| Product: |
Antikes Hellas |
| Date: |
25/07/05 (162 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: very interesting site of major importance, good views
Disadvantages: can be very crowded and very hot
We travel to Mycenae on a morning bus from rainy Nafpilo. It`s a straight road north, mostly through an agricultural plain of Argolis. If the whole Peloponnesus can be taken to resemble a hand, Argolis would be its thumb: a stretch of land with perhaps the biggest density of major archaeological sites in the whole of Greece. Argos itself, despite being one of the longest inhabited sites in Greece, doesn`t offer much in the way of attractions. Or perhaps it does, what with a medieval castle, well preserved theatre and other ancient remains, but in comparison to other sites in the vicinity they are nothing special.
And before the bus even reaches Argos, we see a worthy preface to Mycenae, in some ways even more striking because of its everyday, unimpressive setting: next to a busy road rise the cyclopean walls of the citadel of Tiryns. I visited the site long time ago, sneakingly let in through a hole in the fence by a local orange farmer as I arrived after closing time one hitch-hiking Sunday. I remember walking between the two walls several meters thick and - somehow hard to comprehend - three and half thousand years old. Who and how put up these massive settlements? What for? Against whom?
It`s worth remembering that, despite all the excavations and linear-B inscriptions, we are still in the realm of pre-history. There is nobody to - really - tell us, just the archaeological finds speaking the language of pottery and architecture. And of course, the myth, the poetry and the plays of the later era that fulfil our human desire for stories, relationships and names without which we find it hard to think about the past. It`s through these myths that we see the Mycenaean civilisation now. It`s those stories that led Heinrich Schliemann, the greatest dreamer and the luckiest dilettante genius in a filed that didn`t lack them, to Mycenae, Mycenae of the cyclopean walls and the bloody saga of the house of Atreus, Mycenae rich in gold, a citadel built on a hillock between two mountains, perfectly located to dominate the fertile Argos plain stretching towards the sea and to control the road from Corinth to the Argolis bay.
We are lucky because the day of our visit is cool and overcast, sparing us the relentless sun that normally bakes the hill which is almost devoid of trees .
The site consists of three major parts: a newly open museum, the citadel itself and (200 m back down the road towards the modern village) the tholos tomb known variously as the `Tomb of Agamemnon` or `Treasury of Arteus`.
We start with the museum, cleverly located in the lower part of the site, behind the hillside and camouflaged by some vegetation. The museum is indeed an excellent addition to the site, well designed, spacious and with informatively labelled, interesting displays organised in chronological order and also divided secondarily into subject areas (burials, trade women etc.). The original `treasures` found by Schliemann are still in Athens, but the museum has perfectly reasonable replicas of these. Looking at the golden mask of a man buried over three millennia ago, with individual features still clearly present, cannot but bring a shiver to any person with an ounce of imagination. No wonder Schliemann believed it to be the mask of Agamemnon: and who are we to question the myth, especially as no more fitting name and story has been provided since.
The pottery finds are interesting, too, and the comparison of objects from different epochs shows what seems to be the same basic approach underlying widely differing styles of Mycenaean, Oriental, Archaic and Classic decoration. It becomes clear that, despite 800 years difference between the peak of the Mycenaean culture and that of the Classical Greece, there is some form of continuity, stretching even further back in town to the Minoan civilisation of Crete.
So enlightened, we leave the museum to explore the ruins. There are some areas excavated outside the citadel`s walls, including several tholos (round) tombs, a circle containing a group of shaft ones and foundations of what is considered to be merchant houses, but the crowds, and that includes us, are drawn behind the walls, through the gate and then to the top of the hill.
I remember standing in front of the Lion Gate for the first time in my life, when I was barely 18, on a much hotter August day 17 years ago, and it was one of these dream-come-true epiphanies: visiting a site one has never seen before but one that is so well imagined, read about and seen on pictures and photos that the whole experience acquires a strange homecoming quality. This time wasn`t like that: but it was still impressive enough to make me glad of revisiting Mycenae.
We walk through the Lion Gate and spend the next hour and half or so exploring the citadel. Mycenae is a rambling ruin and the fact that it`s located on a hill makes it harder to make immediate sense of what`s visible. There are many information panels distributed throughout the site and they give some idea of what was the function of a particular building, though not that much seems to be known and it often is impossible to separate the myth, the guesswork and the fact.
Almost immediately to the right of the Lion Gate is the internal grave circle, where, against a better judgement of every authority and in a touching faith to his ancient sources, Schliemann found what he believed to be the Agamemnon`s treasure.
The outlines of many buildings are clearly visible and a lot of the original walls remain (or have been rebuilt) to significant height. Most of the paths round the site have been concreted and a few steel mesh bridges have been installed. All of it makes the site look rather sanitised with overbearing concern for safety, but on the plus side it also means it will be at least partially accessible to wheelchairs, though the paths are often rather steep so some help would be needed.
We climb up to the top of the hill round the back of the battlements and have a little lunchtime picnic amongst some classic period ruins with a wonderful view across the plain, towards Argos, Nafplio and the sea. The site is certainly well protected by the two hills - apparently nobody ever sacked it (not clear how many tried) - and defended by its still formidable walls. I don`t know if it`s the location, the influence of the bloody myth or simply the shape and size of the stones, but the overall feeling is rather dark: it speaks of intrigue, deception and murder, or war and tyranny, and nothing to make up for it: the light of the classic Greece had not been lit yet when this citadel was housing their ancestors.
The highlight of the citadel is what is known as Agamemnon`s palace: a complex of buildings near the top of the hill in which the throne room as well as megaron with its four bases for (long gone) wooden columns could be clearly distinguished. It`s from this that the future temples of antiquity will descend. These are the roots of Parthenon.
We walk down the hill and past the gate and the car park, down the road to the beehive tomb mentioned before. It`s certainly a most impressive structure, its lintel stone weighing some 120 tonnes. Walking inside, into the dark, cool and slightly dank interior feels - now, after several millennia - like walking into a cave rather than a man-made structure. Man-made it is, though, the great dome built of hewn stones is still intact and the shape produces strange vibrating resonance in the skull of a person speaking when standing in the middle of the circle. It`s not clear if the tomb has been ever used for its intended purpose but it reminds the most persuasive proof of the engineering skills of the people who built Mycenae.
Suitably humbled we walk back to the car park to have an ice-cream and wait for the return bus to Nafplio.
****
Boring stuff:
The site closed at 15:00 when we visited but it was soon to change to 17:00. Check the opening hours if you plan to go in the afternoon.
We spent over 4 hours at the site but normal visitors, especially on a hot day, could probably easily cover it in 2.5. I would say, though, that 1.5 is an absolute minimum, and that would probably mean missing either the museum or the Tomb of Agamemnon. If you have to miss one, miss the museum, especially if you are going to visit the National Archeological Museum in Athens.
The entrance ticket was 8 euro and covered all three parts of the site.
There is a refreshment (large portakabin type) café outside in the car park and toilets on the site and in the museum building.
At the time (late May) the site was well visited but not exceedingly crowded. My guess would be that in the high season it would become almost unbearably crowded, with the requisite compliment of tour groups so typical of major sites.
On a sunny day it is imperative that you take a hat, light coloured clothing, sunglasses and a lot of water.
Mycenae is accessible by bus from Nafplio (1hr, 4 buses a day) and by train from Corinth (1 hr, but the train stops at the modern village which means that you have to walk about 2 km to the site or take a cab). It`s also possible to do a day trip from Athens by car or train.
Summary: One of the most important sites of prehistoric Greece, fascinating ruins, good museum, great views
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