Mycenae
Mycenae is an ancient city in the Argolis, set beside Mount Tritos and facing the Argolic Gulf, about ninety kilometres south-west of Athens, in the north-east of the Peloponnese. In the second millennium BC it was one of the greatest centres of Greek civilisation, a powerful military stronghold commanding most of southern Greece—indeed it is from Mycenae that this period of Greek history, from 1600 BC to about 1100 BC, takes its name, the 'Mycenaean age.' At its height, around 1350 BC, the acropolis and lower town housed thirty thousand people across thirty-two hectares; Homer was the first to mention the city, describing it as 'broad-streeted' and 'rich in gold.' Step inside the walls of massive stone, and the Lion Gate, the royal grave circles, the underground cistern and the beehive tombs come one after another, waiting to be examined.
Greece · 37 The overlooked corners inside
The overlooked corners inside
Grave Circle A
Just inside the Lion Gate, a short walk to the southeast, a ring of stone slabs encloses the royal burial ground known as Grave Circle A. It originally lay outside Mycenae's fortifications; only in the thirteenth century BC, when the walls were pushed outward, was it drawn inside the city. These are the shaft graves of the sixteenth-century BC Mycenaean rulers — some of the earliest royal burials of Mycenaean civilization. In 1876, following the accounts of Homer and Pausanias, archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann excavated the site and uncovered a series of golden death masks, one of which he famously named the Mask of Agamemnon.
Sources: el.wikipedia.org
Grave Circle B
About 117 metres west of the Lion Gate, a stone ring 28 metres across, roughly 1.55 metres thick and about 1.2 metres high, encloses 26 graves — this is Grave Circle B. Built outside the citadel walls, it dates to the seventeenth and sixteenth centuries BC, making it earlier than the intramural Grave Circle A. Of the 26 burials, 14 are shaft graves and the rest simple cist graves; most were marked with heaped stones, four with stelae standing up to two metres tall, and the stelae on shafts Alpha and Gamma carry hunting scenes in relief.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Mycenae Fortifications
Standing before the walls of Mycenae, what strikes you first is not the carvings but the stone itself — irregular limestone blocks of immense size, locked together without mortar by sheer weight, in a technique known as Cyclopean masonry. Later Greeks, seeing these walls, could not believe human hands had moved such masses and attributed the work to the Cyclopes, the one-eyed giants of mythology. Archaeologists trace the method to the walls of Hattusa, the Hittite capital in Anatolia. Mycenae's fortifications were not built all at once: the first phase dates to the Late Helladic IIIA period, then expanded significantly in IIIB as regional competition intensified, bringing Grave Circle A and the Lion Gate inside the perimeter. The citadel sits on a rocky bluff; within it lived the royal elite, and the surrounding population could shelter inside during times of attack.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Epano Phournos Tomb
The Epano Phournos tomb stands about 450 metres southwest of the citadel and is among the earliest tholos tombs at Mycenae, dating to the Late Helladic IIA period (around 1635–1480 BC). Its construction is comparatively primitive: the long entrance corridor (dromos) is cut straight into bedrock without stone-lined retaining walls, and the chamber blocks were left undressed — in sharp contrast to the refined workmanship of the later Treasury of Atreus. The tomb was plundered in the Late Bronze Age, possibly before the Bronze Age even ended, and little remains; confirmed finds include a few pieces of Minoan 'Palace Style' pottery, ivory fragments, thin gold foil, and what may be the remains of a boar's-tusk helmet.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Lion Tholos Tomb
The Lion Tholos is one of the tholos tombs placed by Alan Wace in his second chronological group, dating between the Late Helladic IIA and IIIB periods. Like several of Mycenae's better-known tholoi, this tomb had its original contents plundered in antiquity, and its funerary nature was at some point forgotten — it was traditionally known simply as a 'treasury'.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
House of the Sphinxes
The House of the Sphinxes is one of the few excavated buildings outside Mycenae's citadel… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
House of the Oil Merchant
The House of the Oil Merchant belongs to the same extramural complex as the House of the S… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Temple of Athena, Mycenae
At the highest point of the citadel, the foundations beneath your feet belonged in success… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: wikidata.org · madainproject.com · en.wikipedia.org
Petsas House, Mycenae
Petsas House lies northwest of the citadel, outside the walls, and is a multi-storey build… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: research-bulletin.chs.harvard.edu · nemeacenter.berkeley.edu · wikidata.org
Panagia Houses
The Panagia Houses lie north of the Treasury of Atreus, in one of the few excavated reside… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: penn.museum · researchgate.net
Treasury of Atreus
