Rome was not built in a day, and neither was Constantinople. To fulfill Justinian's dream for Hagia Sophia, the architects exhausted themselves. Not only did they have to complete an enormous dome, but they also had to ensure adequate lighting so everyone could see the emperor at prayer.
Sophia meant wisdom in Greek. When the hymns began, the entire church became a vast resonating chamber. It could produce awe-inspiring acoustics, but it could also cause other problems.
The Fat Lady sang a high note and pretended to shatter a glass. In 558, Hagia Sophia's dome collapsed because the weight of the mortar and the materials it bound was uneven, as if rebuking the architects for their baseless confidence and their attempt to overcome their lack of knowledge about building materials with the geometry they had mastered.
The designers were severely punished for it. The dome was rebuilt in 563 and has stood ever since. According to a traveler's account from the time, sunlight streaming through the crescent windows and side windows reached into the church's nave during the day. At night, the many chains hanging from the dome formed a metal ring, and the silver disks suspended from it reflected the light of thousands of lamps and candlesticks. Amid the knotted chains, one could see little silver boats carrying flickering flames, untouched by waves yet merrily drifting back and forth through the moving air.
By the time Constantine the Great ascended the throne, the collapse of the Western Roman Empire was already inevitable. So Constantine built a Senate in Rome's new capital. It was almost the twin of the Western Roman Senate. On top of it stood a bronze statue of Apollo. Later, during the Fourth Crusade, the French brought the statue back to Paris. The original had since been