Mausoleum at

Halicarnassus

The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus or Tomb of Mausolus[a] (Ancient Greek: Μαυσωλεῖον τῆς

Ἁλικαρνασσοῦ; Turkish: Halikarnas Mozolesi) was a tomb built between 353 and 350 BC in
Halicarnassus (present Bodrum, Turkey) for Mausolus, an Anatolian from Caria and a satrap in
the Achaemenid Empire, and his sister-wife Artemisia II of Caria. The structure was designed by
the Greek architects Satyros and Pythius of Priene.[1][2] Its elevated tomb structure is derived
from the tombs of neighbouring Lycia, a territory Mausolus had invaded and annexed c. 360 BC,
such as the Nereid Monument.[3]
 Mausoleum of Halicarnassus

Model of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, at

the Bodrum Museum of Underwater
Archaeology.

Location within
Turkey
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 General information

Status In ruins

Type Mausoleum

Architectural style Classical

Town or city Halicarnassus,

Achaemenid Empire
(modern-day Bodrum,
Turkey)

Country Achaemenid Empire;

modern day Turkey;

Coordinates 37°02′16″N
27°25′27″E (https://ge
ohack.toolforge.org/g
eohack.php?pagenam
e=Mausoleum_at_Hali
carnassus&params=3
 7.0379_N_27.4241_E_
region:TR-48_type:lan
dmark)
Opened 351 BC

Demolished 1494 AD

Client Mausolus and

Artemisia II of Caria

Owner Artaxerxes III

Height Approximately 42 m
(138 ft)

Design and construction

Architect(s) Satyros and Pythius

of Priene

Other designers Leochares, Bryaxis,

Scopas and
 Ti h
The Mausoleum was approximately 45 m (148 ft) in height, and the four sides were adorned with
sculptural reliefs, each created by one of four Greek sculptors: Leochares, Bryaxis, Scopas of
Paros, and Timotheus.[4] The Mausoleum contained total 400 freestanding sculptures.[5] The
mausoleum was considered to be such an aesthetic triumph that Antipater of Sidon identified it
as one of his Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It was destroyed by successive earthquakes
from the 12th to the 15th century;[6][7][8] it was the last surviving of the six destroyed wonders.

The word mausoleum has now come to be used generically for an above-ground tomb.

Conquest
In the 4th century BC, Halicarnassus was the capital of the small regional kingdom of Caria,
within the Achaemenid Empire on the western coast of Asia Minor.

In 377 BC, the nominal ruler of the region, Hecatomnus of Milas, died and left control of the
kingdom to his son, Mausolus. Hecatomnus, a local dynast under the Persians, took control of
several of the neighboring cities and districts. After Artemisia and Mausolus, he had several
other daughters and sons: Ada (adoptive mother of Alexander the Great), Idrieus, and Pixodarus.
Mausolus extended his territory as far as the southwest coast of Anatolia, invading, in particular,
the territory of Lycia, remarkable for its numerous monumental tombs such as the Tombs at
Xanthos, from which he took his inspiration for his mausoleum.[3]

Artemisia and Mausolus ruled from Halicarnassus over the surrounding territory for 24 years.
Mausolus, although descended from local people, spoke Greek and admired the Greek way of
life and government. He founded many cities of Greek design along the coast and encouraged
Greek democratic traditions.
 Mausolus (casting from the Pushkin
Museum).

Mausolus decided to build a new capital, one as safe from capture as it was magnificent to be
seen. He chose the city of Halicarnassus. Artemisia and Mausolus spent huge amounts of tax
money to embellish the city. They commissioned statues, temples and buildings of gleaming
marble. In 353 BC, Mausolus died, leaving Artemisia to rule alone. As the Persian satrap, and as
the Hecatomnid dynast, Mausolus had planned for himself an elaborate tomb. When he died the
project was continued by his siblings. The tomb became so famous that Mausolus's name is
now the eponym for all stately tombs, in the word mausoleum.

Artemisia lived for only two years after the death of her husband. The urns with their ashes were
placed in the yet unfinished tomb. As a form of sacrifice, the bodies of a large number of dead
animals were placed on the stairs leading to the tomb, and then the stairs were filled with stones
and rubble, sealing the access. According to the historian Pliny the Elder, the craftsmen decided
to stay and finish the work after the death of their patron "considering that it was at once a
memorial of his own fame and of the sculptor's art''.

Construction of the
Mausoleum
 Reconstitutions of the Mausoleum at
Halicarnassus.

