In the second millennium BC, Mycenae was one of the major centres of Greek civilization—a militarystronghold which dominated much of southern Greece,Crete, theCyclades and parts of southwestAnatolia. The period ofGreek history from about 1600 BC to about 1100 BC is calledMycenaean in reference to Mycenae. At its peak in 1350 BC, thecitadel and lower town had a population of 30,000 and an area of 32 hectares (79 acres).[4]
The first correct identification of Mycenae in modern literature was in 1700, during a survey conducted by the Venetian engineer Francesco Vandeyk on behalf of Francesco Grimani, theProvveditore Generale of theKingdom of the Morea. Vandeyk usedPausanias's description of theLion Gate to identify the ruins of Mycenae.[5][6]
In 1999 the archeological site of Mycenae was added to theUNESCOWorld Heritage List, along with the nearby site ofTiryns, because of its historical importance as the center of the Mycenaean civilization, its outstanding architecture and its testimony to the development ofAncient Greek civilization.[7]
The Lion Gate, theTreasury of Atreus and thewalls of Mycenae andTiryns are examples of the noteworthy architecture found in Mycenae and Tiryns. The structures and layouts of these discoveries exemplify the creative talent of the time. Greek architecture and urban planning have been significantly influenced by the Mycenaean civilization. Mycenae and Tiryns, which stand as the pinnacle of the early phases of Greek civilisation, provided unique witness to political, social and economic growth during the Mycenaean civilization. The accomplishments of the Mycenaean civilisation inart,architecture and technology, which inspired European cultures, are also on display at both locations.
A stringent legal framework was established to safeguard the integrity of the Mycenae and Tiryns sites against vandalism and other forms of damage anddisturbance to the remains. The HellenicMinistry of Culture and Sports monitors the two archaeological sites. To maintain the quality and conditions of the Mycenaean and Tiryn sites, archaeological study is conducted methodically and systematically.
The Greek Antiquities Law No 3028/2002, on the 'Conservation of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage in General', governs the preservation and protection of the sites. Ministerial Decree No 2160 of 1964 created and safeguarded the limits of Mycenae in addition to the sites themselves. Theacropolis and the wider surroundings are also covered by the extension of protection conferred by this ministerial decree. Ministerial Decrees No 102098/4753 of 1956 and 12613/696 of 1991 both provide protection for the Tiryns archaeological site.[8]
The nameMukanai is thought not to beGreek but rather one of the manypre-Greek place names inherited by later Greek speakers.[9][10] Legend has it that the name was connected to the Greek wordmykēs (μύκης, "mushroom"). ThusPausanias ascribes the name to the legendary founder,Perseus, who was said to have named it either after the cap (mykēs) of the sheath of his sword or after a mushroom he had plucked on the site.[11]Homer connected the name to the nymph Mycene, the daughter of the river god Inachos ofArgos (Odyssey 2.120).
In theIliad the name of the city is spelledMykḗnē (Μυκήνη).[12]
Mycenae, anacropolis site, was built on a hill 900 feet (274 metres) above sea level, some 19 kilometres (12 miles) inland from the Gulf of Argolis. Situated in the north-east corner of the Argive plain, it easily overlooked the whole area and was ideally positioned to be a centre of power, especially as it commanded all easy routes to theIsthmus of Corinth. Besides its strong defensive and strategic position, it had good farmland and an adequate water supply.[3]
There are only faint traces of Neolithic settlement on the site although it was continuously occupied from theEarly Neolithic (EN, c. 5000–c. 4000 BC). EN Rainbow Ware constitutes the earliest ceramic evidence discovered so far.[13]
The Early Bronze Age (EBA) is known as theEarly Helladic (EH) on mainland Greece, dated from around 3200-2050/2000 BC. The EH can be subdivided into EH I (3200-2650 BC), EH II (2650-2200 BC) and EH III (2200-2000 BC). Mycenae was occupied throughout this period.
Pottery material spanning the entire Early Helladic was discovered 1877 byPanagiotis Stamatakis at a low depth in the sixth shaft grave in Circle A. Further EH and MH material was found beneath the walls and floors of the palace, on the summit of the acropolis and outside theLion Gate in the area of the ancient cemetery.[14] An EH–MH settlement was discovered near a fresh-water well on top of the Kalkani hill south-west of the acropolis.[14]
The Middle Bronze Age (MBA) is known as the Middle Helladic (MH) on mainland Greece, dated from around 2050/2000-1550 BC. At Mycenae the population grew considerably during the MH. The region came under the dominantCretan influence (Minoan) prevailed from c. 1600 BC, the first evidence of this coming from the shaft graves discovered in 1876 byHeinrich Schliemann.[3] Schliemann's shaft graves came to be known asCircle A to distinguish them from theCircle B graves, which were found at a later date, although Circle B are the earlier graves, dated c. 1650 BC to c. 1550 BC and entirely within MHIII. Circle A is dated to the sixteenth century BC, including the transition from Middle toLate Helladic IA (LHIA; c. 1550 – c. 1500 BC).[3] The contents of Circle B are less wealthy than those of Circle A.[15]
In MH II (c. 1800 BC), the first burials in pits orcist graves are found on the west slope of the acropolis, which was at least partially enclosed by the earliestcircuit wall.[14]
View from theacropolis, or high cityThe Tomb ofAegisthus outside the walls of the citadel
The Late Bronze Age (LBA) is known as the Late Helladic (LH) on mainland Greece, dated from around 1550-1200/1150 BC.
