View source for Mycenae

{{Short description|Archaeological site in Greece}}
{{About|the ancient Greek city|the town of ancient Crete|Mycenae (Crete)|the hamlet in New York|Mycenae, New York}}
{{Infobox ancient site
 |name = Mycenae
 |native_name = {{script|Linb|𐀘𐀏𐀙𐀂}}<br/>Μυκῆναι<br>Μυκήνη<br>Μυκήνες
 |alternate_name = 
 |image = [[File:Path upto the Lion Gate, Mycenae (28693130016).jpg|250px]]
 |alt = 
 |caption = The [[Lion Gate]] and example of [[Cyclopean masonry]] at Mycenae
 |map_type = Greece
 |relief         = yes
 |map_alt = 
 |coordinates = {{Coord|37|43|49|N|22|45|27|E|type:landmark_region:GR-J|display=inline,title}}
 |location = [[Argolis]], Greece
 |region = 
 |type = Settlement
 |part_of = 
 |length = 
 |width = 
 |area = 
 |height = 
 |builder = 
 |material = 
 |built = 1350-1200 BC<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/artifact?name=Mycenae%2C+Citadel&object=Building | title=Mycenae, Citadel (Building)}}</ref>
 |abandoned = 
 |epochs = [[Bronze Age Europe|Bronze Age]]
 |cultures = [[Mycenaean Greece]]
 |dependency_of = 
 |occupants = 
 |event = [[Late Bronze Age collapse]]
 |excavations = 
 |archaeologists = Francesco Grimani
 |condition = Partly buried 
 |ownership = 
 |management = 
 |public_access = 
 |website = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
 |notes = 
| designation1          = WHS
| designation1_offname  = Archaeological Sites of Mycenae and [[Tiryns]]
| designation1_date     = 1999 <small>(23rd [[World Heritage Committee|session]])</small>
| designation1_number   = [https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/941 941]
| designation1_criteria = i, ii, iii, iv, vi
| designation1_type     = Cultural
| designation1_free1name = Region
| designation1_free1value = [[List of World Heritage Sites in Europe|Europe and North America]]
}}
{{Special characters}}

'''Mycenae''' ({{IPAc-en|m|aɪ|ˈ|s|iː|n|iː}} {{respell|my|SEE|nee}};<ref>[http://www.dictionary.com/browse/mycenae "Mycenae"]. ''[[Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary]]''.</ref> {{langx|gmy|{{script|Linb|𐀘𐀏𐀙𐀂}}}}; {{langx|grc|Μυκῆναι}} or {{lang|grc|Μυκήνη}}, ''Mykē̂nai'' or ''Mykḗnē'') is an [[archaeological site]] near [[Mykines, Greece|Mykines]] in [[Argolis]], north-eastern [[Peloponnese]], [[Greece]]. It is located about {{convert|120|km|0|abbr=off}} south-west of [[Athens]]; {{convert|11|km|0|abbr=off}} north of [[Argos, Peloponnese|Argos]]; and {{convert|48|km|0|abbr=off}} south of [[Corinth]]. The site is {{convert|19|km|0|abbr=off}} inland from the [[Saronic Gulf]] and built upon a hill rising {{convert|274|m|0|abbr=off}} above sea level.<ref name="BM20">{{harvnb|Bury|Meiggs|1975|p=20}}</ref>

In the second millennium BC, Mycenae was one of the major centres of Greek civilisation, a military [[stronghold]] which dominated much of southern Greece, [[Crete]], the [[Cyclades]] and parts of southwest [[Anatolia]]. The period of [[History of Greece|Greek history]] from about 1600 BC to about 1100 BC is called [[Mycenaean Greece|Mycenaean]] in reference to Mycenae. At its peak in 1350 BC, the [[citadel]] and lower town had a population of 30,000 and an area of {{convert|32|hectare|acre}}.<ref>{{unbulleted list citebundle |For population, see {{harvnb|Chew|2000|p=220}}: "Growth was concentrated at places like Knossos (population 30,000 in 1360 BC)... Mycenae by 1350 BC had a population as large as Knossos" |For area, see {{harvnb|Chapman|2005|p=94}}: "...Thebes at 50 hectares, Mycenae at 32 hectares..."}}</ref>

The first correct identification of Mycenae in modern literature was in 1700, during a survey conducted by the Venetian engineer Francesco Vandeyk on behalf of Francesco Grimani, the [[Provveditore Generale]] of the [[Kingdom of the Morea]]. Vandeyk used [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]]'s description of the [[Lion Gate]] to identify the ruins of Mycenae.<ref>{{Pausanias|en|2|16|5|ref}}.</ref>{{sfn|Moore|Rowlands|Karadimas|2014|p=4}}

In 1999 the archeological site of Mycenae was added to the [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage List]], along with the nearby site of [[Tiryns]], because of its historical importance as the center of the Mycenaean civilization, its outstanding architecture and its testimony to the development of [[Ancient Greece|Ancient Greek civilization]].<ref name = "unesco">{{Cite web|url= https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/941 |title= Archaeological Sites of Mycenae and Tiryns|website= UNESCO World Heritage Convention |publisher = United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization |access-date= 27 November 2022}}</ref>

The Lion Gate, the [[Treasury of Atreus]] and the [[Fortifications of Mycenae|walls of Mycenae]] and [[Tiryns]] are examples of the noteworthy architecture found in Mycenae and Tiryns. The structures and layouts of these discoveries exemplify the creative talent of the time. Greek architecture and urban planning have been significantly influenced by the Mycenaean civilization. Mycenae and Tiryns, which stand as the pinnacle of the early phases of Greek civilisation, provided unique witness to political, social and economic growth during the Mycenaean civilization. The accomplishments of the Mycenaean civilisation in [[Mycenaean art|art]], [[Mycenaean architecture|architecture]] and technology, which inspired European cultures, are also on display at both locations. 

These sites are strongly connected to the [[Homer]]ic epics. The [[Mycenaean Greek|earliest examples]] of the [[Greek language]] are also visible at Mycenae and Tiryn, preserved on [[Linear B]] tablets.
	
A stringent legal framework was established to safeguard the integrity of the Mycenae and Tiryns sites against vandalism and other forms of damage and [[Disturbance (archaeology)|disturbance]] to the remains. The Hellenic [[Ministry of Culture and Sports (Greece)|Ministry of Culture and Sports]] monitors the two archaeological sites. To maintain the quality and conditions of the Mycenaean and Tiryn sites, archaeological study is conducted methodically and systematically.

The Greek Antiquities Law No 3028/2002, on the ‘Conservation of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage in General’, governs the preservation and protection of the sites. Ministerial Decree No 2160 of 1964 created and safeguarded the limits of Mycenae in addition to the sites themselves. The [[acropolis]] and the wider surroundings are also covered by the extension of protection conferred by this ministerial decree. Ministerial Decrees No 102098/4753 of 1956 and 12613/696 of 1991 both provide protection for the Tiryns archaeological site.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/941 | title=Archaeological Sites of Mycenae and Tiryns }}</ref>

==Etymology==
[[File:The acropolis at Mycenae, Dec. 2001.jpg|thumb|A view of the citadel]]

The name ''Mukanai'' is thought not to be [[Greek language|Greek]] but rather one of the many [[Pre-Greek substrate|pre-Greek place names]] inherited by later Greek speakers.<ref>{{harvnb|Beekes|2009|loc=p. 29 (''s.v.'' "Ἀθήνη")}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Chadwick|1976|p=1}}.</ref> Legend has it that the name was connected to the Greek word ''mykēs'' (μύκης, "mushroom"). Thus [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] ascribes the name to the legendary founder, [[Perseus]], who was said to have named it either after the cap (''mykēs'') of the sheath of his sword or after a mushroom he had plucked on the site.<ref>Pausanias. ''Description of Greece'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+2.16.3&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160 2.16.3]</ref> [[Homer]] connected the name to the nymph Mycene, the daughter of the river god Inachos of [[Argos, Peloponnese|Argos]] ([[Odyssey]] 2.120).

