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The “Quadrivium” in the Pantheon of Rome

In: Architecture and Mathematics from Antiquity to the Future

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  • Gert Sperling

Abstract

From ancient times there are references to its symbolic function of the Pantheon complex. According to Dio Cassius, it resembles the heavens, but cosmological interpretations do not take into consideration the real metrical dimensions of the whole complex nor the relation between its numbers, shapes, forms and proportions. Some scholars take the neo-Pythagorean roots of the Pantheon seriously, interpreting the architecture as an integrated visualization of a mathematically-conceptualized theory of the cosmos, consisting of an amalgamation of cosmological, geodetical and anthropomorphical dimensions. To generate harmony, the laws of arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and musical proportions are fused. The Pantheon can be considered an architectural image of the Pythagorean cosmos, a “living organism” with a mathematically-proportioning “soul” and unchanging, “eternal” consonant-symphonic ratios. It “resembles the heavens”, but is a resemblance based on mathematical knowledge, a summary of the ancient quadrivium.

Suggested Citation

  • Gert Sperling, 2015. "The “Quadrivium” in the Pantheon of Rome," Springer Books, in: Kim Williams & Michael J. Ostwald (ed.), Architecture and Mathematics from Antiquity to the Future, edition 127, chapter 0, pages 215-227, Springer.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-319-00137-1_15
    DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-00137-1_15
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