Mouse solos

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Sculpture of the Mouse Solos from his tomb

Maussolos (inscribed also Maussollos ) or Mausolos II. Ruled from 377–353 BC. As a Persian satrap in Caria (on the southwest coast of today's Turkey ). His name lives on in the till today mausoleums designated tombs continued.

family

Maussolos was the son of Hekatomnos of Mylasa and belonged to the Hecatomnid dynasty ; his two brothers were Idrieus and Pixodaros , his sisters Artemisia II and Ada .

history

Since the Persian supremacy was only loose and Maussolos also knew how to use tactics and form a coalition during the satrap revolts , he ruled sovereign and enlarged his area of ​​rule and influence. Without committing himself to a long-term commitment, he supported in 365 BC. The Persian central power, later (362 BC) reluctantly the rebellious satraps and finally (from 357 BC) the members of the 2nd Attic League who fell away from Athens , so that Rhodes and Kos also came under his rule.

Maussolos supported on the one hand the indigenous Anatolian - Carian culture, but on the other hand promoted Greek art and literature ( Hellenization ). Instead of the old Mylasa (today Milas ) he made around 367 BC. The port city of Halicarnassus (today Bodrum ) became the new capital of Caria and had Greek builders and artists equip it with magnificent buildings.

mausoleum

While still alive, he commissioned his own tomb, the Maussoleion , which was only completed under the rule of his sister, wife and successor Artemisia . Because of its magnificence and size, the mausoleum of Halicarnassus was counted among the Seven Wonders of the World. His name became a generic term for magnificent tombs and is still reminiscent of the Persian satrap. The building itself was later badly damaged by an earthquake and its stones were used to build the Crusader Castle of Bodrum. Therefore, today, after excavations by Danish archaeologists, only the foundations and a few remains of the mausoleum are visible.

After Maussolos' death, his widow Artemisia took over the government and ruled until 351 BC. Successful over Caria and Rhodes. According to legend, her love for her brother was so great that she could not be expressed in words or poetry. After his death, Artemisia is said to have suffered so much that she drank her brother's still warm ashes mixed with wine in order to be a living grave for him.

Others

Maussolos is the namesake of Mount Mausolus in Alaska.

literature

Web links

Commons : Mausolus  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. a b Oliver Hülden: Reflections on the significance of the Amazonomachy at the Maussolleion of Halicarnassus. In: Hilmar Klinkott (Ed.): Anatolia in the light of cultural interactions. Acculturation phenomena in Asia Minor and its neighboring regions during the 2nd and 1st millennium BC Chr. Attempto, Tübingen 2001, ISBN 3-893-08333-2 , pp. 83-105, here p. 84 ( online at academia.edu).
  2. Evidenced by an inscription stele from the Letoon