In the ''[[Iliad]]'' the name of the city is spelled ''{{lang|grc-Latn|Mykḗnē}}'' (Μυκήνη).<ref>Homer. ''[[Iliad]]'',
[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hom.+Il.+4.52&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0133 4.52], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hom.+Il.+7.180&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0133 7.180], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hom.+Il.+11.46&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0133 11.46]</ref>

==History==
[[File:Mycenae northern gate 2006.JPG|thumb|The Tomb of [[Aegisthus]] outside the walls of the citadel]]

===Neolithic Age===
Mycenae, an [[acropolis]] site, was built on a hill {{convert|900|ft|0|abbr=off}} above sea level, some {{convert|19|km|0|abbr=off}} inland from the Gulf of Argolis. Situated in the north-east corner of the Argive plain, it easily overlooked the whole area and was ideally positioned to be a centre of power, especially as it commanded all easy routes to the [[Isthmus of Corinth]]. Besides its strong defensive and strategic position, it had good farmland and an adequate water supply.<ref name="BM20"/> There are only faint traces of Neolithic settlement on the site although it was continuously occupied from the [[Neolithic#Early Neolithic|Early Neolithic]] (EN, c. 5000–c. 4000 BC) through the [[Helladic chronology#Early Helladic (EH)|Early Helladic]] (EH, c. 3200–c. 2000 BC) and [[Helladic chronology#Middle Helladic (MH)|Middle Helladic]] (MH, c. 2000–c. 1550 BC) periods. EN Rainbow Ware constitutes the earliest ceramic evidence discovered so far.<ref>{{harvnb|Shelton|2010|p=58}}.</ref>

===Early and Middle Bronze Age===
The population had grown considerably by the Middle Helladic. As elsewhere, a dominant [[Minoan civilization|Cretan influence]] prevailed from c. 1600 BC, the first evidence of this coming from the shaft graves discovered in 1876 by [[Heinrich Schliemann]].<ref name="BM20"/> Schliemann's shaft graves came to be known as [[Grave Circle A, Mycenae|Circle A]] to distinguish them from the [[Grave Circle B, Mycenae|Circle B graves]], which were found at a later date, although Circle B are the earlier graves, dated c. 1650 BC to c. 1550 BC and entirely within MHIII. Circle A is dated to the sixteenth century BC, including the transition from Middle to [[Helladic chronology#Late Helladic I (LHI)|Late Helladic IA]] (LHIA; c. 1550 – c. 1500 BC).<ref name="BM20"/> The contents of Circle B are less wealthy than those of Circle A.<ref name="BM22">{{harvnb|Bury|Meiggs|1975|p=22}}</ref>

Pottery material spanning the entire Early Helladic was discovered 1877 by [[Panagiotis Stamatakis]] at a low depth in the sixth shaft grave in Circle A. Further EH and MH material was found beneath the walls and floors of the palace, on the summit of the acropolis and outside the [[Lion Gate]] in the area of the ancient cemetery.<ref name="Forsén51–52">{{harvnb|Forsén|1992|loc="Mycenae – Argolid (A:5)", pp. 51–52}}.</ref> An EH–MH settlement was discovered near a fresh-water well on top of the Kalkani hill south-west of the acropolis.<ref name="Forsén51–52"/> The first burials in pits or [[cist]] graves manifest in MHII (c. 1800 BC) on the west slope of the acropolis, which was at least partially enclosed by the earliest [[circuit wall]].<ref name="Forsén51–52"/>

===Late Bronze Age===
[[File:Mycenae ruins dsc06390.jpg|thumb|View from the [[acropolis]], or high city]]

In the absence of documents and objects that can be precisely dated, events at Mycenae can be dated only relatively within the constraints of [[Helladic chronology]], which relies on categorisation of stratified material objects, mainly pottery, within an agreed historical framework. Mycenae developed into a major power during LHI (c. 1550 – c. 1450 BC) and is believed to have become the main centre of Aegean civilisation through the fifteenth century to the extent that the two hundred years from c. 1400 BC to c. 1200 BC (encompassing LHIIIA and LHIIIB) are known as the Mycenaean Age. The Minoan hegemony ended c. 1450 and there is evidence that Knossos was occupied by Mycenaeans until it too was destroyed c. 1370 BC. From then on, Mycenaean expansion throughout the Aegean was unhindered until the massive disruption of society in the first half of the twelfth century (LHIIIC), which ended Mycenaean civilisation and culminated in the destruction of Mycenae itself c. 1150 BC.

====Late Helladic I (LHI; c. 1550–c. 1450 BC)====
Outside the partial circuit wall, [[Grave Circle B, Mycenae|Grave Circle B]], named for its enclosing wall, contained ten cist graves in Middle Helladic style and several shaft graves, sunk more deeply, with interments resting in cists. Richer grave goods mark the burials as possibly regal. Mounds over the top contained broken drinking vessels and bones from a repast, testifying to a more than ordinary farewell.<ref>{{harvnb|Velikovsky|1999|loc=Edwin M. Schorr, [http://www.varchive.org/schorr/use.htm "Applying the Revised Chronology: Later Use of Grave Circles"]}}.</ref> [[Stele|Stelae]] surmounted the mounds.<ref>{{harvnb|Komita|1982|pp=59–60}}.</ref>

A walled enclosure, [[Grave Circle A, Mycenae|Grave Circle A]], included six more shaft graves, with nine female, eight male, and two juvenile interments. Grave goods were more costly than in Circle B. The presence of engraved and inlaid [[Bronze Age sword|sword]]s and [[dagger]]s, with spear points and arrowheads, leaves little doubt that warrior [[Paramount chief|chieftain]]s and their families were buried here. Some art objects obtained from the graves are the [[Silver Siege Rhyton]], the [[Mask of Agamemnon]], the [[Nestor's Cup (Mycenae)|Cup of Nestor]] and weapons both [[votive]] and practical. The chemical compositions of the silver objects indicate that the silver was sourced from several locations.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.11141/ia.56.9|title=Sending Laurion Back to the Future: Bronze Age Silver and the Source of Confusion|last1=Wood|first1=J. R.|last2=Hsu|first2=Y-T.|last3=Bell|first3=C.|journal=[[Internet Archaeology]]|year=2021|volume=56| issue=9 | s2cid=236973111 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

[[File:Replicas of Mycenaean swords and cups.jpg|thumb|Museum replicas of Mycenaean swords and cups]]

====Late Helladic II (LHII; c. 1450–c. 1400 BC)====
[[Alan Wace]] divided the nine [[beehive tomb|tholos]] tombs of Mycenae into three groups of three, each based on architecture. His earliest – the Cyclopean Tomb, Epano Phournos, and the [[Tomb of Aegisthus]] – are dated to LHIIA.

Burial in tholoi is seen as replacing burial in shaft graves. The care taken to preserve the shaft graves testifies that they were by then part of the royal heritage, the tombs of the ancestral heroes. Being more visible, all the tholoi had been plundered either in antiquity or in later historic times.

====Late Helladic III (LHIII; c. 1400–c. 1050 BC)====
At a conventional date of 1350 BC, the [[Fortifications of Mycenae|fortifications on the acropolis]] and other surrounding hills were rebuilt in a style known as [[Cyclopean]] because the blocks of stone used were so massive that they were thought in later ages to be the work of the one-eyed giants known as the [[Cyclopes]].<ref>{{harvnb|French|2002|p=56}}.</ref> Within these walls, much of which can still be seen, successive monumental palaces were built. The final palace, remains of which are currently visible on the acropolis of Mycenae, dates to the start of LHIIIA:2. Earlier palaces must have existed but they had been cleared away or built over.

The construction of palaces at that time with a similar architecture was general throughout southern Greece. They all featured a [[megaron]], or throne room, with a raised central hearth under an opening in the roof, which was supported by four columns in a square around the hearth. A throne was placed against the center of a wall to the side of the hearth, allowing an unobstructed view of the ruler from the entrance. [[Fresco]]s adorned the plaster walls and floor.

{{multiple image
| align = right
| image1 = Mykene.Treasure.of.Atreus.tholos.jpg
| width1 = 209
| alt1 = 
| caption1 = 
| image2 = Mycenae - Tomb of Clytemnestra.jpg
| width2 = 100
| alt2 = 
| caption2 = 
| footer = Examples of [[Beehive tombs|tholos]], outside the citadel of Mycenae: [[tomb of Clytemnestra]], outside view (left), [[Treasury of Atreus]], inside view (right) .
}}

The room was accessed from a courtyard with a columned portico. A grand staircase led from a terrace below to the courtyard on the acropolis.

In the temple built within the citadel, a [[Scarab (artifact)|scarab]] of [[Tiye|Queen Tiye]] of [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]], who was married to [[Amenhotep III]], was placed in the Room of the Idols alongside at least one statue of either LHIIIA:2 or B:1 type. Amenhotep III's relations with ''m-w-k-i-n-u'', *Mukana, have corroboration from the inscription at Kom al-Hetan - but Amenhotep's reign is thought to align with late LHIIIA:1. It is likely that Amenhotep's herald presented the scarab to an earlier generation, which then found the resources to rebuild the citadel as Cyclopean and then, to move the scarab here.

Wace's second group of tholoi are dated between LHIIA and LHIIIB: Kato Phournos, Panagia Tholos, and the Lion Tomb. The final group, Group III: the [[Treasury of Atreus]], the Tomb of Clytemnestra and the Tomb of the Genii, are dated to LHIIIB by a sherd under the threshold of the Treasury of Atreus, the largest of the nine tombs. Like the Treasury of [[Minyas (mythology)|Minyas]] at [[Orchomenus (Boeotia)|Orchomenus]] the tomb had been looted of its contents and its nature as funerary monument had been forgotten. The structure bore the traditional name of "Treasury".

