Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Argolid
The region that you enter to the south and southeast of Corinth was known as the
Argolid
(Argolídha in modern Greek), after the city of Árgos, which held sway here in
Classical times. The greatest concentration of ancient sites in Greece is found in this
compact peninsula, its western boundary delineated by the main road south from
Kórinthos. Within less than an hour's drive of each other are Agamemnon's fortress at
Mycenae
, the great theatre of
Epidaurus
, and lesser sites at
Tiryns
and
Árgos
.
In peak season you may want to see the sites early or late in the day to realize their
magic. When ruin-hopping palls, there are the resort-town pleasures of elegant
Náfplio
,
and a handful of
beach resorts
.
2
Mycenae
Tucked into a fold of the hills just east of the road from Kórinthos to Árgos, Agamemnon's
citadel at
MYCENAE
(Mykínes) fits the legend better than any other place in Greece. It was
uncovered in 1874 by the German archeologist Heinrich Schliemann (who also excavated
the site of Troy), impelled by his single-minded belief that there was a factual basis to
Homer's epics. Schliemann's finds of
brilliantly crafted gold and sophisticated tomb
architecture bore out the accuracy of Homer's epithets of “well-built Mycenae, rich in
gold”. And with the accompaniment of the sound of bells drifting down from goats
grazing on the hillsides, a stroll around the ramparts is still evocative of earlier times.
Brief history
The Mycenae-Árgos region is one of the longest occupied in Greece, with evidence of
Neolithic settlements from around 3000 BC. But it is to the period from around 1550
to 1200 BC that the citadel of Mycenae and its associated drama belong. This period is
known as
Mycenaean
, a term that covers not just the Mycenae region but a whole
Bronze Age civilization
that flourished in southern Greece at the time, referred to in
Homer's epics.
ANCIENT MYCENAE
Entrance
Gate
Tomb of
Aegisthus
Postern
Gate
Royal
Palace
Lion Gate
Grave
Circle B
Secret
Cistern
Tomb of
Klytemnestra
Grave
Circle
A
THE CITADEL
Bastion
Throne
Room
South
House
Megaron
House of
Columns
Great
Court
Merchants'
Houses
Treasury of
Atreus
(Tomb of
Agamemnon)
LOWER CITY
N
Entrance
Gate
0
50
metres
Modern village of Mykínes (2km)
