NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Mycenae

Mycenae (ancient Greek: Μυκῆναι, IPA, /myˈkɛːnai/, in modern Greek: Μυκήνες, /miˈkinɛs/; see also List of traditional Greek place names), is an archaeological site in Greece, located about 90km south-west of Athens, in the north-eastern Peloponnese. Argos is 6 km to the south; Corinth, 48 km to the north. From the hill on which the palace was located one can see across the Argolid to the Saronic Gulf. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1836x1440, 380 KB) Summary Tablette dargile de MycÃ¨nes portant une inscription en linÃ©aire B provenant de la Â« Maison du Marchand dhuile Â». La tablette enregistre une quantitÃ© de laine destinÃ©e Ã Ãªtre traitÃ©e (teinture), commandÃ©e par... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1836x1440, 380 KB) Summary Tablette dargile de MycÃ¨nes portant une inscription en linÃ©aire B provenant de la Â« Maison du Marchand dhuile Â». La tablette enregistre une quantitÃ© de laine destinÃ©e Ã Ãªtre traitÃ©e (teinture), commandÃ©e par... This article is about the ancient syllabary. ... Note: This article contains special characters. ... Not to be confused with the NATO phonetic alphabet, which has also informally been called the â€œInternational Phonetic Alphabetâ€. For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words, see IPA chart for English. ... Main article: Greek language Modern Greek (ÎÎÎ± Î•Î»Î»Î·Î½Î¹ÎºÎ¬ or ÎÎµÎ¿ÎµÎ»Î»Î·Î½Î¹ÎºÎ®, lit. ... This is a list of traditional Greek place names. ... Archaeology, archeology, or archÃ¦ology (from the Greek words Î±ÏÏ‡Î±Î¯Î¿Ï‚ = ancient and Î»ÏŒÎ³Î¿Ï‚ = word/speech/discourse) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains and environmental data, including architecture, artefacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... Nickname: Î¤Î¿ ÎºÎ»ÎµÎ¹Î½ÏŒÎ½ Î¬ÏƒÏ„Ï… Location of the city of Athens (red dot) within the Prefecture of Athens and Periphery of Attica Coordinates: Country Greece Peripheries Attica Prefecture Athens Founded circa 2000 BC Government - Mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis Area [1][2] - City 38. ... The Peloponnese or Peloponnesus (Greek: Î ÎµÎ»Î¿Ï€ÏŒÎ½Î½Î·ÏƒÎ¿Ï‚ Peloponnesos; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a large peninsula in southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth. ... Coordinates 37Â°37â€² N 22Â°43â€² E Country Greece Periphery Peloponnese Prefecture Argolis Province Argos Population 29,505 Area 5. ... Corinth, or Korinth (Greek: ÎšÏŒÏÎ¹Î½Î¸Î¿Ï‚, KÃ³rinthos; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a Greek city-state, on the Isthmus of Corinth, the narrow stretch of land that joins the Peloponnesus to the mainland of Greece. ... Argos (Greek: Άργος, Árgos) is a city in Greece in the Peloponnesus near Nafplio, which was its historic harbor, named for Nauplius. ... The Saronic Gulf or Gulf of Aegina in Greece forms part of the Aegean Sea and defines the eastern side of the isthmus of Corinth. ...

In the second millennium BC Mycenae was one of the major centres of Greek civilization, a military stronghold which dominated much of southern Greece. The period of Greek history from about 1600 BC to about 1100 BC is called Mycenaean in reference to Mycenae. This article covers the Greek civilization. ... (Redirected from 1600 BC) Centuries: 18th century BC - 17th century BC - 16th century BC Decades: 1650s BC 1640s BC 1630s BC 1620s BC 1610s BC - 1600s BC - 1590s BC 1580s BC 1570s BC 1560s BC 1550s BC Events and trends Egypt: End of Fourteenth Dynasty The creation of one of... (Redirected from 1100 BC) Centuries: 13th century BC - 12th century BC - 11th century BC Decades: 1150s BC 1140s BC 1130s BC 1120s BC 1110s BC - 1100s BC - 1090s BC 1080s BC 1070s BC 1060s BC 1050s BC Events and Trends 1100 BC - Tiglath-Pileser I of Assyria conquers the Hittites... Mycenaean Greece, the last phase of the Bronze Age in ancient Greece, is the historical setting of the epics of Homer and much other Greek mythology. ...

Name

The reconstructed Mycenaean Greek name of the place is Mukanai (long a), which has the form of a plural, like Athanai. The change of a to e is a development of later Attic-Ionic. Image File history File linksMetadata Mycenae_northern_gate_2006. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Mycenae_northern_gate_2006. ... Mycenaean is the most ancient attested form of the Greek language, spoken on the Greek mainland and on Crete in the 16th to 11th centuries BC, before the Dorian invasion. ... Nickname: Î¤Î¿ ÎºÎ»ÎµÎ¹Î½ÏŒÎ½ Î¬ÏƒÏ„Ï… Location of the city of Athens (red dot) within the Prefecture of Athens and Periphery of Attica Coordinates: Country Greece Peripheries Attica Prefecture Athens Founded circa 2000 BC Government - Mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis Area [1][2] - City 38. ... Sound change or phonetic change is a historical process of language change consisting in the replacement of one speech sound or, more generally, one phonetic feature by another in a given phonological environment. ... Attic Greek is the ancient dialect of the Greek language that was spoken in Attica, which includes Athens. ... Distribution of Greek dialects, ca. ...

Although the citadel was built by Greeks, the name is not thought to be Greek, but is rather one of the many pre-Greek place names inherited by the immigrant Hellenes. John Chadwick said: The Greeks (Greek: ÎˆÎ»Î»Î·Î½ÎµÏ‚â€”Hellenes) are a nation and a people, who have populated Greece from the 17th century BC to the present day. ... John Chadwick (21 May 1920 â€“ 24 November 1998) was an English linguist and classical scholar most famous for his role in deciphering Linear B, along with Michael Ventris. ...