It is likely that Mausolus started to plan the tomb before his death, as part of the building works
in Halicarnassus, so that when he died, Artemisia continued the building project. Artemisia
spared no expense in building the tomb. She sent messengers to Greece to find the most
talented artists of the time. These included Scopas, the man who had supervised the rebuilding
of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus. The famous sculptors were (in the Vitruvius order):
Leochares, Bryaxis, Scopas, and Timotheus, as well as hundreds of other craftsmen.

The tomb was erected on a hill overlooking the city. The whole structure sat in an enclosed
courtyard. At the center of the courtyard was a stone platform on which the tomb sat. A stairway
flanked by stone lions led to the top of the platform, which bore along its outer walls many
statues of gods and goddesses. At each corner, stone warriors mounted on horseback guarded
the tomb. At the center of the platform, the marble tomb rose as a square tapering block to one-
third of the Mausoleum's 45 m (148 ft) height. This section was covered with bas-reliefs
showing action scenes, including the battle of the centaurs with the lapiths and Greeks in
combat during the Amazonomachy.

On the top of this section of the tomb thirty-six slim columns, ten per side, with each corner
sharing one column between two sides; rose for another third of the height. Standing between
each pair of columns was a statue. Behind the columns was a solid cella-like block that carried
the weight of the tomb's massive roof. The roof, which comprised most of the final third of the
height, was pyramidal. Perched on the top was a quadriga: four massive horses pulling a chariot
in which rode images of Mausolus and Artemisia.
History

Colossal statues of a man and a

woman from the Mausoleum at
Halicarnassus, traditionally identified
as Mausolos and Artemisia II, around
350 BC, British Museum.

Modern historians have pointed out that two years would not be enough time to decorate and
build such a complex and extravagant building. Therefore, it is believed that construction was
begun by Mausolus before his death or continued by the next leaders.[9] The Mausoleum of
Halicarnassus resembled a temple and the only way to tell the difference was its slightly higher
outer walls. The Mausoleum was in the Greek-dominated area of Halicarnassus, which in 353
was controlled by the Achaemenid Empire. According to the Roman architect Vitruvius, it was
built by Satyros and Pytheus who wrote a treatise about it; this treatise is now lost.[9] Pausanias
adds that the Romans considered the Mausoleum one of the greatest wonders of the world and
it was for that reason that they called all their magnificent tombs mausolea, after it.[10]

It is unknown exactly when and how the Mausoleum came to ruin: Eustathius, writing in the 12th
century on his commentary of the Iliad, says "it was and is a wonder". Because of this,
Fergusson concluded that the building was ruined, probably by an earthquake, between this
period and 1402, when the Knights of St John of Jerusalem arrived and recorded that it was in
ruins.[10] However, Luttrell notes[11] that at that time, the local Greeks and Turks had no name for
– or legends to account for – the colossal ruins, suggesting a destruction at a much earlier
period.
Many of the stones from the ruins were used by the knights to fortify their castle at Bodrum; they
also recovered bas-reliefs with which they decorated the new building. Much of the marble was
burned into lime. In 1846, Lord Stratford de Redcliffe obtained permission to remove these
reliefs from the castle.[12]

At the original site, all that remained by the 19th century were the foundations and some broken
sculptures. This site was originally indicated by Professor Donaldson and was discovered
definitively by Charles Newton, after which an expedition was sent by the British government.
The expedition lasted three years and ended in the sending of the remaining marbles.[13] At
some point before or after this, grave robbers broke into and destroyed the underground burial
chamber, but in 1972, there was still enough of it remaining to determine a layout of the
chambers when they were excavated.[9]

This monument was ranked the seventh wonder of the world by the ancients, not because of its
size or strength but because of the beauty of its design and how it was decorated with sculpture
or ornaments.[14] The mausoleum was Halicarnassus' principal architectural monument,
standing in a dominant position on rising ground above the harbor.[9]

Jar of Xerxes I

Jar of Xerxes I Detail of the inscription in Egyptian: "The

from the great king Xerxes".
Mausoleum at
Halicarnassus.
A jar in calcite or alabaster, an alabastron, with the quadrilingual signature of Achaemenid ruler
Xerxes I (ruled 486–465 BC) was discovered in the ruins of the Mausoleum, at the foot of the
western staircase.[15] The vase contains an inscription in Old Persian, Egyptian, Babylonian, and
Elamite:[15][16][17]

𐎧𐏁𐎹𐎠𐎼𐏁𐎠 𐏐 𐏋 𐏐 𐎺𐏀𐎼𐎣
( Xšayāršā : XŠ : vazraka)
"Xerxes : The Great King."

