mausoleum (môsəlē´əm), a sepulchral structure or tomb, especially one of some size and architectural pretension, so called from the sepulcher of that name at Halicarnassus, Asia Minor, erected (c.352 BC) in memory of Mausolus of Caria. It was a magnificent white marble structure, considered by the ancients one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Presumably in the form of an Ionic peristyle set on a lofty and massive base that contained the sarcophagus, it was surmounted by a stepped pyramid on whose truncated apex was a marble quadriga, or four-horse chariot. It was richly decorated with sculpture, including works of Scopas and, quite probably, of Praxiteles. The building itself was demolished for the purpose of reusing the material, but some of the sculpture was recovered (1846) for the British Museum.

A notable Roman mausoleum (135–39) is that of Hadrian in Rome. It was originally a great circular drum sheathed in marble and perhaps covered by a conical stepped roof of masonry; its form, however, has been changed beyond recognition. It is now called Castel Sant' Angelo.

Under the Mughal emperors of India was built a remarkable series of domed mausoleums, many of them used as pleasure pavilions during the owner's lifetime. The most celebrated mausoleum, built by Shah Jahan at Agra, is known as the Taj Mahal. Notable mausoleums of modern times are those of Napoleon under the Dôme des Invalides, Paris; of President U. S. Grant on Riverside Drive, New York City; and of Lenin in Red Square, Moscow. In the United States the term mausoleum is used loosely to describe any sepulchral building above the surface of the ground.

mausoleum (pl. mausolea). Any roofed building used as a tomb, detached or joined to another building (e.g. a church), containing coffins, sarcophagi, or urns, often on shelves. The term originated with the C4 BC Hellenistic Ionic tomb of King Mausolos of Caria at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Bibliography

Colvin (1991);
J. Curl (2002);
Hillenbrand (1994);
Toynbee (1971)

mausoleum a building, especially a large and stately one, housing a tomb or tombs. The word comes via Latin from Greek Mausōlos, the name of a king of Caria (4th century bc), to whose tomb in Halicarnassus, erected by his queen Artemisia and considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the name was originally applied.

mausoleum Impressive tomb. The widow of Mausolus (from whom the term derives), ruler of Caria, raised a great tomb to his memory at Halicarnassus (c.350 bc). It became one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The best-known mausoleum is the Taj Mahal in Agra, n India.

mau·so·le·um / ˌmôzəˈlēəm; ˌmôsə-/ • n. (pl. -le·a / -ˈlēə/ or -le·ums ) a building, esp. a large and stately one, housing a tomb or tombs.

mausoleum XVI. — L. mausōlēum — Gr. mausōleion the magnificent tomb of Mausōlus, king of Caria, erected 353 B.C. at Halicarnassus by his queen Artemisia and accounted one of the seven wonders of the world.

mausoleum •um •Graeme, graham •athenaeum, atheneum, coliseum, Liam, lyceum, mausoleum, museum, peritoneum, propylaeum, Te Deum •Rijksmuseum