The pre-Greek language remains unknown, but there is no evidence to rule out a member of the Indo-European superfamily. (See Pelasgian, Minyans) The Indo-European languages comprise a family of several hundred related languages and dialects [1], including most of the major languages of Europe, as well as many spoken in the Indian subcontinent (South Asia), the Iranian plateau (Southwest Asia), and Central Asia. ... Ancient Greek writers used the name Pelasgian to refer to groups of people who preceded the Greeks and dwelt in several locations in mainland Greece, Crete, and other regions of the Aegean as neighbors of the Hellenes. ... See Minyan (disambiguation) for other meanings of the term. ...

Prehistory

Neolithic

Only scattered sherds from disturbed debris have been found datable to this period, prior to about 3500 BC. The site was inhabited but the stratigraphy has been destroyed by later construction.

Early Bronze Age

It is believed that Mycenae was settled by by Indo-Europeans who practiced farming and herding, close to 2000 BC. Scattered sherds have been found from this period, 2100 BC to 1700 BC. At the same time, Minoan Crete developed a very complex civilization which interacted with Mycenae. Image File history File links Wiki_letter_w. ... The Minoans were an ancient pre-Hellenic civilization on what is now Crete (in the Mediterranean), during the Bronze Age, prior to classical Greek culture. ...

Middle Bronze Age

The first burials in pits or cist graves began to the west of the acropolis at about 1800-1700 BC. The acropolis was enclosed at least partially by the earliest circuit wall. A cist (IPA ) is a small stone-built coffin-like box used to hold the bodies of the dead (notably during the Bronze Age in Britain and occasionally in Native American burials). ... Acropolis of Athens from the south-west with the Propylaea and the Temple of Nike (left centre) and the theatre of Herodes Atticus (below left) Acropolis (Gr. ...

Of the cist graves and the Middle Helladic Emily Vermeule said: Emily Dickinson Townsend Vermeule (New York City August 11, 1928 â€“ Cambridge, Massachusetts February 6, 2001) was an American classical scholar and archaeologist. ...

A shaft tomb or shaft grave is a type of burial structure formed from a deep and narrow shaft sunk into natural rock. ...

Late Bronze Age

The settlement pattern at Mycenae during the Bronze Age was a fortified hill surrounded by hamlets and estates. Missing is the dense urbanity present on the coast (such as at Argos). Since Mycenae was the capital of a state that ruled or dominated much of the eastern Mediterranean world, the rulers must have placed their stronghold in this less populated and more remote region for its defensive value. Since there are few documents on site with datable contents (like an Egyptian scarab) and since no dendrochronology has yet been performed upon the remains here, the events are here listed according to Helladic period material culture. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2592x1944, 2288 KB) En: ruins in Mycenae Fr: des ruines Ã MycÃ¨nes Copyright Â© 2004 David Monniaux File links The following pages link to this file: Mycenae Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2592x1944, 2288 KB) En: ruins in Mycenae Fr: des ruines Ã MycÃ¨nes Copyright Â© 2004 David Monniaux File links The following pages link to this file: Mycenae Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used... Acropolis of Athens from the south-west with the Propylaea and the Temple of Nike (left centre) and the theatre of Herodes Atticus (below left) Acropolis (Gr. ... Coordinates 37Â°37â€² N 22Â°43â€² E Country Greece Periphery Peloponnese Prefecture Argolis Province Argos Population 29,505 Area 5. ... The growth rings of an unknown tree species, at Bristol Zoo, England Pinus taeda Cross section showing annual rings, Cheraw, South Carolina Pine stump showing growth rings Dendrochronology or tree-ring dating is the method of scientific dating based on the analysis of tree-ring growth patterns. ... The Helladic is a modern term to identify a sequence of periods characterizing the culture of mainland ancient Greece during the Bronze Age. ...

Late Helladic I

Outside the partial circuit wall, Grave Circle B, named for its enclosing wall, contained ten cist graves in Middle Helladic style and four shaft graves, sunk more deeply, with interments resting in cists. Richer grave goods mark the burials as possibly regal. Mounds over the top contained broken drinking vessels and bones from a repast, testifying to a more than ordinary farewell. Stelae surmounted the mounds. Ancient Egyptian funerary stele Suenos Stone in Forres Scotland A stele (or stela) is a stone or wooden slab, generally taller than it is wide, erected for funerary or commemorative purposes, most usually decorated with the names and titles of the deceased or livingâ€”inscribed, carved in relief (bas...

A walled enclosure, Grave Circle A, included six more shaft graves, with 8 male, 9 female and two child interments. Grave goods were wealthier than in Circle B. The presence of engraved and inlaid swords and daggers, with spear points and arrowheads, leave little doubt that warrior chieftains and their families were buried here. Some art objects obtained from the graves are the Silver Siege Rhyton, the Mask of Agamemnon, the Cup of Nestor, and weapons both votive and practical. three Bronze Age swords (not to scale): from Hajdusamson, Hungary (ca. ... Bold text This article is about the weapon. ... A paramount chief is the highest-level traditional (usually tribal) chief or political leader in a region or country typically administered politically with a chief-based system. ... The Silver Siege Rhyton is a silver vessel discovered in Shaft Grave IV of Grave Circle A at Mycenae and is dated to ca. ... The Mask of Agamemnon The Mask of Agamemnon is an artifact discovered at Mycenae in 1876 by Heinrich Schliemann. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... An icon of Aghia Paraskevi with votive offerings hung beside it. ...

Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2592x1944, 1508 KB) Summary Author: Ruth van Mierlo Examples of Mycenaean swords, picture taken at the museum at Mycenea. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2592x1944, 1508 KB) Summary Author: Ruth van Mierlo Examples of Mycenaean swords, picture taken at the museum at Mycenea. ...

Late Helladic II

Alan Wace divided the nine tholos tombs of Mycenae into three groups of three each based on architecture. His earliest - the Cyclopean Tomb, Epano Phournos and the Tomb of Aegisthus - are dated to IIA. Alan John Bayard Wace (born July 13, 1879 in Cambridge, England; died November 9, 1956, in Athens, Greece) was an English archaeologist and director of the British School at Athens (1914-1923). ... The Treasure of Atreus tholos in 2004 Beehive tombs, also known as Tholos tombs (plural tholoi), are a style of Mycenaean chamber tomb from the Bronze Age. ...

Burial in tholoi is seen as replacing burial in shaft graves. The care taken to preserve the shaft graves testifies that they were by then part of the royal heritage, the tombs of the ancestral heroes. Being more visible, the tholoi had all been plundered either in antiquity or in later historic times.

Late Helladic III

At a conventional date of 1350 BC the fortifications on the acropolis, and other surrounding hills, were rebuilt in a style known as "cyclopean," because the blocks of stone used were so massive that they were thought in later ages to be the work of the one-eyed giants known as Cyclops. Within these walls, parts of which can still be seen, monumental palaces were built. The palace (what is left of it) currently visible on the acropolis of Mycenae dates to the start of LHIIIA:2. Earlier palaces must have existed but they had been cleared away or built over. (Redirected from 1350 BC) Centuries: 15th century BC - 14th century BC - 13th century BC Decades: 1400s BC 1390s BC 1380s BC 1370s BC 1360s BC - 1350s BC - 1340s BC 1330s BC 1320s BC 1310s BC 1300s BC Events and Trends Significant People 1350 BC - Pharaoh Amenhotep IV Akhenaton rises to... Cyclopean is a descriptor applied to the characteristic wall-building method of the Mycenaean culture. ... Polyphemus the Cyclops. ...

The construction of palaces at that time with a similar architecture was general throughout southern Greece. They all featured a megaron, or throne room, with a raised central hearth under an opening in the roof, which was supported by four columns in a square around the hearth. A throne was placed against the center of one wall. Frescos adorned the plaster walls and floor. The megaron is the great hall of Minoan-Mycenaean culture, a rectangular hall, fronted by an open, two-columned porch and a more or less central hearth traditional in Greece since Mycenaean times. ... Fresco by Dionisius representing Saint Nicholas. ...

In the Temple at the citadel, a scarab of Queen Tiye of Egypt - married to Amenhotep III - was placed in the "Room of the Idols", alongside at least one statue of either LHIIIA:2 or B:1 type. Amenhotep III's relations with m-w-k-i-n-u, *Mukana, have corroboration from the inscription at Kom al-Hetan - but Amenhotep's reign is thought to align with late LHIIIA:1. It is likely that Amenhotep's herald presented the scarab to an earlier generation, which then found the resources to rebuild the citadel as Cyclopean and then to move the scarab here. Tiye. ... Nebmaatre The Lord of Truth is Re[2] Nomen Amenhotep Hekawaset Amun is Satisfied, Ruler of Thebes[1] Horus name Kanakht Emkhaimaat The strong bull, appearing in truth Nebty name Semenhepusegerehtawy One establishing laws, pacifying the two lands Golden Horus Aakhepesh-husetiu Great of valour, smiting the Asiatics Consort(s...

The room was accessed from a courtyard with a columned portico. At Mycenae a grand staircase led from a terrace below to the courtyard on the acropolis. One can easily imagine Clytemnestra rolling out the proverbial red carpet upon it, but there is no evidence beyond the stories of poets and playwrights where she might have rolled it, or whether she really did. Download high resolution version (1280x960, 259 KB)Photo by Adam Carr File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (1280x960, 259 KB)Photo by Adam Carr File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Treasure of Atreus tholos in 2004 Beehive tombs, also known as Tholos tombs (plural tholoi), are a style of Mycenaean chamber tomb from the Bronze Age. ... Clytemnestra (Eng. ...

Wace’s second group of tholoi are dated between IIA and IIIB: Kato Phournos, Panagia Tholos, and the Lion Tomb. The final group, Group III: the Treasury of Atreus, the Tomb of Clytemnestra and the Tomb of the Genii, are dated to IIIB by a sherd under the threshold of the Treasury. The largest, it was discovered by the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann. Since it had long ago been looted of its contents, he did not realise it was a tomb and called it the Treasury of Atreus. Treasure of Atreus in 2004 The Treasure of Atreus or Treasury of Atreus is an impressive tholos tomb at Mycenae, Greece (on the Panagitsa Hill) constructed around 1250 BCE. The lintel stone above the doorway weighs 120 tons. ... Portrait of Heinrich Schliemann. ... Treasure of Atreus in 2004 The Treasure of Atreus or Treasury of Atreus is an impressive tholos tomb at Mycenae, Greece (on the Panagitsa Hill) constructed around 1250 BCE. The lintel stone above the doorway weighs 120 tons. ...

The pottery phases on which the relative dating scheme is based (EH, MH, LH, etc.) do not allow very precise dating, even augmented by the few existing C-14 dates, which have a tolerance. The sequence of construction of imperial Mycenae is approximately as follows. At the beginning of LHIIIB, around 1300 or so, the Cyclopean wall was extended to the south slope to include grave circle A. The main entrance through the circuit wall was made grand by the best known feature of Mycenae, Lion Gate, through which passed a stepped ramp leading past circle A and up to the palace. The Lion Gate was built in the form of a 'Relieving Triangle' to support the weight of the stones. It went past some houses considered to workshops now: the House of Shields, the House of the Oil Merchant, the House of the Sphinxes and the West House. An undecorated postern gate was also constructed through the north wall. Download high resolution version (2592x1944, 2092 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (2592x1944, 2092 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...

