Long before the city states of Classical Greece such as Athens, Sparta and Corinth, there was
another superpower in Greece; the Mycenaeans. Arising as a power in the late Bronze Age,
the Mycenaeans were little more than a distant cultural memory for Classical Greeks,
their legacy surviving in myths, such as Homer’s Iliad.
What also remained, however, were some of the ruins of the cities they had created.
These were so impressive to the Classical Greeks that they assumed they had been built by cyclopes,
a race of giants that predated humans. In this episode, we shall look at arguably the
most impressive of those cities and the focal point of that ancient civilisation, Mycenae.
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The site of Mycenae is located in the Peloponnese, just to the west of the Isthmus of Corinth.
According to Greek myth it was founded by one of the greatest pre-Heracles heroes, Perseus,
getting the name Mycenae from the mushroom cap (which in Greek is Mykes) that adorned the hilt
of his sword. Archaeological evidence shows that the site was inhabited from as early as 5,000 BC,
and it is easy to see why when looking at its location. It was ideally situated with
a hill providing natural defences in the typical acropolis style, surrounded by arable farmland,
and controlled access to the Isthmus of Corinth, a vital trade node in mainland Greece.
Thanks to this ideal location the settlement grew considerably, particularly between 2000-1550 BC
by which time it had become established enough to draw people and cultural influences from
further afield, particularly from the Cretan Minoans, the most significant Greek civilisation
at that time. As the Minoan civilisation declined, the Mycenaeans developed,
becoming the premier Aegean culture after the Minoan collapse around 1420 BC.
The period of approximately 1600-1100 BC in Greece has thus become known as
Mycenaean Greece and marks the golden age of Mycenae as a city. If Homer is to be believed,
then it was near the end of this time-period that the famous Agamemnon ruled over Mycenae and led
his famous expedition against Troy. It is this period of the city that we shall focus on today.
The main citadel of Mycenae was surrounded by the Lower Town, where most of the civilian population
would have lived, which in turn was surrounded by a fortifying wall. Excavations of this part of the
settlement are still in their comparatively early days, and so relatively little is known of this
area, but what has survived in detail are a number of Mycenaean tombs for royalty and elite that are
in the area. There are two types of these tombs in the area, the tholos or beehive tombs, and
Grave Circle B. Grave Circle B is the earlier form of tomb, being constructed around 1650-1550 BC.
It consisted of 26 graves most of which were shaft graves, deep graves topped by a small
mound and stele which was typical in Greece at the time, surrounded by a circular wall.
Gravesites such as this and the others at Mycenae are crucial in giving us a glimpse into the
culture and lifestyle of the city’s social elite. The earliest graves in the circle were smaller
and shallower with less extravagant gifts, but as the city grew, the graves became more luxurious,
with more gold gifts being left with the dead than in earlier examples. Women were also included in
the gravesite later into its existence, often being buried with more opulence than the men.
Women were buried richly dressed with earrings, necklaces and bracelets of gold and silver,
while men were buried with marks of their status as part of the warrior elite, such as weaponry
and clothes with some minor gold lining. In both gender’s graves, goods from the Cyclades Islands
and Crete have been found, showing the wealth and trading capacity of Mycenae at the time. The
cultural and political development of the city can be further traced by looking at Grace Circle A.
Perhaps confusingly, this grave circle is actually newer than Grave Circle B,
being constructed between around 1550 and 1500. The two grave circles would thus have overlapped
each other in time, the newest graves of Grave Circle B being constructed around the same time
as the oldest of Circle A. Though constructed in a similar fashion to B with shaft graves and
a circular wall, Circle A was built within the walls of the citadel itself. Circle A’s graves
are more opulent than those in Grave Circle B. These graves were full of golden death masks,
full sets of orate weaponry that were clearly more artistic than militaristic, ornate staffs,
jewellery and cups of gold and silver. Almost 15 kilos worth of gold was found, an impressively
large horde for Greece, though far smaller than the Egyptian pharaohs, such as Tutankhamun.
