The palace of Mycenae was built On a relatively low hill, 278 m. above sea-level and 40-50 m. above the surrounding plain. The houses and tombs were situated all around the palace. There are two other higher, abrupt hills on either side, Prophet Elias the north (805 rn.) and Zara (660 m.) to the south. Two deep and precipitous ravines, the Kokoretsa on the Prophet Elias side, and the Havos on the Zara side, isolate the hill of Mycenae, allowing access only from the western slope.

Tradition has it that the founder of Mycenae was Perseus, son of Zeus and Danae; it was he who had the mythical Cyclopes - the builders of Tiryns erect the walls of the citadel for him, which for that reason became known as Cyclopean walls. Perseus grandson, and the last king of this line, was Eurystheus, who set Heracles the task of performing his famous twelve labours, and who was killed in Attica without leaving any descendants. The Mycenaeans chose as his successor his brother-in-law, Atreus, son of Pelops, who proved a good ruler and did much to strengthen Mycenae. However, his enmity towards his brother Thyestes led him to give the unfortunate man the flesh of his own children to eat (the so called Thyestean feast). This deed brought upon Atreus and all his descendants the wrath of the gods and Thyestes' curse: his son and heir Agamemnon, who assumed the leadership of the Greeks on the expedition to Troy, was slaughtered on his return from the war by his own wife, assisted by her lover,Aegisthus; Orestes, the son of  Agamemnon, and his sister Electra killed both their mother and Aegisthus, after which Orestes was forced to flee, pursued by Erinnyes, until he finally was acquitted by the Areopagus. The last king of Mycenae according to tradition, was Tisamenos, Orestes' son; he was killed while defending his countrv from an incursion by the Heraclids.

The Lion Gate. One of the most imposing structures of all times, was the main entrance to the citadel. The approach followed a natural uphill path, leading to a narrow space between the smooth, steep rock on the left and a long, narrow bastion (14.8Cm. x 7.23 m.) on the right.. At the end of this narrow space, in which the. aggressors were forced to huddle together, exposed on all sides to the volleys of the guard, there is the gate, which consists of four single conglomerate blocks.  These enormous blocks, like the stones that were used in the construction of the wall, were rolled to the site on ramps, and the finishing was done on the spot.

In order to relieve the lintel of some oft he weight of the superstructure, the ashlar courses at both its ends which are supported by the door jambs, corbel out progressively leaving a triangular empty space - the so-called relieving triangle - which is a kind of simple arch characteristic of Mycenaecin architecture. For practical as well as aesthetic reasons, this empty triangle was filled in with a slab of hard limestone bearing in relief two lions after which the gate was named

Lion Gate

Lion Gate

Grave Circle. Originally -i.e. in the 16th century B.C. this consisted of a group of large shaft graves, unquestionably used for royal burials. They were dug on the slope of the eastern end of the Middle Helladic cemetery of Mycenae, and were enclosed by a low circular rubble wall of which only a very small section has remained. The building of the Lion Gate and the west fortification wall, at a much higher level, relegated the tombs to the bottom of a large, artificial hollow, practically inaccessible, and possibly dangerous, owing to the waters that gathered there. In order to bring the burial ground to the level of the acropolis entrance, a stout, battered wall was built on the slope over the old enclosure, to retain the fill which covered the graves.

Grave Circle A.  Located inside the citadel of Mycenae, enclosing an area of 27.5 m. in diameter.  The circle wall consists mainly of sandstone and breccia plaque, placed in such a way as to form an apparently solid wall 1.35 m. thick and between 0.92m and 1.52 m high.  The circle includes 6 royal tombs which were dug in the bedrock.  The contained skeletons and wealthy grave goods, now exhibited in the National Archaeological Museum.