The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus: frieze
- Gallery: Room 21
- Maker: Pytheos
- Culture: Classical Greek
- Date: 350BC (circa)
- Object type: frieze
- Materials: marble
- Museum number: 1847,0424.8
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
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About this object
This is a fragment of the famous Amazon frieze from the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. The marble slab shows five figures locked in battle between Greeks and Amazons. An Amazon, carved across the join of two slabs, prepares to throw her spear. Her pose is dynamic—she leans back, one hand holding a feline skin, while her helmet and outfit reveal classical Greek style.
To her right, a Greek soldier steps forward to protect a falling companion. His gear includes a helmet, cloak, and sword, and he thrusts a shield for protection. Nearby, an Amazon raises an axe to strike the fallen Greek. Her chiton and hairstyle reflect a traditional Greek warrior look.
Further right, another Greek, seen from behind, readies his sword to strike a falling Amazon. Her tattered chiton and split skirt suggest her defeat.
This frieze once adorned a grand tomb designed by Pytheos. The scene, carved in marble, was once enriched with metal attachments and likely painted.
See it in person
The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus: frieze is on display in Room 21 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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