This huge Neoclassical monument (360’ by 280’ and 270’ high), completed in the late 1700s, rises on a hill above the Latin Quarter, which owes its name to the language spoken at the university centuries ago. King Clovis founded a basilica on this site in 507 after he converted to Christianity. It was designed to accommodate his tomb and that of his wife, Clotilde. Paris’ patron saint, Genevieve, who protected Paris from Attila the Hun, was also buried in the basilica in 512. 
In 1744, following a serious illness whose cure he attributed to the saint, King Louis XV made a vow to dedicate a prestigious building to Genevieve. He entrusted the architect Jacques-Germain Soufflot in 1755 to replace her ruined church with a more fitting tribute. By the time the building was completed, however, it was Revolution time—“off with their heads”—so it was adapted to a new role as the mausoleum honoring the nation’s great men (and women). Twice in the 19th century, the huge sanctuary was restored to its Christian intent but on the occasion of Victor Hugo’s death in 1885 and in the midst of the considerable emotion aroused by his death, only the gigantic basilica seemed worthy of receiving his body. Therefore, again, it became a 
civic temple in which many illustrious French figures have been honored: politicians, writers, scientists, members of the Resistance, etc. Names on plaques and tombs that I recognized include Emile Zola, Voltaire, Rousseau, Hugo, Descartes, Dumas, Louis Braille, Marie and Pierre Curie. And the crypt, which is as big as the basilica above, has lots of room for many more “illustrious French figures”—and hopefully some more women! 
The front of Paris’ Pantheon reminds me of the Pantheon of Agrippa in Rome—the same huge pillars and the sculpted decorations with an inscription (which reads, “To the great men the Nation is grateful”) topping those columns. The design is that of a Greek cross with multiple domes and the crypt for the tombs. When the Revolutionaries covered up all the windows, they displayed very colorful “backed pictures” (huge painted murals or frescoes backed with canvas and stuck directly onto the stone walls) which depict the life of Saint Genevieve, plus the story of Christianity and the monarchic origins in France. And oh, the statues. There are many, many huge impressive statues honoring all the struggles of the French people.
Additionally, what I was most interested in was Leon Foucault’s pendulum swinging from a 220-foot cable under the towering dome. It was here in 1851 that the scientist hung his most famous pendulum which demonstrated in an easy-to-see experiment the rotation of the earth. Science is not my strong suit but a recording discreetly placed behind a pillar explained, while I watched the pendulum swing slowly back and forth, that it moves 272 degrees a day while the Pantheon (and the earth) circles around it. I hope I understood that correctly… 
Because of its massive size, good photos were hard to capture. Beyond the column in the second photo above, you can see the Eiffel Tower rising above the landscape. One of these pictures is of an old photo taken at the funeral of Victor Hugo when supposedly more than two million people joined his procession from the Arc de Triomphe. And, by the way, Genevieve’s relics are now in the church of Saint-Etienne-du-Mont, which sits right next to the Pantheon. Hopefully, I’ll visit her before I leave.
