Mycenae

**Mycenae** (Greek  _Mykēnai_ or   _Mykēnē_), is an archaeological site in Greece. It is about 90 km south-west of Athens, in the north-eastern Peloponnese.

In the second millennium BC, Mycenae was one of the most important centers of early Greek civilization with a strong army. The time of Greek history from about 1600 BC to about 1100 BC is called Mycenaean Greece.

## People

The Mycenaeans of Greece had learned many things from other lands. By 1400 B.C., they were known for their art, literature, and philosophy. Their most important city, Mycenae (mi see' née), was just north of what later became Corinth.

In 1300 BC the king built a wall 23 ft wide and 60 ft high. The stone blocks used were very big.  A _corbel arch_, where each stone hung a little further beyond the one below, was used. A triangle was also used to support it. The Lion Gate, the main gate of the wall and an example of a corbel arch, is still admired today.

The common people went inside the palace walls in times of danger but at other times lived in their own houses. Their houses were shaped like deep rectangles with flat roofs and front porches. People worked at many different jobs. They were cooks, doctors, carpenters, tailors, woodcutters, and makers of textiles. The Mycenaeans grew many things and kept animals like oxen, sheep, pigs, and goats. They also built good roads and bridges. Their army was strong. Spears and javelins have been found, and also many swords, big and small. Their edge and point were used.

## Decline and collapse

By 1200 BC the power of Mycenae was declining. The eventual destruction of Mycenae was part of the general Bronze Age collapse in the Greek mainland and beyond. Within a short period  all the palaces of southern Greece were burnt, including that at Mycenae. The cause or causes of the Bronze Age collapse are not known for sure.

## Religion

For their worship of gods, these people made shrines. Poseidon was worshiped as a chief deity, and the “protector of the sky” was Zeus. They also worshipped Apollo, Artemis, Hera and many others of the Greek religion.

## Other websites

- British School at Athens Mycenae page
- Excavation of Citadel House Area
- Objects from Grave Circle A, including votive weaponry
- Homepage of Current Dickinson College Excavations at Mycenae

## Infobox (ancient site)

- **name**: Mycenae
- **native name**: Μυκῆναι
Μυκήνη
- **image**: Lions-Gate-Mycenae.jpg
- **caption**: The Lion Gate at Mycenae, the only known monumental sculpture of Bronze Age Greece
- **map type**: Greece
- **location**: Argolis, Greece
- **type**: Settlement
- **epochs**: Bronze Age
- **cultures**: Ancient Greece
- **designation1**: WHS
- **designation1 offname**: Archaeological Sites of Mycenae and Tiryns
- **designation1 date**: 1999 <small>(23rd World Heritage Committee, session)</small>
- **designation1 number**: [http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/941 941]
- **designation1 criteria**: i, ii, iii, iv, vi
- **designation1 type**: Cultural
- **designation1 free1name**: State Party
- **designation1 free1value**: Greece
- **designation1 free2name**: Region
- **designation1 free2value**: List of World Heritage Sites in Europe, Europe and North America