Free Trial Issue Subscribe Back Issue Athena Review, Vol. 4, No. 2 Architecture and Sculpture at the Abbey Church of Saint-Denis Introduction: Rebuilt and enlarged approximately four times from the 7th through 13th centuries, the Abbey Church of Saint-Denis realized its unique status as pioneer in Gothic architecture under the innovative guidance ofAbbot Suger (1122-1151).
The Pantheon is the Roman monument with the greatest number of records: the best preserved, with the biggest brick dome in the history of architecture and is considered the forerunner of all modern places of worship. It is the most copied and imitated of all ancient works.
The Basilica of Saint Denis ( Basilique Saint-Denis) is an important Catholic basilica located in Saint Denis, a northern suburb of Paris. Saint-Denis is notable for its Gothic architecture and for being the burial site of French monarchs, which makes it comparable to Westminster Abbey in England.
Ziggurat of Ur, c. 2100 B.C.E. mud brick and baked brick, Tell el-Mukayyar, Iraq (largely reconstructed) The Great Ziggurat The ziggurat is the most distinctive architectural invention of the Ancient Near East. Like an ancient Egyptian pyramid, an ancient Near Eastern ziggurat has four sides and rises up to the realm of the gods.