Most famous among the discoveries found here are the Mask of Agamemnon and Cup of Nestor,
both again discovered and named by Schliemann. The assertion that they did belong to the Homeric
heroes has been largely debunked, but they are nonetheless incredible works of craftsmanship
for their time. Exquisite bull heads also show the influence of Minoan culture on Mycenae,
but at the same time, ornate depictions of battles and hunting scenes, particularly on the
Lion Hunt dagger, show a distinctly Mycenaean style. The Grave Site therefore shows us the
development of the culture of Mycenae, how it adopted Minoan cultural influences
and developed upon them crafting out a unique identity. However, though these were luxurious
graves for their time, they are eclipsed by the magnificence of the later tholos tombs.
The tholos tombs were built near the end of the Mycenaean golden age, around 1250 BC and reflect
the huge prestige the city had garnered in the past centuries. They were constructed outside the
walls of the citadel, and would have been passed by any approaching the Lower Town and citadel of
Mycenae. Tholos tombs are built in a false dome style by corbelling stones on top of each other,
and have distinctive long corridors leading to the entrance. The tombs were either dug
into already existing hills, or were covered with soil after their construction.
These kinds of tombs take much more skill and craftsmanship than the previously discussed shaft
graves and are a testament to how far Mycenae had developed. Out of the 9 tholoi at Mycenae, the
most striking example is the so-called Treasury of Atreus also known as the Tomb of Agamemnon.
The tomb was discovered by infamous amateur archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann. Schliemann
had an obsession with attempting to find archaeological evidence for the Trojan War,
and so claimed them to be the tombs of famous figures from the Trojan Cycle, as Pausanias
had previously. Pausanias. The historicity of the Trojan War is still much debated, as is the
date when it is assumed to have happened, and so Schliemann’s labelling of the tomb as being that
of Agamemnon or Atreus should be taken with a healthy degree of scepticism. Nevertheless,
it is clear that whichever king was buried there was rich and powerful. The doorway to the tomb is
mounted by a 120 ton lintel, the largest lintel in the world, above which is a relieving triangle to
distribute the weight. It is small wonder then that the Classical Greeks thought only Cyclopes
would have been strong and skilled enough to have made such a construction. The entrance to the tomb
was flanked on the outside by two large false columns of green marble from the Mani Peninsula
carved with a zig-zag pattern. Above these were two smaller false columns of red marble
from Laconia. The lintel would have been topped by green marble with carved patterns,
while the relieving triangle also would have been filled with carved rock, likely with similarly
patterned colours to the columns. The interior of the tomb would also have been a wealth of colour,
painted in red porphyry and green alabaster, a particularly rare painting colour for the time.
Pin holes in the wall also suggest that there would have been bronze decorations on the walls
inside. William Cavanagh estimates that the tomb would have taken around more than 18,000
‘man days’ to create, truly a colossal undertaking. The tomb and all the mastery that
went into its construction, the rarity and luxury of the marble and paints used in its decoration,
and the time and resources spent on it are all testament to how powerful Mycenae had become
since the time of the kings found in Grave Site B. The real majesty of Mycenae, however,
was the citadel and palace. What remains of these constructions is largely the works made in the
13th century during the Mycenaean golden age, with much of the earlier constructions having
been built over by these. This was the Mycenae that would have been described in Homer’s Iliad.
After passing the tholoi and grave site B, anyone entering the citadel would be greeted
by the site of Mycenae defences. The colossal walls were 6-8 metres thick in some places,
and the citadel was clearly designed with defence in mind. An underground reservoir,
supplied by a natural spring, the Perseia (named after its founder Perseus) ensured that the city
would be constantly supplied with water even during a siege. On the north side of the city
there was a small postern gate, used to either sally out during a siege, or as an exit in times
of danger. This was not, however, the main gate. The main entrance into these huge fortifications
was the famous Lion Gate, which is still partially intact today. A bastion protruding
on the right narrowed the entryway considerably, creating a small courtyard in front of the gate,
which would have limited the numbers of any attackers hoping to break through. The Lion Gate,
the main entrance into the almost [missing number] feet thick walls, was huge. The gateway measures
approximately 3 metres wide and 3 metres high, which would have been secured by a large double
door. Atop the gate was the magnificent relief of two rampant lions either side of a column,
also 3 metres high. There is much speculation about whether these were in fact lions, or perhaps
sphinxes, and about what they represented. Given that there have been found numerous examples of
Mycenaean religious art featuring rampant animals either side of a vertical divide,
such as a column or tree, the relief probably had a strong religious dimension to it.
