Domes of the World

Pagan Domes

• The Parthenon of Rome was built between 118 and 128 A.D. and has a saucer dome. The outer dome is made up of a series of concentric, steplike rings. At the top of the dome is an oculus, which is an opening that lets in natural light. Inside, the dome is decorated with coffers, or recessed squares, that go up in rows to the oculus.

European Domes

• St. Paul’s Cathedral in London has a famous dome. Its architect was Sir Christopher Wren and the church -- the latest church to be built on an old site -- was begun around 1677. The top of the main dome is ringed with small windows, and is topped by a lantern, a small structure with openings for light sometimes placed at the top of a dome. Another small dome was built on top of this lantern. Finally, an orb and a cross were built on the small dome. St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow, built between 1555 and 1561, has a grouping of onion domes covered with vividly colored ceramic tiles.

Islamic Domes

• The dome of the Masjid-i-Shah mosque in Isfahan, Iran, was built during the Safavid dynasty between 1612 and 1638 and faced with astonishingly beautiful, mostly blue tiles. It's built on an octagonal base. The onion dome of the the Taj Mahal, a mausoleum located in Agra, India, is a splendid example of Late Mogul architecture. The famous dome is made of pristine white marble. The complex was built between 1630 and1653. The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem was built from 684 A.D. and is a hemispherical dome covered with gold. The base is octagonal.

United States Domes

• The Capitol Building's dome in Washington, D.C., was designed by Thomas U. Walter and built between 1855 and 1866. It’s made out of cast iron and is a series of stepped circles topped by a lantern and the Statue of Freedom. The capitol dome was inspired in part by the dome of St. Paul’s cathedral in London. Domed dwellings were used by the Winnebago, Wichita and other native peoples. They were made from bark skin, animal hides or thatch that covered light poles fastened together with leather cords. Other domed Native American dwellings used earth as a covering for the walls and the dome.

Buddhist Domes

• The Stupa at Sanchi, India, was built in the Buddhist style, an architectural style that flourished in South Asia from the third century B.C. to the 12th century A.D. This stupa, commissioned in the third century B.C. by the Buddhist emperor Asoka, is a hemispherical dome built out of brick. The Stupa at Sanchi shelters relics of several disciples of the Buddha.