Mausolus

Mausolus
Mausolus, 377–353 BC. Casting from the Pushkin museum.
Satrap of Caria
Reign	377–353 BC
Predecessor	Hecatomnus
Successor	Artemisia II
Consort	Artemisia II
House	Hecatomnids
Father	Hecatomnus

Coinage of Maussolos as Achaemenid dynast of Caria. Head of Apollo facing/ Zeus Labrandos standing, legend MAYΣΣΩΛΛO ("Mausolos"). Circa 376–353 BC.

Mausolus (Greek: Μαύσωλος or Μαύσσωλλος^[1]) was a ruler of Caria (377–353 BC), nominally a satrap of the Achaemenid Empire. He enjoyed the status of king or dynast by virtue of the powerful position created by his father Hecatomnus (Carian: 𐊴𐊭𐊪𐊳𐊫 K̂tmño) who had succeeded the assassinated Persian Satrap Tissaphernes in the Carian satrapy and founded the hereditary dynasty of the Hecatomnids. He is best known for the monumental shrine, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, erected and named for him by order of his widow (who was also his sister) Artemisia.

Biography

Mausolos

Early 20th century photograph.

Modern photograph.

Statue of a Hecatomnid ruler from the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, traditionally identified as Mausolus (British Museum).

Mausolus was the eldest son of Hecatomnus, a native Carian who became the satrap of Caria when Tissaphernes died, around 395 BC.

Mausolus participated in the Revolt of the Satraps, both on his nominal sovereign Artaxerxes Mnemon's side and (briefly) against him. In 366 BC, Mausolus together with Autophradates of Lydia, at the request of Artaxerxes, led the siege of Adramyttium against Ariobarzanes, one of the members of the Great Satraps' Revolt, until Agesilaus, king of Sparta, negotiated the besiegers' retreat.

Mausolus conquered a great part of Lycia circa 360 BC, putting an end to the line of dynasts that had ruled there. He also invaded Ionia and several Greek islands; and he cooperated with the Rhodians in the Social War against Athens. He moved his capital from Mylasa, the ancient seat of the Carian kings, to Halicarnassus.

Mausolus embraced Hellenic culture. He is best known for the monumental shrine, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, erected and named for him by order of his widow (who was also his sister) Artemisia. Antipater of Sidon listed the Mausoleum as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The architects Satyrus and Pythis, and the sculptors Scopas of Paros, Leochares, Bryaxis and Timotheus, finished the work after the death of Artemisia, some of them working (it was said) purely for renown. The site and a few remains can still be seen in the Turkish town of Bodrum. Derived from his name, the term mausoleum has come to be used generically for any grand tomb.

An inscription discovered at Milas, the ancient Mylasa, details the punishment of certain conspirators who had made an attempt upon his life at a festival in a temple at Labraunda in 353 BC.

Literature

• Simon Hornblower: Mausolus, Clarendon Press, Oxford 1982

External links

• Livius, Mausolus by Jona Lendering
• Caria
• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Mausolus". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 917.