I can see why we started off the trip in Mycenae. It is one of the most ancient locations (dating back to between 2000 and 1500 BC), the culture here profoundly influenced western thought, and we were introduced to the megaron, which was repeated in the temples we saw throughout the rest of the trip. There were 3 main things we saw in the Mycenae site: fortifications; the citadel; and the burial grounds.
The wall (originally built in 1350 BC) used as fortification, required technology to build, and shows that the ancient Achaean (Greek) civilization had a military. The wall was expanded in 1250 BC to include and protect the burial tombs. We can see the advancement of technology in the differences between these two walls. This first ring has non-exact masonry with varying sized stones that don’t line up. The second ring, on the other hand, has more precise masonry with consistent stones that do line up.
The citadel was not only where the king resided, but also held the most important parts of the settlement. When foreign ambassadors came to Mycenae, the king hosted them in the megaron, which was a square room with a hearth surrounded by 4 columns in the center. The hearth being in the center of the room instead of on the wall is unusual, but we must remember that the people were nomadic and thus were used to living in tents, where the central focus was in the middle.
The burial grounds are debatably the most important part of this site, because what was found in them allowed us to put together the story of the Achaeans. The burial chamber has 3 parts: the “domos” or the walkway up to the chamber; the “stromion” or the mouth of the chamber; and the “tholos” or the circular shaped chamber. We saw 3 burial chambers here. The tomb of Egistos, build around 1450 BC was the oldest and shows one of the earliest attempts at bridging the gap of a roof. The next two showed the evolution of the building process with the 3rd and latest one being the best preserved and most carefully built.
Here, we also saw that location was important to the Achaeans. Each stronghold needed to have access to water and to be a in a good defensive location, either high up on a rock or having a rock or hill nearby. We will see this concept of good location repeated in many of the ancient Greek sites.
The wall (originally built in 1350 BC) used as fortification, required technology to build, and shows that the ancient Achaean (Greek) civilization had a military. The wall was expanded in 1250 BC to include and protect the burial tombs. We can see the advancement of technology in the differences between these two walls. This first ring has non-exact masonry with varying sized stones that don’t line up. The second ring, on the other hand, has more precise masonry with consistent stones that do line up.
The citadel was not only where the king resided, but also held the most important parts of the settlement. When foreign ambassadors came to Mycenae, the king hosted them in the megaron, which was a square room with a hearth surrounded by 4 columns in the center. The hearth being in the center of the room instead of on the wall is unusual, but we must remember that the people were nomadic and thus were used to living in tents, where the central focus was in the middle.
The burial grounds are debatably the most important part of this site, because what was found in them allowed us to put together the story of the Achaeans. The burial chamber has 3 parts: the “domos” or the walkway up to the chamber; the “stromion” or the mouth of the chamber; and the “tholos” or the circular shaped chamber. We saw 3 burial chambers here. The tomb of Egistos, build around 1450 BC was the oldest and shows one of the earliest attempts at bridging the gap of a roof. The next two showed the evolution of the building process with the 3rd and latest one being the best preserved and most carefully built.
Here, we also saw that location was important to the Achaeans. Each stronghold needed to have access to water and to be a in a good defensive location, either high up on a rock or having a rock or hill nearby. We will see this concept of good location repeated in many of the ancient Greek sites.
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