One of the Homeric sites, Mycenae was once a lost city. Uncovered with the help of Heinrich Schliemann, the site stands today as a symbol of Homer's writings and is home to many interesting architectural features.
The Lion Gate
Welcoming you into Mycenae proudly, albeit headless, stands the Lion Gate. This sculptural piece appears to be the sole surviving artwork of its type, and the realism of the lions is a bit odd when one considers that there likely weren't lions in the area.
Cyclopean Walls
Comprised of enormous boulders, Cyclopean walls get their name from the idea that no one short of a Cyclopes could have built them. Not only are the boulders incredibly large, but they're also fit perfectly together without any mortar. During the periods following the Mycenaean age, the dark ages of Greece, Greeks were amazed by this type of architecture because they had lost the tools needed to build it.
Grave Circle A
Grave Circle A is the shaft grave that Schliemann took part in excavating, uncovering many ancient treasures along the way. Among these treasures was the "mask of Agamemnon," which Schliemann obviously believed to depict Homer's Agamemnon. However, in reality, it seems the golden funeral mask is from a period far before Agamemnon's time. This mix up occurred because Schliemann unknowingly dug straight through the time period that he was searching for and into much older artifacts. While it is wonderful that Schliemann was so eager to begin excavating Mycenae, he ended up ruining artifacts from various periods.
The Megaron
The Megaron was the throne room, it is where the king would have held court meetings and things of the sort, and his bedroom would have been in the same building. This building was located on the acropolis, backing up to a steep slope, making it the safest place in the city.
Sometimes I get so caught up in the battles and great literature of the Greeks that I almost forget that they are real people who had to perform everyday tasks, like combing their hair. This piece, found in Mycenae, allows me to relate to the ancient Greeks, something not always easy to do when considering how different our lives seem to be. Not only does the intricate detailing on the comb amaze me, but also the fine teeth! The fact that the Greeks used beautiful things to perform everyday tasks speaks to their love for and appreciation of art.
Reflection
One of my favorite parts of our trip so far has been learning about the backstories of those who lived during the times that our sites were in their prime, and the stories that came along with Mycenae have been my favorite so far. Both Homer and Aeschylus tell the story of Agamemnon's death; he was murdered by his wife, Clytemnestra, and his cousin, Aegisthus, who had an affair while Agamemnon was fighting in the Trojan War. The dispute lies in who was the real mastermind of the murder because each had their own motives. Before Agamemnon set off for war, he sacrificed him and Clytemnestra's daughter. We can only imagine Clytemnestra's rage at the betrayal of this act, and the fact that it was left to boil for 10 years while she was in the presence of another who hated him just as fiercely doesn't seem likely to have eased her anger. As if the sacrificing of their daughter wasn't enough, it is also important to consider why Agamemnon was leaving for war in the first place, thus giving him the need to make the sacrifice. Of course, the Trojan War boiled down to revolving around Helen, who just so happened to be Clytemnestra's sister. Not only did Clytemnestra live in the shadows of Helen all her life, but Helen was also the reason that her daughter has been killed - how's that for sibling rivalry? Aegisthus's motives resembled a common motif that we see throughout history, he was seeking revenge for having lost out on power to his relative. In addition to that, Agamemnon's father had also killed Aegisthus's siblings, giving him even more to be resentful about. When I was first thinking about who was more likely to have been the mastermind behind Agamemnon's murder, I couldn't help but think that Aegisthus was the true culprit, in line with Homer's accounts. Aegisthus had a much longer period for his anger to build, and I think that pride may have also been a factor. However, as I consider it more I think that Clytemnestra could have easily orchestrated the murder. I'm not really sure what I believe at this point, but either way, I think that the pair acted as catalysts for each other's fury at Agamemnon.
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