Mycenae was the most powerful centre in Bronze Age Greece, so much so that it gave its name to the whole Mycenaean civilisation. For Homer it was "rich in gold" and the kingdom of Agamemnon, the king who led the Greeks in the Trojan War. In myth the House of Atreus was dogged by a curse: Agamemnon was murdered on his return from Troy by his wife Clytemnestra, avenged in turn by their son Orestes, as Aeschylus's tragedies recount.
The site
| Monument | What to see |
|---|---|
| Lion Gate | The 13th-century BC monumental entrance, with two lionesses carved above the lintel: Europe's oldest monumental sculpture |
| Cyclopean walls | Huge stone blocks the Greeks attributed to the Cyclopes |
| Grave Circle A | The shaft graves where Schliemann found the gold mask called Agamemnon's |
| Palace and megaron | On the summit, remains of the throne room with its hearth |
| Secret cistern | An underground passage down to a spring, to withstand sieges |
| Treasury of Atreus | Great 14th-13th century BC tholos tomb, with a stone dome over 13 metres high |
| Tomb of Clytemnestra | Another tholos near the site entrance |
The museum
The small site museum displays pottery, figurines, frescoes and copies of the treasures; the most precious originals, such as the Mask of Agamemnon, are in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.
Tiryns and Argos
A few kilometres away are Tiryns, with the most impressive Cyclopean walls, also a UNESCO site, and Argos, one of Europe's oldest continuously inhabited towns, with a large ancient theatre. With Epidaurus and Nafplio they make one of Greece's finest archaeological routes.
Practical information
- From Nafplio it is about 30 minutes by car; from Athens about an hour and a half.
- The ticket covers the site, the museum and the Treasury of Atreus, which lies beside the road just before the entrance.
- The site is exposed: in summer visit at opening time or late afternoon.
See also the Peloponnese, Mycenaean civilisation and places of myth.