Through the Lion Gate

Location: Mycenae, Greece (written in Argos, Greece)
Mood: Ecstatic
NP: The Beloved - Sweet Harmony

Mycenae
Tickets: 12€, students enter for free
Time: 3-4 hours

There once was a palace in the barren foothills of Mt Agios Ilias and Mt Zara, home of the mythical Agamemnon, that ruled over or held sway over the Argolid and other Mycenaean kingdoms. Mycenae was the most powerful kingdom in Greece for 400 years (1600-1200 BC) only to suffer a similar fate as most of the other Mycenaean settlements did at the end of Bronze Age - to mysteriously disappear from the civilized world.

Entrance to a tholos tomb

There are many theories about the disappearances from the invading Sea Peoples to volcanic eruptions to climate change leading to drought and famine, that may all have worked to diminish the power of Mycenae and its ancient inhabitants. Now only mighty ruins stand as testament to the marvelous engineering and power this ancient city once held.

The Lion Gate

Burial Circle A

The Lion Gate welcomes visitors to the fortress after a short climb, followed by slippery stone stairs and further climbing to the top of the hill where the palace once stood with its megaron and circular hearth. Around the palace there are burial circles with tholos tombs and buildings that may have served as workshops and homes of the artisans and stonemasons. Behind the palace there are further ruins (house of columns for one) and a cistern, leading through a dark, steep tunnel all the way down to smelly water, before you reach the north gate of the complex.

View over the lands Mycenae once ruled

Mycenae is the most important and impressive sight to visit for anyone interested in the Mycenaean civilization.