Mycenae invites you to discover its fascinating legends with an original audio tour! Follow in the footsteps of its early inhabitants while your audio guide will shed light upon various aspects of daily life, fashion, eating habits and funerary traditions of a civilization lost in prehistory. You will also explore one of the most famed crime scenes of the Heroic Age while weaving through the ruins where the so-called Mask of Agamemnon was unearthed by the famed archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann. The stories of Agamemnon, Clytemnestra, and their children will come alive through a riveting storytelling concept. When back from Mycenae, you will know for good that myths are not always children stories and that sometimes archaeological findings, before unearthed, were washed in blood!
* Note that the audio tour covers the areas of the archaeological site & the Treasury of Atreus. It doesn’t include a tour of the museum. Ticket/entrance fee to the archaeological site is not included.
The greatest city of the Mycenaean civilization is infused with an unparalleled mythological tradition, full of atrocities that seem to have no equal in the history of humankind. As you walk the alleys of Mycenae, and take in the magnificent view from the top of the hill, you can almost feel the presence of the mighty king, and hear the sinister whispers of his duplicitous spouse, as she prepared to bring down her sword on his defenceless head.
The tour begins outside the acropolis, where the visitor can best appreciate the magnificent Cyclopean Walls. The size of the boulders and the perfection of the construction can not help but impress anyone who sees them. The Lions’ Gate is unforgettable, with the two lions that guard the city and intimidate all intruders. But Mycenae was above all else a place where people lived; the Granary by the Gate reminds us of their dietary requirements. The Grave Circle A was long considered to be the burial ground of King Agamemnon and amazed the archaeologists with the famous gold masks and other precious objects they unearthed. The Great Ramp was the main thoroughfare that everybody followed on their way to the palace. The Megaron, with its impressive hearth, was the heart of the acropolis, where Agamemnon would hold council and welcome his guests. The Secret Cistern remains as impressive and dark today as it was back in the day, nested in the foot of the hill where the signal announcing Agamemnon’s return first appeared. As you leave the acropolis, you come across the last tholos tomb ever built, traditionally attributed to Clytemnestra herself, as well as the undistinguished ruins of the House of the Oil Merchant, that may not seem like much but once contained a thriving industry that supplied the palace with luxurious furniture. And since you are here, don’t neglect to walk the short distance to the Treasury of Atreus, perhaps the single most impressive architectural monument of the Mycenaean civilization.
To take this self-guided tour you will need the app on your iOS or Android device.
HIGHLIGHTS
• See the Lions’ Gate bastion, from where the defenders could rain deadly missiles on the attackers.
• Climb the Great Ramp, used by Agamemnon himself to reach his royal residence.
• Visit the Megaron, with the imposing hearth and the remains of the gypsum aisle that protected the painted floor.
• Explore the Secret Cistern, with its ominous staircase leading outside the walls in complete darkness.
See the massive 120-ton lintel above the doorway of the Treasury of Atreus, the largest vaulted space without interior supports for more than 1000 years.
Audio: English