Seven wonders of the ancient world: Mausoleum of Halicarnassus

We are in Turkey near the Aegean Sea. Here, not far from the popular holiday resort of Bodrum, is where the word mausoleum originated. Its roots go back to the tomb of King Mausolus, to his maussolleion, which means a monument to Mausolus. King Mausolus reigned from 377-353 B.C. on the west coast of today's Turkey. Here, where now there is only rubble, King Mausolus ordered a unique monument to be built in his honor. It was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world and it equally became a synonym for elaborate burial structures.

Like the pharaohs in Egypt, Mausolus also sought immortality. He loved monumental structures, as evidenced by the 40 12-meter-tall marble columns of his tomb. This truly monumental structure ultimately collapsed due to an earthquake. In the 15th century monks from the Order of St. John used the rubble as a stone quarry. This meant that later archaeologists could only find the foundations and a few scattered pieces of sculpture. With these meager remnants they reconstructed the entire site. The monument was a harmonious stone structure, elegant like a Greek temple, as tall as an Egyptian pyramid and as playfully elaborate as an oriental palace. King Mausolus died before its completion. But with the term mausoleum, his dream of eternal fame was fulfilled.