the sword of Ilium
"My Prince, there, I can see the mouth of the river!" This must be the place the dying king had urged him to find. "Sail off to a western land where the Albulula River flows into the Etruscan Sea", the king had whispered with his last breath. "It is the land of our forefathers, there you will have a future." And so, they embark the ships, leaving the burning city behind. On their journey, they touch the island of Thera, the port of Kart-hadasht, until they reach the land of their ancestors.
As night falls they step on land, following the river until a monumental building appears in between seven hills. The form and size of the structure are overwhelming and striking in its simplicity, like a large drum capped by a dome. The inside of the drum is a single cavernous space. Natural light, from a large oculus in the centre of the dome, spills down onto the floor and walls of the interior that are made of fine stone, granite and colored marbles. The coffered ceiling of the dome is made of a stone, the prince has never seen before.
"It has been a long time since I have seen a sword like this. Who gave it to you, son?" A tall man of striking appearance enters the hall from the north entrance, approaching the prince with this question. "My uncle trusted it to me with his last breath. I am Aeneas, a prince of Ilium. My uncle was …". "I know who your uncle was. I have been waiting for your arrival." Aeneas can't take his eyes off this strange-looking giant in this long feathered garment. Steel-blue eyes are shining under a hood that covers his long blond hair and beard. "What is it, that you want of me?", the prince asks. "Build an eternal city in the seven hills to protect this very place until my return. The cosmic geometry of this Pantheon shall never be destroyed."
With this request, the feathered giant took the sword from Aeneas and placed it in a crystal socket in the centre of the rotunda. Suddenly the large blue gem in the swords' pommel started sending a strong beam of light through the oculus of the dome. A crackling noise filled the hall and grew louder and louder. The dazzling light became unbearable when finally culminating into a gigantic flash of lightning and vapour. The feathered giant was gone.
origin of the Pantheon (official version)
The exact age and original use of the pantheon remain unknown. Roman legend tells that the original Pantheon was built on the very site Romulus, the mythological founder of Rome, ascended to heaven. Other sources claim that the original Pantheon was built around 27-25 BCE, under the reign of Augustus and Marcus Agrippa. It was classified as a temple and dedicated to the 12 gods of heaven. However, it is unknown as to how the people actually worshipped in the building because the structure of the temple is so different from all the other traditional Roman temples.
It burned in the great fire of 80 AD and was struck by lightning in 110 AD. Several emperors were busy adding new sections to the original building and restoring the structure over centuries. Pope Boniface IV made the Catholic church the 'operator' in 608 AD, which is one of the reasons why the Pantheon has survived in good shape until today. However, the original statues, sculptures and the great bronze doors, covered in gold, guarding the entrance have long since disappeared. Also, the dome of the Pantheon was originally covered in bronze.
architecture and influence
The architecture of this building is extraordinary and the cosmic implications of its geometry are clear recognisable. The diameter of the rotunda is equal to that of its height ( 43m, 142ft ) and reveals geometrical perfection and symmetry in the context of a perfect universe. The interior space fits perfectly in a sphere and is designed to mirror the heavens; the oculus in the dome is designed to symbolize the life-giving sun. The Pantheon's dome is the largest surviving dome from antiquity and it still remains to be the largest in the world, being built from bricks and un-reinforced concrete. The dome's ceiling contains five rings of 28 rectangular coffers that were originally painted blue with gilded stars.
The Pantheon is the most preserved building of ancient Rome and has inspired many artists and architects. Michelangelo, who looked at everything with a critical eye, was so impressed about the Pantheon, that he proclaimed it of “angelic and not human design.” The architectural legacy of the Pantheon has influenced the design of buildings all over Europe and America. Among them the Panthéon in Paris, the Santa Maria del Fiore Church in Florence, the library of the University of Virginia, the Jefferson Memorial in Washington D.C. as well as the rotunda of the United States Capitol
all is God
The Pantheon is the only ancient structure of its size and proportion that has survived the damage of time and gravity, still intact with all its beauty and cosmic geometry. For me, it is quite a mystery how the Pantheon managed to be spared barbarian raids and plundering when the rest of all Roman monuments had been shattered. Its design is way ahead of its time and the exact composition of the material is still unknown to us today. Mainstream archaeology dates the building 2,000 old and defines its purpose as a temple. But what if they are wrong and our knowledge about the building’s origin and meaning is not as certain as we had thought, considering all the evidence and fresh interpretations coming to light in recent years.
Was the purpose of the Pantheon really religious? Why is its design so different from the classical Roman and Greek temples? Pantheon is a word of Greek origin, meaning " all (pan) is God (theos) ". That would mean that God is the world around us and that God and the universe are identical. Nothing exists isolated from God, and everything is in some way identified with God. All is God, and God is all. The concept of " pan theos " has been around throughout the history of mankind. Socrates, Aristotle, Giordano Bruno, Al-Ghazali, Neils Bohr, Albert Einstein, Erwin Schrödinger, Mikhail Gorbachev, the Dalai Lama and many others are ambassadors of " pan theos - all is God ".
gate to the universe
Myth becomes a legend when we are able to connect notable people to historical events. Maybe Aeneas and the feathered giant were real people and maybe the ancient myth about Romulus' ascend to heaven is not a myth at all. Maybe the Pantheon existed already for thousands of years before the Romans build the eternal city between the seven hills. What if, the sword of Ilium was not just a sword but the key to open the stargate for many feathered giants? Remember Heimdall opening the Bifrost Bridge of Asgard? Maybe the sword of Ilium is still in Rome and remains hidden in the basements of the "pantheon operator". Or maybe the real operator of the Pantheon is somebody with a long feathered garment, shining steel-blue eyes under a hood that covers his long blond hair and beard.
