While inspecting the Pantheon, one can mentally travel back two millennia to the past and see pagan services with sacrifices. Inside, the temple looks mysterious, since there are no windows in it, and the light enters through a special hole in the dome - the oculus, which is 9 meters in diameter.
The first building of the Pantheon was erected during the reign of Emperor Augustus in 27-25 BC. e., but was destroyed by fire at the end of the 1st century. During the reign of Emperor Hadrian, a domed rotunda with a pediment on 14-meter Corinthian columns and a rectangular portico appeared on the site of the destroyed temple. This building, erected in the years 118-125, is one of the most notable buildings in Rome.
The temple was intended to hold services in the name of the most revered gods: Jupiter, Mars, Venus, Mercury, Saturn, Pluto and Neptune. It is often called the Temple of the Seven Gods.
In ancient times, an altar was located under the hole in the dome, intended for the burning of sacrificial animals.
Later (in 609) the Pantheon was presented to Pope Boniface IV. Such a generous offering was made by the Byzantine emperor Phoca. The Pantheon was consecrated and became the church of the Mother of God and all the martyrs.
In the XIV-XIV centuries, the building served as a defensive function, and its former splendor was returned to the Pantheon during the Renaissance. The restoration took place under the leadership of Raphael, who was buried in the Pantheon in 1520.
In the 17th century, by order of Pope Urban VIII, the portico of the Pantheon was dismantled, and the bronze, which was extracted from its beams, was used for the Church of St. Peter and the Castle of St. Angel - in the first, a canopy was erected over the altar, and in the second, cannons were cast. The townspeople did not like such devastation, but nothing could be done about it.
When Italy was united, the Pantheon became the burial place of kings. Here are the tombs of Umberto I, Victor Emmanuel II and Queen Margaret.
