield monster of Rome. It is huge. It is in the middle of an area that it almost seems to topple. The columns in the front look like the jaws of some destroyer and when you see it, you just have to stop--even if you have seen it a thousand times. The differences between the Pantheon and the Cloverfield monster is that the Pantheon doesn't move and it's put there for good not evil purposes.

The Pantheon is my favorite structure, place, and piazza in Rome. It is great during the day, and it is great at night. Put simply, it is just great. I learned about the Pantheon last year in my Rhetoric class, but I never imagined getting to see it. It was just a lesson to me at that point, but now it means so much more to me. A group had done their WikiSpace on the Pantheon, and while I picked up some of what they were saying, I realized during my tour that there is so much to this piece, this piece of Propoganda. (I think it's time I write a book on the "Rhetoric of Rome" through it's use of propoganda because the whole city was built by the use of rhetoric). When our class first arrived to the Pantheon we stood out front and talked about the history of it. It was first built by Agrippa, ordered by Augustus who was his best friend. Augustus didn't put his name on anything because he wanted to be modest so people wouldn't think he was getting too cocky with his position (propoganda). Later on Hadrian redid the Pantheon, because a fire destroyed the original one, but the enscription on the top of the Pantheon reads that it was originally done by Agrippa, because Hadrian also wanted to be modest (more propoganda). Hadrian is interesting because he is the only emperor who was also an architect. He thought out every part of the Pantheon very carefully.

The front columns of the Pantheon are made of granite, and were shipped in. When the ships arrived with the columns, he had the ships destroyed because the people wouldn't think that they were good for the economy (hm more propganda). The floor that the columns stand on are patterned with circles and squares, and the entire inside is designed with circles and squares as well. The circles stand for nevernding divinity, and the squares stand for reality. the inside of the Pantheon has a dome, and leading up to the dome is another pattern of squares. The middle of the dome is kept open and never closes. When it rains, it rains inside the Pantheon, but Hadrian was smart. He inserted drains all around the Pantheon and built the floor on a slant so that the water leaks outside. Therefore, the Pantheon never floods. Hadrian used materials from four different places in order to build his Pantheon--and by using the materials from the four different places he was represeing the unity of the Empire (more propoganda).

The Pantheon is now a church, but it was originally built to hold scripts, and books, and as a purpose for philosophy. Hadrian used materials from four different places in order to build his Pantheon--and by using the materials from the four different places he was represeing the unity of the Empire (more propoganda). Last, Hadrian built arches into the sides of the Pantheon. This was to prevent the earthquakes from taking down the beautiful structure. The arches work to stop the shock from going through. This is why the Pantheon is still standing so beautifully today.

Whether you care about the history of the Pantheon, or it's propoganda, it doesn't mater, this site is just astonishing even if it almost seems like a monster sitting in the middle of Rome. I wish I could just pick up the monster and put in my backyard--but I don't think the neighbors would be happy.