Christian Iconography in the Roman Pantheon
I was very excited to visit the Roman Pantheon and it seems to me that this is one of the masterpieces of ancient Roman architecture. It is amazing that this place was still in one piece. Somehow, I had the image that all ancient Roman buildings will already be in a ruined state. The Roman Pantheon is not only still in one piece, it is very much still in use. When I entered the Roman Pantheon, I was surprised to instead enter what appears to be a church. Hold on, I thought that the Roman Pantheon was supposed to be some sort of temple for Roman gods, not a church for Christians.
Altar Area of the Roman Pantheon
Turns out, soon after the Pantheon was built, the Roman empire converted to Christianity courtesy of Constantine. Slowly, Roman religions fell out in favor of Christianity. The Roman Pantheon was eventually converted into a church. This is now known as the Church of Saint Mary and the Martyrs and has been a church since the 7th century. It also now has the title of minor basilica. There are numerous statues of religious figures all around the church. Inside it actually appears like the dome area of a large church, except that was all there is to the church. There are pews near the altar but most of the area is open for tourists.
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