Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus

The key to being one of the seven finalists on the ancient 7 wonders of the world list seems closely connected to having loads of cash and being in a position of power with an undercurrent of the afterlife forming an aspect of the building.

The Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus is no exception. As with the Great Pyramid of Giza, this wonder is basically a very fancy place to have one’s royal bones decay.

Maussollos was the governor of a region in the Persian Empire; just a region, mind you, not even the whole shebang. His wife, presumably for lack of better things to do, commissioned the building. It was over 120 feet in length and higher still.

Here is where it gets tricky. His wife was, wait for it, wait for it… also his sister. Apparently ‘round them parts i.e. Caria (now Bodrum in Turkey) marriage among the royals was akin to a game of Monopoly, anyone in the family could play.

So after Mausollos bought his last Persian carpet, his sister and wife was doubly cut up about the loss. Mausollos was clearly an excellent brother and wonderful husband but also an inspired leader. His vision resulted in the creation of many Greek cities and towns as well as various advances. Along with his expansionist abilities came a fair whack of cash in taxes.

Retail therapy is for the hoi polloi. Construction therapy, now that is where the real action is. Artemisia spared no expense. Why should she? The finest architects and sculptors got to work.

The obvious location was on a hill, overlooking the capital which Maussollos built, Halicarnassus. Artemisia could not have foreseen that she too would be joining the man she so loved after only two years, in the elaborate tomb. The sculptors continued with their work, despite their boss having bit the bullet. Her ashes were placed alongside his in the unfinished building and they carried on until it was done.

Despite their employer being on an eternal holiday, they got on with the task at hand and did a smashing job of it. Each of the four sides was assigned to a master sculptor. None of them disappointed and each created a beautiful relief to adorn the outside of the Mausoleum.

The interior was by no means anticlimactic. Statues of lions and warriors on powerful horses guarded the sacred tomb encased by the towering walls, in the centre of the courtyard. A battle scene in bas relief forming the background to the spectacular show of artistic talent, complete with centaurs, Amazonian women and more.

The cherry on the cake was a pyramid shaped roof on which rode Maussollos and Artemisia. Not bad for 350 BC. Aaron Spelling eat your heart out.

Twenty years later, Alexander the Great seized the city but was cool enough to leave things alone. More than a millennium went by and then, after a very long chariot ride, the lovers and siblings came crashing to the ground following a devastating earthquake.

The love story then becomes a tragedy, more for mankind than for them though. The stones were removed and used to build castles and other things. Even more shockingly, the limestone statues were ground up to be used for plaster. Fortunately someone in the posse of the Knights of Malta had the sense to put the best one aside some of which can be seen today in the British Museum. Grave robbers beat the knights to the punch though and stole what valuables they could find in the tomb by tunnelling in, many years before they arrived.

Miraculously, the statues that were once at the peak of the building lay buried in the rubble and were uncovered by an archaeologist. True love conquers all.

Think about that next time you enter a mausoleum, it takes its name from Maussollos afterall.

Photo by dysanovic