to see that the infrastructure of his roman state was intact and fortified under his direction. After five years of travel to improve the cities of Corinth, Manteca, and Sicily, Hadrian returned to Rome. He had laid down excellent groundwork for his governmental policy, so he finally had time to improve the infrastructure in his nation’s capital. He would soon realize his visions for structures like the Temple of Venus, and his most significant architectural accomplishment of all: The Pantheon.

Rome’s Pantheon was originally built by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. Destroyed by fire during Nero’s reign in year 80, Hadrian had it completely redesigned and reconstructed. “The very character of the Pantheon suggests that Hadrian himself was its architect…an impassioned admirer of Greek culture and art and daring innovator in the field of Roman architecture, could have conceived this union of a great pedimental porch in the Greek manner and of a vast circular hall, a masterpiece of architecture typically Roman in its treatment of curvilinear space, and roofed with the largest dome ever seen.” In lieu of his inherent modesty, he decided not to even put his own name on the façade of the building. Instead he would give credit to the original designer, by inscribing it with M. Agrippa. Though there is no hard proof that Hadrian was its only designer, it is only reasonable to believe that his mind, infused with Roman and Greek culture, could conjure its design – that which is one of the most renowned structural feats in human history. The most significant difference between typical Roman and Greek architecture was the importance of height. Romans believed in reaching for the heavens with their architecture. The bigger and more grandiose a building or monument was the better.

It is unusual that we do not find much ancient documentation on the building despite its historical importance. In fact, the only written report from the time is from Dio Cassius who thought the building