Seven Quick Facts about
The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
1.Location: Halicarnassus (Modern Bodrum, Turkey)2.Built: Around 350 B.C.3.Function: Tomb for the City King, Mausolus4.Destroyed: Damaged by earthquakes in 13th century A.D. . Final destruction by Crusaders in 1522 A.D.5.Size: 140 feet (43m) high.6.Made of: White Marble7.Other: Built in a mixture of Egyptian, Greek and Lycian styles.
In 377 B.C., the city of Halicarnassus was the capitol of a
small kingdom along the Mediterranean coast of Asia Minor. It was in that year
the ruler of this land, Hecatomnus of Mylasa, died and left control of the
kingdom to his son, Mausolus. Hecatomnus, a local satrap to the Persians, had
been ambitious and had taken control of several of the neighboring cities and
districts. Then Mausolus during his reign extended the territory even further
so that it eventually included most of southwestern Asia Minor.
Mausolus, with his queen Artemisia, ruled over Halicarnassus
and the surrounding territory for 24 years. Though he was descended from the
local people, Mausolus 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.
Then in 353 B.C. Mausolus died, leaving his queen Artemisia,
who was also his sister, broken-hearted (It was the custom in Caria for rulers
to marry their own sisters). As a tribute to him, she decided to build him the
most splendid tomb in the known world. It became a structure so famous that
Mausolus's name is now associated with all stately tombs throughout the world
through the word mausoleum. The building, rich with statuary and carvings in
relief, was so beautiful and unique it became one of the Seven Wonders of the
Ancient World.
Artemisia decided that no expense was to be spared in the
building of the tomb. She sent messengers to Greece to find the most talented
artists of the time. These included architects Satyros and Pytheos who designed
the overall shape of the tomb. Other famous sculptors invited to contribute to
the project were Bryaxis, Leochares, Timotheus and Scopas of Paros (who was
responsible for rebuilding the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, another of the
wonders). According to the historian Pliny Bryaxis, Leochares, Timotheus and
Scopas each took one side of the tomb to decorate. Joining these sculptors were
also hundreds of other workmen and craftsmen. Together they finished the
building in the styles of three different cultures: Egyptian, Greek and Lycian.
The tomb was erected on a hill overlooking the city. The
whole structure sat in the center of an enclosed courtyard on a stone platform.
A staircase, flanked by stone lions, led to the top of this platform. Along the
outer wall of the courtyard were many statues depicting gods and goddesses. At
each corner stone warriors, mounted on horseback, guarded the tomb.
A map of the city of Halicarnassus drawn by the archeologist
J D Barbié du Bocage in 1802 showing the tomb in the middle of the city.
At the center of the platform was the tomb itself. Made
mostly of marble, the structure rose as a square, tapering block to about
one-third of the Mausoleum's 140 foot height. This section was covered with
relief sculpture showing action scenes from Greek myth/history. One part showed
the battle of the Centaurs with the Lapiths. Another depicted Greeks in combat
with the Amazons, a race of warrior women. On top of this section of the tomb
thirty-six slim columns rose for another third of the height. Standing in between
each column was another statue. Behind the columns was a solid block that
carried the weight of the tomb's massive roof.
The roof, which comprised most of the final third of the
height, was in the form of a stepped pyramid with 24 levels. Perched on top was
the tomb's penultimate work of sculpture craved by Pytheos: Four massive horses
pulling a chariot in which images of Mausolus and Artemisia rode.
The City in Crisis
Soon after construction of the tomb started Artemisia found
herself in a crisis. Rhodes, an island in the Aegean Sea between Greece and
Asia Minor, had been conquered by Mausolus. When the Rhodians heard of his
death, they rebelled and sent a fleet of ships to capture the city of
Halicarnassus. Knowing that the Rhodian fleet was on the way, Artemisa hid her
own ships at a secret location at the east end of the city's harbor. After
troops from the Rhodian fleet disembarked to attack, Artemisia's fleet made a
surprise raid, captured the Rhodian fleet, and towed it out to sea.
Video: In Honor of the King: The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
Artemisa put her own soldiers on the invading ships and
sailed them back to Rhodes. Fooled into thinking that the returning ships were
their own victorious navy, the Rhodians failed to put up a defense and the city
was easily captured, quelling the rebellion.
Artemisa lived for only two years after the death of her
husband. Both would be buried in the yet unfinished tomb. According to Pliny,
the craftsmen decided to stay and finish the work after their patron died
"considering that it was at once a memorial of their own fame and of the
sculptor's art."
The Mausoleum overlooked the city of Halicarnassus for many
centuries. It was untouched when the city fell to Alexander the Great in 334
B.C. and was still undamaged after attacks by pirates in 62 and 58 B.C.. It
stood above the city ruins for some 17 centuries. Then a series of earthquakes
in the 13th century shattered the columns and sent the stone chariot crashing
to the ground. By 1404 A.D. only the very base of the Mausoleum was still
recognizable.
Destruction by the Crusaders
Crusaders, who had little respect for ancient culture,
occupied the city from the thirteen century onward and recycled much of the
building stone into their own structures. In 1522 rumors of a Turkish invasion
caused Crusaders to strengthen the castle at Halicarnassus (which was by then
known as Bodrum) and some of the remaining portions of the tomb were broken up
and used within the castle walls. Indeed, sections of polished marble from the
tomb can still be seen there today.
Another interpretation of the Mausoleum. Copyright Lee
Krystek, 1998
At this time a party of knights entered the base of the
monument and discovered the room containing a great coffin. Deciding it was too
late to open it that day, the party 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 Knights claimed that Moslem villagers were
responsible for the theft, but it is more likely that some of the Crusaders
themselves plundered the graves.
Before grounding 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.
At that time the British ambassador obtained several of the statutes from the
castle, which now reside in the British Museum.
Remains Located by Charles Newton
In 1846 the Museum sent the archaeologist Charles Thomas
Newton to search for more remains of the Mausoleum. He had a difficult job. He
didn't 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 figure out which additional plots of land he
needed to buy.
Marble from the tomb can still be seen in Bodrum Castle even
today. (Released into public domain by Horvat)
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, a broken stone chariot wheel from the sculpture on the roof, some seven
feet in diameter, was discovered. Finally, he found two statues which he
believed were the ones of Mausolus and Artemisia which had stood at the
pinnacle of the building. Ironically, the earthquake the toppled them to the
ground saved them. They were hidden under sediment and thus avoided the fate of
being pulverized into mortar for the Crusaders castle.
Today these works of art stand in the Mausoleum Room at the
British Museum. There the images of Mausolus and his queen forever watch over
the few broken remains of the beautiful tomb she built for him.