Artemisia II of Caria
Encyclopedia
Artemisia II of Caria
(in Greek
, Ἀρτεμισία; died 350 BC) was a sister, the wife and the successor of the king Mausolus
. She was a daughter of Hecatomnus
, and after the death of her husband she reigned for two years, from 353 to 351 BC. Her administration was conducted on the same principles as the one of her husband, whence she supported the oligarchical
party on the island
of Rhodes
.
. She is said to have mixed his ashes in her daily drink, and to have gradually pined away during the two years that she survived him. She induced the most eminent Greek
rhetoricians to proclaim his praise in their oratory; and to perpetuate his memory she built at Halicarnassus
a celebrated majestic monument
, listed by Antipater
of Sidon
as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
and whose name subsequently became the generic term for any splendid sepulchral monument (mausoleum μαυσωλεῖον).
relief
s created by each one of four Greek sculptors. The west side was done by Leochares
, the north side done by Bryaxis
, the east side by Scopas
of Paros
, and the remaining side facing south was done by Timotheus. A fifth artist was called in after the death of Artemisia named Pteron
. He crowned the existing grand monument with a pyramid that was just as tall which contained 24 steps. A sixth sculptor was added to the artist group called Pythius
who built at the very top a marble chariot with four white horses. Artemisia never saw the completion of her marvellous sepulchre.
by June Kim, about a woman who mourns her former girlfriend by drinking her ashes mixed with fruit smoothies.
Caria
Caria was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Ionian and Dorian Greeks colonized the west of it and joined the Carian population in forming Greek-dominated states there...
(in Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
, Ἀρτεμισία; died 350 BC) was a sister, the wife and the successor of the king Mausolus
Mausolus
Mausolus was ruler of Caria . He took part in the revolt against Artaxerxes Mnemon , conquered a great part of Lycia, Ionia and several Greek islands and cooperated with the Rhodians in the Social War against Athens...
. She was a daughter of Hecatomnus
Hecatomnus
Hecatomnus was king or dynast of Caria in the reign of Artaxerxes II of Persia .-Biography:...
, and after the death of her husband she reigned for two years, from 353 to 351 BC. Her administration was conducted on the same principles as the one of her husband, whence she supported the oligarchical
Oligarchy
Oligarchy is a form of power structure in which power effectively rests with an elite class distinguished by royalty, wealth, family ties, commercial, and/or military legitimacy...
party on the island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
of Rhodes
Rhodes
Rhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within...
.
Life
She is renowned in history for her extraordinary grief at the death of her husband (and brother) MausolusMausolus
Mausolus was ruler of Caria . He took part in the revolt against Artaxerxes Mnemon , conquered a great part of Lycia, Ionia and several Greek islands and cooperated with the Rhodians in the Social War against Athens...
. She is said to have mixed his ashes in her daily drink, and to have gradually pined away during the two years that she survived him. She induced the most eminent Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
rhetoricians to proclaim his praise in their oratory; and to perpetuate his memory she built at Halicarnassus
Halicarnassus
Halicarnassus was an ancient Greek city at the site of modern Bodrum in Turkey. It was located in southwest Caria on a picturesque, advantageous site on the Ceramic Gulf. The city was famous for the tomb of Mausolus, the origin of the word mausoleum, built between 353 BC and 350 BC, and...
a celebrated majestic monument
Mausoleum of Maussollos
The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus or Tomb of Mausolus was a tomb built between 353 and 350 BC at Halicarnassus for Mausolus, a satrap in the Persian Empire, and Artemisia II of Caria, his wife and sister....
, listed by Antipater
Antipater of Sidon
Antipater of Sidon , Antipatros or Antipatros Sidonios in the Anthologies, was a Greek poet in the second half of the 2nd century BC....
of Sidon
Sidon
Sidon or Saïda is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate of Lebanon, on the Mediterranean coast, about 40 km north of Tyre and 40 km south of the capital Beirut. In Genesis, Sidon is the son of Canaan the grandson of Noah...
as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
The Seven Wonders of the World refers to remarkable constructions of classical antiquity listed by various authors in guidebooks popular among the ancient Hellenic tourists, particularly in the 1st and 2nd centuries BC...
and whose name subsequently became the generic term for any splendid sepulchral monument (mausoleum μαυσωλεῖον).
Mausoleum
The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus was approximately 140 feet in height and surrounded on all four corners with 36 marble columns, nine on each of the four sides. These were adorned with sculpturalSculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
relief
Relief
Relief is a sculptural technique. The term relief is from the Latin verb levo, to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is thus to give the impression that the sculpted material has been raised above the background plane...
s created by each one of four Greek sculptors. The west side was done by Leochares
Leochares
Leochares was a Greek sculptor from Athens, who lived in the 4th century BC.-Works:Leochares worked at the construction of the Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus, one of the "Seven Wonders of the Ancient World". The Diana of Versailles is a Roman copy of his original...
, the north side done by Bryaxis
Bryaxis
Bryaxis was an ancient Greek sculptor. He created the sculptures on the north side of the mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus which was commissioned by the queen Artemisia II of Caria in memory of her brother and husband, Mausolus...
, the east side by Scopas
Scopas
Scopas or Skopas was an Ancient Greek sculptor and architect, born on the island of Paros. Scopas worked with Praxiteles, and he sculpted parts of the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, especially the reliefs. He led the building of the new temple of Athena Alea at Tegea...
of Paros
Paros
Paros is an island of Greece in the central Aegean Sea. One of the Cyclades island group, it lies to the west of Naxos, from which it is separated by a channel about wide. It lies approximately south-east of Piraeus. The Municipality of Paros includes numerous uninhabited offshore islets...
, and the remaining side facing south was done by Timotheus. A fifth artist was called in after the death of Artemisia named Pteron
Pteron
Pteron is an architectural term used by Pliny the Elder for the peristyle of the tomb of Mausolus, which was raised on a lofty podium, and so differed from an ordinary peristyle raised only on a stylobate, as in Greek temples, or on a low podium, as in Roman temples....
. He crowned the existing grand monument with a pyramid that was just as tall which contained 24 steps. A sixth sculptor was added to the artist group called Pythius
Pythius
Pythius is a Lydian mentioned in book VII of Herodotus' Histories, chh. 27-29 and 38-39.Xerxes I of Persia, son of Darius I of Persia, and king of Persia, encounters Pythius on his way to invade Greece c. 480 BC. Pythius entertains him and offers to provide money for the expenses of war...
who built at the very top a marble chariot with four white horses. Artemisia never saw the completion of her marvellous sepulchre.
Other monuments
Another celebrated monument was erected by her in Rhodes to commemorate her conquest of the island. The Rhodians, after regaining their liberty, made it inaccessible, whence it was called in later times the Aßato? (Abaton).Legacy in popular culture
Artemisia is referenced in the manga 12 Days12 Days
12 Days is a debut original English-language manga written and illustrated by June Kim. Based partially on a story told to Kim by a stranger, 12 Days began during Kim's sophomore year of college as a method of coping with the end of a relationship. After moving on emotionally with her break-up, she...
by June Kim, about a woman who mourns her former girlfriend by drinking her ashes mixed with fruit smoothies.