Somewhat later, at the LHIIIB:1/2 border, around 1250 or so, another renovation project was undertaken. The wall was extended again on the west side, with a sally port and also a secret passage through and under the wall, of corbelled construction, leading downward by some 99 steps to a cistern carved out of rock 15 m below the surface. It was fed by a tunnel from a spring on more distant higher ground. The Treasury of Atreus was constructed at about this time.

Already in LHIIIA:1, Egypt knew *Mukana by name as a capital city on the level of Thebes and Knossos. During LHIIIB, Mycenae's political, military and economic influence likely extended as far as Crete, Pylos in the western Peloponnese, and to Athens and Thebes. Hellenic settlements were already being placed on the coast of Anatolia. A collision with the Hittite empire over their sometime dependency at a then strategic location, Troy, was to be expected. In folklore, the powerful Pelopid family ruled many Greek states, one branch of which was the Atreid dynasty at Mycenae. For the famous World War II battle, see: Battle of Crete For other uses, see Crete (disambiguation). ... Pylos (Greek Î ÏÎ»Î¿Ï‚), formerly Navarino, is the name of a bay and a town on the west coast of the Peloponnese, in the district of Messenia in southern Greece. ... Nickname: Î¤Î¿ ÎºÎ»ÎµÎ¹Î½ÏŒÎ½ Î¬ÏƒÏ„Ï… Location of the city of Athens (red dot) within the Prefecture of Athens and Periphery of Attica Coordinates: Country Greece Peripheries Attica Prefecture Athens Founded circa 2000 BC Government - Mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis Area [1][2] - City 38. ... For the ancient capital of Upper Egypt, see Thebes, Egypt. ...

Map of Homeric Greece, coastal outline based on Map of Greece, from CIA World Factbook GIF. This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Map of Homeric Greece, coastal outline based on Map of Greece, from CIA World Factbook GIF. This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Homer (Greek: , HÃ³mÄ“ros) was a legendary early Greek poet and aoidos (rhapsode) traditionally credited with the composition of the Iliad and the Odyssey. ...

Decline

By 1200 BC the power of Mycenae was declining; during the 12th century, Mycenaean dominance collapsed. (Redirected from 1200 BC) Centuries: 14th century BC - 13th century BC - 12th century BC Decades: 1250s BC 1240s BC 1230s BC 1220s BC 1210s BC - 1200s BC - 1190s BC 1180s BC 1170s BC 1160s BC 1150s BC Events and Trends 1204 BC - Theseus, legendary King of Athens is deposed after...

LHIIIB ends in a universal catastrophe. Within a short time around 1250 BC, all the palaces of southern Greece were burned, including the one at Mycenae. This is traditionally attributed to a Dorian invasion of Greeks from the north, although some historians now doubt that such an invasion took place. As originally conceived, it certainly did not. No outsiders speaking Doric Greek entered Greece. Another theory postulates that some of the Mycenaean populace, who later came to speak the Doric dialect, turned on the weakened Mycenaean superstructure and razed it, settling in many regions formerly controlled by it. Displaced populations escaped to former colonies of the Mycenaeans in Anatolia and elsewhere, where they came to speak the Ionic dialect. Another circulating theory is that a drought caused the Mycenaean decline and that frustration with the powerful caused the burning of graineries and palaces. Another theory is that the destruction the palaces is related to the Sea People who destroyed the Hittite Empire and attacked the 19th then the 20th dynasties of Egypt. The evacuation of the area was also due to the drought; although there is no climatological evidence for it other than lack of evidence for an invasion. However, no conclusive evidence has been brought forward to confirm any theory of why the Mycenaean citadel and others around it fell at this time. This article or section should be merged with Dorian The Dorian invasion is one of the theories advanced to explain the decline of the Mycenaean civilization in ancient Greece. ... Sea Peoples is the term used in ancient Egyptian records of a race of ship-faring raiders who drifted into the eastern shores of the Mediterranean and attempted to enter Egyptian territory during the late 19th dynasty, and especially year 5 of Rameses III of the 20th Dynasty. ... Hittites is the conventional English-language term for an ancient people who spoke an Indo-European language and established a kingdom centered in Hattusa (the modern village of Boğazköy in todayss north-central Turkey), through most of the second millennium BC. The Hittite kingdom, which at...

In the period, LHIIIC, also termed "submycenaean", Mycenae was no longer a power. Pottery and decorative styles were changing rapidly. Craftmanship and art declined. The citadel was abandoned at the end of the 12th century, as it was no longer a strategic location, but only a remote one.

Revival and end

During the early Classical period, Mycenae was once again inhabited, though it never regained its earlier importance. Mycenaeans fought at Thermopylae and Plataea during the Persian Wars. In 462 BC, however, troops from Argos captured Mycenae and expelled the inhabitants. In Hellenistic and Roman times, the ruins at Mycenae were a tourist attraction (just as they are now). A small town grew up to serve the tourist trade. By late Roman times, however, the site had been abandoned. The modern monument in Thermopylae Thermopylae (IPA pronunciation: ) (Ancient and Katharevousa Greek , Demotic Î˜ÎµÏÎ¼Î¿Ï€ÏÎ»ÎµÏ‚: hot gateway) is a location in Greece where a narrow coastal passage existed in antiquity. ... Please wikify (format) this article as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... The Greco-Persian Wars or Persian Wars were a series of conflicts between the Greek world and the Persian Empire that started about 500 BC and lasted until 448 BC. The term can also refer to the continual warfare of the Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire against the Parthians and... Centuries: 4th century BC - 5th century BC - 6th century BC Decades: 510s BC 500s BC 490s BC 480s BC 470s BC - 460s BC - 450s BC 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC 410s BC Years: 467 BC 466 BC 465 BC 464 BC 463 BC - 462 BC - 461 BC 460 BC... Coordinates 37Â°37â€² N 22Â°43â€² E Country Greece Periphery Peloponnese Prefecture Argolis Province Argos Population 29,505 Area 5. ... The term Hellenistic (established by the German historian Johann Gustav Droysen) in the history of the ancient world is used to refer to the shift from a culture dominated by ethnic Greeks, however scattered geographically, to a culture dominated by Greek-speakers of whatever ethnicity, and from the political dominance... Motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus (SPQR) The Roman Empire at its greatest extent, c. ... A tourist boat travels the River Seine in Paris, France Tourism can be defined as the act of travel for the purpose of recreation, and the provision of services for this act. ...