In the absence of documents and objects that can be precisely dated, events at Mycenae can be dated only relatively within the constraints ofHelladic chronology, which relies on categorisation of stratified material objects, mainly pottery, within an agreed historical framework. Mycenae developed into a major power during LHI (c. 1550 – c. 1450 BC) and is believed to have become the main centre of Aegean civilisation through the fifteenth century to the extent that the two hundred years from c. 1400 BC to c. 1200 BC (encompassing LHIIIA and LHIIIB) are known as the Mycenaean Age. The Minoan hegemony ended c. 1450 and there is evidence that Knossos was occupied by Mycenaeans until it too was destroyed c. 1370 BC. From then on, Mycenaean expansion throughout the Aegean was unhindered until the massive disruption of society in the first half of the twelfth century (LHIIIC), which ended Mycenaean civilisation and culminated in the destruction of Mycenae itself c. 1150 BC.
Outside the partial circuit wall,Grave Circle B, named for its enclosing wall, contained ten cist graves in Middle Helladic style and several shaft graves, sunk more deeply, with interments resting in cists. Richer grave goods mark the burials as possibly regal. Mounds over the top contained broken drinking vessels and bones from a repast, testifying to a more than ordinary farewell.[16]Stelae surmounted the mounds.[17]
A walled enclosure,Grave Circle A, included six more shaft graves, with nine female, eight male, and two juvenile interments. Grave goods were more costly than in Circle B. The presence of engraved and inlaidswords anddaggers, with spear points and arrowheads, leaves little doubt that warriorchieftains and their families were buried here. Some art objects obtained from the graves are theSilver Siege Rhyton, theMask of Agamemnon, theCup of Nestor and weapons bothvotive and practical. The chemical compositions of the silver objects indicate that the silver was sourced from several locations.[18]
Alan Wace divided the ninetholos tombs of Mycenae into three groups of three, each based on architecture. His earliest – the Cyclopean Tomb, Epano Phournos, and theTomb of Aegisthus – are dated to LHIIA.
Burial in tholoi is seen as replacing burial in shaft graves. The care taken to preserve the shaft graves testifies that they were by then part of the royal heritage, the tombs of the ancestral heroes. Being more visible, all the tholoi had been plundered either in antiquity or in later historic times.
At a conventional date of 1350 BC, thefortifications on the acropolis and other surrounding hills were rebuilt in a style known asCyclopean because the blocks of stone used were so massive that they were thought in later ages to be the work of the one-eyed giants known as theCyclopes.[19] Within these walls, much of which can still be seen, successive monumental palaces were built. The final palace, remains of which are currently visible on the acropolis of Mycenae, dates to the start of LHIIIA:2. Earlier palaces must have existed but they had been cleared away or built over.
The construction of palaces at that time with a similar architecture was general throughout southern Greece. They all featured amegaron, or throne room, with a raised central hearth under an opening in the roof, which was supported by four columns in a square around the hearth. A throne was placed against the center of a wall to the side of the hearth, allowing an unobstructed view of the ruler from the entrance.Frescos adorned the plaster walls and floor.
The room was accessed from a courtyard with a columned portico. A grand staircase led from a terrace below to the courtyard on the acropolis.
In the temple built within the citadel, ascarab ofQueen Tiye ofEgypt, who was married toAmenhotep III, was placed in the Room of the Idols alongside at least one statue of either LHIIIA:2 or B:1 type. Amenhotep III's relations withm-w-k-i-n-u, *Mukana, have corroboration from the inscription at Kom al-Hetan - but Amenhotep's reign is thought to align with late LHIIIA:1. It is likely that Amenhotep's herald presented the scarab to an earlier generation, which then found the resources to rebuild the citadel as Cyclopean and then, to move the scarab here.
Wace's second group of tholoi are dated between LHIIA and LHIIIB: Kato Phournos, Panagia Tholos, and the Lion Tomb. The final group, Group III: theTreasury of Atreus, the Tomb of Clytemnestra and the Tomb of the Genii, are dated to LHIIIB by a sherd under the threshold of the Treasury of Atreus, the largest of the nine tombs. Like the Treasury ofMinyas atOrchomenus the tomb had been looted of its contents and its nature as funerary monument had been forgotten. The structure bore the traditional name of "Treasury".
The Lion Gate (detail); twolions or lionesses flank the central column, whose significance is much debated.[20]Cyclopean masonry, rear side of theLion Gate
The pottery phases on which the relative dating scheme is based (EH, MH, LH, etc.) do not allow very precise dating, even augmented by the few existing C-14 dates due to the tolerance inherent in these. The sequence of further construction at Mycenae is approximately as follows. In the middle of LHIIIB, around 1250 BC or so, theCyclopean wall was extended on the west slope to include Grave Circle A.[21] The main entrance through the circuit wall was made grand by the best known feature of Mycenae, theLion Gate, through which passed a stepped ramp leading past circle A and up to the palace. The Lion Gate was constructed in the form of a "Relieving Triangle" in order to support the weight of the stones. An undecorated postern gate also was constructed through the north wall.
