Date: April 13, 2005
Partners for the day:Caleb(text)Laura(images)
Site(s):Mycenae, Argos, Castle of Larissa, Hill of Midea, Dendra
Museum(s): Mycene Museum
Principal Buildings/Monuments: Tomb of Aegisthos, Tomb of Clytemnestra, Tomb of the Lion, “Treasury” of Atreus, Lion Gate, Castle of Larissa, Temple of Apollo Deiradiotes, Temple of Athena Oxyderkes
Time Spent on Each Site: Mycenae from ca.9:00am to ca.1:00pm[ 4 hours]
Castle of Larissa from ca. 1:30pmto ca. 2:10pm [ .75 hours]
Argos from ca.2:30pm to ca. 4:00pm [ 1.5 hours]
Acropolis of Midea from ca.2430pm to ca. 5:15pm [ .75 hours]
Dendra from ca. 5:40pm to ca. 5:55pm [ .25 hours]
Weather: Sunny, a bit of clouds and a slight breeze. A little rainy when at Hill of Midea
Today’s journey began with an early trip to Mycenae. After about four hours and an increase in the number of old tourists and student groups, we departed for a quick lunch and tour at the Castle of Larissa. We then arrived at the Agora of Argos and took a walk up to see the Sanctuary of Apollo and Athena up the hill. Afterwards, we drove up a mountain to the Mycenaean Acropolis of Midea. The final stop on our archaeological tour for today was a group of different tombs at Dendra.
The site of Mycenae has a great variety of tombs which effectively demonstrate the evolution of tomb type throughout the Mycenaean period. More specifically, one can trace the development of the tholos tomb at Mycenae from about the early fifteenth century to the late thirteenth century BCE by simply walking around outside the walls. The Tomb of Aegisthos, the Lion Tomb, and the Tomb of Clytemnestra represent three major stages in the evolution of the tholos tomb at the site. The differences in these tombs are most easily visible in the three major parts of a tholos tomb which are the dromos (passageway), the stomeion (entrance), and the tholos chamber.
The Tomb of Aegisthos dates to the early fifteenth century and is representative of the first major stage of tholos tomb construction. The dromos walls are lined using rubble masonry only up to the original ground level with a dirt retaining wall on top. The front of the stomeion is made of finished poros limestone blocks and the rest is constructed from conglomerate blocks. The lintel blocks of hard limestone on the stomeion are short and stubby barely extending over the door frame. There is a small relieving triangle above the lintel block. The tholos itself was constructed of successive courses of blocks in a corbelled system of rubble masonry.
The Lion Tomb represents the intermediate phase of tholos tomb construction dating to about the fourteenth century. During this phase, the dromos is lined using Ashlar masonry instead of rubble. The stomeion is fronted with poros limestone and the rest is constructed with conglomerate. Where the two materials meet, a door was placed making an exterior door. On the front of the stomeion, there are two tapering fascias which is a departure from the flat front of the earlier tholos. The lintel block in this phase deviates from the previous phase because it extends further over the doorway and it curves both horizontally and vertically in the tholos. There is a slightly larger relieving triangle above the lintel blocks than at the Tomb of Aegisthos. The stomeion in this period in the tholos is made completely of conglomerate. The tholos was constructed of rough Ashlar masonry with mixed blocks. The conglomerate stones in the tholos are hammer-dressed.
The Tomb of Clytemnestra represents the third stage of tholos construction from about 1300-1200 BCE. In this latest stage, the dromos is lined completely from top to bottom using Ashlar masonry of hammer-dressed conglomerate blocks. Flanking the stomeion were two half-columns with abaci on top which distinguish a lower façade from an upper façade. The half-columns were made of gypsum which expresses a great deal of wealth as does the impressive decoration of the façade. These features show a greater extravagance spent on the construction of tholoi. There is a huge relieving triangle above the lintel blocks which is significantly larger than earlier tholoi. This is necessary functionally because otherwise the tholos would have collapsed. The stomeion of the Tomb of Clytemnestra has two doors instead of just one which are placed in the middle of the stomeion. This tomb also had a blocking wall on the exterior. The tholos of the Tomb of Clytemnestra is extremely impressive in comparison to the earlier tholoi. The tholos was constructed with conglomerate blocks using Ashlar masonry. Each block is smooth even after thousands of years and must have been worn down by an abrasive by hand.
The exploration of the various tholos tombs at Mycenae elicits an obvious evolution in the construction of the tombs over time. The tholoi gain greater detail and decoration as time passes. This reflects an increase in the wealth and pride of the people of Mycenae as well as a concern of expressing it. The apex of grandeur is easily viewed in the “Treasury” of Atreus. This tholos tomb belongs to the third phase represented by the Tomb of Clytemnestra above, but embodies a lot more elaboration such as a side chamber and exquisite detail on its frontal façade. Walking from the Tomb of Aegisthus to the “Treasury” of Atreus, one realizes just how more elaborate the tholos construction becomes over a period of only 300 years at Mycenae.