The use of lions, if that is indeed what they were, was a command symbol for royalty. As a
result, the intention of the relief may be to show the divinity of the ruler of Mycenae, or that they
at the least have divine blessing, but these are only a couple of possible interpretations.
It also served a practical purpose. Carved into one solid piece of stone, approximately 27 inches
thick, it is also a relieving triangle, like that of the Tomb of Agamemnon. As the only example of
Mycenaean monumental art that has survived, the Lion Gate has since become an icon of
Mycenaean culture as a whole, and a defining symbol of the city of Mycenae, its description
in the Pausanias’ writing being the means by which Mycenae was identified by later archaeologists.
Beyond Grave Circle A, the Great Ramp branched out into two directions,
one leading to a courtyard high on the acropolis, the other to the palace. The palace path passed
under a propylaea, an extravagant gate house with columns either side. This then led to a
small courtyard and finally, to the megaron, the heart of the palace where the ruler would sit.
The palace followed the typical Mycenaean style. The entrance would have been a columned portico
that opened onto the courtyard. This would have led to a small anteroom with a heavy,
imposing door that would lead to the megaron. The megaron was rectangular in shape,
the entrance being on one of the short sides. This gave a sense of length to the room and
would have focused the attention of any visitor passing through to the wall immediately opposite,
where the throne would have been. In the centre of the megaron was a circular hearth, surrounded
by four wooden pillars, and with a circular hole in the roof above, an oculus. This hearth was an
incredibly important symbol for the Mycenaeans, representing family and home and the protection
of those ideals. It was around this hearth that the king would have feasted and held his councils.
The floors of the megaron would either have been carpeted, or covered in painted plaster,
while the walls were decorated in frescoes depicting battles and hunting scenes.
Once again then, the palace would have been resplendent with colour, a symbol of the majesty,
prestige and power of the king of Mycenae. If Homer is taken as historical, then it was from
this room that Atreus, his son Agamemnon, and his son Orestes would have ruled from.
Some historians have suggested that it was soon after the construction of these fortifications and
palace, sometime in the late 13th century, that the Mycenaeans went on an expedition to Troy,
thus inspiring Homer’s Iliad. If this is true, then it would have been one of the last wars
of the Mycenaeans. The civilisation began to decline then, suddenly, between 1200 and 1150,
it collapsed completely. Mycenae and all the other great Mycenaean palaces of southern Greece,
such as Pylos and Tiryns, were all burnt around the same time. This coincided with a general
late bronze age collapse across the Eastern Mediterranean, with a huge number of significant
cities in that part of the world being destroyed in the same 50 year period, from Greece, to Syria,
Turkey, Egypt and the Levant. Many theories have been proposed to explain this including drought,
earthquakes, volcanic eruption, the mysterious Sea Peoples, but no clear answer has yet been reached.
Mycenae would never regain her previous glory. A temple to Hera was built on the site in the
Archaic Greek period, and Mycenae was a small local power for a time in the Classical period,
but by the Roman period, the site had been almost completely abandoned, all that was
left being the ruins we can still see today. These ruins are crucial to us, however. They shed
light on the history behind Homer, one of the most influential writers in human history,
and reveal to us the scope of Greek history. A thousand years before the time of Leonidas,
Pericles, Socrates and other great Greek figures, the Mycenaeans had developed the premier Aegean
civilisation. So awe-inspiring were the relics they left behind, that the later Greeks could
only explain their creation by assuming a race of giants had made them and, in a way,
they were correct. The Mycenaeans were truly giants of their time, culturally, politically,
and militarily, as we can see from the ruins of the heart of their civilisation - Mycenae.
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