Pantheon

M. AGRIPPA L. F. COS. TERTIUM. FECIT

M(arcus) Agrippa, son (F) of Lucius (L), Consul (COS) for the third time (Tertium), built this

However, taken at face value, the inscription is misleading. Agrippa did indeed build the first Pantheon (“Temple to all the gods”) in Rome, in the year we now call 25 BC. His temple was destroyed by fire in 80 AD, but was rebuilt by the emperor Domitian. This second pantheon burned in 110 AD. The emperor Hadrian rebuilt the temple during the period from 118 to 128 AD. Hadrian, a quite modest man (at least by Roman standards), never had his name inscribed on any of his buildings. In the case of the Pantheon, he honored Agrippa, the building of the first pantheon, by repeating the inscription that appeared on the original temple.