[[File:Lion Gate Mycenes OLC.jpg|thumb|The Lion Gate (detail); two [[confronted-animals|lions]] or lionesses flank the central column, whose significance is much debated.<ref>An older view that it represents a goddess, now generally discounted, is to be found in W.K.C. Guthrie, in ''The Cambridge Ancient History'' (1975) Volume I, Part II, p. 864: "A frequent design on engraved Cretan [[engraved gem|gems]] is of the type made famous by the Lion Gate at Mycenae, a single upright pillar, flanked by a pair of guardian animals. Sometimes the same arrangement is preserved, but the anthropomorphic figure of a god or goddess takes the place of a pillar" (illustrations from Nilsson). More recent discussions of its symbolism can be found in James C. Wright, "The Spatial Configuration of Belief: The Archaeology of Mycenaean Religion" in S.E. Alcock and Robin Osborne (eds.), ''Placing the Gods'', Oxford University Press, 1996, pp. 37–78. Here Wright suggests that the pillar represents the palace which in turn represents the state.</ref>]]
[[File:Mykene BW 2017-10-10 13-23-40.jpg|thumb|Cyclopean masonry, rear side of the [[Lion Gate]]]]

The pottery phases on which the relative dating scheme is based (EH, MH, LH, etc.) do not allow very precise dating, even augmented by the few existing C-14 dates due to the tolerance inherent in these. The sequence of further construction at Mycenae is approximately as follows. In the middle of LHIIIB, around 1250 BC or so, the [[Cyclopean masonry|Cyclopean]] wall was extended on the west slope to include Grave Circle A.<ref>{{harvnb|Castleden|2005|pp=95–96}}; {{harvnb|French|2002}}; {{harvnb|Luce|1975|loc=p. 35: "The Lion Gate provides further testimony to the power of the Pelopids, for Mylonas appears to have shown conclusively that it dates from c. 1250. With the stretch of Cyclopean wall enclosing Grave Circle A it represents the climax of military and monumental construction."}}</ref> The main entrance through the circuit wall was made grand by the best known feature of Mycenae, the [[Lion Gate]], through which passed a stepped ramp leading past circle A and up to the palace. The Lion Gate was constructed in the form of a "Relieving Triangle" in order to support the weight of the stones. An undecorated postern gate also was constructed through the north wall.

One of the few groups of excavated houses in the city outside the walls lies beyond Grave Circle B and belongs to the same period. The House of Shields, the House of the Oil Merchant, the House of the Sphinxes, and the West House. These may have been both residences and workshops.

The largest stones including the lintels and gate jambs weighed well over 20 tonnes; some may have been close to 100 tonnes.<ref>{{harvnb|Scarre|1999}}.</ref>

Somewhat later, toward the end of LHIIIB around 1200 BC, another, final extension to the citadel was undertaken.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/artifact?name=Mycenae,+Citadel&object=Building|title=Mycenae, Citadel (Building)|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu|access-date=2018-07-07}}</ref> The wall was extended again on the northeast, with a sally port and also a secret passage through and under the wall, of corbelled construction, leading downwards by some 99 steps to a [[cistern]] carved out of rock 15 m below the surface. It was fed by a tunnel from a spring on more distant higher ground.

Already in LHIIIA:1, Egypt knew *Mukana by name as a capital city on the level of Thebes and Knossos. During LHIIIB, Mycenae's political, military and economic influence likely extended as far as [[Crete]], [[Pylos]] in the western Peloponnese, and to [[Athens]] and [[Thebes (Greece)|Thebes]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lesson 28: Narrative – Aegean Prehistoric Archaeology |url=https://sites.dartmouth.edu/aegean-prehistory/lessons/lesson-28-narrative/ |access-date=2022-09-15 |website=sites.dartmouth.edu}}</ref>

===Decline===
{{See also|Late Bronze Age collapse}}

Mycenae was among the numerous Aegean sites destroyed as part of the Bronze Age Collapse around 1200 BC. The causes of these destructions are unknown, but proposed explanations include enemy attack, internal strife, and natural disasters such as earthquakes.<ref name="dickinsonoxaeg">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Dickinson |first=Oliver |editor-last1=Cline |editor-first1=Eric|encyclopedia=The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean|title=The Collapse At The End of the Bronze Age|year=2012 |publisher=Oxford University Press|pages=486–489|doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199873609.013.0036|isbn=978-0199873609 }}</ref><ref name="frenchoxaeg">{{cite encyclopedia |last=French |first=Elizabeth |editor-last1=Cline |editor-first1=Eric|encyclopedia=The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean|title=Mycenae|year=2012|publisher=Oxford University Press|doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199873609.013.0050|pages=676–678|isbn=978-0199873609 }}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Drake|2012|pp=1862–1870}}; {{harvnb|Kaniewski|Paulissen|van Campo|Weiss|2010|pp=207–215}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Nur|2008|loc=Chapter 8: Earthquake Storms and the Catastrophic End of the Bronze Age, pp. 224–245}}.</ref> Unlike many other sites, Mycenae was partly rebuilt after this destruction, though it was no longer the centre of a centralised literate bureacuracy. Pottery finds suggest that Postpalatial Mycenae eventually regained some of its wealth, before burning once again. After this period, the site remained sparsely populated until the Hellenistic era.<ref name="dickinsonoxaeg"/><ref name="frenchoxaeg"/>

===Archaic and classical periods===
A temple dedicated to Hera was built on the summit of the Mycenaean citadel during the Archaic Period. A Mycenaean contingent fought at [[Thermopylae]] and [[Plataea]] during the [[Persian Wars]]. In 468 BC, however, troops from [[Argos, Peloponnese|Argos]] captured Mycenae, expelled the inhabitants and razed the fortifications.<ref>{{harvnb|French|2002|loc=p. 142: "The dedications continue at the Shrine by the Bridge into the fifth century, probably beyond the disablement of the walls by the Argives in 468 BC."}}</ref>

===Revival and abandonment===
Mycenae was briefly reoccupied in the [[Hellenistic]] period, when it could boast a theatre (located over the [[Tomb of Clytemnestra]]). The site was subsequently abandoned, and by the [[Roman Empire|Roman]] period in Greece its ruins had become a [[tourist]] attraction. The ancient travel writer [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], for example, visited the site and briefly described the prominent fortifications and the Lion Gate, still visible in his time, the second century AD. Pausanias also describes being led to the site by shepherds, showing that the surrounding area was never completely abandoned.<ref>{{harvnb|French|2002|pp=19, 146–150}}.</ref>

The Ministry of Culture, Education, and Religious Affairs is currently in charge of the site. In 1999, a scientific committee for Mycenae was created and numerous projects for the preservation, improvement, and stabilization of both archaeological sites have been completed by this scientific body. The committee also sought to improve visitor access to the monuments at the locations by laying out walkways and establishing information stations.

==Political organization==
It appears that the Mycenaean state was ruled by kings identified by the title {{lang|gmy|{{script|Linb|𐀷𐀙𐀏}}}}, ''wa-na-ka'' ("wanax") in the [[Linear B]] inscriptions at [[Knossos]] and [[Pylos]]. The wanax had the supreme authority and was represented by a number of officials. In the [[Homer]]ic poems, the word form is ''[[anax]]'' ({{lang|grc|ἄναξ}}), often translated in English as "lord". Some inscriptions with a list of offerings indicate that the king was probably divine, but the term "for the king" is usually accompanied by another name.<ref name="Chadwick70–77">{{harvnb|Chadwick|1976|pp=70–77}}.</ref> It is possible that a priest-king system was adopted from the East<ref>Dietrich p.65–66"</ref> and the  title probably indicates that his right to rule was given by the god.<ref name="Mylonas206–208">{{harvnb|Mylonas|1966|pp=206–208}}.</ref> The term {{lang|gmy|{{script|Linb|𐀣𐀯𐀩𐀄}}}}, ''qa-si-re-u'' ([[cf.]] {{lang|grc|βασιλεύς}}, "[[basileus|basileús]]"), which was later used in Greece for "king", was apparently used for the "chief" of any group of people, or for a provincial official. (Homer mentions many ''basilees'' in [[Ithaca (island)|Ithaca]]).<ref name="Chadwick70–77"/>

