April 13, 2005
April 13 Photos: Laura
The citadel of Mycenae, which rose inexplicably to wealth and power in the Late Bronze Age and gave its name to an entire civilization
The nine tholos tombs at Mycenae are broken into three chronological groups; this Tomb of Aegisthus is one of the earliest tholoi, from the 15th century BC
The Tomb of Clytemnestra is one of the latest tholoi, between 1300 – 1220 BC, built with a fully lined walkway, or dromos, and two stories of now-destroyed columns at the entrance
The group inspects the inside of the Tomb of Clytemnestra, while Jackie strains to see the high ceiling
The Treasury of Atreus is also one of the latest tholoi, and the largest and most famous of all the tholos tombs
Caleb is dwarfed by the huge limestone blocks of Mycenae’s 13th century BC fortification wall, constructed with Cyclopean masonry
Katherine and Neha beneath the famous Lion Gate, the main entrance into the citadel of Mycenae; the animals in the gate lack manes, however, and actually might be lionesses or sphinxes
Just inside the Lion Gate is Grave Circle A, a series of royal shaft graves from the 16th century BC surrounded by a sandstone peribolos, where incredibly rich artifacts were found by Heinrich Schliemann
Not much of Mycenae’s palace survives, but the remains of the megaron, the main throne room with four columns around a central hearth, can still be seen
To the northeast of the palace is this “backdoor” into the citadel – note the thickness of the walls
The view from the top of Mycenae, meant as much to impress and awe visitors to the palace as to be beautiful
Another impressive vista: a Frankish fortress on the Larissa, the principal acropolis of Argos
Exploring the Larissa fortress, which includes ruins from the Mycenaean Period through the Middle Ages, as well as beautiful wildflowers
The ruins of a large square meeting hall, or bouleuterion, of Roman date in the Argos agora
Caleb pretends to take notes for the camera while standing amongst the fallen cornice blocks of a Doric temple of Apollo in the Argos agora
Standing on the terrace steps up to the Temple of Apollo Deiradiotes (Apollo of the Ridge), in Argos’ Sanctuary of Apollo and Athena, which was also the location of an oracle
Taking a break amongst the circular ruins of the round Temple of Athena Oxyderkes (Sharp-Eyed Athena), also in the Sanctuary of Apollo and Athena
While Midea, a Mycenaean citadel of the 16th through 13th centuries BC, has few ruins, its summit has impressive views of the surrounding valley and the sea
Some of ruins from Midea include this thick, partially-fallen fortification wall and the guard house at the end of it
While Mycenaean elite once occupied this chamber tomb in Dendra, it is now home to a little doggy who scared the pants off Caleb