|
The
Mausoleum
at
Halicarnassus
Hallicarnassus was the capital of a small kingdom in Asia Minor.
In 377BC it's ruler Hecatomnus of Mylasa died and his son Mauselus
came to power. During his rule he expanded the territory his father
had conquered as a Persian satrap till it included most of SW Asia
Minor.
After ruling for 24 years Mausoleus died and left the throne to
his sister-queen Artemisia. Brokenhearted she decided to build him
the most glorious tomb in the world. Amongst the artists she hired
for this was Scopas, who had been responsible for the rebuilding
of the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus.
Built on a hill and surrounded by a wall the actual tomb sat in
the middle of a courtyard. It was a large structure made out of
marble it's lower walls showing battles with centaurs and amazons.
Atop this was a large block of marble surrounded by columns carrying
the roof. On top of this was a golden statue of Mausolus and Artemisia
driving a chariot.
Artemisia died two years later, before the tomb was finished, but
the artisans seemed to have continued their work and when Alexander
came in 334BC it was still untouched.
The monument stood for some 1,700 years until it was leveled by
earthquakes, and by 1404AD only the base was still there. Crusaders
used the tomb's stones to build their castle at Bodrum, as the town
was now known. They discovered a great coffin, but when they opened
it the next morning the treasure and bodies were gone. Who plundered
the grave remains unknown.
Some of the statues were incorporated in the castle where the English
found them 300 years later and took them, like so much else, to
the British Museum.
Excavations in the 1840s found more sculpture, including the chariot
and the statues. They too were taken to England.
back to main Wonder page
|