The land possessed by the king is usually called {{lang|gmy|{{script|Linb|𐀳𐀕𐀜}}}}, ''te-me-no'' ({{lang|grc|τέμενος}}, "[[temenos|témenos]]"), a word that survived in classical Greece (the ''temenos'' placed by [[Hephaestus]] on the shield of Achilles is called "royal"). In classical times the word has a religious connotation.<ref name="Mylonas206–208"/> Other important landowners were the {{lang|gmy|{{script|Linb|𐀨𐀷𐀐𐀲}}}}, ''ra-wa-ke-ta'' ("lāwāgetas"), literally translated as "the leader of the people", and sometimes interpreted as a given kingdom's military leader, though this is not confirmed by the inscriptions.<ref name="Chadwick70–77" /> Alternatively, he may have been the crown prince or, if one follows the argument of a single Mycenaean state, a local king who was a vassal to the overarching wanax / Great King.<ref>{{Cite journal|journal=Palamedes|volume=3|year=2008|url=https://www.academia.edu/218698|title=A Great King at Mycenae. An Argument for the wanax as Great King and the lawagetas as vassal ruler|last1=Kelder|first1=Jorrit}}</ref> Below these two elevated persons, Linear B texts situate the {{lang|gmy|{{script|Linb|𐀳𐀩𐀲}}}}, ''te-re-ta'' ("telestai"), the officials. [[Leonard Robert Palmer]] suggests that the "telestai were the men of telos- the fief holders".<ref name="Mylonas206–208"/> The {{lang|gmy|{{script|Linb|𐀁𐀤𐀲}}}}, ''e-qe-ta'' (''ekwetai'', "companions" or "followers") were a group of nobles (aristocrats), who followed the king in peace and war. It seems that they were representatives of the king among military groups and religious personnel.<ref name="Mylonas206–208"/> There is also at least one instance of a person, [[Enkhelyawon]] at Pylos, who appears titleless in the written record but whom modern scholars regard as being probably a king.<ref name=Chadwick71-72>{{harvnb|Chadwick|1976}}, [https://archive.org/details/mycenaeanworld00chad/page/71 pp. 71–72].</ref>

From the existing evidence, it seems that the kingdom was further subdivided into sixteen districts. The {{lang|gmy|{{script|Linb|𐀒𐀩𐀮}}}}, ''ko-re-te'' was the "governor of the district" and the {{lang|gmy|{{script|Linb|𐀡𐀫𐀒𐀩𐀮}}}}, ''po-ro-ko-re-te'' was the "deputy". It is possible that these represent ''koreter'' and ''prokoreter''. The {{lang|gmy|{{script|Linb|𐀅𐀗𐀒𐀫}}}}, ''da-mo-ko-ro'' (''damokoros'') was an official appointment but his duties are not very clear. The communal land was held at the hands of {{lang|gmy|{{script|Linb|𐀅𐀗}}}}, ''da-mo'' (literally, "people", cf. Attic {{lang|grc|[[wikt:δῆμος|δῆμος]]}}, {{lang|grc-Latn|dễmos}}), or "plot holders". It seems that the ''da-mo'' was a collective body of men, representing the local district<ref name="Chadwick70–77"/> and that it had certain power in public affairs.<ref name="Mylonas206–208"/> It is suggested that ''qa-si-re-u'' had a council of elders, a {{lang|gmy|{{script|Linb|𐀐𐀫𐀯𐀊}}}}, ''ke-ro-si-ja'', (later {{lang|grc|γερουσία}} {{lang|grc-Latn|gerousia}}), but Palmer believes that it was an organization of "bronze smiths".<ref name="Mylonas206–208"/> The land was held by the wanax, by the damos, and by individual land owners. It seems that people lived in small family groups or clans around the main citadel. Occupying a lower rung of the social ladder were the slaves, ''do-e-ro'', ([[cf.]] {{lang|grc|δοῦλος}}, {{lang|grc-Latn|doúlos}}).<ref>{{LSJ|dou{{=}}los1|δοῦλος|ref}}</ref> These are recorded in the texts as working either for the palace or for specific deities.<ref name="Chadwick">{{harvnb|Chadwick|1976|loc=Chapter 5: Social Structure and Administrative System, pp. 69–83}}.</ref> 

Archaeological evidence supports the idea that the social hierarchy of Mycenae was a monarchy. The difference in the grave goods shows how the society was clearly separated by class. The king or the wanax was at the top of the hierarchy, who lived in the palaces and made laws for the people. It is believed that the kings came into power not because of great leadership duties, but because of hereditary succession. Below the king was the Lawagetas, believed to be the leader of the army, based on Homer's works. The Lawagetas are thought to have gotten their power by owning the most land. Other opinions think Lawagetas were a sort of prince, having no military power. Under the Lawagetas are numerous craftsmen employed by the Lawagetas. Other groups commonly mentioned in landholding texts are the Telestas. Some think the Telestas are religious officials while others believe they were given land in return for services. Under the Telestas is believed to be the Hequetia, who are believed to be either military workers or warriors or companions of the king. Under the Hequetia are the general laborers which includes artisans, farmers, fisherman, and more. At the bottom of the social hierarchy slaves, which are commonly believed to be women. Even when women were not slaves it is believed they were never able to hold substantial roles of power in the civilizations. The particular positions held and responsibilities performed within Mycenae's social structure are not well understood.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.fhw.gr/chronos/02/mainland/en/mg/society/index.html | title=Mycenaean Greece-Society }}</ref>

According to the traditional view, Mycenae or any other palatial center of mainland Greece was not an empire, and the mainland consisted of independent city-states.<ref name="Mylonas206–208"/> This view has in recent years, however, been challenged by various specialists, such as [[Jorrit Kelder]] and, most recently, [[Birgitta Eder]] and [[Reinhard Jung]]. Kelder pointed out that a number of palaces and fortifications appear to be part of a wider kingdom. For instance, [[Gla]], located in the region of Boeotia, belonged to the state of nearby Orchomenos.<ref>Kelder 2010 p.34</ref> The palace of Mycenae probably ruled over a territory two to three times the size of the other palatial states in Bronze Age Greece. Its territory would have also included adjacent centers, including [[Tiryns]] and [[Nafplio|Nauplion]], which could plausibly be ruled by a member of Mycenae's ruling dynasty.<ref>Kelder2010 p,.97</ref>  Certain archaeological features in the palatial centers like the architectural uniformity, the uniformity of the administrative system, the uniformity in pottery, the imperial language and some large scale projects (drainage systems, harbours, roads etc.) indicate that large parts of Greece may have fallen under the sway of a single king, with various degrees of control over local vassals: a situation not dissimilar from the contemporary [[Hittites|Hittite]] world, although the archaeological evidence remains ambiguous.<ref>Kelder 2010 p.119</ref> A loose confederacy of city-states under the king of Mycenae, [[Agamemnon]], is mentioned by [[Homer]] in ''[[Iliad]]''.

==Religion==
{{Main list|List of Mycenaean deities}}

Much of the [[Mycenaean Greece|Mycenaean]] religion survived into [[classical Greece]] in their pantheon of [[Greek gods|Greek deities]], but it is not known to what extent Greek religious belief is Mycenaean, nor how much is a product of the [[Greek Dark Ages]] or later. [[Moses I. Finley]] detected only few authentic Mycenaean beliefs in the 8th-century [[Homeric]] world,<ref>{{harvnb|Finley|1954|p=124}}.</ref> but [[Martin P. Nilsson|Nilsson]] suggested that the Mycenaean religion was the mother of the [[Religion in ancient Greece|Greek religion]].<ref>{{harvnb|Nilsson|1967|loc=Volume I, p. 339}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Page|1976|loc="IV: The Homeric Description of Mycenaean Greece", pp. 118–177 (see especially pp. 122–123)}}.</ref>

From the history traced by Nilsson and [[W. K. C. Guthrie|Guthrie]], the Mycenaean pantheon consisted of [[Minoan civilization|Minoan]] deities, but also of gods and goddesses who appear under different names with similar functions in East and West.<ref name="Dietrich65–66">{{harvnb|Dietrich|1973|pp=65–66}}.</ref> Many of these names appearing in the [[Linear B]] inscriptions can be found later in classical Greece, like [[Zeus]], [[Hera]], [[Poseidon]], [[Athena]], [[Hermes]], [[Eileithyia]] and [[Dionysos]],<ref>{{cite web|last=Paul|first=Adams John|title=Mycenaean Divinities|location=Northridge, CA|publisher=California State University|date=10 January 2010|access-date=24 January 2014|url=http://www.csun.edu/~hcfll004/mycen.html}}</ref> but the etymology is the only evidence of the cults.

There are several reasonable guesses that can be made, however. It seems that originally the Mycenaeans, like many [[Proto-Indo-Europeans|Indo-European]]s, considered divine any object that inherited an internal power ([[animism|anima]]). Certain religious beliefs were mixed with the beliefs of the local populations as it appears in the old cults of isolated [[Arcadia (ancient region)|Arcadia]], which survived up to classical [[Greece]]. In these cults, [[Poseidon]] appears usually as a horse, representing the river spirit of the underworld, as usually happens in northern [[Europe]]an folklore. The precursor goddesses of [[Demeter]] and [[Persephone]] are closely related with springs and animals, and especially with Poseidon and [[Artemis]], who was the first [[nymph]].<ref name="Nilsson479–480">{{harvnb|Nilsson|1967|loc=Volume I, pp. 479–480}}.</ref> Mycenaean religion was almost certainly polytheistic, and the Mycenaeans were actively syncretistic, adding foreign deities to their pantheon of deities with ease. The Mycenaeans probably entered Greece with a pantheon of deities headed by some ruling sky-deity, which linguists speculate might have been called ''*Dyeus'' in early [[Proto-Indo-European language|Indo-European]]. In Greek, this deity would become [[Zeus]] (pronounced ''Zeus'' or ''Dias'' in [[Ancient Greek phonology|ancient Greek]]). Among the [[Hindus]], this sky-deity becomes "[[Dyaus Pita]]". In Latin he becomes "Deus Pater" or [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]]; we still encounter this word in the etymologies of the words "deity" and "divine".

