Mycenae is an archaeological site near Mykines in Argolis, north-eastern Peloponnese, Greece. It is located about 120 kilometres (75 miles) south-west of Athens; 11 kilometres (7 miles) north of Argos; and 48 kilometres (30 miles) south of Corinth. The site is 19 kilometres (12 miles) inland from the Saronic Gulf and built upon a hill rising 274 metres (899 feet) above sea level.
Late Bronze Age
In the absence of documents and objects that can be precisely dated, events at Mycenae can be dated only relatively within the constraints of Helladic chronology, which relies on categorisation of stratified material objects, mainly pottery, within an agreed historical framework. Mycenae developed into a major power during LHI (c. 1550 – c. 1450 BC) and is believed to have become the main centre of Aegean civilisation through the fifteenth century to the extent that the two hundred years from c. 1400 BC to c. 1200 BC (encompassing LHIIIA and LHIIIB) are known as the Mycenaean Age. The Minoan hegemony ended c. 1450 and there is evidence that Knossos was occupied by Mycenaeans until it too was destroyed c. 1370 BC.
From then on, Mycenaean expansion throughout the Aegean was unhindered until the massive disruption of society in the first half of the twelfth century (LHIIIC), which ended Mycenaean civilisation and culminated in the destruction of Mycenae itself c. 1150 BC.
Around 1250 BC, builders extended Mycenae’s defensive circuit to include the older royal burial enclosure known as Grave Circle A. The new entrance incorporated the Lion Gate, with a stepped approach leading toward the palace. A triangular opening above the lintel helped relieve weight from the doorway; a carved stone panel filled the opening. The gate therefore combined an imposing image with a practical response to the structural problems of monumental masonry.
Modern history and excavation
The site of Mycenae appears to have been abandoned after its short-lived Hellenistic resettlement. By the time of Pausanias' visit in the second century AD, he described the site as a 'ruin', though noted that parts of the walls and the Lion Gate could still be seen. Grave Circle A, meanwhile, was already buried in prehistoric times, and is unlikely to have been visible to Pausanias. The site may still have been visible in the 5th century AD, when it was correctly located on the Roman map known as the Tabula Peutingeriana, but the location seems to have been forgotten during the medieval period: it was generally misplaced on fifteenth-century maps, and Cyriac of Ancona, who believed he visited the site in 1447/1448, had actually seen the nearby fort of Katsingri.
Similarly, modern scholarship has disproved the claims of two sixteenth-century travellers to have visited the site: André de Monceaux, who claimed to have visited the site in 1669, and the French military officer Nicola Mirabel, who believed that he had done so in 1691.
Schliemann's excavations (1874–1876)
The archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann was particularly invested in the site of Mycenae. Schliemann was obsessed with the epic poetry of Homer and believed Homer's stories were based in historical truth. In the later part of his life, he dedicated himself to excavating historical sites relevant to the Homeric epics. Schliemann's first excavation was the site of Hisarlik, believed to be the site of ancient Troy. Following his work at Hisarlik, Schliemann began excavations at Mycenae in 1876. His goal was to find the grave of Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae and leader of the Greek army in the Trojan War as described in Homer's Iliad. Schliemann uncovered a royal cemetery containing six shaft graves, known as Grave Circle A. Among his findings at Grave Circle A was a gold death mask that he labeled as "The Mask of Agamemnon".
Modern archeological evidence has proven his claims of discovering Agamemnon's remains were most likely false, as the mask is dated more than 300 years before the events of the Trojan War. Schliemann's discoveries at Mycenae have come under controversy. Schliemann's archaeological work in general is controversial, with some calling Schliemann "the father of scientific archaeology" and others criticizing Schliemann's destructive methods of excavation. The authenticity of Schliemann's excavation of Grave Circle A has come under question, with some critics claiming that Schliemann smuggled additional artifacts into Mycenae and then falsely claimed to have discovered them. Modern evidence suggests that Schliemann's findings at Grave Circle A were genuine, but significantly predate the Trojan War.