Linking the Pantheon in Rome with ancient Mausoleums

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]

Endless fuss over the tomb of Alexander the Great

As theories about the final resting place of Alexander the Great abound, it may be a good time to summarize what we know. 

After being embalmed in Babylon, Alexander’s mummified body was transported with due pomp to Pella, where he was born and where all Macedonian kings were traditionally buried. However, Ptolemy, now ruling over Egypt, decided to intercept the splendid coffin as it passed through Syria. He said that Alexander had wanted to be buried in Egypt, in his first city of Alexandria. 

At that time, Alexandria was still under construction, and the king’s mummy was temporarily deposited in Memphis, the hitherto capital of Egypt. Ptolemy eventually transferred Alexander’s remains to Alexandria. Ancient sources are almost silent about the size and location of this first tomb. 

Ptolemy IV Philopator built a grand mausoleum for Alexander around 215-214 BC, probably as imagined by his great-grandfather, Ptolemy I. This Philopator transferred Alexander’s mummy during a splendidly organized ceremony. With Philopator’s lineage of predecessors, Alexander was put to rest somewhere in the center of Alexandria, later called the Soma, i.e., within the Palace District. 

At some point, the mummy was protected by a glass surrounding it. That is how Augustus, the first Roman Emperor, saw it. His example was followed by at least Caesar (assassinated in 41 BC), Caligula (ruled 12-41 AD), Hadrian (ruled 117-138 AD), Septimius Severus (ruled 193-211 AD), and Caracalla (ruled 198-217 AD), who were all great admirers of Alexander. After 391 AD, when paganism was entirely outlawed, history lost track of the mummy after being on display for almost seven centuries. 

Strangely, no picture and no full description of Alexander’s last resting place has survived – not even of the Soma and/or Royal Palace. However, we do have coins and mosaics representing the Pharos built by Ptolemy I. One would logically assume that the Soma was far more important than the lighthouse. It remains everyone’s guess why we don’t have any description of the Soma and its location inside Alexandria? 

Northern Africa suffered severely from a devastating earthquake in 365 AD, causing the entire coastline to drop by four meters (see: Apollonia in Cyrenaica (eastern Libya) after Alexander). The consequences of the ensuing tsunami may not have flooded the Soma immediately, and it may have sunk slowly till it disappeared around 391 AD, as mentioned above. The tomb of Alexander obviously drowned together with the Palace of the Ptolemies. 

The big question is, what happened to the remains of Alexander, supposing they could be saved, either from the flooding or from unrest inside Egypt? Theories are endless. 

The analysis made by Andrew Chugg centered around the Mosque of Nabi Daniel, which would have hidden Alexander’s corpse in a sarcophagus way beneath the present street level. Chugg claims that these remains were taken to Venice in 828 AD as being those of St Mark. They are now in St Mark’s Cathedral (see: The Lost Tomb of Alexander the Great by Andrew Chugg). 

Greek archaeologist Liana Souvaltzi assumed that at some point, the king’s mummy was transferred to Siwah as Ptolemy fulfilled Alexander’s wish. The recorded visits of the Roman emperors to Alexandria, for instance, are merely ignored in her theory. Liana Souvaltzi started excavating the Temple of Amon-Ra in Siwah in 1989, but in 1995, the Greek and Egyptian governments suddenly blocked her permit. Today, she still fights to resume her excavations; however, without success. 

When the Kasta Hill tomb in Amphipolis was discovered a few years ago, one of the many supposed occupants was Alexander the Great (see: Amphipolis/Kasta Hill … here we go again!) Here is the list of possible candidates: 

Roxane, Alexander IV, the son of Alexander, Olympias, Cleopatra, sister of Alexander, Cassander (son of Antipater), Antigonus Monophthalmus, Hephaistion, Heracles (the illegitimate son of Alexander and Barsine), Polyandrion, Polyperchon, Philip-Arrhidaeus (half-brother of Alexander), Philip II (Alexander’s father, as many still doubt that he lies in the tumulus of Aegae).

The most recent theory here is that it was supposed to be the last resting place for Hephaistion. 

More news came from the Hellenic Institute for the Research of Alexandria Culture in 2017 (see: Magnificent Alexander statue found in Alexandria). They are working in the Shalallat Gardens area, where they claim to have located remains from the Royal Quarters of the Ptolemies. More exciting is the discovery of a unique marble statue of Alexander the Great in these gardens, fueling new theories about the king’s tomb once again.

Earlier this year, while discussing the presumed Tomb of Queen Olympias near Pydna (see: The tomb of Olympias found?), the leading Professor claimed that this tomb was similar to the one attributed to Alexander at Siwah.  

In the end, there have been many more theories, as I am not including those expressed in the widespread versions of the Alexander Romance (see: Le Roman d’Alexandre, traduit du grec par A Tallet-Bonvalot). None of them was satisfactory.

The rescue of five ancient silver coins

It is always a pleasure to read good news. The Archaeology News Network has a great article about five rare coins rescued from being auctioned off in Munich and Zurich but now returned to Greece. The article includes a very detailed picture of each item, which by itself is a pure pleasure for the eyes.