Later in some cults, [[Zeus]] is united with the [[Aegean civilization|Aegean]] [[Mother goddess|Great Goddess]], who is represented by [[Hera]], in a "holy wedding" (''hieros gamos''). At some point in their cultural history, the Mycenaeans adopted some [[Minoan civilization#Religion|Minoan]] goddesses like [[Aphaea]], [[Britomartis]], [[Diktynna]] and associated them with their sky-god.<ref name="Dietrich65–66"/> Many of them were absorbed by more powerful divinities, and some like the [[vegetation deity|vegetation goddesses]] [[Ariadne]] and [[Helen of Troy|Helen]] survived in Greek folklore together with the cult of the "divine child", who was probably the precursor of [[Dionysos]].<ref>{{harvnb|Kerényi|1976|pp=110–114}}; {{harvnb|Nilsson|1967|loc=Volume I, pp. 315–319}}. The child dies every year in order to be reborn. In the [[Minoan religion|Minoan]] myth it is abandoned by his mother, and then brought up by the powers of nature. Similar myths are found in the cults of [[Hyakinthos]] ([[Amyklai]]), [[Erichthonios]] ([[Athens]]), [[Ploutos]] ([[Eleusis]]), and in the cult of [[Dionysos]].</ref> [[Athena]] and [[Hera]] survived and were tutelary goddesses, the guardians of the palaces and the cities. In general, later Greek religion distinguishes between two types of deities: the [[Twelve Olympians|Olympian]], or sky, deities (including Zeus), who are now commonly known in some form or another; and the [[chthonic]] deities, or deities of the earth. [[Walter Burkert]] warns: "To what extent one can and must differentiate between Minoan and Mycenaean religion is a question which has not yet found a conclusive answer."<ref>{{harvnb|Burkert|1987|p=21}}.</ref> He suggests that useful parallels will be found in the relations between Hellenistic and Archaic Greek culture and religion, or between Roman and Etruscan culture.

The pantheon also included deities representing the powers of nature and wildlife, who appear with similar functions in the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] region.<ref name="Dietrich65–66"/> The "Mistress of the Animals" (''[[Potnia Theron]]''), later called [[Artemis]], may be identified as the Minoan goddess [[Britomartis]]/Dictynna.<ref>{{harvnb|Hornblower|Spawforth|Eidinow|2012|loc="Artemis", pp. 175–176}}.</ref> [[Poseidon]] is the lord of the sea, and therefore of storms and earthquakes, (the "Earth shaker" in [[Linear B]] tablets). He may have functioned as a pre-Hellenic chthonic Zeus, the lord or spouse of the [[Earth goddess]].<ref>Poseidon is pairing with the "Two Goddesses" ([[Demeter]] and [[Persephone]]) in Linear B tablets. There is a theory linking his name with elements meaning "husband" or "lord" (Greek πόσις (posis), from [[PIE]] ''*pótis'') and another element meaning "earth" (δᾶ (da), Doric for γῆ (gē)), producing something like lord or spouse of Da, i.e. of the earth. His name may also be interpreted as "lord of the waters" (from [[PIE]] ''*potis'' and Sanskr. ''daFon'': "water").</ref> [[Athena]] whose task was to protect the olive-trees is a civic Artemis. The powers of animal nature fostered a belief in [[nymphs]] whose existence was bound to the trees and the waters, and in gods with human forms and the heads or tails of animals who stood for primitive bodily instincts. In [[Arcadia (ancient region)|Arcadia]] were depicted animal-headed gods, indicating that in the remote past the gods were conceived as animals and birds, in a surrounding of animal-headed [[daemon (mythology)|daemons]].<ref name="Nilsson479–480"/> Later the gods were revealed in human forms with an animal as a companion or symbol. Some of the old gods survived in the cult of [[Dionysos]] ([[Satyrs]]) and [[Pan (god)|Pan]] (the goat-god).

The Mycenaeans adopted probably from the east a priest-king system and the belief of a ruling deity in the hands of a theocratic society. At the end of the second millennium BC, when the Mycenaean palaces collapsed, it seems that Greek thought was gradually released from the idea that each man was a servant to the gods, and sought a "moral purpose". It is possible that this procedure started before the end of the Mycenaean age, but the idea is almost absent or vague in the [[Homeric]] poems, where the interference of the gods is not related to the rightness or wrongness of men's actions.<ref name="Dietrich65–66"/> Later, [[Hesiod]] uses a lot of eastern material in his [[cosmology]] and in the genealogical trees of the gods,<ref>{{harvnb|Walcot|1966|p=85f.}}; {{harvnb|Jeffrey|1976|p=38}}; M.L. West (''Early Greek Philosophy and the Orient'', 1971, p. 205) holds that such eastern material is more likely to be lingering traces from the Mycenaean tradition than the result of Oriental contacts in Hesiod's own time.</ref> and he introduces the idea of the existence of something else behind the gods, which was more powerful than they.<ref>[[Hesiod]]. ''[[Theogony]]'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0130%3Acard%3D207 Lines 216–224]: "Also she bore the Destinies and ruthless avenging Fates, Clotho and Lachesis and Atropos, who give men at their birth both evil and good to have, and they pursue the transgressions of men and of gods: and these goddesses never cease from their dread anger until they punish the sinner with a sore penalty."</ref><ref name=Nilsson368>{{harvnb|Nilsson|1967|loc=Volume I, p. 368}}: "Moira is not a god, because otherwise the will of the god would be predestinated. Compare [[Destiny|Kismet]] in Muslim religion."</ref><ref>Aeschylus. ''Prometheus Bound'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0010%3Acard%3D507 Lines 515–518].</ref>

The [[Twelve Olympians|Olympian Pantheon]] is an ordered system. The Greek divinities live with Zeus at the helm and each is concerned with a recognizable sphere. However, certain elements in some Greek cults indicate the survival of some older cults from a less rationalized world: old cults of the dead, agrarian magic, exorcism of evil spirits, peculiar sacrifices, and animal-headed gods. In the Homeric poems, the avenging [[Moirai|Fate]] was probably originally a [[daemon (classical mythology)|daemon]] acting in parallel with the gods.<ref name=Nilsson368/> Later, the cult of [[Dionysos]] [[Zagreus]] indicates that life-blood of animals was needed to renew that of men.<ref>{{harvnb|Schachermeyer|1964|p=128}}.</ref> A similar belief may be guessed from the [[Mycenean Greece|Mycenaean]] [[Hagia Triada sarcophagus]] (1400 BC), which combines features of [[Minoan civilization]] and [[Mycenean Greece|Mycenaean]] style. It seems that the blood of a bull was used for the regeneration of the reappearing dead.<ref>{{harvnb|Schachermeyer|1964|p=241}}.</ref> Probably most of these cults existed in the Mycenaean period and survived by immemorial practice.

A secondary level of importance was the cult of the heroes, which seems to have started in the Mycenaean era. These were great men of the past who were exalted to honor after death, because of what they had done. According to an old [[Minoan civilization|Minoan]] belief, beyond the sea there was an island called [[Elysion]], where the departed could have a different but happier existence.<ref>{{harvnb|Schachermeyer|1964|p=141}}. Elysion may be affiliated with [[Eleusis]], the city of the [[Eleusinian Mysteries]].</ref> Later, the Greeks believed that there could live in human form only heroes and the beloved of the gods. The souls of the rest would drift unconsciously in the gloomy space of [[Hades]]. Gods and men had common origins, but there was an enormous gap between the immortal gods and mortal men. However, certain elements indicate that the [[Mycenean Greece|Mycenaeans]] probably believed in a future existence. Two well-preserved bodies were found in Shaft Grave VI, and [[Wolfgang Helbig]] believed that an embalming preceded the burial.<ref>{{harvnb|Helbig|1884|p=53}}; {{harvnb|Wunderlich|1974|p=221}}.</ref> In the shaft graves discovered by [[Heinrich Schliemann]], the corpses were lightly exposed to fire in order to preserve them.<ref>{{harvnb|Wunderlich|1974|pp=216–218, 221–222}}.</ref>

Mycenaean [[religion]] certainly involved offerings and sacrifices to the deities, and some have speculated that their ceremonies involved human sacrifice based on textual evidence and bones found outside tombs. In the Homeric poems, there seems to be a lingering cultural memory of human sacrifice in King [[Agamemnon]]'s sacrifice of his daughter, [[Iphigenia]]; several of the stories of Trojan heroes involve tragic human sacrifice. In the far past, even human beings might be offered to placate inscrutable gods, especially in times of guilty fear. Later sacrifice became a feast at which oxen were slaughtered. Men kept the meat, and gave the gods the bones wrapped in fat.<ref>Hesiod. ''Theogony'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0130%3Acard%3D507 Lines 535–544].</ref>

