The Belevi Mausoleum, also known as the Mausoleum at Belevi''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.2 is a Hellenistic monument tomb located in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

. The intended occupant of the tomb may have been Antigonus Monophthalmus (r. 323-301) or Lysimachus (r. 323-281), and it may subsequently have been the burial place of the Seleucid king

Antiochus II Theos Antiochus II Theos ( grc-gre, Ἀντίοχος Θεός, ; 286 – July 246 BC) was a Greek king of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire who reigned from 261 to 246 BC. He succeeded his father Antiochus I Soter in the winter of 262–61 BC. He wa ...

(r. 261–246 BC).Antiochus II Theos article at Livius.org
/ref>

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 locatedFacaros,''Turkey'', p.255 and sits on an isolated hillside.Webb, ''Hellenistic architectural sculpture: figural motifs in western Anatolia and the Aegean Islands'', p.76 The mausoleum is located 14 km northeast of Ephesus next to the modern highway from

İzmir İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban aggl ...

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 Kuşadası () is a large resort town on Turkey's Aegean coast, and the center of the seaside district of the same name within Aydın Province. Kuşadası is south of İzmir, and about from Aydın. The municipality's primary industry is tour ...

.Kusadasi Guide – Historical Places Belevi Mausoleum
/ref>

Dating

The Belevi Mausoleum is the second largest mausoleum in

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...

after the

Mausoleum of Halicarnassus The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus or Tomb of Mausolus ( grc, Μαυσωλεῖον τῆς Ἁλικαρνασσοῦ; tr, Halikarnas Mozolesi) was a tomb built between 353 and 350 BC in Halicarnassus (present Bodrum, Turkey) for Mausolus, an ...

which it resembles and it is also the second highest tomb house of ancient Anatolia. The influence of this tomb seems to have been widespread throughout the Hellenistic world directly or indirectly in the construction of other royal tombs.Winter, ''Studies in Hellenistic architecture'', p.83 According to archaeological dating in ornaments and ceramics from the monument, the mausoleum was first erected around 301 BC-281 BCRidgway, ''Hellenistic sculpture: The styles of ca. 331-200 BC.'', p.187 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 (Greek: Μέμνων ὁ Ῥόδιος; c. 380 – 333 BC) was a prominent Rhodian Greek commander in the service of the Persian Achaemenid Empire. Related to the Persian aristocracy by the marriage of his sister to the satr ...

, who in that year died in a naval encounter before

Lesbos Lesbos or Lesvos ( el, Λέσβος, Lésvos ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece. It is separated from Asia Minor by the nar ...

. Others who may have owned the tomb were the brothers of Memnon:

Mentor of Rhodes Mentor of Rhodes ( grc, Μέντωρ Ῥόδιος) () was a Greek mercenary and later Satrap of the Asiatic coast. He fought both for and against Artaxerxes III of Persia. He is also known as the first husband of Barsine, who later became mist ...

(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 Antigonos Monophthalmus or Lysimachus, two of the

Diadochi The Diadochi (; singular: Diadochus; from grc-gre, Διάδοχοι, Diádochoi, Successors, ) were the rival generals, families, and friends of Alexander the Great who fought for control over his empire after his death in 323 BC. The War ...

or successors of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

, who ruled western Asia Minor in the late fourth century BC. It was possibly inspired by the

. There is no literary evidence for the location of Antigonus's tomb. Lysimachus is known to have been buried elsewhere - in a mausoleum at

Lysimachia ''Lysimachia'' () is a genus consisting of 193 accepted species of flowering plants traditionally classified in the family Primulaceae. Based on a molecular phylogenetic study it was transferred to the family Myrsinaceae, before this family wa ...

, a city that he had founded on the

Thracian Chersonese The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied ...

. When Antiochus II died in July 246 his first wife and cousin

Laodice I Laodice I ( el, Λαοδίκη; flourished 3rd century BC, died before 236 BC) was a Greek noblewoman of Anatolia who was a close relative of the early Seleucid dynasty and was the first wife of the Seleucid Greek King Antiochus II Theos. Family ...

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. Belevi_2

The foundation of the mausoleum was square; each side measuring some 29.65 m, suggesting a length of 100 feet of 0.2965 m.Winter, ''Studies in Hellenistic architecture'', p.82 The mausoleum was two stories. On the ground level there were three steps supporting the base mouldings. Each plain socle was surmounted by

torus In geometry, a torus (plural tori, colloquially donut or doughnut) is a surface of revolution generated by revolving a circle in three-dimensional space about an axis that is coplanar with the circle. If the axis of revolution does not tou ...

cavetto A cavetto is a concave moulding with a regular curved profile that is part of a circle, widely used in architecture as well as furniture, picture frames, metalwork and other decorative arts. In describing vessels and similar shapes in pottery, ...

and Lesbian cyma. Ten courses of large neatly cut ashlars, 69–88 cm high, which constituted the facing of the podium, made for a total height of 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 measuring 1.12 m high. The top slope served as a

stylobate In classical Greek architecture, a stylobate ( el, στυλοβάτης) is the top step of the crepidoma, the stepped platform upon which colonnades of temple columns are placed (it is the floor of the temple). The platform was built on a level ...

for a

Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to: *Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible: **First Epistle to the Corinthians **Second Epistle to the Corinthians **Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox) *A demonym relating to ...

Peristalsis Peristalsis ( , ) is a radially symmetrical contraction and relaxation of muscles that propagate in a wave down a tube, in an anterograde direction. Peristalsis is progression of coordinated contraction of involuntary circular muscles, whic ...

, with eight columns on each side. The roof had flat marble tiles. Belevi_4

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. The blocks of the outer architrave bore this Greek inscription: :ΗΛΙΑΔΕΣ ΖΕΥΣ ΦΑΕΔΩΝ ΑΦΡΟΔΙΤΗ : Heliades

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek reli ...

Phaedon

Aphrodite Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols inclu ...

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.''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.3 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 This is a list of monarchs of Persia (or monarchs of the Iranic peoples, in present-day Iran), which are known by the royal title Shah or Shahanshah. This list starts from the establishment of the Medes around 671 BCE until the deposition of the ...

) 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.

References

Bibliography

Belevi Mausoleum at Turkish Archaeological News

Antiochus II Theos article at Livius.org

Belevi Mausoleum at Turkish Archaeological News
* E. Trinkl, "Chemical Analysis of Inclusion Fluids – A new method to pinpoint the origin of white marbles, illustrated at the mausoleum at Belevi" ''Zeitschrift für klassische Archäologie'' 12 (2007): 4

* 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 * P. Ruggendorfer, ''Das Mausoleum von Belevi''. Vienna, 2016.

External links