Throughout history, religion has been a very powerful force in art. Cultures around the world have dedicated much time to creating beautiful things devoted to their belief in higher beings. Two magnificent examples of this are the Parthenon, built in ancient Greece, and the Pantheon, built in ancient Rome. Both of these buildings were built, at least in part, to honor the gods by two cultures that shared similar beliefs.
The Parthenon was built between 447 and 432 BCE in Athens, Greece. The man most accredited with its construction is Perikles, a great general and politician, and according to the historian Thucydides, he was considered the “first citizen” of the democratic Athens. (History.com, 2009) The temple was constructed shortly after the war with the Persians, in which the temple they were building to dedicate to Athena was destroyed. This was to replace that building, as well as serve as a symbol of their newly established imperial powers. (Silverman, n.d.) The Parthenon was built in the Doric order and is considered a Doric peripteral temple. A Doric peripteral
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Domes were an ancient Roman architecture fete and still to this day, the dome of the Parthenon is the world’s largest unreinforced dome. (Wikipedia, Pantheon Rome, 2017). The dedication of the Pantheon is much debated. While the word is taken from the Greek word meaning "of, relating to, or common to all the gods", it is thought by some to merely be a nickname for the temple. The Pantheon is graced by many statues of different gods and goddesses within it. It is possible that the temple was built for this reason, but the Greek work theios can mean many things; of a god, superhuman or even excellence. (Wikipedia, Pantheon Rome,