Bryaxis ( grc, Βρύαξις or Βρύασσις; fl. 350 BC) was a
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
sculptor. He created the sculptures on the north side of the
mausoleum of Maussollos at
Halicarnassus
Halicarnassus (; grc, Ἁλικαρνᾱσσός ''Halikarnāssós'' or ''Alikarnāssós''; tr, Halikarnas; Carian: 𐊠𐊣𐊫𐊰 𐊴𐊠𐊥𐊵𐊫𐊰 ''alos k̂arnos'') was an ancient Greek city in Caria, in Anatolia. It was located i ...
which was commissioned by the queen
Artemisia II of Caria
Artemisia II of Caria (Greek: Ἀρτεμισία; died 350 BC) was a naval strategist, commander and the sister (and later spouse) and the successor of Mausolus, ruler of Caria. Mausolus was a satrap of the Achaemenid Empire, yet enjoyed the s ...
in memory of her brother and husband, Mausolus. The three other greatest sculptors of their time,
Leochares
Leochares () was a Greek sculptor from Athens, who lived in the 4th century BC.
Works
Leochares worked at the construction of the Mausoleum of Mausolos at Halicarnassus, one of the "Seven Wonders of the Ancient World". The '' Diana of Versaill ...
,
Scopas
Scopas ( grc-gre, Σκόπας; born in Paros, fl. 4th century BCE) was an ancient Greek sculptor and architect, most famous for his statue of Meleager, the copper statue of Aphrodite, and the head of goddess Hygieia, daughter of Asclepius.
Ea ...
and
Timotheus
Timotheus is a masculine male name. It is a latinized version of the Greek name (Timόtheos) mmeaning "one who honours God", from τιμή "honour" and θεός "god"., . The English version '' Timothy'' (and its variations) is a common name in ...
, were each one responsible for one side of the
grave
A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as grav ...
. The tomb was completed three years after the death of Mausolus and one year after the death of Artemisia. Some authors allege that Bryaxis created a famous colossal statue of
Serapis
Serapis or Sarapis is a Graeco-Egyptian deity. The cult of Serapis was promoted during the third century BC on the orders of Greek Pharaoh Ptolemy I Soter of the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Egypt as a means to unify the Greeks and Egyptians in his r ...
in the temple at Alexandria; however, according to
Michaelis,
Athenodoros Cananites
Athenodorus Cananites (Greek: , ''Athenodoros Kananites''; c. 74 BC7 AD) was a Stoic philosopher.
Life
Athenodorus was born in Canana, near Tarsus (in modern-day Turkey); his father was Sandon. He was a student of Posidonius of Rhodes, and t ...
expressly pointed out that the Bryaxis connected with the Alexandrian statue was merely a namesake of the famous Bryaxis. The works of Bryaxis include a bronze statue of Seleucus,
king of Syria
The title King of Syria appeared in the second century BC in referring to the Seleucid kings who ruled the entirety of the region of Syria. It was also used to refer to Aramean kings in the Greek translations of the Old Testament, mainly indicatin ...
, five huge statues at Rhodes, and a statue of Apollo at Daphne near
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...
.
References
Year of death missing
4th-century BC Greek sculptors
Hellenistic sculptors
Ancient Greeks in Caria
Ptolemaic court
Serapis
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