History of Art

History Of Art

Ancient buildings are known to have had a strong influence on generally all buildings which presently exist in the world. There are various factors influencing a certain building's shape, such as its purpose, the investments that people are willing to put in it, and the traditional features which are characteristic to similar buildings. The Pantheon is one of the most famous buildings in the world, and, in spite of the fact that the Western Roman Empire fell a few centuries consequent to its building, the monument has managed to provide inspiration for a large number of buildings constructed after it. Built in totally different circumstances, but, by people that have basically had the same intention, the Hagia Sophia building in Istanbul is one of the buildings renowned for its resemblance with the Pantheon.

The Romans have built the Pantheon so that they would have an impressive temple from which they would be able to pray to their gods. In contrast, the Hagia Sophia had been built so that people would worship the Christian god inside of it. The Pantheon is one of the most influential buildings ever to have existed, with people having adapted certain elements from the structure to the buildings that they have later constructed. The Hagia Sophia is no less impressive, as it is a perfect example of Byzantine building style. In spite of their initial purposes, the Pantheon had later become a place where Christians worshiped their god and the Hagia Sophia had later become a place where Muslims worshipped Allah.

The base structure of the Pantheon is a cylinder, while the Hagia Sophia rests on a square-shaped base. The roofs of both buildings have been intended to resemble heavenly places. Both structures have provided their builders with a great challenge, as little buildings of such magnitude had been built until the time.