Beyond this speculation we can go no further. Somewhere in the shades of the centuries between the fall of the [[Mycenaean Greece|Mycenaean]] civilization and the end of the Greek Dark Ages, the original Mycenaean religion persisted and adapted until it finally emerged in the stories of human devotion, apostasy, and divine capriciousness that exists in the two great epic poems of [[Homer]].<ref>[[Pindar]]. ''Pythionikos'', VIII.95–7: "Man's life is a day. What is he, what is he not? A shadow in a dream is man, but when God sheds a brightness, shining light is on earth and life is sweet as honey."</ref>

==Mycenae in Greek mythology and legends==

===Kings of Mycenae===

{| style="margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;" border="0" width=700px class="wikitable sortable"
! King !! Notable information
|-
|width=111px|[[Perseus (mythology)|Perseus]]||Grandson of King [[Acrisius]] of [[Argos, Peloponnese|Argos]]; Legendary founder of Mycenae and the Perseid dynasty; considered one of the greatest [[Greek hero|heroes]] and slayer of monsters before the times of [[Heracles]].
|-
|[[Electryon]]||Son of [[Perseus (mythology)|Perseus]] and [[Andromeda (mythology)|Andromeda]]; his succession was disputed by the [[Taphos|Taphians]] under [[Pterelaos]], who assaulted Mycenae, lost, and stole the cattle; the cattle were recovered by [[Amphitryon]], but he accidentally killed Electryon with a club in an unruly cattle incident.
|-
|[[Sthenelus (son of Perseus)|Sthenelus]]||Younger brother of [[Electryon]]; exiles [[Amphitryon]] after taking power; expands prestige of his kingdom by marrying [[Nicippe]], a daughter of King [[Pelops]] of [[Ancient Elis|Elis]], the most powerful state of the region; he was killed by [[Hyllus]], the son of [[Heracles]]. 
|-
|[[Eurystheus]]||Son of [[Sthenelus]]; resentful towards [[Heracles]] for his father's death, he persecutes the [[Heracleidae]]; final king of the Perseid dynasty when he and his sons are all killed during his war against [[Athens]] for housing the Heracleidae.
|-
|[[Atreus]]||Maternal uncle of [[Eurystheus]] and founder of the Atreid dynasty; competed against his brother [[Thyestes]] for the throne and persecuted him after winning; was killed by Thyestes's son [[Aegisthus]] to restore his father to the throne.
|-
|[[Thyestes]]||Brother of [[Atreus]]; ruled jointly with his son [[Aegisthus]]; exiled the sons of Atreus, [[Agamemnon]] and [[Menelaus]] to [[Sparta]]; both Thyestes and Aegisthus are removed from power and exiled after Menelaus becomes king of Sparta and invades to place his brother Agamemnon to the throne. 
|-
|[[Agamemnon]]||Son of [[Atreus]] and [[Aerope]]; commanded the Greeks during the [[Trojan War]]; his wife [[Clytemnestra]] becomes lovers with [[Aegisthus]] whom both plot and kill Agamemnon upon his return. 
|-
|[[Aegisthus]]||Son of [[Thyestes]]; returns to the throne after killing [[Agamemnon]] and rules Mycenae for 7 years; he and his lover [[Clytemnestra]] are killed by the son of Agamemnon, [[Orestes]] who is forced to flee and is pursued by the [[Erinyes]].
|-
|[[Aletes of Mycenae|Aletes]]||Son of [[Aegisthus]] and [[Clytemnestra]]; assumes the throne at a young age after his parents are killed by his half-brother [[Orestes]] who flees; Orestes returns several years later with troops and kills Aletes and takes the throne. 
|-
|[[Orestes]]||Son of [[Agamemnon]] and [[Clytemnestra]]; takes the throne after returning to Mycenae and killing his half-brother [[Aletes of Mycenae|Aletes]]; he spends his reign building a larger state in the Peloponnese; he dies in [[Arcadia (ancient region)|Arcadia]] from a [[snake]] bite.
|-
|[[Tisamenus (son of Orestes)|Tisamenus]]||Son of [[Orestes]]; final king of the Atreid dynasty; he was killed in the final battle with the [[Heracleidae]] who sought to retake the [[Peloponnese]] as their ancestral lands; they divided his territories amongst themselves and brought the end of the Mycenaean Kingdom.
|}

===Perseid dynasty===
{{main|Perseids (mythology)}}
[[File:Pompejanischer Maler des 1. Jahrhunderts 001.jpg|thumb|[[Perseus]], from [[Pompeii]]]]

Classical Greek myths assert that Mycenae was founded by [[Perseus]], grandson of king [[Acrisius]] of [[Argos, Peloponnese|Argos]], son of Acrisius's daughter, [[Danaë]] and the god [[Zeus]]. Having killed his grandfather by accident, Perseus could not, or would not, inherit the throne of Argos. Instead he arranged an exchange of realms with his cousin, [[Megapenthes]], and became king of [[Tiryns]], Megapenthes taking Argos. After that, he founded Mycenae and ruled the kingdoms jointly from there.

Perseus married [[Andromeda (mythology)|Andromeda]] and had many sons. His son, [[Electryon]], became the second of the dynasty, but the succession was disputed by the [[Taphos|Taphians]] under [[Pterelaos]], another Perseid, who assaulted Mycenae, lost, and retreated with the cattle. The cattle were recovered by [[Amphitryon]], a grandson of Perseus, but he killed his uncle by accident with a club in an unruly cattle incident and had to go into exile.

The throne went to [[Sthenelus]], third in the dynasty, a son of Perseus. He set the stage for future greatness by marrying [[Nicippe]], a daughter of King [[Pelops]] of [[Ancient Elis|Elis]], the most powerful state of the region and the times. With her he had a son, [[Eurystheus]], the fourth and last of the Perseid dynasty. When a son of [[Heracles]], [[Hyllus]], killed Sthenelus, Eurystheus became noted for his enmity to Heracles and for his ruthless persecution of the [[Heracleidae]], the descendants of Heracles.

This is the first we hear in legend of those noted sons, who became a symbol of the [[Dorians]]. Heracles had been a Perseid. After his death, Eurystheus determined to annihilate these rivals for the throne of Mycenae, but they took refuge in Athens, and in the course of war, Eurystheus and all his sons were killed. The Perseid dynasty came to an end and the people of Mycenae placed Eurystheus's maternal uncle, [[Atreus]], a Pelopid, on the throne.

===Atreid dynasty===
The people of Mycenae had received advice from an [[oracle]] that they should choose a new king from among the Pelopids. The two contenders were [[Atreus]] and his brother, [[Thyestes]]. The latter was chosen at first. At this moment nature intervened and the sun appeared to reverse direction by setting in the east. Atreus argued that because the sun had reversed its path, the election of Thyestes should be reversed. The argument was heeded, and Atreus became king. His first move was to pursue Thyestes and all his family – that is, his own kin – but Thyestes managed to escape from Mycenae.

[[File:The Return Of Agamemnon - Project Gutenberg eText 14994.png|thumb|left|''The Return of Agamemnon'', illustration from ''Stories from the Greek Tragedians'' by Alfred Church, 1897]]

In legend, Atreus had two sons, [[Agamemnon]] and [[Menelaus]], the Atreids. [[Aegisthus]], the son of Thyestes, killed Atreus and restored Thyestes to the throne. With the help of King [[Tyndareus]] of [[Sparta]], the Atreids drove Thyestes again into exile. Tyndareus had two ill-starred daughters, [[Helen of Troy|Helen]] and [[Clytemnestra]], whom Menelaus and Agamemnon married, respectively. Agamemnon inherited Mycenae and Menelaus became king of Sparta.

[[File:The Murder Of Agamemnon - Project Gutenberg eText 14994.png|thumb|right|The Murder of Agamemnon, illustration from ''Stories from the Greek Tragedians'' by Alfred Church, 1897]]

====Homeric poems====
Soon, Helen eloped with [[Paris (mythology)|Paris]] of [[Troy]]. Agamemnon conducted a 10-year war against Troy to get her back for his brother. Because of lack of wind, the warships could not sail to [[Troy]]. In order to please the gods so that they might make the winds start to blow, [[Agamemnon]] sacrificed his daughter [[Iphigenia]]. According to some versions of the legend, the hunting goddess [[Artemis]] replaced her at the very last moment with a [[deer]] on the altar, and took [[Iphigenia]] to [[History of Crimea#Tauri and Scythians|Tauris]] (see ''[[Iphigenia in Tauris]]'' by [[Euripides]]). The deities, having been satisfied by such a sacrifice, made the winds blow and the Greek fleet departed.