— Old Persian inscription on

the Jar of Xerxes, Mausoleum
at Halicarnassus.[16]
Such jars, of Egyptian origin, were very precious to the Achaemenids, and may therefore have
been offered by Xerxes to Carian rulers, and then kept as a precious object.[17] In particular, the
precious jar may have been offered by Xerxes to the Carian dynast Artemisia I, who had acted
with merit as his only female Admiral during the Second Persian invasion of Greece, and
particularly at the Battle of Salamis.[18][16][15] The jar testifies to the close contacts between
Carian rulers and the Achaemenid Empire.[15][16]

Dimensions and statues

 Timeline and map of the Seven
Wonders of the Ancient World,
including the Mausoleum at
Halicarnassus

Much of the information that has been gathered about the Mausoleum and its structure has
come from the Roman polymath Pliny the Elder. [19] He wrote some basic facts about the
architecture and some dimensions. The building was rectangular, not square, surrounded by a
colonnade of thirty-six columns. There was a pyramidal superstructure receding in twenty-four
steps to the summit. On top there were 4 horse chariots of marble. The building was accented
with both sculptural friezes and free-standing figures. "The free standing figures were arranged
on 5 or 6 different levels."[9]

We are now able to justify that Pliny's knowledge came from a work written by the architect. It is
clear that Pliny did not grasp the design of the mausoleum fully which creates problems in
recreating the structure. He does state many facts which help the reader recreate pieces of the
puzzle. Other writings by Pausanias, Strabo, and Vitruvius also help us to gather more
information about the Mausoleum.[20]

According to Pliny, the mausoleum was 19 metres (63 ft) north and south, shorter on other
fronts, 125 metres (411 ft) perimeter, and 25 cubits (11.4 metres or 37.5 feet) in height. It was
surrounded by 36 columns. They called this part the pteron. Above the pteron there was a
pyramid on top with 24 steps and equal in height to the lower part. The height of the building
was 43 metres (140 ft).[21]

The only other author that gives the dimensions of the Mausoleum is Hyginus, a grammarian in
the time of Augustus. He describes the monument as built with shining stones, 24 metres (80 ft)
high and 410 metres (1,340 ft) in circumference. He likely meant cubits which would match
Pliny's dimensions exactly but this text is largely considered corrupt and is of little
importance.[20] We learn from Vitruvius that Satyros and Phytheus wrote a description of their
work which Pliny likely read. Pliny likely wrote down these dimensions without thinking about the
form of the building.[20]

Many statues were found slightly larger than life-size, either 1.5 metres (5 ft). or 1.60 metres
(5.25 ft). in length; these were 20 lion statues. Another important find was the depth on the rock
on which the building stood. This rock was excavated to 2.4 or 2.7 metres (8 or 9 ft) deep over
an area 33 by 39 metres (107 by 127 ft).[21] The sculptures on the north were created by Scopas,
the ones on the east Bryaxis, on the south Timotheus and on the west Leochares.[20]

The Mausoleum was adorned with many great and beautiful sculptures. Some of these
sculptures have been lost or only fragments have been found. Several of the statues' original
placements are only known through historical accounts. The great figures of Mausolus and
Artemisia stood in the chariot at the top of the pyramid. The detached equestrian groups are
placed at the corners of the sub-podium.[20] The semi-colossal female heads may have belonged
to the acroteria of the two gables which may have represented the six Carian towns incorporated
in Halicarnassus.[22] Work still continues today as groups continue to excavate and research the
mausoleum's art.
A fragmentary horse from a colossal four-
horse chariot group which topped the
podium of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus.

Relief of an Amazonomachy from the

Mausoleum at Halicarnassus.
Later history of the
Mausoleum

Bodrum Castle

The Castle from the south-east

The Mausoleum overlooked the city of Halicarnassus for many years. It was untouched when
the city fell to Alexander the Great in 334 BC and still undamaged after attacks by pirates in 62
and 58 BC. It stood above the city's ruins for sixteen centuries. Then a series of earthquakes
shattered the columns and sent the bronze chariot crashing to the ground. By AD 1404, only the
base of the Mausoleum was still recognizable.

The Knights of St John of Rhodes invaded the region and built Bodrum Castle (Castle of Saint
Peter). When they decided to fortify it in 1494, they used the stones of the Mausoleum. This is
also about when "imaginative reconstructions" of the Mausoleum began to appear.[24] In 1522,
rumours of a Turkish invasion caused the Crusaders to strengthen the castle at Halicarnassus
(which was by then known as Bodrum) and much of the remaining portions of the tomb were
broken up and used in the castle walls. Sections of polished marble from the tomb can still be
seen there today. Suleiman the Magnificent conquered the base of the knights on the island of
Rhodes, who then relocated first briefly to Sicily and later permanently to Malta, leaving the
Castle and Bodrum to the Ottoman Empire.
During the fortification work, a party of knights entered the base of the monument and
discovered the room containing a great coffin. In many histories of the Mausoleum one can find
the following story of what happened: the party, deciding it was too late to open it that day,
returned the next morning to find the tomb, and any treasure it may have contained, plundered.
The bodies of Mausolus and Artemisia were missing too. The small museum building next to the
site of the Mausoleum tells the story. Research done by archeologists in the 1960s shows that
long before the knights came, grave robbers had dug a tunnel under the grave chamber, stealing
its contents. Also, the museum states that it is most likely that Mausolus and Artemisia were
cremated, so only an urn with their ashes was placed in the grave chamber. This explains why no
bodies were found.

