
Тhis colossal lion, carved from a single block of marble, weighs some six tons and is now on display in the Great Court of the Museum. It was originally on the top of a funerary monument at Knidos, set on a headland with a sheer cliff-face that falls around 200 feet into the sea. The monument itself was square with a circular interior chamber and a stepped-pyramid roof. It is a type of funerary monument inspired by the greater tomb of Maussollos, built about 350 BC at Halikarnassos, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and less than a day’s sail from Knidos.