Built on the slope of Panagitsa Hill beside the citadel, the Treasury of Atreus dates to a… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: el.wikipedia.org
Lion Gate
The Lion Gate is the main entrance to the Mycenae citadel, built in Cyclopean masonry duri… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: el.wikipedia.org
Tomb of Aegisthus
The Tomb of Aegisthus sits west of the citadel, about 70 metres from the Lion Gate. Built… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Tomb of Clytemnestra
The Tomb of Clytemnestra was built around 1250 BC, making it the last of Mycenae's tholos… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: el.wikipedia.org
Mycenae Underground Cistern
In the northeast corner of the citadel, hidden beneath the walls, a stairway descends 99 r… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: olympia-museum.gr · wikidata.org · en.wikipedia.org
Oil Merchant Complex
The Oil Merchant Complex lies outside the citadel walls west of Grave Circle B — a group o… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: wikidata.org · historyandarchaeologyonline.com · en.wikipedia.org
Underground Cistern (Secret Stairway)
Behind the northeast extension of the citadel walls, a corbelled passage built around 1200… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · madainproject.com
Citadel of Mycenae
Mycenae was an ancient city in the Argolid, set near Mount Tritos and facing the Argolic G… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: el.wikipedia.org
North Gate (Postern Gate)
In the north wall of the citadel, an undecorated small gate — the North Gate, also called… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: olympia-museum.gr · wikidata.org · en.wikipedia.org
Mycenae Archaeological Museum
The Mycenae Archaeological Museum stands just northwest of the citadel — a natural last st… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: el.wikipedia.org
West House
The West House is the westernmost of the four buildings in the extramural Oil Merchant com… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: cambridge.org · instappress.com · en.wikipedia.org
Hellenistic Temple
The summit of the citadel carries the remains of a temple built in two phases: a first tem… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · madainproject.com
Artisans' Workshop Area
This area within the citadel (Εργαστήρια καλλιτεχνών, 'Artisans' Workshops') lies near the… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · odysseyadventures.ca
Cult Centre
The Cult Centre (Θρησκευτικό κέντρο) occupies the west slope of the citadel just below the… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: olympia-museum.gr · odysseyadventures.ca
Throne
At the centre of the megaron's main hall (domos) stood a circular hearth; along one wall… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · madainproject.com
Megaron of Mycenae
The Megaron — the great hall at the summit of the citadel — was the heart of the palace, w… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: odysseyadventures.ca · en.wikipedia.org · madainproject.com
Ramp House
The Ramp House (Οικία τής ράμπας) is one of a series of buildings lining the west wall of… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: madainproject.com · en.wikipedia.org
House of the Warrior Vase
The House of the Warrior Vase (Οικία τού αγγείου τών πολεμιστών) stands just south of Grav… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · smarthistory.org · madainproject.com
House of the Oil Merchant (Extramural)
This building (Οικία τού λαδέμπορου) is the core structure of the extramural complex west… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: historyandarchaeologyonline.com · en.wikipedia.org
House of Shields
The House of Shields (Οικία τών ασπίδων) is one of the four buildings in the extramural Oi… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · historyandarchaeologyonline.com
Column House
The Column House (Οικία τών κιόνων) stands on the east slope of the citadel, east of the p… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: madainproject.com
Propylon (Palace Gateway)
The Propylon (Προπυλών) is the formal entrance to the Mycenaean palace, an H-shaped struct… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: odysseyadventures.ca · en.wikipedia.org
Ramp
Through the Lion Gate, a broad paved slope rises toward the palace platform — this is the… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: madainproject.com
Granary
The Granary (Σιταποθήκη) stands immediately to the right of the Lion Gate: a rectangular s… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: olympia-museum.gr · en.wikipedia.org
North Quarter
The North Quarter (H Βόρεια Συνοικία) is a group of buildings enclosed within the citadel… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: madainproject.com · en.wikipedia.org
Building Gamma
Building Gamma (Κτήριο Γ) stands beside the open space north of the palace core. It was in… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: madainproject.com
Building Delta
Building Delta (Κτήριο Δ) also dates to the thirteenth century BC and is larger than Gamma… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: madainproject.com
FAQ
What overlooked corners are worth seeing inside Mycenae?
Grave Circle A, Grave Circle B, Mycenae Fortifications and more — 37 spots in all, each with sources and a guide in your language to read or listen to on the spot.
Is the Mycenae guide free?
The first 5 spots are free to read; the other 32 unlock with a one-time purchase (not a subscription).