pantheon
noun
John Gray Don Lattin Note: Generic use of this sense is rare. The capitalized form Pantheon is the common name of a domed temple in Rome that was begun in 27 b.c. by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and completely rebuilt by the emperor Hadrian circa 118-128 a.d. It was dedicated in 609 a.d. as the Church of Santa Maria Rotonda, or Santa Maria ad Martyres.
Stephanie Green Elizabeth Drew Alan Shipnuck Mitch FrankNote: Generic use of this sense is rare. The capitalized form Pantheon is used as or in the English-language names of various buildings around the world that are memorials to or resting places for the dead, perhaps most famously the Pantheon (French: Panthéon) of Paris, which was begun circa 1757 by the architect Jacques-Germain Soufflot as the Church of Sainte-Geneviève.
Did you know?
Some of the earliest uses of this word in the English language refer to that most famous Pantheon, the circular domed temple built in Rome more than 19 centuries ago (and still standing). We can easily identify the origins of the temple's name, which the Romans borrowed from the Greek word for a temple honoring all their gods. That Greek word, pantheion, combines pan- ("all") and theos ("god"). Later on, in English, "all the gods" was used to mean just that—a pantheon could be a collective of gods (as "the Egyptian pantheon"). We stop short of worshiping outstanding men and women as actual gods, of course, but nevertheless, in the 19th century we also began using pantheon as a word for any eminent company of the highly venerated.
Example Sentences
Keith Pandolfi, The Enquirer, 2 Sep. 2022 As bullets fly across each progressively more ridiculous sequel, Liam Neeson kicks down the door to the pantheon of cultural Super Dads and asserts himself as its king. Andrew Aoyama, The Atlantic, 5 Aug. 2022 Most people read Leopold as belonging to the pantheon of American environmental writers, with the likes of Henry David Thoreau, Rachel Carson and John Muir. New York Times, 2 Feb. 2022 My growing affectation for him aside, Ethan Winters isn’t likely to enter the pantheon of great video game characters. Washington Post, 14 May 2021 Before Winslow Homer joined the pantheon of great American painters, he was embedded on the front lines of the Civil War, working as an artist-correspondent for Harper’s. Andrea K. Scott, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2022 And while KitchenAid, No. 3, has always done well, this year marks the first time that Costco (No. 6) joined the top ten as the only other retailer to join that pantheon, other than Amazon. Scott Davis, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2021 In the midst of his marathon-a-day goal, Shattuck’s got another benchmark in mind: breaking the current Guinness World Record for the greatest average mileage run daily in a consecutive year, a feat that would fit neatly into that pantheon. Stephanie Pearson, Outside Online, 29 Apr. 2020 If that doesn’t serve as a testament to Williams’s deserved place in the pantheon of all-time greatest athletes, what could? Liam Hess, Vogue, 9 Aug. 2022 See More Word History
Middle English Panteon, a temple at Rome, from Latin Pantheon, from Greek pantheion temple of all the gods, from neuter of pantheios of all gods, from pan- + theos god
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1b