Belevi Mausoleum
Encyclopedia
The Belevi Mausoleum, also known as the Mausoleum at Belevi is a Hellenistic monument tomb
located in Turkey
. The monument was the burial place of the Seleucid Greek King Antiochus II Theos
who reigned 261 BC-246 BC.
next to the modern highway from İzmir
to Aydın
in the eastern part of the Kaystros-valley close to the ancient estates of the Ephesian sanctuary of Artemisia; is 16 km or 10 miles northeast of Selçuk
and is 29 km from Kuşadası
.
after the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus which it resembles and it is also the second highest tomb house of ancient Anatolia. The influence of this tomb, seem to have been widespread throughout the Hellenistic world directly or indirectly in the construction of other royal tombs. According to archaeological dating in ornaments and ceramics from the monument, the mausoleum was first erected around 301 BC-281 BC and has occasionally been dated earlier to 333 BC, based on the assumption that it was the tomb of the admiral Memnon of Rhodes
, who in that year died in a naval encounter before Lesbos. Others who may had owned the tomb were the brothers of Memnon: Mentor of Rhodes
(died 333 BC) or Menandros
(died shortly after 318 BC).
Based on archaeological evidence and dating, it was first erected as a royal tomb by Lysimachus
. He was probably inspired by the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus to build his mausoleum. Lysimachus was a Greek Macedonian King
and one of the diadochus
or successors of King Alexander the Great. The capital of Lysimachus’ Kingdom was Ephesus, however when he died in 281 BC he was buried at Lysimachia
. When Antiochus II
died in July 246 his first wife, his cousin Laodice I
placed him in this mausoleum as his final resting place.
The foundation of the mausoleum was square; each side measuring some 29.65 m, suggesting a length of 100 feet of 0.2965 m. The mausoleum was two storey. On the ground level there were three steps supporting the base mouldings. Each plain socle
surmounted by torus
, cavetto
and Lesbian cyma
. Ten courses of large neatly cut ashlars
69-88 cm high which constituted the facing of the podium, the total height was 11.37 m. A low architrave, 45 cm high, and a higher Doric frieze
ran around the top of the podium. The south side had a deep recess that was cut into the rock core for the burial chamber, which was placed in the centre and sealed from outside. This was done in order to conceal what was in the monument and to protect the monument from tomb raiders. The chamber to which Antiochus II was buried in was a small vestibule with a rectangular back room for his body to be put in a barrel-vault. There was an unfinished false door on the north side of the structure. The top storey had 3 steps which measures 1.12 m high. The top slop served as a stylobate
for a Corinthian
Peristalsis
, with eight columns each side. The roof had flat marble tiles.
The excavators of the tomb restored on each side. Around the edge of the roof, were groups of Lion-Griffins figures facing large stone vases. Pairs of horses were placed at the corners. Little has survived from the mausoleum’s roof. Antiochus II’s mausoleum may have been a step pyramid with a crowning finial on top. On the blocks of the outer architrave bore this Greek religious inscription:
There could have been fragments of small-scale palm leaf capital with fluted Doric drum fragments. These parts could have decorated the scheme of the interior. The ceiling was embellished with large coffers. The coffers were painted intensively and adorn with panels on the ceiling. The panels facing north represented funeral games with the reliefs of the other sides dealt with a centauromachy
. The burial chamber was the central part of the mausoleum. In it was a large unfinished sarcophagus with a reclining beardless male figure on top. The male figure was formerly crowned with a wreath and held a bowl in its right hand which formed together with standing statue of an oriental servant. The oriental servant characterized by his posture and clothes may have been a royal Persian servant or a page representing a banquet scene. Sculptures and architectural pieces found at the monument still bear remains of their painted finish. The frequent painting replaced carving on the architectural mouldings was a practice reminiscent of Macedonian architecture.
The work of the mausoleum was never finished. If the monument was completed, it could have reached a height of about 35 m. When Lysimachus first erected the monument, the construction of his mausoleum had been interrupted because he died in battle. When Antiochus II died, Laodice I added in addition architectural and sculptural elements for the monument. In 244 BC, Ephesus and the surrounding region came under the rule of the Ptolemaic dynasty
. The period that Laodice I spent on further work on her husband’s mausoleum was brief.