One of the few groups of excavated houses in the city outside the walls lies beyond Grave Circle B and belongs to the same period. The House of Shields, the House of the Oil Merchant, the House of the Sphinxes, and the West House. These may have been both residences and workshops.
The largest stones including the lintels and gate jambs weighed well over 20 tonnes; some may have been close to 100 tonnes.[22]
Somewhat later, toward the end of LHIIIB around 1200 BC, another, final extension to the citadel was undertaken.[23] The wall was extended again on the northeast, with a sally port and also a secret passage through and under the wall, of corbelled construction, leading downwards by some 99 steps to acistern carved out of rock 15 m below the surface. It was fed by a tunnel from a spring on more distant higher ground.
Already in LHIIIA:1, Egypt knew *Mukana by name as a capital city on the level of Thebes and Knossos. During LHIIIB, Mycenae's political, military and economic influence likely extended as far asCrete,Pylos in the western Peloponnese, and toAthens andThebes.[24]
Mycenae was among the numerous Aegean sites destroyed as part of the Bronze Age Collapse around 1200 BC. The causes of these destructions are unknown, but proposed explanations include enemy attack, internal strife, and natural disasters such as earthquakes.[25][26][27][28] Unlike many other sites, Mycenae was partly rebuilt after this destruction, though it was no longer the centre of a centralised literate bureacuracy. Pottery finds suggest that Postpalatial Mycenae eventually regained some of its wealth, before burning once again. After this period, the site remained sparsely populated until the Hellenistic era.[25][26]
A temple dedicated to Hera was built on the summit of the Mycenaean citadel during the Archaic Period. A Mycenaean contingent fought atThermopylae andPlataea during thePersian Wars. In 468 BC, however, troops fromArgos captured Mycenae, expelled the inhabitants and razed the fortifications.[29]
Mycenae was briefly reoccupied in theHellenistic period, when it boasted a theatre (located over theTomb of Clytemnestra). The site was subsequently abandoned, and by theRoman period in Greece its ruins had become atourist attraction. The ancient travel writerPausanias, for example, visited the site and briefly described the prominent fortifications and the Lion Gate, still visible in his time, the second century AD. Pausanias also describes being led to the site by shepherds, indicating that the surrounding area was never completely deserted.[30]
The Ministry of Culture, Education, and Religious Affairs is currently in charge of the site. In 1999, a scientific committee for Mycenae was created, and has since completed numerous projects for the preservation, improvement, and stabilization of both archaeological sites. The committee has also sought to improve visitor access to the monuments at the locations by laying out walkways and establishing information stations.
It appears that the Mycenaean state was ruled by kings identified by the title𐀷𐀙𐀏,wa-na-ka ("wanax") in theLinear B inscriptions atKnossos andPylos. The wanax had the supreme authority and was represented by a number of officials. In theHomeric poems, the word form isanax (ἄναξ), often translated in English as "lord". Some inscriptions with a list of offerings indicate that the king was probably divine, but the term "for the king" is usually accompanied by another name.[31] It is possible that a priest-king system was adopted from the East[32] and the title probably indicates that his right to rule was given by the god.[33] The term𐀣𐀯𐀩𐀄,qa-si-re-u (cf.βασιλεύς, "basileús"), which was later used in Greece for "king", was apparently used for the "chief" of any group of people, or for a provincial official. (Homer mentions manybasilees inIthaca).[31]
The land possessed by the king is usually called𐀳𐀕𐀜,te-me-no (τέμενος, "témenos"), a word that survived in classical Greece (thetemenos placed byHephaestus on the shield of Achilles is called "royal"). In classical times the word has a religious connotation.[33] Other important landowners were the𐀨𐀷𐀐𐀲,ra-wa-ke-ta ("lāwāgetas"), literally translated as "the leader of the people", and sometimes interpreted as a given kingdom's military leader, though this is not confirmed by the inscriptions.[31] Alternatively, he may have been the crown prince or, if one follows the argument of a single Mycenaean state, a local king who was a vassal to the overarching wanax / Great King.[34] Below these two elevated persons, Linear B texts situate the𐀳𐀩𐀲,te-re-ta ("telestai"), the officials.Leonard Robert Palmer suggests that the "telestai were the men of telos- the fief holders".[33] The𐀁𐀤𐀲,e-qe-ta (ekwetai, "companions" or "followers") were a group of nobles (aristocrats), who followed the king in peace and war. It seems that they were representatives of the king among military groups and religious personnel.[33] There is also at least one instance of a person,Enkhelyawon at Pylos, who appears titleless in the written record but whom modern scholars regard as being probably a king.[35]
From the existing evidence, it seems that the kingdom was further subdivided into sixteen districts. The𐀒𐀩𐀮,ko-re-se was the "governor of the district" and the𐀡𐀫𐀒𐀩𐀮,po-ro-ko-re-se was the "deputy". It is possible that these representkoreter andprokoreter. The𐀅𐀗𐀒𐀫,da-mo-ko-ro (damokoros) was an official appointment but his duties are not very clear. The communal land was held at the hands of𐀅𐀗,da-mo (literally, "people", cf. Atticδῆμος,dễmos), or "plot holders". It seems that theda-mo was a collective body of men, representing the local district[31] and that it had certain power in public affairs.[33] It is suggested thatqa-si-re-u had a council of elders, a𐀐𐀫𐀯𐀊,ke-ro-si-ja, (laterγερουσίαgerousia), but Palmer believes that it was an organization of "bronze smiths".[33] The land was held by the wanax, by the damos, and by individual land owners. It seems that people lived in small family groups or clans around the main citadel. Occupying a lower rung of the social ladder were the slaves,do-e-ro, (cf.δοῦλος,doúlos).[36] These are recorded in the texts as working either for the palace or for specific deities.[37]
