The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

By E.S.

The Mausoleum was the fifth oldest Wonder (King 8). It was built for King Mausolus of Caria, who ruled with his sister, Queen Artemisia, in the city of Halicarnassus on the coast of what is now Turkey (King 8). Mausolus tried to unite the Greeks after the Peloponnesian war (Pathak). In 353 BCE, Queen Artemisia had a massive tomb of white marble built for him on a hill overlooking the city to commemorate his rule (Ashmawy).

It was worked on by 2 architects and 4 sculptors, all of whom were Greek (Silverberg 80-81). The architects were Satyros and Pythios, and the sculptors were Bryaxis, Leochares, Scopas, and Timotheus. The sculptors were each responsible for the statues on one side of the Mausoleum (Silverberg 80-81).

The Mausoleum took a long time to complete (Silverberg 80-81). In fact, the tomb was not finished until three years after the death of Mausolus, and one year after the death of Artemisia (Silverberg 80-81). According to Pliny, even though their patrons were dead, the sculptors chose to remain and finish their work, "considering that it was at once a memorial of their own fame and of the sculptor's art." (qtd. in Silverberg 81)

The Mausoleum was revolutionary in design at the time it was built. It was adorned with many freestanding statuettes (King 8) and contained a rectangular 'basement' beneath a colonnade embodying 36 columns. It even included a stepped pyramid, which rested on the top of the colonnade. Atop the pyramid sat a beautifully sculpted statue of Mausolus and Artemisia in a chariot drawn by four horses (Ashmawy). Covering the foundation of the Mausoleum was a stepped podium, whose sides were decorated with statues.

The burial chamber was gold-trimmed, and it and the white alabaster coffin were located on the podium, surrounded by Ionic columns (Pathak). These columns held up a statue-adorned, pyramid-shaped roof. Strangely, as the Mausoleum was constructed by Greek architects and decorated by Greek sculptors, none of the statues represented Greek gods or goddesses (Ashmawy).

The Mausoleum is described in Lucian's "Dialogues of the Dead":

I have lying, over me in Halicarnassus, a gigantic monument such as no other dead person has, adorned in the finest way with statues of horses and men carved most realistically from the best quality marble. (qtd. in Ashmawy)

The Mausoleum was a huge construct, especially since its main purpose was to serve as a tomb. The podium was 60 feet tall, the colonnade was 38 feet tall, the pyramid was 22 feet tall, and the chariot statue at the top was 20 feet tall (Ashmawy). Altogether, the Mausoleum was 140 feet tall (Pathak), and its base dimensions were 120 feet by 100 feet (Ashmawy).

The Mausoleum was damaged in earthquakes, used for building materials and was in ruins by CE 1400. Fortunately, some of the sculptures survived and can be seen in the British Museum in London, England (Ashmawy).

This page was created by E.S. Last revised 05/12/00.