Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/397

 MYCENAE. geian plain, which spread out under its walls towards the west and south ; and secondly the most import- ant roads from the Corinthian gulf, the roads from Phlius, Nemea, Cleonae, and Corinth, unite in the mountains above filycenae, and pass under the height upon which the city stands. It was said to have been built by Perseus (Strab. viii. p. 377 ; Pans. ii. 15. §4, ii. 16. §3), and its massive walls were be- lieved to have been the work of the Cyclopes. Hence Euripides calls Mycenae Tr6i(rfj.a Tlepaews, KvkXu- itiwv irdvov x^P^'' {.^P^i^S- *'* Atd. 1500). It was the favourite residence of the Pelopidae, and under Agamemnon was regarded as the first city in Greece. Hence it is called rroAvxpvaros by Homer (7/. vii. 180, xi. 46), who also gives it the epithets of evpvdyvia (^11. iv. 52) and evKrlfievov icroU6pov (^11. ii. 569). Its greatness belongs only to the heroic age, and it ceased to be a place of importance after the return of the Heracleidae and the settlement of the Dorians in Argos, which then became the first city in the plain. Mycenae, however, maintained its independence, and sent some of its citizens to the assistance of the Greeks against the host of Xerxes, although the Ar- gives kept aloof from the common cause. Eighty Mycenaeans were present at Thermopylae (Herod. vii. 202), and 400 of their citizens and of the Tiryn- thians fought at Plataeae (Herod, ix. 28). In li.c. 468, the Dorians of Argos, resolving to bring the whole district under their sway, laid siege to Jlycenae ; but the massive walls resisted all their attacks, and they were obliged to have recourse to a blockade. Famine at length compelled the inha- bitants to abandon the city ; more than half of them MYCENAE. 381 took refuge in JIacedonia, and the remainder in Cle- onae and Ceryneia. (Diod. xi. 65 ; Strab. viii. pp. 372, 377; Paus. ii. 16. § 5, v. 23. § 3, vii. 25. § 3, viii. 27. § 1.) From this time Mycenae remained uninhabited, for the Argives took care that this strong fortress should remain desolate. Strabo, how- ever, committed a gross exaggeration in saying that there was not a vestige of Mycenae extant in his time (viii. p. 372). The ruins were visited by Pau- sanias, who gives the following account of them (ii. 15, 16): — " Eeturning to the pass of the Tretus, and following the road to Argos, you have the ruins of Mycenae on the left hand. Several parts of the enclosure remain, and among them is the gate upon which the lions stand. These also are said to be the work of the Cyclopes, who built the walls of Tiryns for Proetus. Among the ruins of the city there is a fountain named Perseia, and subterraneous build- ings (^vTToyala olKo^op.-i][j.aTa) of Atreus and his sons, in which their treasures were deposited. There are likewise the tombs of Atreus, of his charioteer Eurymedon, of Electra, and a sepulchre in common of Teledamus and Pelops, who are said to have been twin sons of Cassandra. But Clytaemnestra and Aegisthus were buried at a little distance from the walls, being thought unworthy of burial where Aga- menmon lay." The ruins of Mycenae are still very extensive, and, with the exception of those of Tiryns, are more ancient than those of any other city in Greece. They belong to a period long antecedent to all historical records, and may be regarded as the genuine relics of the heroic age. A. Acropolis. B C. Subterraneous building, usually called the Treasury of Atreus. Mycenae consisted of an Acropolis and a lower town, each defended by a wall. The Acropolis was situated on the summit of a steep hill, projecting from a higher mountain behind it. The lower town lay on the south-western slope of the hill, on either side of which runs a torrent from east to west. The Acropolis is in form of an irregular triangle. PLAN OF THE RUINS OF MYCEN.UD. Gate of Lions. | D. Subterraneous building. E. ViUage of Kharv^ti. of which the base fronts the south-west, and the apex the east. On the southern side the cliffs are almost precipitous, overhanging a deep gorge; but on the northern side the descent is less steep and rugged. The summit of the hill is rather more than 1000 feet in length, and around the edge the ruined walls of the Acropolis still exist in their entire cir-