Santa Maria Maggiore: early Christian and Byzantine

For early christian and byzantine research I looked up Santa Maria Maggiore. It is in Rome and was created in 5th century A.D., while the Pope Sixtus III was still alive. It said the mosaics date back also to the 5th centuy and some mosaics were created later on as well. The Santa Maria Maggiore was restored during the 18th century. The video from the art history link described Santa Maria Maggiore as a symbol of authority and there would be a judge or the emperor inside the building. There was an alter for the goddess of knowlege. There were mosaics of the Madonna which were the oldest in the building. The mosaics tell the stories from the old testament and new. Some were framed with ornate golden frames. There also is a very high alter that has a Byzantine picture of Jesus and Mary behind it. Jesus is crowning Mary and I thought that was very powerful. They said the pope was to give mass besides it. In the video they described the piece by pointing out some art elements, like the folds in the seated figures garments had deep lines, which gave depth. Also, because the way the two were seated there appeared to give off the illusion of weight.

http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/santa-maria-maggiore.html?q=santa-maria-maggiore.html
http://05varvara.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/01-jacopo-torriti-the-coronation-of-mary-st-maria-maggiore-roma-italy-1294-mosaic.jpg?w=1200&h=840