The architectural dimensions and designs of the elaborate decorations have Greek and Persian elements. The high square podium with the pyramid on top is non-Greek. Persian influences are strong with some of the sculptural decorations such as the statue of the servant, the roof long-winged Lion-Griffin
figures (symbols of the Persian Kings) and the vases. The Griffins and a centauromachy mean the battle between Centaur and Humans. This was a very common theme, which represents the victory of civilization over barbarism. The way the tomb chamber has been erected was Macedonian. Antiochus II was of Greek Macedonian and Persian descent
.
The life sized statues of the Lion-Griffin figures are on display at the museums at Izmir and Ephesus. The sarcophagus of Antiochus II is on display at the museum at Selçuk together with two Lions. Fragments of the coffers depicting funeral games and the centauromachy are on display at the museums at Selçuk and Izmir. The human figures, horses and large urns are on display at the museums at Selçuk and Izmir.
Hellenistic period
The Hellenistic period or Hellenistic era describes the time which followed the conquests of Alexander the Great. It was so named by the historian J. G. Droysen. During this time, Greek cultural influence and power was at its zenith in Europe and Asia...
located in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. The monument was the burial place of the Seleucid Greek King Antiochus II Theos
Seleucid dynasty
The Seleucid dynasty or the Seleucidae was a Greek Macedonian royal family, founded by Seleucus I Nicator , which ruled the Seleucid Kingdom centered in the Near East and regions of the Asian part of the earlier Achaemenid Persian Empire during the Hellenistic period.-History:Seleucus was an...
who reigned 261 BC-246 BC.
Location of Mausoleum
The Belevi Mausoleum was a grandiose tomb. The name of the mausoleum derives from the modern village of Belevi where the monument is located and sits on an isolated hillside. The mausoleum is located 14 km northeast of EphesusEphesus
Ephesus was an ancient Greek city, and later a major Roman city, on the west coast of Asia Minor, near present-day Selçuk, Izmir Province, Turkey. It was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League during the Classical Greek era...
next to the modern highway from İzmir
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
to Aydın
Aydin
Aydın is a city in and the seat of Aydın Province in Turkey's Aegean Region. The city is located at the heart of the lower valley of Büyük Menderes River at a commanding position for the region extending from the uplands of the valley down to the seacoast...
in the eastern part of the Kaystros-valley close to the ancient estates of the Ephesian sanctuary of Artemisia; is 16 km or 10 miles northeast of Selçuk
Selçuk
Selçuk is the central town of Selçuk district, İzmir Province in Turkey, 2 km northeast of Ephesus.Its original Greek name, Agios Theológos referred to John the Theologian. Under the Ottoman Empire, it was known as Ayasoluk...
and is 29 km from Kuşadası
Kusadasi
Kuşadası is a resort town on Turkey's Aegean coast and the center of the seaside district of the same name in Aydın Province. Kuşadası lies at a distance of to the south from the region's largest metropolitan center of İzmir, and from the provincial seat of Aydın situated inland. Its primary...
.
Dating
The Belevi Mausoleum is the second largest mausoleum in AnatoliaAnatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
after the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus which it resembles and it is also the second highest tomb house of ancient Anatolia. The influence of this tomb, seem to have been widespread throughout the Hellenistic world directly or indirectly in the construction of other royal tombs. According to archaeological dating in ornaments and ceramics from the monument, the mausoleum was first erected around 301 BC-281 BC and has occasionally been dated earlier to 333 BC, based on the assumption that it was the tomb of the admiral Memnon of Rhodes
Memnon of Rhodes
Memnon of Rhodes was the commander of the Greek mercenaries working for the Persian king Darius III when Alexander the Great of Macedonia invaded Persia in 334 BC. He commanded the mercenaries at the Battle of the Granicus River, where his troops were massacred by the victorious Macedonians...
, who in that year died in a naval encounter before Lesbos. Others who may had owned the tomb were the brothers of Memnon: Mentor of Rhodes
Mentor of Rhodes
Mentor of Rhodes was a Greek mercenary who fought both for and against Artaxerxes III of Persia. He is also known as the first husband of Barsine, who later became mistress to Alexander the Great....
(died 333 BC) or Menandros
Menander (disambiguation)
Menander is an Anglicized form of the Greek , Menandros, "staunch man" or "abiding man." It may refer to:Persons:* Menander, Greek dramatist* Menander , general of Alexander the Great* Menander I, Indo-Greek king...
(died shortly after 318 BC).
Based on archaeological evidence and dating, it was first erected as a royal tomb by Lysimachus
Lysimachus
Lysimachus was a Macedonian officer and diadochus of Alexander the Great, who became a basileus in 306 BC, ruling Thrace, Asia Minor and Macedon.-Early Life & Career:...
