The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus: frieze
- Gallery: Room 21
- Maker: Pytheos
- Culture: Classical Greek
- Date: 350BC (circa)
- Object type: frieze
- Materials: marble
- Museum number: 1847,0424.2
- 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
Before you is a fragment of the Amazon frieze from "The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus," a masterpiece designed by Pytheos. This marble slab shows a dramatic scene of Greeks and Amazons locked in combat.
You’ll see a Greek warrior, nearly nude, delivering a powerful kick to a fallen Amazon, who is defended by another. The Amazon in the middle wears a belted chiton and boots, with long hair, while her companion wears a chlamys and holds a shield.
To the right, a mounted Amazon charges, and the Greek grips his shield tightly, hand outstretched as if holding a spear. The horse rears up dramatically, adding to the intensity of the scene. A Greek leg is visible on the far right, suggesting more figures once surrounded this battle.
Carved from marble, the frieze originally depicted these figures in high relief, with weapons and metal accents added. The intricate detail shows the Classical Greek mastery of movement and emotion.
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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