Mycenae

120km from Athens

Mycenae

The fortified citadel of ancient Mycenae, the seat of the mythical and mighty King Agamemnon. An impressive and well-preserved site, the city of Mycenae gave its name to an entire civilization. Admire sites such as the Tomb of Clytemnestra, the infamous Lion’s Gate, the Cyclopean walls and learn of their blood-stained past. In the second millennium BC, Mycenae was one of the major centres of Greek civilization, a military stronghold which dominated much of southern Greece, Crete, the Cyclades, and parts of southwest Anatolia. The period of Greek history from about 1600 BC to about 1100 BC is called Mycenaean in reference to Mycenae. At its peak in 1350 BC, the citadel and lower town had a population of 30,000 and an area of 32 hectares.

Available Tours to Mycenae

Archaeological site of Mycenae

The archaeological site of Mycenae comprises the fortified acropolis and surrounding funerary and habitation sites, which are located mainly to its west and southwest. Most of the visible monuments date to the centre's great floruit, from 1350 to 1200 BC. Great Cyclopean walls surround the almost triangular acropolis, which is accessed from the northwest through the famous Lion Gate, the symbol of the Mycenaean rulers' power. The gate was named after the two opposing lions carved in relief and set into the relieving triangle, a typical feature of Mycenaean architecture, over the door.

Lion Gate

The Lion Gate was the main entrance of the Bronze Age citadel of Mycenae, southern Greece. It was erected during the 13th century BC, around 1250 BC, in the northwest side of the acropolis and is named after the relief sculpture of two lionesses or lions in a heraldic pose that stands above the entrance. The Lion Gate is the sole surviving monumental piece of Mycenaean sculpture, as well as the largest sculpture in the prehistoric Aegean. It is the only monument of Bronze Age Greece to bear an iconographic motif that survived without being buried underground, and the only relief image which was described in the literature of classical antiquity, such that it was well known prior to modern archaeology.

Archaeological Museum of Mycenae

The Archaeological Museum of Mycenae is found at the entrance of the ancient site, just a few steps before the Lion Gate.

Treasury of Atreus

The Treasury of Atreus or Tomb of Agamemnon is a large tholos or beehive tomb on Panagitsa Hill at Mycenae constructed during the Bronze Age around 1250 BC. The stone lintel above the doorway weighs 120 tons, with approximate dimensions 8.3 x 5.2 x 1.2m, the largest in the world. The tomb was used for an unknown period. Mentioned by the Roman geographer Pausanias in the 2nd century AD, it was still visible in 1879 when the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann discovered the shaft graves under the "agora" in the Acropolis at Mycenae.

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Trip Advisor Reviews

Wonderful day exploring Ancient Corinth, Epidaurus, Nafplio full day private tour from Athens. Everything was just perfect and our guide was fabulous!! So Knowledgeable about everything that we saw. It was a wonderful day truly enjoyable thank you!

DanaB

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29/11/2022

Delphi was magnificent! So much more than we thought it would be. The grounds were magical (as expected) and the museum was outstanding. The artifacts all around were definitely something to behold. Words and pictures cannot do them justice. Just to think how these temples and stadiums were built is mind blowing! We are also very grateful that we had Takis as our guide/driver. He was very friendly, helpful and professional, gave us good information and tips, and took us through all the winding city streets of Arachova. Another gem of a town we thoroughly enjoyed!

Donna D

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27/10/2022

This was by far one of the most interesting and informative tours I have ever received, all thanks to our amazing tour guide Panos! He was extremely knowledgeable in terms of Greek History, as well as World History. He graciously answered all our questions in great detail. We will always remember this awesome tour not only because of the amazing sites and history, but also Panos’s company and humor.

Saad R

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29/12/2022

Our driver and Greek philosopher, Notis, was a pleasure to spend the day with. He is so knowledgeable about all things Greek. We visited three monasteries in the sky — all had incredible views of the cliffs. You don’t have to be religious to appreciate the contemplativeness of this holy place. Thank you, Notis, for creating a memorable experience!

lorenzo

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11/10/2022

Everything was wonderful, Dimitris was a wealth of knowledge, and showed us around the city, while letting us do so at our own pace. Highly recommend!

Alexandra E

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12/09/2022

We were a group of four. This was our post cruise extension in Athens. We specifically wanted to visit ancient Corinth, to follow the footsteps of the Apostle Paul in the Bible. I worked with the manager Aris prior to departure, on the details of pick up/drop off, and to obtain a licensed tour guide (additional cost) with biblical knowledge of Corinth. Aris was very responsive and communicated well and timely. Our pickup by driver George at port Piraeus was prompt and smooth. George was a gentleman, friendly, courteous, safe driver, always ready to get to the doors and came prepared with cold water bottles in the trunk. We had nice chats with George enroute to Corinth canal, about the local area and especially enjoyed learning about olive farming from him.

Jen J

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11/09/2022

We booked on TripAdvisor and communicated ahead of time about where we would meet our driver. Everything went very smoothly with the pickup and Dimitri was very friendly. He shared interesting information about his life, how he grew up, Greek history, mythology and more. He has a very nice Mercedes taxi, and it was a very smooth comfortable ride. We stopped at the Corinth Canal and then had about an hour and 15 minutes at the Mycenae site. He recommended a popular souvlaki place when we returned to Athens and overall, it was a great half day trip!

Chris A

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09/09/2022

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