Mycenae - Greece tourism

Greece Tourism - Mycenae

North of Nafplio lies the ancient fortified city of Mycenae. The fortress is entered through the Lion Gate, named after the two magnificent lions (now unfortunately headless) carved into the rock above the doorway. Within the walls, excavations have uncovered the palace complex, while close by on the hill of Panagitsa, the Treasury of Atreus (an underground tomb, 36m (118ft) long and 6m (20ft) wide) is considered the most impressive example of Mycenaean architecture.

It was the terrible legends which sprang from the dramatic adventures of the Royal House of Mycenae which inspired poets and dramatists.Agamemnon, the principal Monarch of the Dynasty, strongest King in Greece at this period, King of Kings, was chosen as military leader of the Greeks in the great expedition against Troy (Trojan war: 1180 B.C.). After the Troyan War was over, Agamemnon returned home victorious, bringing with him as his mistress Kassandra, daughter of the King of Troy.

The main monuments outside which was the prindcipal inhabited part, the Acropolis of Mycenae, are tombs. The so-called Treasury of Atreus, is located closer to the road. It is the larges and most impressive of all tombs that have been discovered in Mycenae. Its »dromos« is 36 metres long, 6 metres wide, and its side walls are lined with largew solid ashlar breccia masonry, fitted in horizontal courses.

Tombs at Mycenae prior to the 14th Century B.C. were in the form of deep flat pits. After the 14th Century, they were built on enbtirely different lines. Apparently the Atreidae wished to emulate the grandeur of the Egyptian Pharaohs tombs and constructed great domed sepulchral chambers, which even today are most impressive.