The Lion of Knidos

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Weighing more than seven tons, this enormous lion comes from a tomb located within the ancient cemetery of Knidos, a coastal city situated in southwest Turkey. The tomb stood at the edge of a cliff overlooking the approach to Knidos harbor, its imposing presence dominating the landscape. Rising 18 meters high, the building itself was capped with a pyramid-shaped roof topped by the colossal lion statue. Crafted from marble quarried on Mount Pentelikon near Athens, Greece, the lion's massive form looms over the Aegean Sea. The lower jaw and front paws are missing, leaving empty eye sockets that once shone brightly with metal or glass inlays to reflect the light. At least 12 individual burial chambers arranged in a circle lie within the tomb, potentially serving multiple generations of the same family. Alternatively, the shield carved into one of the outside walls suggests that the tomb may have held unknown casualties from a military conflict. Archaeologists continue to debate the date of the tomb and its magnificent lion, with some placing it 50 years after the mausoleum at Halikarnassos, built around 370-350 BC, while others believe it was constructed in the second century BC.