Pantheon Vs Parthenon

Pantheon versus Parthenon

The Pantheon and the Parthenon are two magnificent temples in Europe. The Pantheon, built under the power of Emperor Hadrian, was built in 126 AD. The Parthenon, finished in 432 BC, was built by Pheidias.

The Pantheon, built in Rome, was built to honor all gods, hence its name which means "to every god." The exterior of this building is not nearly as impressive as the interior. The inside of the Pantheon, with its oculus, possibly resembles a gateway to the heavens. The oculus serves as the light source of the Pantheon along with several clerestories. The only disadvantage to the oculus is when it rains water gets into the Pantheon, but luckily this building was built so brilliantly that the floors are concave so all water drains out holes at the center of the floor. The spherical shape of the Pantheon is formed by two intersecting circles which creates space and that is key to this building.

The Parthenon, built in Greece, was built in honor of Athena, the goddess of wisdom. Unlike the Pantheon, the exterior and interior of the Parthenon share a story. The exterior of the Parthenon consists of forty-six columns going around the building, the pediment, and metopes. Both the interior and exterior consisted of high relief friezes which give a rather impressive effect. Also in the interior there had meant to be a colossal gold and ivory statue of Athena which had been thought to have been stolen by the builder of the Parthenon itself, Pheidias.

Both the Pantheon and Parthenon, as European temples were built for the gods. The architecture and statues resembled and honored the gods. Both buildings consisted of similar building components. The Pantheon and Parthenon contained columns holding up parts of it; the Pantheon having Corinthian columns, while the Parthenon having Doric columns. Also both buildings were made out of marble, making it so that the walls would not have to be painted to be wonderfully colored. While both buildings have several similarities, they also have quite a few differences. The Pantheon's true charm lies in the interior of the building while the Parthenon shows its beauty on the outside. The Pantheon's content is a result of its shape, without the dome shape the Pantheon would not feel as unworldly to be in. The Parthenon shape is not of importance to its magnificence; the Parthenon's beauty is based off the strong reliefs in the sculptures. Another difference between these two building is their placement. The Pantheon is built on moist land, which is insufficient because the Pantheon is sinking, whereas the Parthenon is built on a hill, the Acropolis of Athens, which was supposed to be made hard to get to, but when the Turks took over Athens they blew up the Parthenon, only leaving the ruins that are still there today.

The perfection shown threw both the Pantheon and Parthenon brings great respect to the