Mycenae in mythology

Perseid dynasty

Legend asserts that Mycenae was founded by Perseus, grandson of king Acrisius of Argos, son of Acrisius' daughter, Danae. Having killed his grandfather by accident, Perseus could not or would not inherit the throne of Argos. Instead he arranged an exchange of realms with his half-brother, Megapenthes, and became king of Tiryns, Megapenthes taking Argos. From there he founded Mycenae and ruled the kingdoms jointly from Mycenae. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1576x2146, 404 KB) Description: Title: de: Perseus Technique: de: Wandmalerei Dimensions: Country of origin: de: Italien Current location (city): de: Castellamare di Stabia Current location (gallery): de: Antiquarium Other notes: de: Pompejanische Nachahmung eines griechischen Vorbildes des 3. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1576x2146, 404 KB) Description: Title: de: Perseus Technique: de: Wandmalerei Dimensions: Country of origin: de: Italien Current location (city): de: Castellamare di Stabia Current location (gallery): de: Antiquarium Other notes: de: Pompejanische Nachahmung eines griechischen Vorbildes des 3. ... Perseus with the head of Medusa, by Antonio Canova, completed 1801 (Vatican Museums) Perseus, Perseos, or Perseas (Greek: Î ÎµÏÏƒÎµÏÏ‚, Î ÎµÏÏƒÎÏ‰Ï‚, Î ÎµÏÏƒÎÎ±Ï‚), the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Perseid dynasty there, was the first of the mythic heroes of Greek mythology whose exploits helped establish the hegemony of Zeus and the Twelve... Acrisius was a mythical king of Argos, and a son of Abas and Ocalea. ... Coordinates 37Â°37â€² N 22Â°43â€² E Country Greece Periphery Peloponnese Prefecture Argolis Province Argos Population 29,505 Area 5. ... Danae by Gustav Klimt, 1907. ... In Greek mythology, MegapÃ©nthÃªs was a son of Proetus. ... Map ot Tiryns Tiryns (in ancient greek Î¤Î¯ÏÏ…Î½Ï‚) is a Mycenaean archeological site in the Greek nomos of Argolis in the Peloponnese peninsula, some kilometres north of Nauplion. ...

Perseus married Andromeda and had many sons but in the course of time went to war with Argos and was slain by Megapenthes. His son, Electryon, became the second of the dynasty but the succession was disputed by the Taphians under Pterelaos, another Perseid, who assaulted Mycenae and losing retreated with the cattle. The cattle were recovered by Amphitryon, a grandson of Perseus, but he killed his uncle by accident with a club in an unruly cattle incident and had to go into exile. See Andromeda (disambiguation) for other uses of Andromeda. Andromeda was a Greek mythological figure who was chained to a rock to be eaten by a sea monster and was saved by Perseus, whom she later married. ... In Greek mythology, Electryon was the father of Alcmene, son of Perseus and Andromeda, and king of Mycenae. ... In Homeric Greece the islands of Taphos lay in the Ionian Sea off the coast of Acarnania in northwestern Greece, home of sea-going and piratical inhabitants, the Taphians. ... In Greek mythology, Pterelaos was king of the Thapians, who was the son of Poseidon. ... Amphitryon, or Amphitrion, in Greek mythology, was a son of Alcaeus, king of Tiryns in Argolis. ...

The throne went to Sthenelus, third in the dynasty, a son of Perseus. He set the stage for future greatness by marrying Nicippe, a daughter of king Pelops of Elis, the most powerful state of the region and the times. With her he had a son, Eurystheus the fourth and last of the Perseid dynasty. When a son of Heracles, Hyllus, killed Sthenelus, Eurystheus became noted for his enmity to Heracles and for his ruthless persecution of the Heracleidae, the descendants of Heracles. In Greek mythology, Sthenelus refers to four different people. ... In Greek mythology, Pelops (Greek Î ÎÎ»Î¿Ïˆ) (from pelios: dark; and ops: face, eye) was a son of Tantalus and Dione. ... Elis, or Eleia (Greek, Modern: Î‰Î»Î¹Î´Î± Ilida, Ancient/Katharevousa: Î‰Î»Î¹Ï‚, also Ilis, Doric: Î†Î»Î¹Ï‚) is an ancient district within the modern prefecture of Ilia. ... In Greek mythology, Eurystheus was king of Tiryns, one of three Mycenaean strongholds in the Argolid: Sthenelus was his father and the horsewoman Nykippe his mother, and he was a grandson of the hero Perseus, as was his opponent Heracles. ... Hercules, a Roman bronze (Louvre Museum) For other uses, see Heracles (disambiguation). ... In Greek mythology, Hyllus (also Hyllas or Hylles) was the son of Heracles and Deianira and husband of Iole. ... Heracleidae, the general name for the numerous descendants of Heracles (Hercules), and specially applied in a narrower sense to the descendants of Hyllus, the eldest of his four sons by Deianira, the conquerors of Peloponnesus. ...

