The Parthenon and the Pantheon PDF

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The Parthenon and the Pantheon. Same, same but different. submitted on Sunday, 21 April 2019, 2:56 PM modified on Sunday, 21 April 2019, 2:56 PM The Parthenon and the Pantheon share a similar name and many other similar traits that historians can examine to explore the crossover between these two cultures. Interestingly, the style and function of both the Parthenon and the Pantheon are typical of their respective cultures; neither is an outlier. However, there are key differences between ancient Greece and Rome, indeed they were not carbon copies of one another, and these differences can be seen when we directly compare the Parthenon and the Pantheon. Looking specifically at the form and function of both the Parthenon and the Pantheon, there are clear physical signs that both were typical of their cultures. For the Parthenon, its form included "an abundance of sculptures" on its outside (Sakoulas, 2019). This form of using highly detailed, handcrafted external sculptures was indeed typical of buildings in ancient Greece. This form can also be seen on the Temple of Artemis, Corfu, The Erechtheion (Famous Historic Buildings, 2019) and the Akropolis (Met Museum, 2019). Built from the finest stone, bronze, gold, ivory, ebony, cypress-wood, the function of Parthenon was to celebrate the goddess Athena; indeed it was built as a dedication to Athena (History Mueseum, 2019). This function was also typical of such buildings in ancient Greece culture. For example, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, Temple of Poseidon, the Paestum, the Temple of Hephaestus all shared this function of celebrating gods and goddesses (Qiu, 2019). Its everyday function was that of a city treasury, which was typical of its culture (Sakoulas, 2019). Many such buildings we built to "protect the wealth of elite offerings to gods." They were "civic buildings, paid for by the state" rather than privately run institutions (ThoughtCo, 2019). The Pantheon in Rome was also an architectural marvel, yet its form and function were typical of its culture. The background behind ancient Rome architecture lies in innovation, as "the Romans were great innovators," their form included inventing new construction techniques, using materials that had not been considered before, and "uniquely combined existing techniques" (Cartwright, M. 2019). This form is known as the Concrete Revolution, and architectural devices which came out of it included the arch, vault, and dome: all three seen in the Pantheon, yet also found in other buildings of ancient Rome. The Pantheon itself is known as the creation of "superior engineering" (Intelligent Architecture, 2019), and while its craftsmanship might set it apart from other buildings of its culture, one reason why it one of ancient Rome's longest lasting architectural artifacts (History, 2019), its form was typical of other buildings found in ancient Rome. Unlike the Parthenon in ancient Greece, whose function is known, the function of the Pantheon is still not completely known. However, we do know what the most agreed upon belief is; and most research, scholars, and textbooks believe its function was to praise the gods (Khan Academy, 2019). This conclusion seems most likely, as this function was representative of similar buildings of ancient Rome. The Romans

created temples and buildings as dedications to worship their Gods and Goddesses. In fact, the Romans had a lot of gods to worship, over two hundred different gods, which shows the importance deities had on their architecture (Temples & Triumphs, 2019). Specific examples of other buildings of the era that shared this function include the Temple of Bacchus, the Temple of Saturn, and the Temple of Concord. Starting with the similarities, both cultures worshipped gods. Worship and celebrations of gods and goddesses played a large role in both ancient Greece and Rome. In fact, they were so similar in this that the "Romans took the Greek gods and changed their names." Scholars agree that "the Greek gods had a major influence on Roman religion" (Adhikari, 2019). And this can be seen in the two buildings; both were built as a dedication to the gods. Though a pivotal difference to mention here is that the Pantheon in Rome was built to celebrate all Roman gods, the Parthenon was built to honor one specific god (Diffen, 2019). Another similarity between ancient Greece and Rome is their dedication and the importance they put into architecture; seen in both buildings. This is seen in the usage of columns in both the Parthenon and Pantheon. The use of columns is a great segue into the differences between the two cultures too. Ancient Greece's development, creativity, and innovations were chiefly original, there was not much source material to go from, whereas as a lot Roman is seen as derivative (Khan Academy, 2019). We have already discussed how their gods were almost a carbon copy of ancient Greece. This difference between the two cultures is seen directly in the use of columns. The columns of the Pantheon were built "purely for decoration," inspired from its ancient Greece predecessors, while the columns of the Parthenon were a structural necessity, holding the building up (Empire Rome, 2019). To conclude, it is easy to observe both the Parthenon in Athens and the Pantheon in Rome and see while both buildings are mesmerizing in their physical appearance, they both served as a typical example of their respective cultures, in regards to form and function. And both ancient Rome and Greece were similar themselves, which comes through in both buildings, such as their use of architectural elements such as columns. However, there are differences between the two eras; one key one being that ancient Rome was heavily influenced by ancient Greece and many of its innovations derivative. This can be seen in the columns of the two buildings, the Greeks invented the columns to hold the Parthenon up, while the Romans borrowed the design from the Greeks; and used them in the Pantheon purely as a decorative feature.

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Diffen. (2019). Diffen.com. Retrieved 21 April 2019, from https://www.diffen.com/difference/Pantheon_vs_Parthenon Empire Rome, Empirerome.com. Retrieved 21 April 2019, from http://www.empirerome.com/wordpress/?page_id=273 Famous Historic Buildings, Athens, Olympia, (2019). Famous-historicbuildings.org.uk. Retrieved 20 April 2019, from http://www.famous-historicbuildings.org.uk/greece_4.html Historymuseum.ca. Retrieved 20 April 2019, from https://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/civil/greece/gr1130e.html Intelligent Architecture. (2019). Streetdirectory.com. Retrieved 20 April 2019, from https://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/217132/italy_guide/the_pantheon_in_ro me___intelligent_architecture.html Khan Academy. Retrieved 21 April 2019, from https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/roman/middleempire/a/the-pantheon Khan Academy. Retrieved 21 April 2019, from https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/roman/beginnersguide-rome/a/introduction-to-ancient-roman-art Parthenon. (2019). Web.archive.org. Retrieved 20 April 2019, from https://web.archive.org/web/20151125183649/http://www.reed.edu/humanities/110Te ch/Parthenon.html HISTORY. Retrieved 21 April 2019, from https://www.history.com/topics/ancientgreece/pantheon Qiu, M. (2016). 10 Most Famous Greek Temples. Touropia. Retrieved 20 April 2019, from https://www.touropia.com/famous-greek-temples/ Sakoulas, T. (2019). Parthenon Sculptures. Ancient-greece.org. Retrieved 20 April 2019, from https://www.ancient-greece.org/art/parthenon-sculpture.html Technology and Revolution in Roman Architecture. (2017). Brewminate.com. Retrieved 20 April 2019, from https://brewminate.com/technology-and-revolution-inroman-architecture/ Tribunesandtriumphs.org. Retrieved 21 April 2019, from http://www.tribunesandtriumphs.org/roman-architecture/roman-temples.htm What Types of Buildings Made Up the Classical Greek City?. (2019). ThoughtCo. Retrieved 21 April 2019, from https://www.thoughtco.com/greek-architecture-basics4138303...