. He was probably inspired by the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus to build his mausoleum. Lysimachus was a Greek Macedonian King
Macedonia (Greece)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of Greece in Southern Europe. Macedonia is the largest and second most populous Greek region...
and one of the diadochus
Diadochi
The Diadochi were the rival generals, family and friends of Alexander the Great who fought for the control of Alexander's empire after his death in 323 BC...
or successors of King Alexander the Great. The capital of Lysimachus’ Kingdom was Ephesus, however when he died in 281 BC he was buried at Lysimachia
Lysimachia (Thrace)
Lysimachia was an important Hellenistic Greek town on the north-western extremity of the Thracian Chersonese in what is now the European part of Turkey, not far from the bay of Melas .- History :...
. When Antiochus II
Antiochus II Theos
Antiochus II Theos was a king of the Hellenistic Seleucid Kingdom who reigned 261 BC – 246 BC). He succeeded his father Antiochus I Soter in the winter of 262–61 BC...
died in July 246 his first wife, his cousin Laodice I
Laodice I
Laodice I was an Anatolian noblewoman who was a close relative of the early Seleucid Dynasty and was the first wife of the Seleucid Greek King Antiochus II Theos. -Family Background:...
placed him in this mausoleum as his final resting place.
Architecture and decoration
The Belevi Mausoleum has only been known through published articles and discussions on individual features of the monument since the 1930s. Earlier studies on the monument’s archaeology and architecture has been premature, however recently more work has been done towards the research and conservation of the monument. The natural materials and other materials used for the construction of the mausoleum were probably sourced locally. The marbles used for the construction of the monument were probably were mined in the region of Ephesus. Two thousand five hundred cubic metres of marble has been estimated were extracted for the building of the mausoleum.The foundation of the mausoleum was square; each side measuring some 29.65 m, suggesting a length of 100 feet of 0.2965 m. The mausoleum was two storey. On the ground level there were three steps supporting the base mouldings. Each plain socle
Socle (architecture)
In architecture, a socle is a short plinth used to support a pedestal, sculpture or column. In the field of archaeology, this term is used to refer to a wall base, frequently of stone, that supports the upper part of the wall, which is made of a different material, frequently mud brick...
surmounted by torus
Molding (decorative)
Molding or moulding is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...
, cavetto
Molding (decorative)
Molding or moulding is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...
and Lesbian cyma
Molding (decorative)
Molding or moulding is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...
. Ten courses of large neatly cut ashlars
Ashlar
Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...
69-88 cm high which constituted the facing of the podium, the total height was 11.37 m. A low architrave, 45 cm high, and a higher Doric frieze
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
ran around the top of the podium. The south side had a deep recess that was cut into the rock core for the burial chamber, which was placed in the centre and sealed from outside. This was done in order to conceal what was in the monument and to protect the monument from tomb raiders. The chamber to which Antiochus II was buried in was a small vestibule with a rectangular back room for his body to be put in a barrel-vault. There was an unfinished false door on the north side of the structure. The top storey had 3 steps which measures 1.12 m high. The top slop served as a stylobate
Stylobate
In classical Greek architecture, a stylobate is the top step of the crepidoma, the stepped platform on which colonnades of temple columns are placed...
for a Corinthian
Corinthian order
The Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...
Peristalsis
Peristasis (architecture)
The Peristasis was a four-sided porch or hall of columns surrounding the cella in an ancient Greek peripteros temple. This allowed priests to pass round the cella in cultic processions. If such a hall of columns surrounds a patio or garden, it is called a peristyle rather than a peristasis...
, with eight columns each side. The roof had flat marble tiles.
The excavators of the tomb restored on each side. Around the edge of the roof, were groups of Lion-Griffins figures facing large stone vases. Pairs of horses were placed at the corners. Little has survived from the mausoleum’s roof. Antiochus II’s mausoleum may have been a step pyramid with a crowning finial on top. On the blocks of the outer architrave bore this Greek religious inscription:
- ΗΛΙΑΔΕΣ ΖΕΥΣ ΦΑΕΔΩΝ ΑΦΡΟΔΙΤΗ
- HeliadesHeliadesIn Greek mythology, the Heliades were the daughters of Helios and Clymene the Oceanid.According to one source, there were three of them: Aegiale, Aegle, and Aetheria. According to another source, there were five: Helia, Merope, Phoebe, Aetheria, and Dioxippe...
