Latin:

Pan = All, Theon = Gods

 

The current Pantheon was completed by Emperor Hadrian in approximately 125 CE, the two earlier Pantheon buildings having been destroyed in fires. It is commonly believed that Hadrian himself was the architect but there is no proof. Hadrian usually dedicated rebuilt buildings and monuments in honour of the original dedicator, so he had the wording,

 

“M·AGRIPPA·L·F·COS·TERTIVM·FECIT”

(Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, made [this building] when consul for the third time),

 

inscribed into the portico. The Pantheon is most famous for its spectacular dome, but most people do not take the time to discover the amazing architecture and design that lies behind this magnificent building.

 

The Pantheon was a temple to all the gods. Originally there would have been statues of the gods in niches throughout the Pantheon. The Pantheon has stood for almost 1,900 years and remains the best preserved Roman building still standing today. It originally would have been lavishly decorated in marble, bronze and gold. In 609 CE, the Byzantine emperor Phocus gave the Pantheon to Pope Boniface IV who converted the Pantheon into a church. Over time, Popes and Barbarians alike have stripped most of the beautiful decoration from the Pantheon. The worst act of all, however, was when Pope Urban (Barberini) VIII tore away the bronze ceiling and erected the ‘Ass’ (Donkey’s) Ears’. There is a saying by an ‘anonymous contemporary Roman’

 

“quod non fecerunt barbari fecerunt Barberini”

Roughly meaning, ‘What the barbarians didn’t do the Barberinis did’.

 

Many people are buried within the Pantheon, the most famous of whom is the   artist Raphael along with two Italian kings.

 

Following the conversion of the Pantheon in to a church, many regular Catholic ceremonies are still carried out there and it is often not possible to visit the building when closed for weddings etc. Despite this, the Pantheon is still one of the most popular tourist attractions in Rome.