Editing Mausoleum at Halicarnassus (section)

==Construction==
[[File:Mausoleum - Halicarnassos 149.jpg|thumb|Reconstitutions of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus.]]
It is likely that Mausolus started to plan the tomb before his death, as part of the building works in Halicarnassus, so that when he died, Artemisia continued the building project. Artemisia spared no expense in building the tomb. She sent messengers to Greece to find the most talented artists of the time. These included Scopas, the man who had supervised the rebuilding of the [[Temple of Artemis]] at [[Ephesus]]. The famous sculptors were (in the [[Vitruvius]] order): Leochares, Bryaxis, Scopas, and Timotheus, as well as hundreds of other craftsmen.

The tomb was erected on a hill overlooking the city. The whole structure sat in an enclosed [[courtyard]]. At the center of the courtyard was a stone platform on which the tomb sat. A stairway flanked by stone lions led to the top of the platform, which bore along its outer walls many statues of gods and goddesses. At each corner, stone warriors mounted on horseback guarded the tomb. At the center of the platform, the marble tomb rose as a square tapering block to one-third of the Mausoleum's {{convert|45|m|abbr=on}} height. This section was covered with [[bas-relief]]s showing action scenes, including the battle of the [[centaur]]s with the [[lapith]]s and Greeks in combat during the [[Amazonomachy]].{{Citation needed|date=October 2021}}

On the top of this section of the tomb thirty-six slim columns, ten per side, with each corner sharing one column between two sides; rose for another third of the height. Standing between each pair of columns was a statue. Behind the columns was a solid [[cella]]-like block that carried the weight of the tomb's massive roof. The roof, which comprised most of the final third of the height, was [[pyramid]]al. Perched on the top was a [[quadriga]]: four massive horses pulling a [[chariot]] in which rode images of Mausolus and Artemisia.{{Citation needed|date=October 2021}}