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Todd Bolen/bibleplaces.Com

One of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus was the inspiration for the grand Hellenistic tomb erected by Simon Maccabee, younger brother of Judah Maccabee, for the family tomb and victory memorial he erected in Modiin, the family’s home town. Neither the Mausoleum nor the tomb of the Maccabees survive, but other examples, such as Jason’s Tomb in central modern Jerusalem preserve Hellenistic architectural elements. Jason’s Tomb, so called because it contains a graffito with that name, was built with a Doric column in antis—between two walls of the porch. A pyramidal roof and loculi (niches carved in the walls to hold the bodies) are also Greek touches.