Faculty Mentor
Stephen Collins‐Elliott
Department (e.g. History, Chemistry, Finance, etc.)
Anthropology
College (e.g. College of Engineering, College of Arts & Sciences, Haslam College of Business, etc.)
Arts and Sciences
Year
2015
Abstract
During the reign of Hadrian, many building projects were undertaken that have been attributed to Hadrian. He has been accredited with building a great wall which expanded the Northern frontier in Britannia, which bears his name, with the rebuilding of the Parthenon, and many various monuments and buildings throughout the empire. But there is some controversy, especially with the Parthenon, whether it was Hadrian who designed these buildings or if it was a man named Apollodorus of Damascus. Using various evidences from buildings that are known to be built by Hadrian and those known to be built by Apollodorus of Damascus, this paper will look at the styles and the means in which they were constructed to compare against those buildings whose designer is questionable. By looking at manuscripts from the time as well as looking at the opinions of others, the origins of the plans of these buildings will be discerned so that a person may be able to tell whether these questionable buildings were indeed made by Hadrian or Apollodorus of Damascus. With this information being collected, this paper will hopefully be able to utilize new perspectives to answer an age old problem.
Included in
Other History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons, Other Languages, Societies, and Cultures Commons
Hadrian vs. Apollodorus of Damascus: Who built the Pantheon?
During the reign of Hadrian, many building projects were undertaken that have been attributed to Hadrian. He has been accredited with building a great wall which expanded the Northern frontier in Britannia, which bears his name, with the rebuilding of the Parthenon, and many various monuments and buildings throughout the empire. But there is some controversy, especially with the Parthenon, whether it was Hadrian who designed these buildings or if it was a man named Apollodorus of Damascus. Using various evidences from buildings that are known to be built by Hadrian and those known to be built by Apollodorus of Damascus, this paper will look at the styles and the means in which they were constructed to compare against those buildings whose designer is questionable. By looking at manuscripts from the time as well as looking at the opinions of others, the origins of the plans of these buildings will be discerned so that a person may be able to tell whether these questionable buildings were indeed made by Hadrian or Apollodorus of Damascus. With this information being collected, this paper will hopefully be able to utilize new perspectives to answer an age old problem.