This is the first we hear in legend of those noted sons, who became a symbol of the hated Dorians. Heracles had been a Perseid. After his death Eurystheus determined to annihilate these rivals for the throne of Mycenae, but they took refuge in Athens, and in the course of war Eurystheus and all his sons were killed. The Perseid dynasty came to an end. The people of Mycenae placed Eurystheus' maternal uncle, Atreus, a Pelopid, on the throne. This article or section should include material from Dorian invasion The Dorians were one of the ancient Hellenic (Greek) races. ... In Greek mythology, King Atreus (Greek: Î‘Ï„ÏÎµÏÏ‚, AtreÃºs) (fearless) of Mycenae was the son of Pelops and Hippodamia and father of Agamemnon and Menelaus. ...

Atreid dynasty

The people of Mycenae had received an oracle that they should choose a new king from among the Pelopids. The two contenders were Atreus and his brother, Thyestes. The latter was chosen at first. At this moment nature intervened. The sun appeared to reverse direction and set in the east. Because the sun had reversed direction, he argued, the election of Thyestes should be reversed. Atreus became king. His first move was to pursue Thyestes and all his family, but Thyestes managed to escape Mycenae. Consulting the Oracle by John William Waterhouse, showing eight priestesses in a temple of prophecy An oracle is a person or persons considered to be the source of wise counsel or prophetic opinion; an infallible authority, usually spiritual in nature. ... In Greek mythology, King Atreus (Greek: Î‘Ï„ÏÎµÏÏ‚, AtreÃºs) (fearless) of Mycenae was the son of Pelops and Hippodamia and father of Agamemnon and Menelaus. ... In Greek mythology, Thyestes was the son of Pelops, King of Mycenae, and Hippodamia and father of Pelopia and Aegisthus. ...

In legend, Atreus had two sons, Agamemnon and Menelaus, the Atreids. Aegisthus, the son of Thyestes, killed Atreus and restored Thyestes to the throne. With the help of King Tyndareus of Sparta, the Atreids drove Thyestes again into exile. Tyndareus had two ill-starred daughters, Helen and Clytemnestra, whom Menelaus and Agamemnon married, respectively. Agamemnon inherited Mycenae and Menelaus was regent in Sparta. The Return of Agamemnon - Project Gutenberg eText 14994 - http://www. ... The Return of Agamemnon - Project Gutenberg eText 14994 - http://www. ... The so-called Mask of Agamemnon. Discovered by Heinrich Schliemann in 1876 at Mycenae. ... Menelaus regains Helen, detail of an Attic red-figure crater, ca. ... In Greek mythology, Aegisthus (goat strength, also transliterated as Aegisthos or AigÃsthos) was the son of Thyestes and his daughter, Pelopia. ... In Greek mythology, Tyndareus (or Tyndareos) was a Spartan king, son of Oebalus (or Perieres) and Gorgophone (or Bateia), husband of Leda and father of Helen, Polydeuces (Pollux), Castor, Clytemnestra, Timandra, Phoebe and Philonoe. ... Sparta (Doric: SpÃ¡rta, Attic: SpÃ¡rtÄ“) is a city in southern Greece. ... In Greek mythology, Helen (Greek: , HelÃ©nÄ“), better known as Helen of Troy, was the daughter of Zeus and Leda and the wife of Menelaus, king of Sparta. ... Clytemnestra (Eng. ...

Helen eloped with Paris of Troy. Agamemnon conducted a 10-year war against Troy to get her back for his brother. Because of lack of wind, the warships could not sail to Troy. In order to please the gods so that they might make the winds start to blow, Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia. Hunting goddess Artemis replaced her at the very last moment with a deer on the altar, and took Iphigenia to Tauris (See Iphigenia en Tauris by Euripides). The gods having been satisfied by such a sacrifice, the winds started blowing and the warfaring fleet departed. The Murder of Agamemnon - Project Gutenberg eText 14994 - http://www. ... The Murder of Agamemnon - Project Gutenberg eText 14994 - http://www. ... Statue of Paris in the British Museum Paris (Greek: ; also known as Alexander or Alexandros, c. ... Troy or Ilion, see Troy (disambiguation) and Ilion (disambiguation). ... Troy or Ilion, see Troy (disambiguation) and Ilion (disambiguation). ... The so-called Mask of Agamemnon. Discovered by Heinrich Schliemann in 1876 at Mycenae. ... 112 Iphigenia is an asteroid. ... The Diana of Versailles, a Roman copy of a sculpture by Leochares (Louvre Museum) Artemis (Greek: nominative , genitive ) in Greek mythology the daughter of Zeus and of Leto and the twin sister of Apollo was one of the most widely venerated of the gods and manifestly one of the oldest... 112 Iphigenia is an asteroid. ... Tauris is a peninsula on the Black Sea. ... A statue of Euripides Euripides (Greek: Î•Ï…ÏÎ¹Ï€Î¯Î´Î·Ï‚) (c. ...

Legend tells us that the long and arduous Trojan War, although nominally a Greek victory, brought anarchy, piracy and ruin. After the war, returning Agamemnon was greeted royally with a red carpet rolled out for him and then slain in his bathtub by Clytemnestra, who hated him bitterly for having sacrificed their daughter Iphigenia. Clytemnestra was aided in her crime by Aegistheus, who reigned subsequently, but Orestes, son of Agamemnon, was smuggled out to Phocis. He returned as a man to slay Clytemnestra and Aegistheus. He then fled to Sparta to evade justice, and, a matricide, became insane for a time. Meanwhile, the throne of Mycenae went to Aletes, son of Aegistheus, but not for long. Recovering, Orestes returned to Mycenae to kill him and take the throne. The so-called Mask of Agamemnon. Discovered by Heinrich Schliemann in 1876 at Mycenae. ... Clytemnestra (Eng. ... 112 Iphigenia is an asteroid. ... Orestes Ορεστης is a Greek name, literally he who stands on the mountain, or mountain-dweller. Orestes can refer to: In Greek mythology, the son of Agamemnon. ... Phocis (Greek, Modern: Î¦Ï‰ÎºÎ¯Î´Î±, Ancient/Katharevousa: -s, also Phokida, Phokis) is an ancient district of central Greece. ... In Greek mythology, Alete was a son of Aegisthus. ...