Archaeological evidence supports the idea that the social hierarchy of Mycenae was a monarchy. The difference in the grave goods shows how the society was clearly separated by class. The king or the wanax was at the top of the hierarchy, who lived in the palaces and made laws for the people. It is believed that the kings came into power not because of great leadership duties, but because of hereditary succession. Below the king was the Lawagetas, believed to be the leader of the army, based on Homer's works. The Lawagetas are thought to have gotten their power by owning the most land. Other opinions think Lawagetas were a sort of prince, having no military power. Under the Lawagetas are numerous craftsmen employed by the Lawagetas. Other groups commonly mentioned in landholding texts are the Telestas. Some think the Telestas are religious officials while others believe they were given land in return for services. Under the Telestas is believed to be the Hequetia, who are believed to be either military workers or warriors or companions of the king. Under the Hequetia are the general laborers which includes artisans, farmers, fisherman, and more. At the bottom of the social hierarchy slaves, which are commonly believed to be women. Even when women were not slaves it is believed they were never able to hold substantial roles of power in the civilizations. The particular positions held and responsibilities performed within Mycenae's social structure are not well understood.[38]
According to the traditional view, Mycenae or any other palatial center of mainland Greece was not an empire, and the mainland consisted of independent city-states.[33] This view has in recent years, however, been challenged by various specialists, such asJorrit Kelder and, most recently,Birgitta Eder andReinhard Jung. Kelder pointed out that a number of palaces and fortifications appear to be part of a wider kingdom. For instance,Gla, located in the region of Boeotia, belonged to the state of nearby Orchomenos.[39] The palace of Mycenae probably ruled over a territory two to three times the size of the other palatial states in Bronze Age Greece. Its territory would have also included adjacent centers, includingTiryns andNauplion, which could plausibly be ruled by a member of Mycenae's ruling dynasty.[40] Certain archaeological features in the palatial centers like the architectural uniformity, the uniformity of the administrative system, the uniformity in pottery, the imperial language and some large scale projects (drainage systems, harbours, roads etc.) indicate that large parts of Greece may have fallen under the sway of a single king, with various degrees of control over local vassals: a situation not dissimilar from the contemporaryHittite world, although the archaeological evidence remains ambiguous.[41] A loose confederacy of city-states under the king of Mycenae,Agamemnon, is mentioned byHomer inIliad.
From the history traced by Nilsson andGuthrie, the Mycenaean pantheon consisted ofMinoan deities, but also of gods and goddesses who appear under different names with similar functions in East and West.[45] Many of these names appearing in theLinear B inscriptions can be found later in classical Greece, likeZeus,Hera,Poseidon,Athena,Hermes,Eileithyia andDionysos,[46] but the etymology is the only evidence of the cults.
There are several reasonable guesses that can be made, however. It seems that originally the Mycenaeans, like manyIndo-Europeans, considered divine any object that inherited an internal power (anima). Certain religious beliefs were mixed with the beliefs of the local populations as it appears in the old cults of isolatedArcadia, which survived up to classicalGreece. In these cults,Poseidon appears usually as a horse, representing the river spirit of the underworld, as usually happens in northernEuropean folklore. The precursor goddesses ofDemeter andPersephone are closely related with springs and animals, and especially with Poseidon andArtemis, who was the firstnymph.[47] Mycenaean religion was almost certainly polytheistic, and the Mycenaeans were actively syncretistic, adding foreign deities to their pantheon of deities with ease. The Mycenaeans probably entered Greece with a pantheon of deities headed by some ruling sky-deity, which linguists speculate might have been called*Dyeus in earlyIndo-European. In Greek, this deity would becomeZeus (pronouncedZeus orDias inancient Greek). Among theHindus, this sky-deity becomes "Dyaus Pita". In Latin he becomes "Deus Pater" orJupiter; we still encounter this word in the etymologies of the words "deity" and "divine".
Later in some cults,Zeus is united with theAegeanGreat Goddess, who is represented byHera, in a "holy wedding" (hieros gamos). At some point in their cultural history, the Mycenaeans adopted someMinoan goddesses likeAphaea,Britomartis,Diktynna and associated them with their sky-god.[45] Many of them were absorbed by more powerful divinities, and some like thevegetation goddessesAriadne andHelen survived in Greek folklore together with the cult of the "divine child", who was probably the precursor ofDionysos.[48]Athena andHera survived and were tutelary goddesses, the guardians of the palaces and the cities. In general, later Greek religion distinguishes between two types of deities: theOlympian, or sky, deities (including Zeus), who are now commonly known in some form or another; and thechthonic deities, or deities of the earth.Walter Burkert warns: "To what extent one can and must differentiate between Minoan and Mycenaean religion is a question which has not yet found a conclusive answer."[49] He suggests that useful parallels will be found in the relations between Hellenistic and Archaic Greek culture and religion, or between Roman and Etruscan culture.