ZeusZeusIn the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...
Phaedon AphroditeAphroditeAphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation.Her Roman equivalent is the goddess .Historically, her cult in Greece was imported from, or influenced by, the cult of Astarte in Phoenicia....
There could have been fragments of small-scale palm leaf capital with fluted Doric drum fragments. These parts could have decorated the scheme of the interior. The ceiling was embellished with large coffers. The coffers were painted intensively and adorn with panels on the ceiling. The panels facing north represented funeral games with the reliefs of the other sides dealt with a centauromachy
Lapith
The Lapiths are a legendary people of Greek mythology, whose home was in Thessaly, in the valley of the Peneus and on the mountain Pelion.They were an Aeolian tribe. Like the Myrmidons and other Thessalian tribes, the Lapiths were pre-Hellenic in their origins...
. The burial chamber was the central part of the mausoleum. In it was a large unfinished sarcophagus with a reclining beardless male figure on top. The male figure was formerly crowned with a wreath and held a bowl in its right hand which formed together with standing statue of an oriental servant. The oriental servant characterized by his posture and clothes may have been a royal Persian servant or a page representing a banquet scene. Sculptures and architectural pieces found at the monument still bear remains of their painted finish. The frequent painting replaced carving on the architectural mouldings was a practice reminiscent of Macedonian architecture.
The work of the mausoleum was never finished. If the monument was completed, it could have reached a height of about 35 m. When Lysimachus first erected the monument, the construction of his mausoleum had been interrupted because he died in battle. When Antiochus II died, Laodice I added in addition architectural and sculptural elements for the monument. In 244 BC, Ephesus and the surrounding region came under the rule of the Ptolemaic dynasty
Ptolemaic dynasty
The Ptolemaic dynasty, was a Macedonian Greek royal family which ruled the Ptolemaic Empire in Egypt during the Hellenistic period. Their rule lasted for 275 years, from 305 BC to 30 BC...
. The period that Laodice I spent on further work on her husband’s mausoleum was brief.
The architectural dimensions and designs of the elaborate decorations have Greek and Persian elements. The high square podium with the pyramid on top is non-Greek. Persian influences are strong with some of the sculptural decorations such as the statue of the servant, the roof long-winged Lion-Griffin
Griffin
The griffin, griffon, or gryphon is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle...
figures (symbols of the Persian Kings) and the vases. The Griffins and a centauromachy mean the battle between Centaur and Humans. This was a very common theme, which represents the victory of civilization over barbarism. The way the tomb chamber has been erected was Macedonian. Antiochus II was of Greek Macedonian and Persian descent
Persian people
The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...
.
The life sized statues of the Lion-Griffin figures are on display at the museums at Izmir and Ephesus. The sarcophagus of Antiochus II is on display at the museum at Selçuk together with two Lions. Fragments of the coffers depicting funeral games and the centauromachy are on display at the museums at Selçuk and Izmir. The human figures, horses and large urns are on display at the museums at Selçuk and Izmir.
Sources
- http://www.oeaw.ac.at/antike/index.php?id=30&L=2
- Belevi Mausoleum at Livius.org
- Antiochus II Theos article at Livius.org
- Kusadasi Guide – Historical Places Belevi Mausoleum
- Forum Archaeologiae - Zeitschrift für klassische Archäologie 45/XII/2007: Chemical Analysis of Inclusion Fluids – A new method to pinpoint the origin of white marbles, illustrated at the mausoleum at Belevi
- P.A. Webb, Hellenistic architectural sculpture: figural motifs in western Anatolia and the Aegean Islands, University of Wisconsin Press, 1996
- B.S. Ridway, Prayers in stone: Greek architectural sculpture ca. 600-100 B.C.E., University of California Press, 1999
- D. Facaros & M. Pauls, Turkey, New Holland Publishers, 2000
- B.S. Ridway, Hellenistic sculpture: The styles of ca. 331-200 B.C, University of Wisconsin Press, 2001
- F.E. Winter, Studies in Hellenistic architecture, University of Toronto Press, 2006
External Links
- Photos of Belevi Mausoleum at Livius.org
- Forum Archaeologiae - Zeitschrift für klassische Archäologie 45/XII/2007: Chemical Analysis of Inclusion Fluids – A new method to pinpoint the origin of white marbles, illustrated at the mausoleum at Belevi. Photos of the mausoleum and a scientific paper on the marble and ceramics of the mausoleum