PeloPonneseArGOLISPeloPonneseSIGHTSPeloPonneseANCIENT MYCENAEThe historical facts are that Mycenae was
first settled by Neolithic people in the 6th
millennium BC. Between 2100 and 1900 BC,
during the Bronze Age, Greece was invaded
by people of Indo-European heritage who
had crossed Anatolia via Troy to Greece. The
newcomers brought an advanced culture to
then-primitive Mycenae and other mainland
settlements. This new civilisation is now
referred to as the Mycenaean, named after
its most powerful kingdom. The other king-
doms included Pylos, Tiryns, Corinth and
Argos, all in the Peloponnese.
Mycenae consisted of a fortified citadel
and surrounding settlement. Due to the
sheer size of the citadel walls (13m high and
7m thick), formed by stone blocks weighing 6
tonnes in places, the Ancient Greeks believed
they must have been built by a Cyclops, one
of the giants described in the Odyssey.
Archaeological evidence indicates that
the palaces of the Mycenaean kingdoms
declined some time around 1200 BC and
the palace itself was set ablaze around 1100
BC. Whether the destruction was the work
of outsiders or due to internal division be-
tween the various Mycenaean kingdoms re-
mains unresolved.
As to whether the Agamemnon of legend
ever existed, if Homer’s Odyssey is to be be-
lieved he took part in the siege of Troy around
1100 BC, whereas the tombs attributed to him
and his wife date back to around 1300 BC.
1 Sights
oTreasury of Atreus
(Agamemnon’s Tomb) ArCHAEOLOGICAL SITE
(adult/concession incl Ancient Mycenae site &
museum €8/4; h8am-6pm) Dating back to
around 1300 BC, this is the finest existing
example of a domed tholos tomb, made by
filing down the layers of breccia blocks to
create the smooth interior. It’s wonderfully
misnamed, since it has little to do with the
mythical Atreus, or with his equally mythi-
cal son, Agamemnon, but the interior is tru-
ly awe-inspiring, with a 40m-long passage
leading to the vast beehive-shaped chamber.
Spot the original bronze nails that once held
the door in place.Ancient Mycenae Museum MuSEuM
(adult/concession incl Ancient Mycenae site & Ag-
amemon’s Tomb €8/4; h8am-6pm) Part of the
Ancient Mycenae complex, this museum is
well worth visiting before seeing the rest of
the site. It initiates you into the mysteries of
Mycenae’s construction, its various incarna-
tions and its excavation from 1841 onwards.
The displays run the gamut from fine stirrup
jars and fresco fragments to ritual objects,
jewellery and bronze weaponry. Replicas of
archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann’s most
spectacular Mycenae finds are also dis-
played; the originals are in Athens’ National
Archaeological Museum.AGAMEMNON, KING OF MYCENAEAgamemnon, son of Atreus, is one of the principal characters in Homer’s epic poem
The Iliad and crops up regularly in Greek legend. The king of Mycenae, he led the Greeks
during the Trojan War.
Agamemnon and his brother Menelaus married the daughters of the King of Sparta,
Clytemnestra and Helen, respectively. According to legend, Helen then eloped with Paris,
the son of the Trojan king, taking all of her (rather valuable) possessions with her. This
was the catalyst for the Trojan War (her face ‘had launched a thousand ships’), as Agam-
emnon called on the Greek princes to unite in a war of revenge. Artemis, the goddess of
hunting, however, stalled the departing warships with adverse winds because Agamem-
non had angered her by claiming he was the better hunter. To make peace with Artemis,
Agamemnon was forced to sacrifice his daughter, Iphigenia. Artemis set the seas right
again, and the Greek ships sailed for Troy, where a 10-year siege ensued. In the war’s final
year, Agamemnon had a jealous quarrel with Achilles over the attentions of a captive
female, which could have cost the Greeks the war.
Finally, though, Agamemnon returned home victorious with his war spoils, which in-
cluded the Trojan princess Cassandra. His victory was short-lived: his wife Clytemnestra
was justifiably upset about her sacrificed daughter and murdered Agamemnon with the
help of her lover, Aegisthus. In classic dysfunctional-family Greek-legend style, Agamem-
non’s daughter, Electra, and her brother, Orestes, avenged their father’s death by then
murdering Aegisthus and Clytemnestra.