The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

This enormous white marble tomb was built to hold the remains of Mausolus (Mausollos), a provincial king in the Persian Empire, and his wife, Artemisia . Greek architects Satyrus and Pythius designed the approximately 135-foot-high tomb, and four famous Grecian sculptors added an ornamental frieze (decorated band) around its exterior.

Word of the grandeur of the finished structure spread though the ancient world, and the word "mausoleum" came to represent any large tomb.

The monument was damaged by an earthquake in the early 15th century and eventually disassembled. Only the foundation and some pieces remain. The British Museum in London has several of the mausoleum's sculptures.

Location: In what is now southwestern Turkey

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The Temple of Artemis (Diana) at Ephesus

The great Ionian city of Ephesus was chosen as the site for one of the largest and most complex temples built in ancient times. The Temple of Artemis (Diana) had a marble sanctuary and a tile-covered wooden roof.

Conceived by architect Chersiphron and his son, Metagenes, the temple's inner space featured a double row of at least 106 columns, each believed to be 40 to 60 feet high. The foundation was approximately 200 feet by 400 feet.

The original temple burned in 356 B.C. and was rebuilt on the same foundation. Fire devastated the second temple in 262 A.D., but its foundation and some debris have survived. The British Museum in London counts some of the second temple's sculptures among its treasures.

Location: In Greek city of Ephesus, on west coast of modern Turkey