Astrology was a powerful driver in all areas of Roman society, and the intimate association between the planets of our solar system and the primary divinities such as Jupiter, Venus and Mars was a fundamental linchpin in this system of belief.
Many successful rulers of ancient Rome went to great lengths to strengthen their own position by linking their own existence and the things they did to the divinities themselves and the heavens. Several such examples exist within the architecture of Ancient Rome.
For example, Augustus had used Egyptian astronomers to design the sun dial which cast just the right shadow over his altar to peace (the Ara Pacis) at the time and date of his birth on the 23rd September. Recent studies suggest Augustus’ family tomb was also designed and oriented according to his birth signs and in fact we also know that Augustus was so proud of his stars that he had them published for all to see. So, connection of heavenly and earthly powers on an architectural and monumental scale aimed at political advantage was not a new idea.
So at its extreme, the purpose of the Pantheon was as a temple-cum-planetarium made to bring the heavens down to earth; to trap their perfection within the building and cast a heavenly blessing on the Emperor’s earthly power.
In opposition to the pyramids which had the function of bringing the Pharaohs up to the heavens, the Pantheon brings the heavens and divine inspiration down to earth. It is conceived along similar yet opposing lines to the pyramids. Rather than a triangle pointed towards the heavens this is a sphere with a hole at the top which captures heavenly light.
Don’t forget that by this time it was standard practice to regard the Emperor as a living divinity, much along the lines of Oriental rulers. Like a crucible the Pantheon legitimizes the emperor’s power on earth by mixing it with heavenly and eternal cosmic order. The Orb held by the Emperor symbolizes his power over the world.
Surprise surprise the Pantheon was one of the few (three) places in Rome where the Emperor would sit on a public tribunal and as Princeps and Pontifex Maximus received petitions and pronounced judgement, issuing new laws governing the Empire. A good enough purpose for such a great building?
Going a step further, possibly into the improbable, heliocentric mystery religions were beginning to take a foothold. An example is Mithraism which in many elements was often confused with Christianity, Sol Invictu and Apollo (eg Mithras was born on the 25th December…). Discovery of the procession of the Equinoxes had begun to spin the idea that the stars weren’t necessarily fixed in their positions and what better explanation than an external mover, beyond the visible heavens?
Was the Pantheon a high cost Astronomical Observatory?
Eudoxus, a contemporary and student of Plato, many years before Hadrian, had suggested you could explain the often bizarre planetary motions by use of a series of concentric spheres. He suggested 27 in fact. It wasn’t a perfect system but it did lead on to the concept of a spherical cosmos based on mathematical rules, and a student of his went on to add a few more to make the system more accurate.
The concept of concentric rings and their linkage to planetary motions was described in Roman literature such as Cicero’s “The Dream of Scipio”, further developed by the Roman writer Macrobius. This influenced early medieval Christian thought on the matter.
Perhaps the ample literature and thought on the matter had been sufficient to convince Hadrian into using the reconstruction of the Pantheon into a modern astronomical observatory, or at the very least make it into an extremely potent seat of power as a direct ‘telephone’ line to the heavens.
For anyone curious on the matter, there are 7 niches for altars around the perimeter, one for each of the known planets at the time. If you are curious about numbers, there are 28 coffers on each of the 5 rings of the dome, though there is no immediate explanation on why such numbers would have been chosen. Perhaps by the time astronomers had developed a few centuries of improved mathematical models building on Eudoxius’ 27 spheres…. some contraption standing in the middle of the Pantheon, perhaps a simple mirror, lined up with the sun’s rays, or allowing images in the ceiling coffers to be aligned and calibrated; predicting planetary events such as the next total eclipse. Propitious for Roman Imperial laws to be pronounced.
Read on to part 3 about the changing purpose of the Pantheon and A Tale of Two Domes
Purpose of the Pantheon part 1 – A temple to all the gods and political propaganda
Purpose of the Pantheon part 2 – Astrology
Purpose of the Pantheon part 3 – Pantheon vs. St. Peter’s
The Pantheon: Ancient Roman Pantheon | pantheon | Purpose of the Roman Pantheon | architecture of the pantheon |