WONDERS OF THE WORLD
THE MAUSOLEUM AT HALICARNASSUS
Turkey
A Tomb for the Ages
He was the local ruler of a province in the Persian Empire. She was his sister. And his wife. Mausolus and Artemisia's love story was one for the ages.
When he died, she had the most incredible tomb constructed for him, with the greatest artists of the day contributing sculptures and friezes. It captured the world's attention so much that Mausolus' tomb, the Mausoleum, gave its name to the entire genre.
In this episode, we head down the Turkish Coast to Bodrum, as Halicarnassus is now called, to see the ruins of this should-have-been-forbidden love. In the neighborhood, we also check out the thermal springs at Pamukkale and eat swordfish kebabs!
Sources:
Herodotus, The Histories
The Lonely Planet Guide to Turkey
Reynolds et al, The Seventy Wonders of the Ancient World: the Great Monuments and How They Were Built
Romer, John and Elizabeth, The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: a History of the Modern Imagination
Seal, Jeremy, Meander: East to West, Indirectly, along a Turkish River
Engraving from Architecture, Sculpture, and the Industrial Arts Among the Nations of Antiquity / a series of illustrations arranged chronologically, and forming an atlas, to be used in connection with any work on the history of art. Published under the supervision of S. R. Koehler.