The Pantheon is a building in Rome, Italy that was built during the reign of Augustus and completed by Hadrian in 126CE. One of the best preserved structures from Ancient Roman era, it's been used continuously since its inception. Beginning in the 7th century, it was converted into a church dedicated to St. Mary and the Martyrs known colloquially as "Santa Maria Rotonda”.
Although the Partenon often associated with the goddess Athens, it is not really a temple in the conventional sense. A small shrine was found during excavation but it was never used by the Athena Polias cult. Instead, according to Thucydides, the colossal statue of Athena was used as a gold reserve containing forty talens of pure gold that was completely removable and was not used for worship. …show more content…
Archeological excavations has found that the original Pantheon was destroyed except for the facade. It was then rebuild by Trajan after a fire destroyed the second building. It is currently being used for worship by the Catholic church.
The front part of the Pantheon takes its cues from the Parthenon, but that's where the structural similarity ends, with the Pantheon hosting a large sphere dome called the Rotunda behind the Parthenon-like facade. An oculus, or an opening that allows the sun to shine in, adorns the top of the Rotunda.
Functionally, the Parthenon was never used for worship, while the Pantheon is routinely used for Mass even today. Decoratively, the Pantheon has been modified to host Christian