The three coins that were discovered in Munich have found their rightful place in the Numismatic Museum of Athens:

- a stater from Lindos, Rhodes, dating from the first half of the 5^th century BC

- a stater from Elis, a region in the northwestern corner of the Peloponnese, from around 328 BC

- an octadrachm of Getas, king of the Thracian Edonian tribe, from 480-460 BC

The other two silver coins were caught in Zurich:

- a tetradrachm from Athens dated 136 BC

- a tetradrachm of Ptolemy IV Philopator from about the end of the 3^rd century BC, minted in Sidon. He may be depicted here with his wife, Arsinoe III of Egypt.

These precious items have been appropriately handed over to the Archaeological Museum of Patras.

Criminals keep on hunting in the hope of selling their booty for lots of money on the black market abroad. There is no limit to the looting, and coins, in particular, are easy to smuggle out of sight of the authorities. Inside Greece, it appears that over 2,000 coins have been confiscated. Germany, on the other hand, returned some 600 ancient coins and other antiquities, besides 33 vessels from the Mycenaean era that were looted and illegally brought into the country.

Although it is praiseworthy that so many artifacts find their way home, it remains very regrettable that the objects have been taken out of their context forever, losing much of their historical value.

[The pictures of the coins are evidently from the Archaeology News Network]

Archimedes, the most illustrious citizen of Syracuse

If one name is immediately associated with Syracuse, it certainly is the mathematical genius Archimedes (ca 287-212 BC). Yes, we all know he was Greek, but never realized that he actually lived and died in Sicily, which was then part of Magna Graecia.

It is unclear whether he was a close friend or a relative of King Hieron II of Syracuse (c.308-215 BC). Still, we know that the king sponsored Archimedes’ trip to Alexandria to study at the renowned Library. Here, he seems to have met his friend Conon of Samos and Eratosthenes of Cyrene, whom he mentioned in the introduction of two of his works. 

Archimedes was working for Hieron II and his son Gelon II, constructing devices such as catapults, burning mirrors, and an iron claw, a sort of crane with a grappling hook that could lift the ships out of the water and make them capsize and sink. He is also famous for inventing an orrery, i.e., a mechanical model of the solar system. The sun is at its center, and the Earth rotates around it. The device could predict solar and lunar eclipses. Archimedes established the relationship between the circumference and the diameter of a circle. 

His best-known invention happened while he took a bath and noticed that the water level rose when he stepped into the tub. This led to his theory to calculate the volume of an object, and he was so excited about his discovery that he ran out of his house, stark naked, shouting “Eureka!” I found it! Vitruvius says that Archimedes applied this principle when King Hieron II asked him to determine whether the votive crown he had ordered for a temple was indeed made with pure gold he had supplied. He suspected the goldsmith of adding some cheaper silver. A charming anecdote, no doubt, but it may not be entirely accurate as the calculations are far more complex than that.

Another invention called Archimedes’ screw has been used successfully over the centuries and still is in those places where water has to be moved from a lower level to higher grounds or canals. His system, consisting of a revolving screw inside a cylinder, even applies to moving coal or grain. There are, however, discussions that tend to attribute the invention to the Babylonians, who used the principle to irrigate their Hanging Gardens.

As written down by Athenaeus of Naucratis, history tells us that King Hieron II asked Archimedes in 240 BC to build a large ship to carry huge supplies. It should also be used in war as well as for pleasure. It was, in fact, a catamaran weighing 4,000 tons for which timber from Mount Etna was used together with rosewood and ivory from Africa and rope from Iberia – nothing less! It could transport 600 people and was enhanced with a temple dedicated to Aphrodite, a gymnasium, and even a garden! Because of its size, the ship that was appropriately called the Syracusia would leak considerably through the hull, but Archimedes’ screw could pump the excess bilge water out. As the boat was far too big to anchor in most harbors, Hieron II generously sent it to Ptolemy IV Philopator in Egypt, loaded with wheat, when Egypt was struck by famine.

It should be noted that Hieron II perfectly realized the advantages of taking the side of Rome rather than resisting it, and his sixty-year-long reign brought the city great prosperity. This especially shows in the colossal altar used to sacrifice to Zeus. As many as 450 bulls could be offered in one day. It is still there for us to see, nearly 200m long and 23 meters wide, making it the most enormous altar ever known. Initially, it was 15 meters high until the Spaniards reused the stones to fortify the harbor of Syracuse in 1526. We also owe this king the construction of the largest theater of the Greek world of his day, which could hold 15,000 people. When Hieron II died in 215 BC, his successor decided to choose the Carthaginians' side, who were threatening Rome at the time. This event had unfortunate results for our dear Archimedes.

 

During the Second Punic War, the Romans, after a two-year-long siege, finally took possession of Syracuse. The leading general, Marcus Claudius Marcellus, had issued clear instructions that whoever found Archimedes should treat him kindly and not harm him. Yet an inpatient soldier, noticing that the old man refused to meet his general, killed Archimedes, totally absorbed in his mathematical diagram. Apparently, the soldier had not realized that he was addressing Archimedes – this is at least what Plutarch tells us.

Not a single trace is left of Archimedes in today’s Syracuse, except for a square in the heart of Ortygia that is named after him, Piazza Archimede. Recently, a tiny science museum has opened there, entirely dedicated to the city’s famous citizen, exhibiting many interactive displays and models that illustrate some of his inventions and theories, like the Stomachon, a 14-piece composition puzzle; a sphere contained by the cylinder; and the burning mirrors. These are all very intriguing and very much worth the visit.

[Drawings taken from Wikipedia]