Mycenae

Mycenae is an archaeological site and one of the major centers of the Mycenaean civilization, located in the northeastern part of the Peloponnese in Argolis, Greece. The fortified citadel sits on a hill overlooking the Argolid plain, about 90 kilometers southwest of Athens and near present-day Mykines. It flourished during the Late Bronze Age from about 1600 to 1100 BCE and served as a major political and economic center controlling surrounding territories and trade routes.

The site is renowned for its monumental architecture, including the Lion Gate, the Cyclopean stone walls, a grand palace complex, and elaborate tombs known as the Grave Circles A and B and beehive tombs such as the Treasury of Atreus.

Among its best-known finds is a gold funeral mask, traditionally referred to as the Mask of Agamemnon, discovered by Heinrich Schliemann in Grave Circle A in 1876; subsequent scholars note that the mask predates the mythical king and should not be taken as his likeness.

The Palace of Mycenae and associated administrative buildings reveal a centralized society with complex artifacts, including goldwork, pottery, and weapons, indicating extensive trade networks.

Mycenae was part of the broader Mycenaean civilization that dominated parts of Greece and the Aegean in the second millennium BCE and likely played a key role in the events that inspired the Homeric epics.

The city declined after circa 1200 BCE and was eventually abandoned, with only limited activity in later periods.

In 1999, the Archaeological Sites of Mycenae and Tiryns were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for their testimony to the Bronze Age Aegean civilizations.