Mycenae

Mycenae... The legendary city where the winner of the Trojans ruled, the "lord of husbands" King Agamemnon. It was here, following Homer's instructions, went Henry Schliemann After he unearthed the ruins of ancient Troy.

In 1876, 54 years old, Schliemann proceeds to excavations in Mycenae. So, step by step, from time immemorial, it began to emerge and take shape ancient civilization. This civilization was spread throughout the eastern coast of Greece and on the islands of the Aegean Sea, and its center was probably on the island of Crete.

Troy, judging by the descriptions of Homer, was a very rich city. Mycenae were even richer. It was here that Agamemnon and his soldiers brought a rich trojan prey. Now at the ruins of the palace of Agamemnon stood Heinrich Schliemann.

Unlike Troy, here his task was greatly facilitated by the fact that Mycenae did not need to be looked for. The place where the ancient city was located was clearly visible.

The Achaean Greeks built their cities on high hills. In contrast to the Cretan, they were surrounded by fortress walls of cyclopean masonry. This gave them a stern and very impressive look. Impossible Mycenae defended the walls with a length of 900 m and a thickness of 6 to 10 m. They are composed of huge, weighing 5-6 tons, roughly hewn clumps. In front of the main entrance to the palace - "The Lion's Gate" - everyone who has ever seen them stiffens in amazement.

From the gate Mycenae the road rises to the top of the hill, where once the royal palace was located. In its center was arranged megaron - a banquet hall measuring 12x13 m, with a hearth in the middle. On the sides of the hearth stood four columns, supporting the roof with a hole for the exit of smoke. Around the megaron were living rooms, storerooms, corridors and bathrooms.

Schliemann succeeded in finding and exploring nine dome tombs in the city of Mycenae (at one time they were taken for bread baking ovens). The most famous of them was called "Treasury of Atreus" - by the name of Agamemnon's father. It was an underground domed room with a height of more than 13 m, the vaults of which were made up of huge stones, holding only their own gravity. The tomb is deeply embedded in the slope of the hill, to it there is an open corridor - "dromos", 36 meters long and 6 meters wide. The entrance to the tomb was once decorated with columns of green limestone and red porphyry facing. Inside - a round room with a diameter of 14,5 m, covered with a dome with a diameter of 13,2 m.

The Greeks believed that this tomb in Mycenae - the storehouse of the untold riches of Mycenaean kings: Pelops, Atreus and Agamemnon. However, the search for Schliemann showed that all nine tombs in Mycenae were plundered in ancient times. Where are the treasures of Agamemnon?

"Good results" Schliemann calls the five mine tombs of the ancient city of Mycenae, dating back to the 16th century BC and located outside the fortress walls. On December 6, 1876, the first tomb was uncovered. In the graves were found the remains of fifteen people. They were literally covered with jewels and gold, expensive weapons. But most importantly, he found the golden masks of the Mycenaean kings and gold breastplates, which were supposed to protect the deceased from enemies in the other world. The golden masks captured the features of the faces of the ancient lords of the city of Mycenae. The most magnificent of them was later called the "mask of Agamemnon".

Mycenae reached their highest peak between the 16th and 13th centuries BC - in parallel with the extinction of Crete. But a hundred years later, in the middle of the 12th century BC, the Mycenae were swept away by an invasion from the north: the Dorians were a people related to the Achaeans, but were at a lower stage of development, followed the Peloponnese with fire and sword. Of all the centers of the Mycenae civilization, before the first onslaught, only the Acropolis of Mycenae survived, but it also fell at the end of the 12th century BC.