Dido, Queen of Carthage

Gold diadem and necklace from Grave Circle A at Mycenae, Greece. These artefacts date to c. 1600-1100 B.C.E.

Courtesy of & currently located at the National Archaeological Museum, Athens. Photos taken by Steven Zucker.

Cyclopean Tiryns

The archaeological site of Tiryns is one of two great cities of the Mycenaean civilization, the other being Mycenae. They dominated the Mediterranean from the 15th to 12th century BC, playing a vital role in the development of classical Greek culture, architecture and urban design. These two cities are forever linked to the Homeric epics, the Iliad and The Odyssey which have influenced European art and literature for more than three millennia.

Tiryns had been inhabited as a hill fort since the Neolithic period. The oldest structure on the upper citadel is from the early Bronze age (c. 3000 BC). A new fortified palace complex was constructed in the 14th century BC and the defenses were extended in the early 13th century BC along with the Lower Citadel fortifications.

Tiryns reached its height between 1400 and 1200 BC.  Its most notable features were its palace, its cyclopean tunnels and especially its walls, which gave the city its Homeric epithet of “mighty walled Tiryns”. Tradition also associates the walls with Proetus, the sibling of Acrisius, king of Argos. According to the legend Proetus, pursued by his brother, fled to Lycia. With the help of the Lycians, he managed to return to Argolis. There, Proetus occupied Tiryns and fortified it with the assistance of the cyclops, because only giants of superhuman strength could have lifted the enormous stones. The city was also linked to the myths surrounding Heracles, as this is where he recieved his 12 labors with some sources citing it as his birthplace.

Tiryns went into decline at the end of the Mycenaean period (c. 1100 BC) and in 468 BC, Argos completely destroyed both Mycenae and Tiryns. When Pausanias the geographer visited in the 2nd century AD, the city was deserted. He made the remark that that two mules pulling together could not move even the smaller stones of the walls of Tiryns.

Ancient Mycenaean funeral mask identified as the mask of Agamemnon, gold, found in Tomb V in Mycenae. 16th century BC, currently located at the National Archeological Museum of Athens.