Legend tells us that the long and arduous Trojan War, although nominally a Greek victory, brought anarchy, piracy, and ruin; already before the Greek fleet set sail for Troy, the conflict had divided the gods as well, and this contributed to curses and acts of vengeance following many of the Greek heroes. After the war [[Agamemnon]] returned to Mycenae and was greeted royally with a red carpet rolled out for him. Shortly thereafter, he was slain by [[Clytemnestra]], who hated him bitterly for having ordered the sacrifice of their daughter [[Iphigenia]] in order to gain favorable winds to Troy. Clytemnestra was aided in her crime by Aegistheus, her lover, who reigned subsequently, but [[Orestes (mythology)|Orestes]], her son by Agamemnon, was smuggled out to [[Phocis]]. He returned as an adult with his sister [[Electra]] to slay Clytemnestra and Aegistheus. He then fled to Athens to evade justice and a matricide, and became insane for a time. Meanwhile, the throne of Mycenae went to [[Aletes (son of Aegisthus)|Aletes]], son of Aegistheus, but not for long. Recovering, Orestes returned to Mycenae with Electra to kill Aletes and took the throne. This story is told in numerous plays, including the [[Oresteia]], [[Electra (Sophocles play)|Sophocles' ''Electra'']], and [[Electra (Euripides play)|Euripides' ''Electra'']].

====End of the Atreids====
Orestes then built a larger state in the Peloponnese, but he died in [[Arcadia (ancient region)|Arcadia]] from a [[snake]] bite. His son, [[Tisamenus]], the last of the Atreid dynasty, was killed by the [[Heracleidae]] on their return to the [[Peloponnesus]]. They claimed the right of the Perseids to inherit the various kingdoms of the Peloponnese and cast lots for the dominion of them, thus leaving the Atreids as the final rulers of Legendary Mycenae.

==Modern history and excavation==
[[File:Linear B (Mycenaean Greek) NAMA Tablette 7671.jpg|thumb|A [[clay tablet]] from Mycenae, with writing in [[Linear B]]]]

The site of Mycenae appears to have been abandoned after its short-lived Hellenistic resettlement. By the time of Pausanias' visit in the second century&nbsp;CE, he described the site as a 'ruin', though noted that parts of the walls and the Lion Gate could still be seen.<ref>{{Pausanias|en|2|15|4|ref}}</ref> Grave Circle A, meanwhile, was already buried in prehistoric times, and is unlikely to have been visible to Pausanias.{{sfn|Moore|Rowlands|Karadimas|2014|p=28}} The site may still have been visible in the 5th century CE, when it was correctly located on the Roman map known as the ''[[Tabula Peutingeriana]]'',{{sfn|Younger|2010|p=624}} but the location seems to have been forgotten during the medieval period: it was generally misplaced on fifteenth-century maps,{{sfn|French|2002|p=19}} and [[Cyriac of Ancona]], who believed he visited the site in 1447/1448, had actually seen the nearby fort of Katsingri.{{sfn|French|2002|p=19}} Similarly, modern scholarship has disproved the claims of two sixteenth-century travellers to have visited the site: André de Monceaux, who claimed to have visited the site in 1669, and the French military officer Nicola Mirabel, who believed that he had done so in 1691.{{sfn|Moore|Rowlands|Karadimas|2014|pp=3–4}}

===Early archaeological work (1700–1876)===
{{See also|Treasury of Atreus#Excavations}}
In 1700, the Venetian engineer Francesco Vandeyk made the first known correct identification of Mycenae of modern times while surveying the [[Peloponnese]] (known to the Venetians as the 'Morea') under the orders of Francesco Grimani, ''[[Provveditore]]'' of the Venetian armies occupying the region. Vandeyk partially dismantled the debris that was then obscuring the [[Lion Gate]],{{sfn|Gere|2006|p=48}} and identified the tomb now known as the 'Treasury of Atreus', even conjecturing that it was the tomb of a king of Mycenae.{{sfn|Moore|Rowlands|Karadimas|2014|p=4}} During the 18th century, Mycenae was visited only infrequently by tourists, such as the Frenchman Claude-Louis Fourmont, who visited Mycenae in 1729–1730{{sfn|Moore|Rowlands|Karadimas|2014|p=4}} and drew parts of the walls and gates.{{sfn|Gere|2006|p=48}} From 1796, however, [[Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars#Bonaparte's war|Napoleon's invasion of Italy]] encouraged members of the [[Society of Dilettanti]], whose '[[Grand Tour]]' normally took place in Italy, to find alternative destinations, and members of the society began to include Mycenae on their itineraries: seeing it, in the words of Cathy Gere, as 'the ultimate [[Romanticism|Romantic]] ruin.'{{sfn|Gere|2006|p=50}}

In the early 19th century, local tradition held that the [[Treasury of Atreus]] had been once explored by the ''[[Agha (title)|agha]]'' of the nearby village of Karvati, who took from it a bronze lamp.{{sfn|Smith|1916|p=216}} By this period, more of Mycenae's monuments were visible and known to European visitors. In 1802, the British aristocrat [[Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin]] visited Mycenae looking for antiquities that might be taken back to Britain.{{sfn|Gere|2006|p=51}} While he had originally sought to remove the sculpted relief of the [[Lion Gate]], it proved too large to lift or transport, and so Elgin asked the [[voivode]] of [[Nafplio]] to clear the Treasury of Atreus, from which he removed fragments of pottery vases, ornamental stonework and a marble vase,{{sfn|Gere|2006|p=53}} as well as parts of its sculptural decoration.{{sfn|Smith|1916|p=214}} In June 1810,{{efn|Christos Tsountas, in 1897, wrote that Veli Pasha had 'rifled' the tomb in 1808: it is not known whether he is referring to the same incident.{{sfn|Tsountas|1897|p=131}}}} Veli Pasha, the Ottoman ''[[Pasha]]'' of the [[Morea]], excavated the tomb, clearing most of the entrance, and entered the chamber with ladders; according to [[Heinrich Schliemann]]'s later publication of his own excavations at Mycenae, he discovered 'bones covered with gold', as well as gemstones and other gold and silver objects.{{sfn|Schliemann|1878|p=49}} Veli Pasha removed four large fragments of the [[Engaged column|semi-engaged columns]] beside the doorway, some of which he gave as a gift to [[Howe Browne, 2nd Marquess of Sligo]], who visited him shortly after the excavations.{{sfn|Loughlin|2021|p=47}}{{efn|It is sometimes claimed that Sligo directed or co-directed the removals himself;{{sfn|Gere|2006|p=53}} this is likely to be erroneous, as Sligo arrived in Argolis only after the excavation and his letters make no mention of it.{{sfn|Loughlin|2021|p=47}}}} 

In 1834, the site was surveyed and mapped by French troops.{{sfn|Gere|2006|pp=57-58}} In 1841, [[Kyriakos Pittakis]], working on behalf of the [[Archaeological Society of Athens]], cleared the approach to the [[Lion Gate]] and made a tentative exploration of the [[Tomb of Clytemnestra]].{{sfn|Moore|Rowlands|Karadimas|2014|p=1}}{{sfn|Iakovidis|2005|p=163}}

===Schliemann's excavations (1874–1876)===

The archaeologist [[Heinrich Schliemann]] was particularly invested in the site of Mycenae. Schliemann was obsessed with the epic poetry of Homer and believed Homer's stories were based in historical truth. In the later part of his life, he dedicated himself to excavating historical sites relevant to the Homeric epics. Schliemann's first excavation was the site of [[Hisarlik]], believed to be the site of ancient Troy. Following his work at Hisarlik, Schliemann began excavations at Mycenae in 1876. His goal was to find the grave of Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae and leader of the Greek army in the Trojan War as described in Homer's Iliad. Schliemann uncovered a royal cemetery containing six shaft graves, known as Grave Circle A. Among his findings at Grave Circle A was a gold [[death mask]] that he labeled as "The [[Mask of Agamemnon]]". Modern archeological evidence has proven his claims of discovering Agamemnon's remains were most likely false, as the mask is dated more than 300 years before the events of the Trojan War.<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.worldhistory.org/Agamemnon_(Person)/ | title=Agamemnon (Person) }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |id={{ProQuest|2513612526}} |last1=Gunderman |first1=Richard |title=Heinrich Schliemann. archeological pioneer |journal=[[Indianapolis Business Journal]] |volume=42 |issue=7 |date=9 April 2021 |page=13A }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url= http://arthistoryresources.net/greek-art-archaeology-2016/schliemann-mycenae.html | title= Heinrich Schliemann and Mycenae}}</ref>

Schliemann's discoveries at Mycenae have come under controversy. Schliemann's archaeological work in general is controversial, with some calling Schliemann "the father of scientific archaeology" and others criticizing Schliemann's destructive methods of excavation. The authenticity of Schliemann's excavation of Grave Circle A has come under question, with some critics claiming that Schliemann smuggled additional artifacts into Mycenae and then falsely claimed to have discovered them. Modern evidence suggests that Schliemann's findings at Grave Circle A were genuine, but significantly predate the Trojan War.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sites.psu.edu/heinrichschliemann/controversial-questions-arise/ |title=Schliemann's Controversy &#124; Unearthing the Bronze Age }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last= Harrington |first= Spencer|url= https://archive.archaeology.org/9907/etc/mask.html |title= Behind the Mask of Agamemnon}}</ref>

===Excavations since Schliemann (1876–present)===
[[File:Mycenaean figurine of female deities and child at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens on October 6, 2021.jpg|alt=Ivory figurine showing three figures; two seated women and a child between them|thumb|Figurine, known as the "Ivory Triad", found by Alan Wace on the citadel of Mycenae in 1939]]

