554 



THE STANDARD DICTIONARY OF FACTS 



canal, and eight years for the construction of 

 the dam and locks at Gatun. 



Pantheon, The (pan'-the-on^, Rome, mid- 

 way between the Corso and Pia/./.a Navona. 

 The Pantheon was erected by Agrippa, son-in- 

 law of Augustus, B. C. 27. There has been much 

 discussion as to the original purpose of the build- 

 ing, but the name Pantheon was in use as early 

 as A. D. 59. In 399 it was closed as a temple 

 by decree of Honorius, and in 608 it was conse- 

 crated as a Christian Church, to which latter 

 fact its preservation is doubtless due. The 

 Pantheon is the only building of Ancient Rome 

 not now in ruins; excavations and removals 

 are in progress to ascertain, if possible, its con- 

 nection with the other ancient structures. 



In 645, Emperor Constans II. carried away 

 the gilt bronze tiling of its roof ; and Urban VIII. 

 plundered it of 450,000 pounds of bronze for the 

 baldacchino of St. Peter's, and for cannons for 

 St. Angelo; adding, by way of compensation, 

 the two impertinent campaniles, appreciatively 

 called " asses' ears " ; and finally, Benedict XIV. 

 pillaged it of the marbles lining the attic. Not- 

 withstanding all of which it is to-day one of the 

 most pleasing structures of Rome. Within the 

 wall, directly opposite the entrance, is the tomb 

 of Victor Emmanuel. Around the sides are seven 

 recesses, which formerly contained statues of 

 the gods, Jupiter being in the center; between 

 these- are eight aedicule, in which are modern 

 altars. Among the artists entombed in the 

 Pantheon are Raphael, An. Carracci, Taddeo 

 Zuccaro, and Peruzzi. Raphael's tomb is be- 

 hind the third chapel to the left. On either side 

 of Raphael are buried Carracci and Zuccaro. 



Papal States, the name given to that 

 portion of Central Italy of which the pope was 

 sovereign by virtue of his position. The ter- 

 ritory extended irregularly from the Adriatic 

 to trie Mediterranean, and latterly comprised 

 an area of 15,289 square miles, with 3,126,000 

 inhabitants. Rome was the capital. The 

 foundation of the Papal States was laid in 754, 

 wnen Pepin le Bref presented the exarchate of 

 Ravenna to Stephen II., bishop of Rome. Be- 

 nevento was added in 1053, and in 1102 Matilda 

 of Tuscany left Parma, Modena, and Tuscany 

 to the pope. In 1201 the Papal States were 

 formally constituted an independent monarchy. 

 Subsequently various territories were added to 

 or subtracted from the pope's possessions, which 

 were incorporated with France by Napoleon in 

 1809, but restored to the pope in 1814. A revo- 

 lution broke out in Rome in 1848, and the pope 

 fled to Gaeta, but he was reinstated by French 

 troops, and Rome was garrisoned, by French 

 soldiers until 1870. In the meantime one state 

 after another threw off its allegiance to the pope 

 and joined the kingdom of Italy, and when the 

 French left Rome in August, 1870, King Victor 

 Emmanuel took possession of the city, declared 

 it the capital of Italy, and thus abolished the 

 temporal power of the pope. 



Parthenon, a celebrated temple of 

 Athena (Minerva) at Athens, erected under 

 the superintendence of Phidias, during the ad- 

 ministration of Pericles, about 440 B. C. The 

 Parthenon was 227 feet long by 101 feet broad, 

 and sixty-five feet high ; and it was built entirely 



of Pentelic marble, in the purest style of Doric 

 architecture. In 1687, during a siege of Athens 

 ly the Venetians, a bomb exploded in the very 

 center of the building, and threw down much 

 of both the side walls. ' The ruins are still, how- 

 ever, in sufficient preservation to give a good 

 j idea of the ancient structure. A large number 

 I of fragments of the Parthenon were taken to 

 England by Lord Elgin in 1812, and are pre- 

 served in the British Museum. A model of the 

 Parthenon, still unfinished, stands on the Calton 

 Hill, in the city of Edinburgh. It was founded 

 in 1822 as a national monument, intended to 

 commemorate the Scotchmen who had fallen 

 in the wars consequent on the French Revolu- 

 tion; but after 13,000 had been expended, 

 the design was not prosecuted further. 



Paris, the capital of France and of the de- 

 partment of the Seine. The city lies in the Seine 

 valley, surrounded by heights, those on the 

 north being Charonne La Villette, the Buttes- 

 Chaumont, and Montmartre, those on the south, 

 St. Genevieve, Montrouge, and the Butte-aux- 

 Cailles. Through the valleys between these 

 heights the river runs from east to west, inclos- 

 ing two islands, upon which part of the city is 

 built. It is navigable by small steamers. The 

 quays or embankments, which extend alony; the 

 Seine on both sides, being built of solid masonry, 

 protect the city from inundation, and form ex- 

 cellent promenades. The river, which within 

 the city is fully 530 feet in width, is crossed by 

 numerous bridges, the more important being 

 Pont Neuf, Pont des Arts, Pont du Carrousel, 

 Pont Royal, Pont de 1'Alma, etc. The city is 

 surrounded by a line of fortifications, which 

 measures twenty-two miles; outside of this is 

 the enceinte, while beyond that again are the 

 detached forts. These now form two main lines 

 of 'defense. The inner line consists of sixteen 

 forts, the outer line of eighteen forts, besides 

 redoubts. In the older parts of the city the 

 streets are narrow and irregular, but in the 

 newer districts the avenues are straight, wide, 

 and well-paved. What are known as " the boule- 

 vards" include the interior, exterior, and mili- 

 tary. That which is specifically called "The 

 Boulevard" extends, in an irregular arc on the 

 north side of the Seine, from the Place de la 

 Bastille in the east to the Place de la Madeleine 

 in the west. It includes the Boulevards du 

 Temple, St. Martin, St. Denis, des Italiens, 

 Capuchins, Madeleine, etc., and its length of 

 nearly three miles forms the most stirring part 

 of the city. Here may be noted also the mag- 

 nificent triumphal arches of Porte St. Denis and 

 Porte St. Martin, the former of which is seventy- 

 two feet in height. On the south side of the 

 Seine the boulevards are neither so numerous 

 nor so extensive. Among the many public 

 squares or places, is the Place de la Concorde, 

 one of the largest and most elegant squares in 

 Europe, surrounded by fine buildings, and 

 adorned by an Egyptian obelisk, fountains, and 

 statues. But the most extensive parks are out- 

 I side the city. Of these the Bois de Boulogne, 

 I on the west, covers an area of 2,150 acres, gives 

 an extensive view toward St. Cloud and Mount 

 Valerien, comprises the race courses of Long- 

 champs and Auteuil, and in it are situated lakes, 



