Ancient Greece portrays a religion that was enriched in various legends. These legends created the fundamental laws and keys to the structural building of numerous Ancient Greek structures. Among them included the Pantheon, a place of worship dedicated to their gods. By using art as a means of decoration the fine art in the Pantheon reveals three major categories which included the Protogenoi, constellations, and beasts (Pomoni, Atsma 1) .
The “Fabric of the universe” is derived from the Protogenoi, the first born gods. These immortal deities include Gaia, Pontos, and Quranos. According to the Greeks, Gaia represents the planet Earth that was believed to have been formed out of chaos. Pontos is physically the sea and Quranos is the arena of heaven. These three deities are represented as the foundational gods who created the universal elements, such as earth, sky, night, and day. The Pantheon’s exquisite art work advocates not only the Protogenoi but also the constellations (Atsma 1, Protogenoi)
The constellations created a sky full of beautiful stars. The Greeks believed that these constellations were immortal gods who fill the night with beauty. The twelve signs of the Zodiac symbolized the power and awestricken splendor that the gods possessed. For example, the Gemini twins, the constellations Caster and Pollux, were placed in the sky by Zeus after being separated by death. The Greeks used this natural beauty as garnish to the Pantheon. Within the Pantheon stood walls filled with legends of monsters.(Atsma 1, Russell)
The Greeks fascinations for exciting stories led to an imagination that wrote the myths of beasts, monsters, and giants. These creatures were deities that exploded in creativity. Among the monsters included a sphinx, the head of a woman, body of a lion, and wings of an eagle. She was sent to Thebes by the gods. She devoured anyone that could not answer her riddle. Finally, a man named Oidipous solved the riddle and became king over Thebes. The monsters, beasts, and giants held the interest of so many Greek artists that numerous myths were sculpted or placed on the walls of the pantheon (Atsma 1, Atsma 2) The Pantheon’s beauty was decorated with art that retold the myths of Protogenoi, constellations, and Greek beasts. Within these myths came an exquisite building that to this day has been admired for its beauty and its revealing of Greek mythology, the Pantheon (Pomoni).
