Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
History
World Heritage-listed Mycenae is synonymous with the names Homer and Schliemann.
In the 9th century BC Homer told in his epic poems, the 'Iliad' and the 'Odyssey', of
'well-built Mycenae, rich in gold'. These poems were, until the 19th century, regarded as
no more than gripping and beautiful legends. But in the 1870s the amateur archaeologist
Heinrich Schliemann (1822-90), despite derision from professional archaeologists,
struck gold, first at Troy then at Mycenae. (Although, owing to doubts about the proven-
ance of some of his information and even allegations that he falsified some finds to fit his
theories, his reputation has since suffered.)
In Mycenae, myth and history are inextricably linked. According to Homer, the city of
Mycenae was founded by Perseus, the son of Danae and Zeus. Perseus' greatest heroic
deed was the killing of the hideous snake-haired Medusa, whose looks literally petrified
the beholder. Eventually, the dynasty of Perseus was overthrown by Pelops, a son of Tan-
talus. The Mycenaean Royal House of Atreus was probably descended from Pelops, al-
though myth and history are so intertwined, and the genealogical line so complex, that no
one really knows. Whatever the bloodlines, by Agamemnon's time the Royal House of
Atreus was the most powerful of the Achaeans (Homer's name for the Greeks). It eventu-
ally came to a sticky end, fulfilling the curse that had been cast because of Pelops' mis-
deeds.
The 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 in-
vaded by people of Indo-European heritage who had crossed Anatolia via Troy to
Greece. The invaders 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 kingdoms included Pylos, Tiryns, Corinth
and Argos, all in the Peloponnese. Evidence of Mycenaean civilisation has also been
found at Thiva (Thebes) and Athens.
The city of 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 de-
clined 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 between the
various Mycenaean kingdoms remains unresolved.
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