Orestes then built a larger state in the Peloponnesus, but he died in Arcadia from a snake bite. His son, Tisamenus, the last of the Atreid dynasty, was killed by the Heracleidae on their return to the Peloponnesus. They claimed the right of the Perseids to inherit the various kingdoms of the Peloponnesus and cast lots for the dominion of them. Arcadia or ArkadÃa (Greek Î‘ÏÎºÎ±Î´Î¯Î±; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a region of Greece in the Peloponnesus. ... Tisamenus in Greek mythology, was a son of Orestes and Hermione. ... Heracleidae, the general name for the numerous descendants of Heracles (Hercules), and specially applied in a narrower sense to the descendants of Hyllus, the eldest of his four sons by Deianira, the conquerors of Peloponnesus. ... Peloponnesos (Greek: Πελοπόννησος, sometime Latinized as Peloponnesus or Anglicized as The Peloponnese) is a large peninsula in Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Isthmus of Corinth. ...

Atreids in Asia Minor?

There was in fact a total eclipse of the sun in the Aegean on March 5, 1223 BC, which Atreus might have twisted into a setting of the sun in the east. This date does not solve all the unknowns. Image File history File links Hittite_Empire. ... Image File history File links Hittite_Empire. ... Hittite can refer to either: The ancient Anatolian people called the Hittites; or The Hittite language, an ancient Indo-European language they spoke. ... Look up Aegean Sea in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

A late date is implied for the Trojan War, which would, in that case, have been against Troy VIIa after all. The Perseids would have been in power ca. 1380, the date of a statue base from Kom el-Heitan in Egypt recording the itinerary of an Egyptian embassy to the Aegean in the time of Amenophis III. m-w-k-i-n-u (phonetic "Mukanuh"?) was one of the cities visited, a rare early document of the name of Mycenae. It was one of the cities of the tj-n3-jj ("Tinay"?)^[1], Homeric Danaans, named, in legend, after Danae, which suggests that the Perseids were in fact in some sort of dominion. The fall of Troy by Johann Georg Trautmann (1713â€“1769) From the collections of the granddukes of Baden, Karlsruhe The Trojan War was waged, according to legend, against the city of Troy in Asia Minor, by the armies of the Achaeans (Mycenaean Greeks), after Paris of Troy stole Helen from... Troy or Ilion, see Troy (disambiguation) and Ilion (disambiguation). ... Nebmaatre The Lord of Truth is Re[2] Nomen Amenhotep Hekawaset Amun is Satisfied, Ruler of Thebes[1] Horus name Kanakht Emkhaimaat The strong bull, appearing in truth Nebty name Semenhepusegerehtawy One establishing laws, pacifying the two lands Golden Horus Aakhepesh-husetiu Great of valour, smiting the Asiatics Consort(s... This article is about the ancient people of the Achaeans. ... Danae by Gustav Klimt, 1907. ...

Also in the 14th century BC the "Ahhiya" began to be troublesome to numerous kings of the Hittite Empire. Ahhiyawa or Ahhiya, which occurs a few dozen times in Hittite tablets over the century, is probably Achaiwia, reconstructed Mycenaean Greek for Achaea. The Hittites did not use "Danaja" as did the Egyptians, even though the first Ahhiya reference in "Indictment of Madduwatta"^[2] precedes the correspondence between Amenhotep III and one of Madduwatta's subsequent successors in Arzawa, Tarhunta-Radu. The external LHIIIA:1-era sources do, however, agree in their omission of a "great king" or other unifying structure behind Tinay/Ahhiya. Hittites is the conventional English-language term for an ancient people who spoke an Indo-European language and established a kingdom centered in Hattusa (the modern village of Boğazköy in todayss north-central Turkey), through most of the second millennium BC. The Hittite kingdom, which at... Achaea (Greek: , AchaÃ¯a; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is an ancient province and a present prefecture of Greece, on the northern coast of the Peloponnese, stretching from the mountain ranges of Erymanthus and Cyllene on the south to a narrow strip of fertile land on the... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Nebmaatre The Lord of Truth is Re[2] Nomen Amenhotep Hekawaset Amun is Satisfied, Ruler of Thebes[1] Horus name Kanakht Emkhaimaat The strong bull, appearing in truth Nebty name Semenhepusegerehtawy One establishing laws, pacifying the two lands Golden Horus Aakhepesh-husetiu Great of valour, smiting the Asiatics Consort(s... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Arzawa is a region or kingdom in what was later to be known as Lydia in Western Anatolia. ...

For example, in the "Indictment of Madduwatta", Attarissiya, the "man of Ahhiya" (i.e. ruler), attacks Madduwatta and drives him from his land. He obtains refuge and military assistance from the Hittite Great King Tudhaliya. After the death of the latter and in the reign of his son, Arnuwanda, Madduwatta allies with Attarissiya and they, along with another ruler, raid Alasiya, i.e. Cyprus.

This is the only known occurrence of a man named Attarissiya. Attempts to link this name to Atreus have not found wide support, nor is there any evidence of a powerful Pelopid named Atreus of those times.

