The ruins of the Maussolleion in Bodrum, Turkey, provide a fascinating insight into the design origins of the House of the Temple in Washington, D.C

Photo: Tomb/Temple of Maussollos
A Wonder of the Ancient World

The word mausoleum, often meaning monumental tomb, comes from the name Maussollos. The Maussolleion building is the monumental tomb of Maussollos, son of Hekatomnos, who was the Persian Satrap for Halicarnassus in Bodrum, Turkey, some 2,380 years ago. Using the Maussolleion as his inspiration and model, the famous American architect John Russell Pope designed the headquarters of the Supreme Council, 33°, Southern Jurisdiction, USA, in Washington, D.C. (See front cover.) The original building had been made famous by writers in antiquity as one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Milas (Mylasa) was the capital city of the province of Caria when Maussollos was crowned Satrap on the behalf of the Persian king in 377 B.C. Soon after, Maussollos decided to move the capital of Caria to Halicarnassus. Previously a small town of little significance and modest means, Halicarnassus became the most important stronghold of the province.

The royal palace and the important facilities of the city were surrounded by four miles of city walls. Outside the east wall was the port of Emporium where merchant vessels landed and unloaded their cargoes. During the time of Maussollos, new areas were added to the ancient quarters of the city, and those areas were made accessible by a system of streets crossing each other at 90-degree angles. Those streets can still be traced in the city plan of modern Bodrum. On the ancient avenue which leads to the gate towards another port, Myndos, an extremely large area was reserved for the tomb of Maussollos. This area is now near the principal market square in the center of present-day Bodrum. Such prominent places of honor were traditionally only bestowed on prominent city benefactors. They would be worshiped after their deaths as heroes and even gods.

Model of Maussolleion, Bodrum, Turkey

Maussollos died in 353 B.C., and his wife, Artemisia, died two years after him. Ancient writers credited this remarkable woman with organizing and supervising the erection of the Maussolleion. In ancient times, the building was located on an artificial terrace measuring 315 by 726 feet. The terrace was surrounded with a white marble wall. A section of the east side of this wall can still be seen today. The building occupied a relatively small part of the terrace which, most probably, was designed to provide sufficient space for elaborate rituals and ceremonies.

House of the Temple, Washington, D.C.

A model of the building, as seen on this page, was reconstructed using the references of remaining building elements and the information recorded by Roman writer Pliny in his Natural History written in 1 A.D. The upper portion of the building had 36 columns, 11 on the longer side and 9 on the shorter side, forming an oblong plan. This area was covered with a stepped roof of 24 levels, carrying a four-horse marble chariot on the top. The total height of the building was about 164 feet.

The edifice had extensive decorations, and it was well known for its sculptures. In 1857, British excavations, by the permission of Ottoman Empire's Government, resulted in important findings which are now in the British Museum. Groups of sculptures that once decorated the building range from figures of human scale to colossal representations. The largest group was the four-horse chariot at the top of the building. There were sculptures of guardian lions at the lower steps of the roof and human figures all around the facade. The famous Amazon frieze of the British Museum comes from the podium (below the colonnade level) of the Maussolleion itself.

The exterior of the building was white marble and bluish limestone, while the lower part of the podium and the interiors were built of greenish lava blocks measuring 1 by 3 by 3 feet. There were an estimated 160,000 individual blocks used in the original construction. However, in 1495 the Knights of St. John, using its stones to fortify the castle of St. Peter in Bodrum, started a systematic demolishment of the building. In the course of two decades, the structure was leveled to its foundations, and its burial chamber discovered.

When I moved to Washington, D.C., I was excited to see the building re-erected by our Scottish Rite Brothers in the heart of our nation's capital. As a Scottish Rite Mason in the Valley of Washington, D.C., I was equally excited visiting the site of the Maussolleion in Turkey. Today, the original site is a museum in modern Bodrum. I was proud to see the picture of the House of the Temple of Washington, D.C., displayed with Masonic references at this ancient site in Turkey.

Tomb of Maussollos, Cross-section drawing

The original building's 27-feet-wide stairs led down to the sacrifice area (180 square feet) and burial chamber (19 x 22 feet). Plug blocks sealed the burial chamber, and the drainage and climate control systems remain the most impressive elements of the ruins. The plug blocks still have traces of repeated unsuccessful attempts by tomb robbers. However, the tomb chamber was eventually entered through a tunnel underneath the foundations.

The town of Bodrum, host city of the Knights of St. John, still jealously preserves its unique Mediterranean architectural style as well as the beauties of the Aegean Coast. The Maussolleion site is only one of the city's many other ancient landmarks and museums. Certainly, one of the most outstanding is the Bodrum Museum of Underwater Archaeology in Bodrum Castle built by the Knights of St. John. More than a collection of lifeless relics, the museum provides an original, creative, and exciting experience. Its exhibits take visitors back in time to the world of ancient mariners who sailed to meet their destiny and shipwrecked on Anatolian shores or to the medieval age of knights who built this castle from stones that once were part of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World-the Maussolleion.

Sources: Ministry of Tourism, Turkey; Mr. Oguz Alpozen, Director of the Bodrum Museum in Turkey; The Maussolleion at Ancient Halicarnassus by Kristian Jeppessen

Ruins of the Maussolleion
Bodrum, Turkey

View of the site

Inside underground galleries

Stairs down to the burial chamber

Fragment of the Amazon frieze

Entrance to the underground galleries

Remains from the 36 columns

Photos by Murat M. Mayor

M. Mayor, Ph.D. is an architect and business administrator who specializes in the design of religious complexes and temples. Invited to Egypt for research on ancient architecture, he published several articles and gave lectures on historical architecture, computer-aided design, and decision methodologies in architecture and urban planning.