The Grand Mausoleum of Halicarnassus

Discover the grandeur of the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. This remarkable tomb, commissioned by Artemisia II for her husband Mausolus around 350 BCE in Halicarnassus (modern-day Bodrum, Turkey), stood approximately 45 meters tall and fused Greek and Anatolian architectural innovation. Renowned sculptors such as Scopas, Bryaxis, Leochares, and Timotheus adorned four sides with vivid mythological reliefs featuring battles of the Amazons and Centaurs. Capped with a striking pyramidal roof and crowned by a marble quadriga, this monument became synonymous with monumental tombs—giving rise to the word “mausoleum” itself. Though demolished by earthquakes and repurposed by medieval builders, its legacy endures through surviving fragments in the British Museum and in the enduring cultural memory of ancient architectural splendor.