What Happened to the Original Pantheon?
•9 min readATBy AllTrips Rome Editorial Team
Researched and edited by the AllTrips team using official Rome sources, current visitor information and on-the-ground mapping data.
There have been several buildings called the Pantheon on this site. The one you can visit is the last of them, and the two earlier phases were destroyed by fire. Almost nothing of them is visible today.
The honest version of this story is less tidy than the usual telling. The plan and orientation of Agrippa's building, the design of the rebuild, and the exact division of credit between Trajan's and Hadrian's reigns are all argued over by specialists. Below, what the evidence supports — and where it runs out.
The first Pantheon (c. 27–25 BC)
Marcus Agrippa, son-in-law and lieutenant of Augustus, built the original Pantheon as part of his redevelopment of the Campus Martius, the flat ground north of the Republican city. Agrippa's programme there also included baths, the Saepta Julia and major water infrastructure.
What his Pantheon looked like is genuinely uncertain. It is known only through limited archaeological remains and later descriptions, and reconstructions differ: older interpretations proposed a south-facing rectangular temple, while later scholarship has argued for a north-facing building and possibly a circular plan related to the current monument. The meaning and application of the name Pantheon are themselves debated, so even "dedicated by Agrippa to all the gods" is a reading rather than a documented dedication.
The fire of 80 AD
In 80 AD a major fire swept parts of central Rome and devastated the Campus Martius. Cassius Dio lists the Pantheon among the monuments lost, alongside the Baths of Agrippa, the Saepta and other nearby structures.
The rebuild under Domitian
Domitian rebuilt the Pantheon in the years after the fire. Very little is known about this phase: no plan survives, and the common assumption that it simply repeated a rectangular, south-facing predecessor rests on the same disputed reconstruction of Agrippa's building rather than on direct evidence for Domitian's.
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The later writer Orosius records that the Pantheon was struck by lightning and burned during Trajan's reign, conventionally dated around 110 AD. Both the destruction dates and the intervals between them are approximate: within roughly three decades the site had burned twice.
The building you see today
The surviving Pantheon is a complete rethinking of the site: a circular rotunda carrying a vast concrete dome, fronted by a columned portico. Its construction spans the end of Trajan's reign and the reign of Hadrian, who became emperor in 117 AD. Because work appears to have begun before 117, describing the project as purely Hadrianic is a simplification — Trajanic–Hadrianic is the safer label.
Brick stamps, which carry consular dating, are the main evidence for the chronology and are why the building is no longer attributed to Agrippa himself. They do not settle the question cleanly: Trajanic-era material has played a significant role in the dating debate, and specialists continue to argue about how much of the design and construction belongs to each reign. See who built the Pantheon.
The Agrippa inscription was reinstated on the new façade. Why is not recorded, and the popular explanation that it demonstrates imperial humility is a modern guess rather than an ancient statement of motive.
What survives of the earlier phases
Almost nothing visible. Excavations below and around the present building have recorded, among other things:
- Earlier foundation structures whose relationship and orientation relative to the present building remain debated.
- Pavement and decorative marble fragments predating the current floor.
- Older brick and building material reused in later fabric — which shows reuse, not necessarily that the material came from an earlier Pantheon.
Interpretations of these remains vary between excavation reports, and none of them are accessible to visitors. The most conspicuous survival from Agrippa's day is the inscription itself — recut for a building he never saw.
For the long view, read the history of the Pantheon from ancient Rome to today, and what the Pantheon was actually used for.
Sources and further reading
- Encyclopaedia Britannica — Pantheon, Rome: structure, dating and history
- UNESCO World Heritage List — Historic Centre of Rome
- Direzione Musei nazionali della città di Roma (Ministry of Culture) — official Pantheon page: hours, tickets and access
- Turismo Roma — official city tourism information
Facts on this page last checked: August 2026. Prices, opening hours and transport routes in Rome change — always confirm with the official source before your visit.
Continue reading about the Pantheon
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Pantheon today the original building?
No. Agrippa built the first Pantheon in the late first century BC; it burned in 80 AD. A rebuild under Domitian was destroyed by fire around 110 AD. The rotunda you visit belongs to the Trajanic–Hadrianic period of the early second century AD.
What did the original Pantheon look like?
Reconstructions differ. Older interpretations proposed a south-facing rectangular temple, while later scholarship has argued for a north-facing building and possibly a circular element related to the current monument. It is known only from limited remains and later descriptions.
Why does the Pantheon say Agrippa built it?
The inscription reproduces the dedication of the first Pantheon. Why it was retained on the later building is not recorded; explanations such as imperial humility or political continuity are modern interpretations, not ancient statements.
Has any of the earlier Pantheon survived?
Excavations below and around the present building have recorded earlier foundations, pavement fragments and reused material. None of it is on display to visitors, and interpretation of individual finds is debated.
Why did the earlier Pantheons burn?
Both were lost in fires that affected large parts of the Campus Martius, one of them reported as caused by lightning. Roman monumental buildings with timber roof structures were highly vulnerable to fire.