The pantheon also included deities representing the powers of nature and wildlife, who appear with similar functions in theMediterranean region.[45] The "Mistress of the Animals" (Potnia Theron), later calledArtemis, may be identified as the Minoan goddessBritomartis/Dictynna.[50]Poseidon is the lord of the sea, and therefore of storms and earthquakes, (the "Earth shaker" inLinear B tablets). He may have functioned as a pre-Hellenic chthonic Zeus, the lord or spouse of theEarth goddess.[51]Athena whose task was to protect the olive-trees is a civic Artemis. The powers of animal nature fostered a belief innymphs whose existence was bound to the trees and the waters, and in gods with human forms and the heads or tails of animals who stood for primitive bodily instincts. InArcadia were depicted animal-headed gods, indicating that in the remote past the gods were conceived as animals and birds, in a surrounding of animal-headeddaemons.[47] Later the gods were revealed in human forms with an animal as a companion or symbol. Some of the old gods survived in the cult ofDionysos (Satyrs) andPan (the goat-god).
The Mycenaeans adopted probably from the east a priest-king system and the belief of a ruling deity in the hands of a theocratic society. At the end of the second millennium BC, when the Mycenaean palaces collapsed, it seems that Greek thought was gradually released from the idea that each man was a servant to the gods, and sought a "moral purpose". It is possible that this procedure started before the end of the Mycenaean age, but the idea is almost absent or vague in theHomeric poems, where the interference of the gods is not related to the rightness or wrongness of men's actions.[45] Later,Hesiod uses a lot of eastern material in hiscosmology and in the genealogical trees of the gods,[52] and he introduces the idea of the existence of something else behind the gods, which was more powerful than they.[53][54][55]
TheOlympian Pantheon is an ordered system. The Greek divinities live with Zeus at the helm and each is concerned with a recognizable sphere. However, certain elements in some Greek cults indicate the survival of some older cults from a less rationalized world: old cults of the dead, agrarian magic, exorcism of evil spirits, peculiar sacrifices, and animal-headed gods. In the Homeric poems, the avengingFate was probably originally adaemon acting in parallel with the gods.[54] Later, the cult ofDionysosZagreus indicates that life-blood of animals was needed to renew that of men.[56] A similar belief may be guessed from theMycenaeanHagia Triada sarcophagus (1400 BC), which combines features ofMinoan civilization andMycenaean style. It seems that the blood of a bull was used for the regeneration of the reappearing dead.[57] Probably most of these cults existed in the Mycenaean period and survived by immemorial practice.
A secondary level of importance was the cult of the heroes, which seems to have started in the Mycenaean era. These were great men of the past who were exalted to honor after death, because of what they had done. According to an oldMinoan belief, beyond the sea there was an island calledElysion, where the departed could have a different but happier existence.[58] Later, the Greeks believed that there could live in human form only heroes and the beloved of the gods. The souls of the rest would drift unconsciously in the gloomy space ofHades. Gods and men had common origins, but there was an enormous gap between the immortal gods and mortal men. However, certain elements indicate that theMycenaeans probably believed in a future existence. Two well-preserved bodies were found in Shaft Grave VI, andWolfgang Helbig believed that an embalming preceded the burial.[59] In the shaft graves discovered byHeinrich Schliemann, the corpses were lightly exposed to fire in order to preserve them.[60]
Mycenaeanreligion certainly involved offerings and sacrifices to the deities, and some have speculated that their ceremonies involved human sacrifice based on textual evidence and bones found outside tombs. In the Homeric poems, there seems to be a lingering cultural memory of human sacrifice in KingAgamemnon's sacrifice of his daughter,Iphigenia; several of the stories of Trojan heroes involve tragic human sacrifice. In the far past, even human beings might be offered to placate inscrutable gods, especially in times of guilty fear. Later sacrifice became a feast at which oxen were slaughtered. Men kept the meat, and gave the gods the bones wrapped in fat.[61]
Beyond this speculation we can go no further. Somewhere in the shades of the centuries between the fall of theMycenaean civilization and the end of the Greek Dark Ages, the original Mycenaean religion persisted and adapted until it finally emerged in the stories of human devotion, apostasy, and divine capriciousness that exists in the two great epic poems ofHomer.[62]
Grandson of KingAcrisius ofArgos; Legendary founder of Mycenae and the Perseid dynasty; considered one of the greatestheroes and slayer of monsters before the times ofHeracles.
Son ofPerseus andAndromeda; his succession was disputed by theTaphians underPterelaos, who assaulted Mycenae, lost, and stole the cattle; the cattle were recovered byAmphitryon, but he accidentally killed Electryon with a club in an unruly cattle incident.
Younger brother ofElectryon; exilesAmphitryon after taking power; expands prestige of his kingdom by marryingNicippe, a daughter of KingPelops ofElis, the most powerful state of the region; he was killed byHyllus, the son ofHeracles.
