"Pantheon! Pride of Rome."

The name Pantheon (Pan, all; Theos, God) is applied to two buildings of wide renown. One is at Rome; the best preserved pagan building in the city; the other is one of the most celebrated structures in Paris. Nearly eighteen hundred years elapsed between the erection of these buildings. They resemble each other in only two particulars: first, in name; second, in being the final resting-place of great men.

The Pantheon at Rome dates from 26 B. C., when Agrippa, the son-in-law of Augustus Caesar, is said by some authorities to have added it only as a vast hall in connection with the baths (the first establishment of the kind in Rome). Excavations are now being made to bring to light the ruins of the baths of Agrippa, and so settle the vexed question as to the age of the Pantheon. As soon as it was completed, however, it was converted into a temple, and dedicated to Jupiter the Avenger.

The edifice is circular in form, and crowned with a central dome (the first instance of a dome in a building of its dimensions). The interior measures 132 feet in diameter, as well as in height. The interior wall is broken by semicircular niches alternating with rectangular ones, wherein were placed the statues of the gods and goddesses, Jupiter being the central figure. The niches are flanked by splendid marble columns, and in place of Jupiter stands the Christian altar. When the building was converted into a temple, it was provided with a porch, 110 feet long, 44 feet deep, splendidly adorned with sixteen Corinthian columns. "Never," says Forsyth, "was so small a work so sublime in its impression."

Pope Urban VIII. tore off 450,250 pounds of bronze from the ceiling and used it in making the present altar canopy (the baldacchino) of St. Peters and the cannon for the fortress St. Angelo; he added the two campaniles, rising above the corners of the facade, called in derision "asses' ears." These have been lately removed. In 399 A. D., the Pantheon was closed as a temple by a decree of the Emperor Honorius, and in 608 A. D., it was consecrated as a church by Pope Boniface IV., under the name of "St. Maria ad Martyres." To this fact the Pantheon owes its preservation, as it is the only building of ancient Rome not now in ruins. The gilt bronze tiling of the roof was carried off by the Byzantine Emperor Constants II., in 645, and the interior was pillaged of many marbles by Benedict XIV.; but, notwithstanding all these depredations, the Pantheon is to-day what Byron called it, "the pride of Rome." It is lighted only by a circular opening, 28 feet in diameter, at the top of the dome. "Glory streams through that sole aperture" During the Middle Ages, the Pope always officiated there on Whit-Sunday, and during the service showers of white roseleaves were continually sent down through the opening in the dome, typifying to the worshipers the descent of the Holy Ghost. The Pantheon has become the burial place of painters. The third chapel on the left contains the tomb of Raphael (born April 6th, 1483, died April 6th, 1520). There Raphael lay beneath his last great work, The Transfiguration.

The Pantheon at Paris occupies the most elevated position in the city, and is a building of deep historic interest as well as the finest piece of Parisian architecture. For sixty years it was a source of discord between the Church and the State. The ancient church upon its site was erected in honor of St. Genevieve, the protectress of Paris, who was interred there in 511. The foundation stone for the present edifice was laid by Louis XV., in 1764. The new building was also dedicated to St. Genevieve, but the Convention of 1791 decided it should be converted into a species of temple with the name of "Pantheon," dedicated" Aux Grands Hommes la Patrie reconnaissante." This inscription was erased in 1822, but renewed in 1830, and it still retains its place on the frieze, notwithstanding the decree of December 6th, 1851, by which the edifice was restored to its sacred use, under the original title "Eglise St. Genevieve." The form of the building is nearly that of a Greek cross. The exterior is handsomely adorned with groups of statuary in relief, representing, in the tympanum, "France conferring honors upon her illustrious men," and beneath, the Baptism of Clovis, Attila, and St. Genevieve. The interior decoration of the dome represents Clovis, Charlemagne, St. Louis, and other kings of France, paying homage to St. Genevieve. The nave and transept are adorned with copies of eight of the Vatican frescoes of Raphael and Michael Angelo. Beneath the building are extensive crypts where eminent men lie buried. The columns in and around the building number 250. The interior of the dome is first reached by 328 steps. A further ascent of 92 steps leads to the gallery, which commands the finest view to be obtained of the city of Paris and its suburbs.