The Mausoleum At Halicarnassus

The Mausoleum At Halicarnassus : 

The Mausoleum At Halicarnassus By: Grant Reggio

The Mausoleum : 

The Mausoleum Halicarnassus was the capital of a small kingdom along the Mediterranean in Asia Minor, where the present day city, Bodrum, is located. Bodrum is in the country, Turkey. Hecatomnus started to expand his territory by conquering neighboring kingdoms. His son, Mausolus, followed in his footsteps and expanded further, capturing almost all of SW Asia Minor.

The Mausoleum : 

The Mausoleum The Queen of Mausolus was Artemisia, who was also his sister. They ruled together for a happy 24 years.

The Mausoleum : 

The Mausoleum Mausolus had a great admiration towards Greek culture. He would speak Greek, founded cities of Greek design, and even encouraged Greek democratic traditions.

The Mausoleum : 

The Mausoleum In 353 B.C. King Mausolus died. Leaving his wife, Artemisia alone and sad. Her love for him went to the extreme, when she took some of his ashes and mixed them with her drink at his funeral. In his honor, she decided to construct a magnificent tomb for him. AKA, The Mausoleum.

The Mausoleum : 

The Mausoleum Soon the Mausoleum became very famous. So famous that the word ,Mausoleum, was since then used to name any stately tomb then and now. Plus the fact that it became a wonder.

The Mausoleum : 

The Mausoleum The sculptors who had the privilege to build this wonder were obtained from Greece. Among these sculptors was a man who had designed another wonder, The Temple of Artemis. His name was Scopas.

The Mausoleum : 

The Mausoleum The Mausoleum was built upon a hill that overlooked the entire city of Halicarnassus. There it stood 140 feet high. The structure was surrounded by a courtyard. In the center was a stone platform, in which the actual tomb sat. A staircase led up to this platform. It was flanked by stone lions and statues of gods.

The Mausoleum : 

The Mausoleum The tomb itself was made of marble. This section rose as a square, tapering block, accounting for 1/3 of the Mausoleum’s height. Carved into the block was relief sculpture, showing action scenes from Greek mythology.

The Mausoleum : 

The Mausoleum The next portion also accounted for 1/3 of the Mausoleum’s height. On this part stood 36 slim columns, 9 per side. Standing between each and every column were more statues. The columns surrounded a massive, solid block that supported the roof’s weight.

The Mausoleum : 

The Mausoleum The roof made up the last portion of the Mausoleum. It was shaped as a stepped pyramid. Perched at the top, were four very large horses that pulled a chariot on which Mausolus and his wife rode.

The Mausoleum : 

The Mausoleum During the construction, Artemisia had a crisis on her hands. After learning of Mausolus’ death, the conquered area of Rhodes launched an attack against the city. But Artemisia was ready, and had her fleet hide and catch the enemy fleet by surprise.

The Mausoleum : 

The Mausoleum Queen Artemisia died only two years after her husband. It was decided that she be buried with her husband in the tomb. The workers continued the construction, because they believed that the structure would make them famous.

The Mausoleum : 

The Mausoleum Once completed, the Mausoleum overlooked the city for very many centuries. It had endured a capture of the city by Alexander the Great, and it had also remained undamaged by attacks from pirates. But, then a series of earthquakes finally brought down the wonder, leaving only the base. During the crusades the broken portions of the structure were recycled into making new buildings.

The Mausoleum : 

The Mausoleum During the crusades, a party discovered a room containing a great coffin. It was too late in the day to plunder, so the waited the next day. But it turns out, when they came back in the morning they learned that someone had gotten their first. But there were several fine sculptures that were found and mounted in the castle of Bodrum.

The Mausoleum : 

The Mausoleum It was a little tricky for British archaeologist, Charles Newton, to actually find the location of the ruins of the Mausoleum. He had to first do research on where it most likely was and then bought a plot of land where he thought it could be. He found walls, staircases, 3 of the 4 corners of the courtyard and statues of Mausolus and Artemisia.

POP CULTURE SLIDE : 

POP CULTURE SLIDE Did you know that the word Mausoleum is used to name any stately tomb back then and even now? (Mentioned earlier in the presentation.)