Son ofSthenelus; resentful towardsHeracles for his father's death, he persecutes theHeracleidae; final king of the Perseid dynasty when he and his sons are all killed during his war againstAthens for housing the Heracleidae.
Maternal uncle ofEurystheus and founder of the Atreid dynasty; competed against his brotherThyestes for the throne and persecuted him after winning; was killed by Thyestes's sonAegisthus to restore his father to the throne.
Brother ofAtreus; ruled jointly with his sonAegisthus; exiled the sons of Atreus,Agamemnon andMenelaus toSparta; both Thyestes and Aegisthus are removed from power and exiled after Menelaus becomes king of Sparta and invades to place his brother Agamemnon to the throne.
Son ofThyestes; returns to the throne after killingAgamemnon and rules Mycenae for 7 years; he and his loverClytemnestra are killed by the son of Agamemnon,Orestes who is forced to flee and is pursued by theErinyes.
Son ofAegisthus andClytemnestra; assumes the throne at a young age after his parents are killed by his half-brotherOrestes who flees; Orestes returns several years later with troops and kills Aletes and takes the throne.
Son ofAgamemnon andClytemnestra; takes the throne after returning to Mycenae and killing his half-brotherAletes; he spends his reign building a larger state in the Peloponnese; he dies inArcadia from asnake bite.
Son ofOrestes; final king of the Atreid dynasty; he was killed in the final battle with theHeracleidae who sought to retake thePeloponnese as their ancestral lands; they divided his territories amongst themselves and brought the end of the Mycenaean Kingdom.
Classical Greek myths assert that Mycenae was founded byPerseus, grandson of kingAcrisius ofArgos, son of Acrisius's daughter,Danaë and the godZeus. Having killed his grandfather by accident, Perseus could not, or would not, inherit the throne of Argos. Instead he arranged an exchange of realms with his cousin,Megapenthes, and became king ofTiryns, Megapenthes taking Argos. After that, he founded Mycenae and ruled the kingdoms jointly from there.
Perseus marriedAndromeda and had many sons. His son,Electryon, became the second of the dynasty, but the succession was disputed by theTaphians underPterelaos, another Perseid, who assaulted Mycenae, lost, and retreated with the cattle. The cattle were recovered byAmphitryon, a grandson of Perseus, but he killed his uncle by accident with a club in an unruly cattle incident and had to go into exile.
The throne went toSthenelus, third in the dynasty, a son of Perseus. He set the stage for future greatness by marryingNicippe, a daughter of KingPelops ofElis, the most powerful state of the region and the times. With her he had a son,Eurystheus, the fourth and last of the Perseid dynasty. When a son ofHeracles,Hyllus, killed Sthenelus, Eurystheus became noted for his enmity to Heracles and for his ruthless persecution of theHeracleidae, the descendants of Heracles.
This is the first we hear in legend of those noted sons, who became a symbol of theDorians. Heracles had been a Perseid. After his death, Eurystheus determined to annihilate these rivals for the throne of Mycenae, but they took refuge in Athens, and in the course of war, Eurystheus and all his sons were killed. The Perseid dynasty came to an end and the people of Mycenae placed Eurystheus's maternal uncle,Atreus, a Pelopid, on the throne.
The people of Mycenae had received advice from anoracle that they should choose a new king from among the Pelopids. The two contenders wereAtreus and his brother,Thyestes. The latter was chosen at first. At this moment nature intervened and the sun appeared to reverse direction by setting in the east. Atreus argued that because the sun had reversed its path, the election of Thyestes should be reversed. The argument was heeded, and Atreus became king. His first move was to pursue Thyestes and all his family – that is, his own kin – but Thyestes managed to escape from Mycenae.
The Return of Agamemnon, illustration fromStories from the Greek Tragedians by Alfred Church, 1897
In legend, Atreus had two sons,Agamemnon andMenelaus, the Atreids.Aegisthus, the son of Thyestes, killed Atreus and restored Thyestes to the throne. With the help of KingTyndareus ofSparta, the Atreids drove Thyestes again into exile. Tyndareus had two ill-starred daughters,Helen andClytemnestra, whom Menelaus and Agamemnon married, respectively. Agamemnon inherited Mycenae and Menelaus became king of Sparta.
The Murder of Agamemnon, illustration fromStories from the Greek Tragedians by Alfred Church, 1897
Soon, Helen eloped withParis ofTroy. Agamemnon conducted a 10-year war against Troy to get her back for his brother. Because of lack of wind, the warships could not sail toTroy. In order to please the gods so that they might make the winds start to blow,Agamemnon sacrificed his daughterIphigenia. According to some versions of the legend, the hunting goddessArtemis replaced her at the very last moment with adeer on the altar, and tookIphigenia toTauris (seeIphigenia in Tauris byEuripides). The deities, having been satisfied by such a sacrifice, made the winds blow and the Greek fleet departed.