Since Schliemann's day, more scientific excavations have taken place at Mycenae, mainly by Greek archaeologists but also by the [[British School at Athens]]. [[Christos Tsountas]], another member of the ASA, cleared a significant portion of the citadel during his excavations of the site beginning in 1884 and ending in 1902.{{sfn|Gagarin|2010|pages=24–26}} The [[Athens Archaeological Society]] is currently excavating the Mycenae Lower Town ({{As of|2011|lc=y}}), with support from [[Dickinson College]] and the Institute for Aegean Prehistory.<ref>{{cite web|author=Dickinson Excavation Project and Archaeological Survey|title=Mycenae – Beyond the Walls of Agamemnon: Excavation of the Mycenae Lower Town (2007–2011)|access-date=25 January 2014|url=http://mycenae-excavations.org/lower_town.html}}</ref> Afterwards, Tsountas and the ASA gave permission to the British School of Archaeology (BSA) to excavate; the BSA conducted excavations from 1920 to 1955 under the supervision of [[Alan John Bayard Wace]], assisted by [[Winifred Lamb]].{{sfn|Gagarin|2010|pages=24–26}} In 1951, workers discovered [[Grave Circle B, Mycenae|Grave Circle B]]. After Wace died in 1957, excavation work was finished by Lord [[William Taylour]] from 1958 to 1969, especially on the west slope of the citadel.{{sfn|Gagarin|2010|pages=24–26}} The ASA continued excavation work on the site with efforts led by [[John Papadimitriou]] and Nicolas Verdelis in the late 1950s and early 1960s, as well as by [[George E. Mylonas|George Mylonas]] from 1957 up until 1985.{{sfn|Gagarin|2010|pages=24–26}} In 1985, excavation work was directed by Spyros Iakovidis who, {{As of|2009|lc=y}}, is still overseeing the ASA's research mission in both fieldwork and publication preparation.{{sfn|Gagarin|2010|pages=24–26}}

==See also==
*[[List of ancient Greek cities]]
*[[Boar's tusk helmet]]
*[[Fortification of Mycenae]]
*[[Gold Grave Goods at Grave Circles A and B]]
*[[National Archaeological Museum of Athens]]

==Footnotes==

===Explanatory notes===
{{notelist}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==

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*{{cite journal|last=Vermeule|first=Emily Townsend|title=The Fall of the Mycenaean Empire|journal=Archaeology|volume=13|number=1|date=March 1960|pages=66–76|jstor=41663738}}
*{{cite book|last=Walcot|first=Peter|title=Hesiod and the Near East|year=1966|location=Wales|publisher=University of Wales Press|isbn=9780708304952|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TM5fAAAAMAAJ}}
*{{cite journal|last=West|first=Martin L.|title=Atreus and Attarissiyas|journal=Glotta|volume=77|issue=3/4|year=2001|publisher=Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht (GmbH & Co. KG)|pages=262–266|jstor=40267129}}
*{{cite book|last=Wunderlich|first=Hans Georg|title=The Secret of Crete|year=1974|location=New York|publisher=Macmillan Publishing Company, Incorporated|isbn=978-0-02-631600-2|url=https://archive.org/details/secretofcrete00wund|url-access=registration}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Wood |first1=Jonathan |last2=Hsu |first2=Yi-Ting |last3=Bell |first3=Carol |title=Sending Laurion Back to the Future: Bronze Age Silver and the Source of Confusion |journal=Internet Archaeology |date=30 June 2021 |doi=10.11141/ia.56.9 |s2cid=236973111 |doi-access=free }}
* {{cite journal|last=Younger|first=John|year=2010|title=Archaeological Atlas of Mycenae|journal=Gnomon|volume=82|pages=623–653|doi=10.17104/0017-1417_2010_7_623 |url=https://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/bitstream/handle/1808/6861/Younger_MycAtlas.pdf;sequence=1|access-date=2023-01-02|archive-date=2023-01-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230103190028/https://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/bitstream/handle/1808/6861/Younger_MycAtlas.pdf;sequence=1|url-access=subscription}}
{{refend|2}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin|2}}
*{{cite book|last1=Bryson|first1=Reid|last2=Murray|first2=Thomas J.|title=Climates of Hunger: Mankind and the World's Changing Weather|year=1977|location=Madison, WI|publisher=University of Wisconsin Press|isbn=978-0-29-907373-2|url=https://archive.org/details/climatesofhunger0000brys|url-access=registration}}
*{{cite book|last=Finley|first=Moses I.|title=Early Greece: The Bronze and Archaic Ages|year=1970|location=London|publisher=Chatto & Windus|isbn=9780701114367|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xalKAAAAMAAJ}}
*{{cite web|last=Hooker|first=Richard|title=Mycenean Religion|website=Barbarians and Bureaucrats|publisher=Washington State University|year=1996|url=http://richard-hooker.com/sites/worldcultures/MINOA/MINOA.HTM|access-date=25 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201230712/http://richard-hooker.com/sites/worldcultures/MINOA/MINOA.HTM|archive-date=1 February 2014|url-status=dead}}
*{{cite journal|last=Jansen |first=Anton |title=Bronze Age Highways at Mycenae |journal=Classical Views |volume=XLI |issue=16 |year=1997 |pages=1–16 |url=http://www.arts.mun.ca/mouseion/1997/jansen/index.html |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071123073331/http://www.arts.mun.ca/mouseion/1997/jansen/index.html |archive-date=November 23, 2007 }}
*{{cite book|last=Mylonas|first=George Emmanuel|title=Mycenae's Last Century of Greatness|year=1968|location=Sydney|publisher=Sydney University Press for Australian Humanities Research Council|isbn=9780424058207|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8EwbAAAAYAAJ}}
*{{cite book|last=Mylonas|first=George E.|title=Mycenae Rich in Gold|year=1983|location=Athens|publisher=Ekdotike Athenon}}
*{{cite book|last=Nilsson|first=Martin Persson|title=The Mycenaean Origin of Greek Mythology|year=1972|orig-year=1932|location=Berkeley and Los Angeles|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-52-002163-1|url=https://archive.org/details/mycenaeanorigino0000nils|url-access=registration}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Piccardi |first1=Luigi |title=Fault-related sanctuaries of Mycenae (Greece): The Shaft Grave Circle A |journal=Geological Society of America Bulletin |year=2024|volume=136|issue=3–4 |pages=1205–1220|doi=10.1130/B36785.1}}
*{{cite book|last=Palmer|first=Leonard R.|title=Mycenaeans and Minoans: Aegean Prehistory in the Light of the Linear B Tablets. Part I: Pylos and the World of the Tablets. Part II: Knossos and Aegean History|year=1965|orig-year=1961|edition=2nd|location=London|publisher=Faber and Faber}}
*{{cite book|last1=Taylour|first1=Lord William|last2=French|first2=Elizabeth Bayard|last3=Wardle|first3=K.A.|title=Well Built Mycenae (Volume 13): The Helleno-British Excavations within the Citadel at Mycenae 1959-1969|year=2007|location=Warminster, England|publisher=Aris & Phillips|isbn=978-1-84-217295-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oNcrAQAAIAAJ}}
*{{cite book|last=Vermeule|first=Emily|title=Greece in the Bronze Age|year=1964|location=Chicago|publisher=The University of Chicago Press|isbn=9780226853536|url=https://archive.org/details/greeceinbronzeag0059verm|url-access=registration}}
*{{cite book|last=Wace|first=Alan John Bayard|author-link=Alan John Bayard Wace|title=Mycenae: An Archaeological History and Guide|year=1964|orig-year=1949|location=New York|publisher=Biblio and Tannen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pTRoAAAAMAAJ}}
*{{cite book|last1=Wardle|first1=K.A.|last2=Wardle|first2=Diana|title=Cities of Legend: The Mycenaean World|year=1997|location=London|publisher=Bristol Classical Press|isbn=978-1-85-399355-8|url=https://archive.org/details/citiesoflegendmy0000ward|url-access=registration}}
{{refend|2}}

==External links==
{{EB1911 Poster|Mycenae}}
*{{Commonscatinline}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130205032329/http://mycenae-excavations.org/index.html Dickinson College excavations at Mycenae]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071017184726/http://artsweb.bham.ac.uk/aha/kaw/mycenae/mycenaeindex.htm Mycenae: research and publication]

{{World Heritage Sites in Greece}}
{{Archaeological site of Mycenae}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Mycenae| ]]
[[Category:Aegean palaces of the Bronze Age]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Argolis]]
[[Category:Former populated places in Greece]]
[[Category:Places in the Iliad]]
[[Category:Populated places in ancient Argolis]]
[[Category:Mycenaean palaces]]
[[Category:Mycenaean sites in Argolis]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Peloponnese (region)]]
[[Category:World Heritage Sites in Greece]]
[[Category:Late Bronze Age collapse]]
[[Category:Former kingdoms]]
[[Category:Argos-Mykines]]