Halicarnassus Mausoleum
The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, located in present-day Bodrum, Turkey, was an extravagant tomb built for Mausolus, the satrap of Caria, by his wife Artemisia. Constructed around 353 B.C.E., it was celebrated as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World due to its monumental size and intricate design. The mausoleum was designed by renowned Greek architects and sculptors, including Pythius and Satyrus, who collaborated to create a structure that stood approximately 140 feet (43 meters) high. Its design featured a high podium adorned with thirty-six Ionic columns, leading to a pyramid-like roof with a chariot group at the summit. Over the centuries, the mausoleum was subjected to significant damage, particularly in the fifteenth century when the Knights of Rhodes repurposed its stones for a nearby castle. Although the original structure no longer exists, archaeological excavations have provided valuable insights into its overall form and artistic decorations, including reliefs depicting battles. The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus remains a significant cultural and historical landmark, reflecting the architectural achievements of the ancient world.
Halicarnassus Mausoleum
Related civilization: Classical Greece.
Date: c. 367-351 b.c.e.
Locale: Halicarnassus in the region of Caria, Asia Minor
Halicarnassus Mausoleum
The mausoleum at Halicarnassus was a monumental tomb commissioned by and for Mausolus, satrap of Caria, from whom it derives its name. When Mausolus began building the new Carian capital, his monumental tomb was to be the central attraction. The mausoleum, commissioned by his wife Artemisia, was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The tomb was completed about two years after his death in 353 b.c.e. The Greek sculptors Scopas, Bryaxis, Leochares, Timotheus, and perhaps Praxiteles worked with Pythius, the state architect, and Satyrus, a local sculptor-architect, in the design and creation of the tomb. Pythius and Satyrus wrote a book about the mausoleum but it does not survive.
The structure lasted until the fifteenth century c.e. when the Knights of Rhodes quarried the building for stone used in the castle-fort at modern Bodrum. Modern excavations at the site have supplemented ancient accounts that describe the tomb so that its general form can be reconstructed. The tomb, which stood at least 140 feet (43 meters) high, was composed of a high podium on which a colonnade of thirty-six Ionic columns stood. Above the colonnade, the structure bore a pyramid of at least twenty-four steps, crowned with a chariot group.
Both freestanding sculpture and carved reliefs decorated the building. Carved relief blocks from the building that depict an Amazonomachy are displayed in the British Museum.
Bibliography
Clayton, Peter A., and Martin Price, eds. The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. New York: Routledge, 1998.
Jeppesen, K. The Maussolleion at Halikarnassos. Aarhus, Denmark: Aarhus University Press, 1986.
Waywell, G. B. The Freestanding Sculpture of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1979.