Before grinding and burning much of the remaining sculpture of the Mausoleum into lime for
plaster, the Knights removed several of the best works and mounted them in the Bodrum castle.
There they stayed for three centuries.

Discovery and excavation

An actress performs a play in front of

two statues from the Mausoleum at
Halicarnassus. Room 21, the British
Museum, London

In the 19th century, a British consul obtained several of the statues from Bodrum Castle; these
now reside in the British Museum. In 1852, the British Museum sent the archaeologist Charles
Thomas Newton to search for more remains of the Mausoleum. He had a difficult job. He did not
know the exact location of the tomb, and the cost of buying up all the small parcels of land in the
area to look for it would have been astronomical. Instead, Newton studied the accounts of
ancient writers like Pliny to obtain the approximate size and location of the memorial, then
bought a plot of land in the most likely location. Digging down, Newton explored the surrounding
area through tunnels he dug under the surrounding plots. He was able to locate some walls, a
staircase, and finally three of the corners of the foundation. With this knowledge, Newton was
able to determine which plots of land he needed to buy.

Newton then excavated the site and found sections of the reliefs that decorated the wall of the
building and portions of the stepped roof. Also discovered was a broken stone chariot wheel
some 2 m (6 ft 7 in) in diameter, which came from the sculpture on the Mausoleum's roof.
Finally, he found the statues of Mausolus and Artemisia that had stood at the pinnacle of the
building. In October 1857, Newton carried blocks of marble from this site by HMS Supply and
landed them in Malta. These blocks were used for the construction of a new dock in Malta for
the Royal Navy. Today this dock is known as Dock No. 1 in Cospicua, but the building blocks are
hidden from view, submerged in Dockyard Creek in the Grand Harbour.[25]

From 1966 to 1977, the Mausoleum was thoroughly researched by Kristian Jeppesen of Aarhus
University, Denmark. He has produced a six-volume monograph, The Maussolleion at
Halikarnassos.

The beauty of the Mausoleum was not only in the structure itself, but in the decorations and
statues that adorned the outside at different levels on the podium and the roof: statues of
people, lions, horses, and other animals in varying scales. The four Greek sculptors who carved
the statues: Bryaxis, Leochares, Scopas and Timotheus were each responsible for one side.
Because the statues were of people and animals, the Mausoleum holds a special place in
history, as it was not dedicated to the gods of Ancient Greece.

Today, the massive castle of the Knights Hospitaller (Knights of St. John) still stands in Bodrum,
and the polished stone and marble blocks of the Mausoleum can be spotted built into the walls
of the structure. At the site of the Mausoleum, only the foundation remains, and a small
museum. Some of the surviving sculptures at the British Museum include fragments of statues
and many slabs of the frieze showing the battle between the Greeks and the Amazons. There the
images of Mausolus and his queen watch over the few broken remains of the beautiful tomb she
built for him.
Reconstruction of the Amazonomachy can
be seen in the left background. British
Museum Room 21

Statue usually identified as Artemisia;

reconstruction of the Amazonomachy can be
seen in the left background. British Museum
Room 21

This lion is among the few free-standing

sculptures from the Mausoleum at the
British Museum.
Slab from the Amazonomachy believed to
show Herculeas grabbing the hair of the
Amazon Queen Hippolyta.
Influence on modern
architecture
Modern buildings whose designs were based upon or influenced by interpretations of the design
of the Mausoleum of Mausolus include Fourth and Vine Tower in Cincinnati; the Civil Courts
Building in St. Louis; the National Newark Building in Newark, New Jersey; Grant's Tomb and 26
Broadway in New York City; Los Angeles City Hall; the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne; the
spire of St. George's Church, Bloomsbury in London; the Indiana War Memorial (and in turn
Salesforce Tower) in Indianapolis;[26][27] the House of the Temple in Washington D.C.; the
National Diet in Tokyo; the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall in Pittsburgh;[28] and the
Commerce Bank Building in Peoria, IL.