The Cultural Impact of the Pantheon Post Classical Era

Elin Youning Yuan

doi:10.54254/2753-7064/2025.23329

Research Article

Open access

Published on 23 May 2025

Download pdf

Yuan,E.Y. (2025). The Cultural Impact of the Pantheon Post Classical Era. Communications in Humanities Research,69,61-73.

Export citation

The Cultural Impact of the Pantheon Post Classical Era

Elin Youning Yuan *^,1,

¹ Li Po Chun United Worlds College

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

https://doi.org/10.54254/2753-7064/2025.23329

Abstract

This study investigates the cultural impact of the Pantheon after the fall of the classical Roman empire. The research aims to understand how the cultural and social development of the pantheon shifted alongside it’s physical changes, leading up to how we see the pantheon today. The study employs a qualitative approach centered on textual analysis to explore the shifting perception of the pantheon. There is a specific focus on works that discuss both the design of the pantheon and the cultural context, combining historical analysis with comparative studies of architectural techniques. Primary sources include architectural plans, historical texts, and contemporary analyses of the Pantheon. The analysis is guided by a framework that combines architectural theory with cultural studies. This includes examining the Pantheon as a symbol of imperial power and its adaptation in various cultural contexts throughout history. The study also employs comparative analysis with other structures that have design similarities to the Pantheon, such as the Hagia Sophia. The data were analyzed to identify themes related to the Pantheon’s cultural significance, such as its influence on Renaissance architecture and its role in the religious and civic life of Rome. Comparative analysis with other significant structures from the same period was also employed to highlight the Pantheon’s unique contributions. Overall, this study uses the Pantheon to illustrate how monumental structures can shape and reflect the identity of a civilization across time, as a testament to the interplay between architecture and culture.

Keywords

Architecture, Culture, Pantheon, Power, History

View pdf

References

[1]. MacDonald, William Lloyd. The architecture of the Roman Empire. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988.

[2]. Kostof, Spiro, and Greg Castillo. A history of architecture: Settings and rituals. New York: Oxford University Press, 2023.

[3]. Campbell, Jeffrey S. Pantheon. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, November 6, 2009. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pantheon-building-Rome-Italy#/media/1/441553/129566.

[4]. Marder, Tod A., and Mark Wilson Jones. The pantheon: From antiquity to the present. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019.

[5]. Leatherbarrow, David. Building time: Architecture, event, and experience. London: Bloomsbury Visual Arts, 2021.

[6]. Prieur, Benoît. Tomb of Jean Moulin in Panthéon. Wikimedia Commons. Wikipedia, August 8, 2023. https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tomb_of_Jean_Moulin_in_Panth%C3%A9on,_August_2023.JPG.

[7]. The Pantheon, Rome, Italy. United States Library of Congress’s Prints and Photographs Division. Library of Congress, 1870. https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/93512726/.

[8]. Meeks, Carroll L. “Pantheon Paradigm.” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 19, no. 4 (December 1, 1960): 135–44. https://doi.org/10.2307/988113.

[9]. Gelléri, Gábor. Lessons of travel in eighteenth-century France: From grand tour to school trips. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press published in association with BSECS, 2020.

[10]. Carl Spitzweg, English Tourists in Campagna, Blindex (Blindex, 1845), https://www.bildindex.de/document/obj02531950?part=0.

[11]. Kjallstrom, Brita. “Immersive History - Ar Roman Pantheon.” EON Reality - AI Assisted XR-based knowledge transfer for education and industry, December 9, 2024. https://eonreality.com/immersive-history/.

[12]. Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. “Historic Centre of Rome, the Properties of the Holy See in That City Enjoying Extraterritorial Rights and San Paolo Fuori Le Mura.” UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Accessed February 8, 2025. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/91. Carl Spitzweg, English Tourists in Campagna, Blindex (Blindex, 1845), https://www.bildindex.de/document/obj02531950?part=0.

[13]. GONDOIN, Jacques. Description des écoles de chirurgie. Riba. RIBA Collections, 1737. https://www.ribapix.com/school-of-surgery-ecole-de-chirurgie-paris-the-anatomy-theatre_riba10071.

[14]. GONDOIN, Jacques. Description des écoles de chirurgie. Riba. RIBA Collections, 1737. https://www.ribapix.com/school-of-surgery-ecole-de-chirurgie-paris-the-anatomy-theatre_riba10071.

[15]. Lozanovska, Mirjana. “Hagia Sofia (532–537AD): A Study of Centrality, Interiority and Transcendence in Architecture.” The Journal of Architecture 15, no. 4 (August 16, 2010): 425–48. https://doi.org/10.1080/13602365.2010.507521.

[16]. “Hagia Sophia: Turkey Turns Iconic Istanbul Museum into Mosque.” BBC News, July 10, 2020. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53366307.

Cite this article

Yuan,E.Y. (2025). The Cultural Impact of the Pantheon Post Classical Era. Communications in Humanities Research,69,61-73.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.

Disclaimer/Publisher's Note

The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s). EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.

About volume

Volume title: Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Literature, Language, and Culture Development

Conference website: https://www.icllcd.org/

ISBN：978-1-80590-133-4(Print) / 978-1-80590-134-1(Online)

Conference date: 12 May 2025

Editor：Rick Arrowood

Series: Communications in Humanities Research

Volume number: Vol.69

ISSN：2753-7064(Print) / 2753-7072(Online)

© 2024 by the author(s). Licensee EWA Publishing, Oxford, UK. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. Authors who publish this series agree to the following terms:
1. Authors retain copyright and grant the series right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this series.
2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the series's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this series.
3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See Open access policy for details).