The Pantheon in Rome is
recognized as the best-preserved Roman construction in the world. This
statement, however, brings me back to Alexander
and his Mausoleum in Alexandria, as discussed in my earlier blog, Speaking of the Mausoleum of Alexander.
I explained how Alexander’s
tomb inspired later kings and rulers to build their own Mausoleum. The same
circular shape was declined in different ways, as described in said blog.
However, the Pantheon in Rome
used very distinct raw materials for its construction that were not available
in the days of the Ptolemies when Alexander’s
tomb was erected.
The surviving Pantheon still makes a statement today, and
its cupola resting on top of a circular supporting wall has puzzled architects
and archaeologists for centuries. Today’s thorough analysis has shed new light
on this monument.
A temple-like front counting 16 monolith Corinthian
columns gives access to the Pantheon proper with a diameter of 43.3 meters. The
inscription on the front of the temple portico reading that Agrippa, the right arm of Augustus, built this Pantheon is
misleading. Recent research has established that Augustus himself ordered the construction of the earliest
Pantheon in 27 BC, which had a slightly wider façade. It faced his Mausoleum
less than one kilometer away, built one year earlier, in 28 BC. It is
noteworthy to keep in mind that both monuments stood outside the ancient city.
This first Pantheon, dedicated to all the gods, was
destroyed in the fire of Rome in
80 AD. Domitian rebuilt it soon
enough, but it was burnt again in 110 AD. By that time, both Augustus and Agrippa were long dead. No reason – yet - to put Agrippa’s name on the façade.
About ten years later, Hadrian
built a new Pantheon on top of the charred remains of the previous versions.
His building was made to last, and it did. The circular wall is six meters
thick and robust enough to support the copula, 40 meters above the
ground. The oculus, the opening at the center of the cupola, has a diameter of 8.70 meters. This
opening, together with the rows of alcoves inside this cupola, helps to reduce
its enormous weight.
Examining the thin bricks covering the inside and outside
concrete walls of the rotunda, scholars discovered that most were stamped with
the name of Emperor Hadrian.
The cement inside this 6-meter-thick wall is of a unique mix, using lava dust
and fine lava gravel. This mixture was so strong that it was used henceforward
all over the Roman Empire for the aqueducts,
bridges, and other monumental buildings. As an extra, this cement was also
waterproof and fireproof. Looking at the outside walls, one will notice many
arches incorporated in its design, and their role was to reinforce the walls
even further.
This close examination of the Pantheon leads to further
investigation of Hadrian's many
monuments. The first visit goes to the Villa Hadriana in Tivoli,
just outside Rome. The
construction of this villa, which covered an area larger than Pompeii,
probably started around 120 AD. It counted at least one thousand rooms and had
an underground parking space for his chariots. A closer inspection revealed
that the circular building on the central island, which is said to be the
personal quarters of Hadrian,
has the same diameter as the Pantheon. Speaking of megalomania!
It transpires that Hadrian was not much loved by the Romans, although he was widely venerated elsewhere in
the Empire. Trying to impose himself, he used Agrippa as a publicity stunt on the front of the Pantheon.
In his days, 126 AD, the rotunda functioned as a court building. We’ll remember
that Hadrian started the
construction of his Mausoleum, the later Castel Sant’Angelo, in 130 BC (see: Speaking of the Mausoleum of Alexander).
Stepping inside the Pantheon, any modern visitor will
stop staring in awe at the oculus above their heads. Inevitably, the rain would
fall onto the colorful marble floor. This floor was slightly
tilted to drain the water through small apertures in the marble slabs and
washed away in underground canals. By sunny weather, on the other hand, the light beam
would illuminate the niches that once held statues and highlight parts of the
marble floor. Hadrian had his
statue in a prominent place inside the Pantheon. On April 24, the anniversary of
the foundation of Rome, the
sun would cover Emperor Hadrian with its godly rays.
In 609 AD, the Pantheon was converted into a Christian
Church dedicated to the Virgin Mary and all the Martyr Saints. This saved the
precious building for posterity. In later centuries, it served as a model for
the Basilica of the Vatican, Italy; the Panthéon in Paris, France; the Rotunda of the
University of Virginia, USA; and many other public buildings all over the
world.
The Rotunda of Galerius in Thessaloniki
Fitting the same list of circular buildings is the Rotunda
of Galerius in Thessaloniki, which is still standing.
Emperor Galerius built it in 306 AD
as his Mausoleum, although it may have served as a Mausoleum for Constantine the Great, who died in 337.
Soon after, it became a Christian Church dedicated to the Archangels. After the
Ottoman invasion in 1590, Thessaloniki’s
church cathedral became a mosque until they were ousted in 1912. This Rotunda
is a recognizable copy of the Pantheon in Rome,
although smaller. Its height nearly reaches 30 meters to the top of
the dome, and the circle measures 24.5 meters in diameter. The dome, which
initially had an oculus, is resting on walls that are 6.3 meters thick and
built similarly to its example in Rome.
The construction is made of bricks that were covered with marble slabs on the
outside. However, the interior walls were decorated with early Byzantine
mosaics in the 4th-6th century.
Although we have
no hard proof that all these Pantheons and Mausoleums arose in the wake of Alexander’s now-lost tomb
in Alexandria, the
very idea remains very tempting. It is doubtful that Alexander conceived his
tomb at any time, neither when he was in Alexandria nor
in Babylon. The city
of Alexandria was still under construction when the king died, which was why his body was
temporarily placed in a tomb in Memphis.
Ptolemy I or his
son Philadelphus brought
Alexander’s golden
sarcophagus to his burial site in Alexandria,
approximately between 298 and 274 BC.
Amazingly, no
description at all has survived about its exact location. The same mystery
surrounds the king’s second grand burial site after Ptolemy IV Philopator had completed the
construction of the imposing new Royal Mausoleum. Alexander’s body was moved sometime during his
reign, between 221 and 204 BC, and was placed amidst the remains of other
members of the Ptolemy dynasty. This necropolis with the Alexander Mausoleum was
located somewhere in the middle of the city. Ancient testimonies remain very
vague on the subject, and since most of the initial Alexandria lies four or five meters under the modern metropolis, it will not reappear
soon.
In any case, the
Mausoleum of Alexander existed from
the third century BC till after the reign of Emperor Hadrian, who died in 138 AD. Crowds of people paid tribute
to Alexander over the centuries and
yet his tomb could not be located!
[Picture 1 from Tiqets.com - Picture 2 from Wikimedia - Picture 3 from Wikipedia - Picture 4 is mine - Picture 5 from Tiqets.com]