Legend tells us that the long and arduous Trojan War, although nominally a Greek victory, brought anarchy, piracy, and ruin; already before the Greek fleet set sail for Troy, the conflict had divided the gods as well, and this contributed to curses and acts of vengeance following many of the Greek heroes. After the warAgamemnon returned to Mycenae and was greeted royally with a red carpet rolled out for him. Shortly thereafter, he was slain byClytemnestra, who hated him bitterly for having ordered the sacrifice of their daughterIphigenia in order to gain favorable winds to Troy. Clytemnestra was aided in her crime by Aegistheus, her lover, who reigned subsequently, butOrestes, her son by Agamemnon, was smuggled out toPhocis. He returned as an adult with his sisterElectra to slay Clytemnestra and Aegistheus. He then fled to Athens to evade justice and a matricide, and became insane for a time. Meanwhile, the throne of Mycenae went toAletes, son of Aegistheus, but not for long. Recovering, Orestes returned to Mycenae with Electra to kill Aletes and took the throne. This story is told in numerous plays, including theOresteia,Sophocles'Electra, andEuripides'Electra.
Orestes then built a larger state in the Peloponnese, but he died inArcadia from asnake bite. His son,Tisamenus, the last of the Atreid dynasty, was killed by theHeracleidae on their return to thePeloponnesus. They claimed the right of the Perseids to inherit the various kingdoms of the Peloponnese and cast lots for the dominion of them, thus leaving the Atreids as the final rulers of Legendary Mycenae.
The site of Mycenae appears to have been abandoned after its short-lived Hellenistic resettlement. By the time of Pausanias' visit in the second century CE, he described the site as a 'ruin', though noted that parts of the walls and the Lion Gate could still be seen.[63] Grave Circle A, meanwhile, was already buried in prehistoric times, and is unlikely to have been visible to Pausanias.[64] The site may still have been visible in the 5th century CE, when it was correctly located on the Roman map known as theTabula Peutingeriana,[65] but the location seems to have been forgotten during the medieval period: it was generally misplaced on fifteenth-century maps,[66] andCyriac of Ancona, who believed he visited the site in 1447/1448, had actually seen the nearby fort of Katsingri.[66] Similarly, modern scholarship has disproved the claims of two sixteenth-century travellers to have visited the site: André de Monceaux, who claimed to have visited the site in 1669, and the French military officer Nicola Mirabel, who believed that he had done so in 1691.[67]
In 1700, the Venetian engineer Francesco Vandeyk made the first known correct identification of Mycenae of modern times while surveying thePeloponnese (known to the Venetians as the 'Morea') under the orders of Francesco Grimani,Provveditore of the Venetian armies occupying the region. Vandeyk partially dismantled the debris that was then obscuring theLion Gate,[68] and identified the tomb now known as the 'Treasury of Atreus', even conjecturing that it was the tomb of a king of Mycenae.[6] During the 18th century, Mycenae was visited only infrequently by tourists, such as the Frenchman Claude-Louis Fourmont, who visited Mycenae in 1729–1730[6] and drew parts of the walls and gates.[68] From 1796, however,Napoleon's invasion of Italy encouraged members of theSociety of Dilettanti, whose 'Grand Tour' normally took place in Italy, to find alternative destinations, and members of the society began to include Mycenae on their itineraries: seeing it, in the words of Cathy Gere, as 'the ultimateRomantic ruin.'[69]
In the early 19th century, local tradition held that theTreasury of Atreus had been once explored by theagha of the nearby village of Karvati, who took from it a bronze lamp.[70] By this period, more of Mycenae's monuments were visible and known to European visitors. In 1802, the British aristocratThomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin visited Mycenae looking for antiquities that might be taken back to Britain.[71] While he had originally sought to remove the sculpted relief of theLion Gate, it proved too large to lift or transport, and so Elgin asked thevoivode ofNafplio to clear the Treasury of Atreus, from which he removed fragments of pottery vases, ornamental stonework and a marble vase,[72] as well as parts of its sculptural decoration.[73] In June 1810,[a] Veli Pasha, the OttomanPasha of theMorea, excavated the tomb, clearing most of the entrance, and entered the chamber with ladders; according toHeinrich Schliemann's later publication of his own excavations at Mycenae, he discovered 'bones covered with gold', as well as gemstones and other gold and silver objects.[75] Veli Pasha removed four large fragments of thesemi-engaged columns beside the doorway, some of which he gave as a gift toHowe Browne, 2nd Marquess of Sligo, who visited him shortly after the excavations.[76][b]
The archaeologistHeinrich Schliemann was particularly invested in the site of Mycenae. Schliemann was obsessed with the epic poetry of Homer and believed Homer's stories were based in historical truth. In the later part of his life, he dedicated himself to excavating historical sites relevant to the Homeric epics. Schliemann's first excavation was the site ofHisarlik, believed to be the site of ancient Troy. Following his work at Hisarlik, Schliemann began excavations at Mycenae in 1876. His goal was to find the grave of Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae and leader of the Greek army in the Trojan War as described in Homer's Iliad. Schliemann uncovered a royal cemetery containing six shaft graves, known as Grave Circle A. Among his findings at Grave Circle A was a golddeath mask that he labeled as "TheMask of Agamemnon". Modern archeological evidence has proven his claims of discovering Agamemnon's remains were most likely false, as the mask is dated more than 300 years before the events of the Trojan War.[80][81][82]
