Oculus

Have you read any books about ancient mystical

architecture and the major role played by an oculus

in many traditional rituals? Wonder what an oculus

is? Well then! Here is a tiny bit of info about an

oculus and some picture.......

Oculus (plural oculi) is the Latin word for eye, and

the word remains in use in certain contexts, as the

name of the round opening in the top of the dome of

the Pantheonin Rome, 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 architecture 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 mezzanine on a building's façade without

competing for attention with the major fenestration. Circular windows set in dormers have been

a feature of French Classical architecture since the beginning of the seventeenth century. For

structural reasons, they are also found as the portholes of ships. In archaeology, 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 megaliths. The

oculus motif may represent the watchful gaze of a god or goddess and was especially

common during the Neolithic period.