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Why Mycenae
in Greece is special
 The
ancient city of Mycenae in southern Greece is enveloped in a fascinating combination of myth and
historical facts.
Tips & insights
on Mycenae
Homer's
famous 2900-year-old epic the Iliad spins the story of the Trojan War. One key
character was Agamemnon, King of Mycenae on the Peloponnesus Peninsula of Greece.
Classical Greek
mythology
tells us of a tragic King Agamemnon tale that takes place mainly in Mycenae. It
goes like this:
 Thyestes
(Agamemnon's uncle) seduces Agamemnon's mother.
To
get even, Atreus (Agamemnon's father) tricks Thyestes into eating his own
children.
Thyestes
retaliates by cursing Atreus and his family.
Years later, Helen (the wife of
Agamemnon's brother Menelaus) is abducted to Troy, triggering the Trojan War.
When
Agamemnon returns to Mycenae from that long confrontation, he is murdered by his
unfaithful wife Clytemnestra.
Her
son Orestes takes revenge of his father's slaying by killing her.
That
deed of taking the life of his own mother persuades the mythical furies to try
to assassinate Orestes.
This juicy, complex drama has the earmarks of a soap opera.
Until
1874, most historians thought that Agamemnon and his Mycenae never existed. That was
the year when the excavations by Heinrich Schliemann proved that both were real.
He is the same amateur archaeologist whose earlier excavations showed that Troy
was not a myth.
Mycenae
was a major military power and maritime trader from about 20th to 12th centuries
BC. It reached its peak from around 1400 to 1200 BC. In that period, Mycenae
defeated the Minoans in Crete and took control of that island in southern
Greece.
Basically,
all that remains of the hilltop Mycenae citadel are stone walls, subterranean
tombs, and the Lion Gate (see photo) - but they are interesting enough to
attract numerous tourists.
The
Lion Gate is the icon of Mycenae. Its massive lintel is crowned with a huge
stone relief of two lions. The second best known tourist attraction is the Tomb
(or Treasury) of Atreus. It has a striking bee-hive designed ceiling.
Mycenae
is a popular daytrip from Athens, Greece. It is sometimes combined with a visit to Epidaurus (another Hillman Wonder bronze medalist).
View my other gold,
silver & bronze medal
winners in Greece
 
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