Oculus (plural
oculi) is the Latin word for
eyeEyes are organs that detect light, and send electrical impulses along the optic nerve to the visual and other areas of the brain. Complex optical systems with resolving power have come in ten fundamentally different forms, and 96% of animal species possess a complex optical system...
, and the word remains in use in certain contexts, as the name of the round opening in the top of the
domeA dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
of the
PantheonThe Pantheon is a building in...
in
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality , with over 2.7 million residents in , while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million...
, and in reference to other round windows and openings.
The Oculus in the Pantheon has always been open to the weather, allowing rain to enter and fall to the floor, where it is carried away through drains.
Oculus (plural
oculi) is the Latin word for
eyeEyes are organs that detect light, and send electrical impulses along the optic nerve to the visual and other areas of the brain. Complex optical systems with resolving power have come in ten fundamentally different forms, and 96% of animal species possess a complex optical system...
, and the word remains in use in certain contexts, as the name of the round opening in the top of the
domeA dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
of the
PantheonThe Pantheon is a building in...
in
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality , with over 2.7 million residents in , while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million...
, and in reference to other round windows and openings.
The Oculus in the Pantheon has always been open to the weather, allowing rain to enter and fall to the floor, where it is carried away through drains. In the picture, right, sunlight streams through the opening and strikes the lower part of the dome. The bright opening and the surrounding smooth concrete above the coffering resembles an eye, giving the opening its name.
Circular windows, a feature of
Classical architectureClassical architecture is the architecture of classical antiquity; chiefly the impressive public buildings, which have survived to be studied in the modern age...
since the sixteenth century are often denoted by their French name,
oeil de boeuf, or "bull's-eye". Such circular or oval windows express the presence of a
mezzanineIn architecture, a mezzanine or entresol is an intermediate floor between main floors of a building, and therefore typically not counted among the overall floors of a building. Often, a mezzanine is low-ceilinged and projects in the form of a balcony...
on a building's
façadeA facade or façade is generally one side of the exterior of a building, especially the front, but also sometimes the sides and rear. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
without competing for attention with the major
fenestrationThe word fenestration finds its root in the Latin word for window, fenestra.Architecture* Products that fill openings in a building envelope, such as windows, doors, skylights, curtain walls, etc., designed to permit the passage of air, light, vehicles, or people...
. Circular windows set in
dormerA dormer is a structural element of a building that protrudes from the plane of a sloping roof surface. Dormers are used, either in original construction or as later additions, to create usable space in the roof of a building by adding headroom and usually also by enabling addition of windows.Often...
s have been a feature of French Classical architecture since the beginning of the seventeenth century.
For structural reasons, they are also found as the
portholeA porthole is a small, generally circular, window used on the hull of ships to admit light and air. Porthole is actually an abbreviated term for "port hole window"...
s of ships.
In
archaeologyArchaeology or archeology is the science that studies human cultures through the recovery, documentation, analysis, and interpretation of material culture and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, and landscapes...
,
oculus is the name given to a motif found in western European prehistoric art. It consists of a pair of circular or spiral marks, often interpreted as eyes, and appears on pottery, statues and
megalithA megalith is a large stone which has been used to construct a structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. Megalithic describes structures made of such large stones, utilizing an interlocking system without the use of mortar or cement.The word 'megalith' comes from the...
s. The oculus motif may represent the watchful gaze of a god or goddess and was especially common during the
NeolithicThe Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BCE in the Middle East that is traditionally considered the last part of the Stone Age...
period.