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Parthenon And Pantheon: A Comparative Analysis

499 Words2 Pages

For this week 's assignment, we have been tasked to compare and contrast two great monuments of antiquity, the Parthenon and the Pantheon. Both antiquities separated by five hundred years, two different cultures, and two unique emperors, Pericles in Athens for the Parthenon, and Hadrian in Rome for the Pantheon. Both created as monuments to great achievements and conquests, but each created to give a different vision of power and authority as we shall see through the two readings given for the assignment.
Being the older one, I will start with the Parthenon. This temple dedicated to Athena was built after the Peloponnesian War, from 447 to 432 BC once Athens full control of the Delian League and had made the transition from city state to empire …show more content…

Aesthetic and classical portrayal of power attributed to the gods and the fates but who did the Athenians and especially Pericles think they were kidding? Everyone outside Athens was made aware of the authority and iron clad rule that existed at that point. Whose patron goddess was in full regalia but that of Athens?
When you look at the Pantheon you see that it is a different type of temple. The Pantheon in its last version, was completed by Hadrian in 128 AD, one of his various rebuilding projects throughout Rome. It was attributed to Marcus Agrippina by Hadrian and originally built after the Battle of Actium. Its most prominent feature is a concrete dome that has an ocular opening on top which provides most of the inside lighting. Its outside facade is lined with Corinthian columns and has many more columns inside with accompanying arches (Wikipedia, 2016).
The use of Corinthian columns and portrayals of the gods during Hadrian 's time served to show the Roman appreciation of classical Greece. In portraying mythical battles and past battles such as the Battle of Actium, he was able to show the authority and power of Rome. Through the demonstration of past Roman conquests and emperors, Hadrian was able to demonstrate his power without outwardly proclaiming

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