Schliemann's discoveries at Mycenae have come under controversy. Schliemann's archaeological work in general is controversial, with some calling Schliemann "the father of scientific archaeology" and others criticizing Schliemann's destructive methods of excavation. The authenticity of Schliemann's excavation of Grave Circle A has come under question, with some critics claiming that Schliemann smuggled additional artifacts into Mycenae and then falsely claimed to have discovered them. Modern evidence suggests that Schliemann's findings at Grave Circle A were genuine, but significantly predate the Trojan War.[83][84]
Figurine, known as the "Ivory Triad", found by Alan Wace on the citadel of Mycenae in 1939
Since Schliemann's day, more scientific excavations have taken place at Mycenae, mainly by Greek archaeologists but also by theBritish School at Athens.Christos Tsountas, another member of the ASA, cleared a significant portion of the citadel during his excavations of the site beginning in 1884 and ending in 1902.[85] TheAthens Archaeological Society is currently excavating the Mycenae Lower Town (as of 2011[update]), with support fromDickinson College and the Institute for Aegean Prehistory.[86] Afterwards, Tsountas and the ASA gave permission to the British School of Archaeology (BSA) to excavate; the BSA conducted excavations from 1920 to 1955 under the supervision ofAlan John Bayard Wace, assisted byWinifred Lamb.[85] In 1951, workers discoveredGrave Circle B. After Wace died in 1957, excavation work was finished by LordWilliam Taylour from 1958 to 1969, especially on the west slope of the citadel.[85] The ASA continued excavation work on the site with efforts led byJohn Papadimitriou and Nicolas Verdelis in the late 1950s and early 1960s, as well as byGeorge Mylonas from 1957 up until 1985.[85] In 1985, excavation work was directed by Spyros Iakovidis who, as of 2009[update], is still overseeing the ASA's research mission in both fieldwork and publication preparation.[85]
^Christos Tsountas, in 1897, wrote that Veli Pasha had 'rifled' the tomb in 1808: it is not known whether he is referring to the same incident.[74]
^It is sometimes claimed that Sligo directed or co-directed the removals himself;[72] this is likely to be erroneous, as Sligo arrived in Argolis only after the excavation and his letters make no mention of it.[76]
For population, seeChew 2000, p. 220: "Growth was concentrated at places like Knossos (population 30,000 in 1360 BC)... Mycenae by 1350 BC had a population as large as Knossos"
For area, seeChapman 2005, p. 94: "...Thebes at 50 hectares, Mycenae at 32 hectares..."
^An older view that it represents a goddess, now generally discounted, is to be found in W.K.C. Guthrie, inThe Cambridge Ancient History (1975) Volume I, Part II, p. 864: "A frequent design on engraved Cretangems is of the type made famous by the Lion Gate at Mycenae, a single upright pillar, flanked by a pair of guardian animals. Sometimes the same arrangement is preserved, but the anthropomorphic figure of a god or goddess takes the place of a pillar" (illustrations from Nilsson). More recent discussions of its symbolism can be found in James C. Wright, "The Spatial Configuration of Belief: The Archaeology of Mycenaean Religion" in S.E. Alcock and Robin Osborne (eds.),Placing the Gods, Oxford University Press, 1996, pp. 37–78. Here Wright suggests that the pillar represents the palace which in turn represents the state.
^Castleden 2005, pp. 95–96;French 2002;Luce 1975, p. 35: "The Lion Gate provides further testimony to the power of the Pelopids, for Mylonas appears to have shown conclusively that it dates from c. 1250. With the stretch of Cyclopean wall enclosing Grave Circle A it represents the climax of military and monumental construction."
^Nur 2008, Chapter 8: Earthquake Storms and the Catastrophic End of the Bronze Age, pp. 224–245.
^French 2002, p. 142: "The dedications continue at the Shrine by the Bridge into the fifth century, probably beyond the disablement of the walls by the Argives in 468 BC."
^Poseidon is pairing with the "Two Goddesses" (Demeter andPersephone) in Linear B tablets. There is a theory linking his name with elements meaning "husband" or "lord" (Greek πόσις (posis), fromPIE*pótis) and another element meaning "earth" (δᾶ (da), Doric for γῆ (gē)), producing something like lord or spouse of Da, i.e. of the earth. His name may also be interpreted as "lord of the waters" (fromPIE*potis and Sanskr.daFon: "water").
^Walcot 1966, p. 85f.;Jeffrey 1976, p. 38; M.L. West (Early Greek Philosophy and the Orient, 1971, p. 205) holds that such eastern material is more likely to be lingering traces from the Mycenaean tradition than the result of Oriental contacts in Hesiod's own time.
^Hesiod.Theogony,Lines 216–224: "Also she bore the Destinies and ruthless avenging Fates, Clotho and Lachesis and Atropos, who give men at their birth both evil and good to have, and they pursue the transgressions of men and of gods: and these goddesses never cease from their dread anger until they punish the sinner with a sore penalty."
^abNilsson 1967, Volume I, p. 368: "Moira is not a god, because otherwise the will of the god would be predestinated. CompareKismet in Muslim religion."
^Pindar.Pythionikos, VIII.95–7: "Man's life is a day. What is he, what is he not? A shadow in a dream is man, but when God sheds a brightness, shining light is on earth and life is sweet as honey."
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