A Magnificent Wonder is Built

Artemisia, wife of King Mausolus of Caria has built for him a magnificent tomb in Bodrum! (Halicarnassus) We have received note it was finished sometime in 353 BC.

A Way to Remember

As Persians expanded their kingdom to include Mesopotamia, North India, Syria, Asia Minor, and Egypt, the empire was so big that the king needed local governors throughout the land. The kingdom of Caria, in what is now Turkey, was so far from the Persian capital, that it was almost an independent area. From 377 to 353 BC, Mausolus ruled that area and moved the capital to Halicarnassus. When Mausolus died, his wife, who also is his sister, wanted to make a memorial for him, so she made the mausoleum.

Development of a Marble Marvel

At the top of the foundation is a stepped podium decorated with statues. The white alabaster burial chamber and coffin are decorated with gold and located on the podium, surrounded by Ionic columns. The columns supported a pyramid roof, complete with a statue of a chariot pulled by four horses. The mausoleum is about 140 feet high. It is enclosed in a courtyard. Four sculptors, Bryaxis, Leochares, Scopas, and Timotheus, are decorating the four sides of the mausoleum, each doing one side. Mausoleums are now named after King Mausolus.

Let's Have Style!!!

The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus is an example of Greek architecture. There are 36 Ionic columns running around the four sides, which support the pyramid roof.

Psychic Readings!!!

After 16 centuries of good condition, an earthquake will cause the roof and columns to shatter. In 1494, the Knights of St. John of Malta will use the stones of the Mausoleum to fortify a castle they had built already, and by 1522 will disassemble almost every stone. Some remaining sculptures from the mausoleum will be on display at the British Museum in London. Only the foundation will remain of the mausoleum.