During LHIIIA:2, Ahhiya, now known as Ahhiyawa, extended its influence over Miletus, settling on the coast of Anatolia, and competed with the Hittites for influence and control in western Anatolia. For instance Uhha-Ziti's Arzawa and through him Manapa-Tarhunta's Seha River Land. While establishing the credibility of the Mycenaean Greeks as a historical power, these documents create as many problems as they solve. The lower half of the benches and the remnants of the scene building of the theater of Miletus (August 2005) Miletus (Hittite: Milawata or Millawanda, Greek: ÎœÎ¯Î»Î·Ï„Î¿Ï‚ transliterated Miletos, Turkish: Milet) was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia (in what is now the Aydin Province of Turkey... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Manapa-Tarhunta was a king in western Anatolia during the Late Bronze Age. ...

Similarly, a Hittite king wrote the so-called Tawagalawa letter^[3] to the Great King of Ahhiyawa, concerning the depredations of the Luwiyan adventurer Piyama-Radu. The name of neither great king is stated; the Hittite king could be either Muwatalli II or his brother Hattusili III, which at least dates the letter to LHIIIB by Mycenaean standards. But neither the Atreus not the Agamemnon of legend have any brothers named *Etewoclewes (Eteocles); this name is, rather, associated with Thebes, which during the preceding LHIIIA period Amenhotep III had viewed as equal to Mycenae. The Tawagalawa letter (CTH 181) was written by a Hittite king to a king of Ahhiyawa around 1250 BC. This letter, of which only the third tablet has been preserved, concerns the activities of an adventurer Piyama-Radu against the Hittites. ... // Piyama-Radu (also spelled Piyamaradu, Piyama Radu, Piyamaradus, PiyamaraduÅ¡) was a warlike aristocratic personage whose name figures prominently in the Hittite archives of the middle and late 13th century BC in western Anatolia. ... Muwatalli II was a king of the New kingdom of the Hittite empire (1295â€“1272 BC). ... Hattusili III was a king of the Hittite empire (New kingdom) 1265 BCâ€“1235 BC. He was the commander of Hittite forces in 1274 BC that defeated an Egyptian campign into Syria in the famous Battle of Kadesh. ...

Elsewhere, Muwatalli II (reg. 1296–1272) makes a treaty with Alaksandu (possibly Alexander), king of Wilusa (Ilium); and another document has Wilusa swearing by Appaliuna (Apollo). But the Alaksandu of the treaty is too early to be king of a city assaulted by Agamemnon, and besides, Priam was king of that city. Muwatalli II was a king of the New kingdom of the Hittite empire (1295â€“1272 BC). ... Lycian Apollo, early Imperial Roman copy of a fourth century Greek original (Louvre Museum) In Greek and Roman mythology, Apollo (Ancient Greek , ApÃ³llÅn; or , ApellÅn), the ideal of the kouros (a beardless youth), was the archer-god of medicine and healing, light, truth, archery and also a... In Greek mythology, Priam (Greek Πρίαμος) was the king of Troy during the Trojan War, and son of Laomedon. ...

There is no satisfactory way to reconcile the Hittite tablets with later Greek legend.

Excavation

The first excavations at Mycenae were carried out by the Greek archaeologist Kyriakos Pittakis in 1841. He found and restored the Lion Gate. In 1874 Schliemann arrived at the site and undertook a complete excavation. Schliemann believed in the historical truth of the Homeric stories and interpreted the site accordingly. He found the ancient shaft graves with their royal skeletons and spectacular grave goods. Upon discovering a human skull beneath a golden death mask in one of the tombs, he declared: "I have gazed upon the face of Agamemnon". Image File history File links Mycenaeacropolis. ... Image File history File links Mycenaeacropolis. ... Archaeology or sometimes in American English archeology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains, including architecture, artefacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... Kyriakos Pittakis (1798 - 1863), Greek archaeologist. ... 1841 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Year 1874 (MDCCCLXXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link with display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... A shaft tomb or shaft grave is a type of burial structure formed from a deep and narrow shaft sunk into natural rock. ... A human skeleton - (endoskeleton) In biology, the skeleton (from Greek ÏƒÎºÎµÎ»ÎµÏ„ÏŒÏ‚, dried-up) or skeletal system is the biological system providing physical support in living organisms. ... Look up golden in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The death mask of Australian bushranger Ned Kelly A death mask is a plaster or wax cast made of a persons face following death. ...

Since Schliemann's day more scientific excavations have taken place at Mycenae, mainly by Greek archaeologists but also by the British School at Athens. The acropolis was excavated in 1902, and the surrounding hills have been methodically investigated by subsequent excavations. Created in 1886 as a home for British Classical scholars working abroad, the British School at Athens is now a major international center for Classical scholarship and houses one of the worlds foremost classical libraries. ... 1902 (MCMII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

Tourism

Today Mycenae, one of the foundational sites of European civilization, is a popular tourist destination, less than two hours' drive from Athens. The site has been well-preserved, and the massive ruins of the cyclopaean walls and the palaces on the acropolis still arouse the admiration of visitors, particularly when it is remembered that they were built a thousand years before the monuments of Classical Greece. The Culture of Europe might better be described as a series of overlapping cultures of Europe. ...

Notes

Contents

Name

Prehistory

Neolithic

Early Bronze Age

Middle Bronze Age

Late Bronze Age

Late Helladic I

Late Helladic II

Late Helladic III

Decline

Revival and end

Mycenae in mythology

Perseid dynasty

Atreid dynasty

Atreids in Asia Minor?

Excavation

Tourism

Notes

See also

References

External links

Contents

Name GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");

Prehistory

Neolithic

Early Bronze Age

Middle Bronze Age

Late Bronze Age

Late Helladic I

Late Helladic II

Late Helladic III

Decline

Revival and end

Mycenae in mythology

Perseid dynasty

Atreid dynasty

Atreids in Asia Minor?

Excavation

Tourism

Notes

See also

References

External links

Name