Stop 1
The Facade
The Perfect Lie
Audio Guide
The Pantheon's Greek facade hides its Roman soul. Emperor Hadrian rebuilt it around 125 AD but kept the name of the original builder, Agrippa, on the inscription — an unusual act of imperial modesty. The triangular pediment above was once covered with gleaming bronze decorations; the holes are all that remain.
The Pantheon's columned portico became the template for governmental authority worldwide. Thomas Jefferson studied it obsessively. The US Capitol, Lincoln Memorial, Supreme Court, and nearly every courthouse in the Western world descend directly from what you're looking at now.
Hadrian was the first Roman emperor to wear a full beard — unusual enough in Rome that people assumed he was imitating Greek philosophers. He traveled to Athens multiple times, spoke Greek fluently, and was nicknamed 'Graeculus' (Little Greek) by Romans who found his Hellenism excessive.
“The Pantheon is the most perfect example of ancient architecture in the world.”
— Goethe, Italian Journey, 1787
🤔 Reflect
Hadrian built one of history's great buildings and gave the credit to someone else. Why do you think he did that? What does it tell us about how the Romans understood greatness and legacy?