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Halicarnassus (Bodrum) |
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| Unless otherwise indicated, pictures on this page © Marco Prins and Jona Lendering. Photos can be downloaded and used for non-commercial purposes, but you have to acknowledge Livius. | ||
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This picture shows a mosaic, now in London's British Museum, from the
fourth century CE: the lady represents the city of
Halicarnassus.
When the mosaic was made, the settlement must have been a thousand years old. The town is supposed to have been founded by Dorian Greeks, but there must have been an older village of native Carians. Anyhow, it became part of the Achaemenid Empire in the mid-sixth century BCE and was one of its most important military ports. |
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Remains of the Persian age are scarse, but this beautiful sphinx (now in the archaeological museum in the castle of Bodrum) compensates much. It is a rare example of free-standing Achaemenid art. One reason for the paucity of Persian remains is that they belong to the oldest, and deepest strata, which are hard to excavate in a city near the sea. Another explanation is that in Turkey, the Achaemenid age is not a really popular subject. | |
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This chalcite jar was discovered in the famous Mausoleum
of Halicarnassus. It is interesting, because it mentions the name of the
Achaemenid king Xerxes
(486-465), who must have given it to his contemporary, queen Artemisia
of Halicarnassus. She must have kept this rare object, which was made
in Egypt, and it must have continued to circulate in the family, until
it was left behind as a funeral gift in the Mausoleum. Today, this jar
is in the British Museum in London.
In the mid-fourth century, a member of the royal family, Maussolus, refounded Halicarnassus and made it the capital of his satrapy, Caria. |
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The new fortifications -the picture shows the Myndus gate- were the best in the world, and in the autumn of 334, the Macedonian conqueror Alexander the Great was unable to capture the city, which was defended by Memnon of Rhodes. Although Alexander occupied parts of Halicarnassus, he could not seize the harbor district, and was forced to move on. | |
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The Myndus gate again. Note the man (in blue in the center) and the size of the fortifications. A satellite photo can be found here. | |
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This map shows the walls of Halicarnassus. The main fortress was on the Royal Island, in the port. Today, there is a castle on this island (satellite photo). | |
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Salmacis, the hill west of the harbor of Halicarnassus, seen from the castle (satellite photo). There are indications that in the fifth century BCE, Salmacis was the Carian quarter of city. | |
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According to a myth retold by the Roman poet Ovid, this was the place where the nymph Salmacis fell in love with Hermaphroditus. The two became one, bisexual being. In Antiquity, there was a sanctuary for this hermaphrodyte. This statue of Hermaphroditus can be see in Rome, in the Palazzo Massimo. | |
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The Hellenistic theater (left; satellite photo) and the acropolis of Halicarnassus, seen from the castle. | |
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Reconstruction of the tomb of a woman who has been identified with Ada, the female satrap of Caria in the age of Alexander the Great. Bodrum museum. | |
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Wreath of Ada, found in her tomb. Bodrum museum. | |
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The skeleton of Ada, Bodrum museum. | |
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Part of the decoration of the theater of Halicarnassus: masks. Bodrum museum. | |
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A gladiator on a relief in the Bodrum museum. Although we know gladiators as a Roman "invention", they were especially popular in the Greek half of the Roman empire. This gladiator is called a scissor, "cutter". | |
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A mosaic from a villa of late Antiquity, showing a hunt. | |
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And another mosaic from the fourth century: Phobos, or fear. Both mosaics are now in the British Museum. | |
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