The Theatre of Epidaurus was build in the 4th century BC and is still in use today. If you look at the people standing in the center, you can see a small stone slab which is in the middle of the theatre. If you stand on it and speak (even softly), your voice can be heard in the very back row. The acoustics are simply amazing to experience.
Ok firstly, this is almost certainly not the actual grave of Agamemnon. Agamemnon was the king of Mycenae and is most famous for his role in the sacking of Troy told to us in the Iliad by Homer (a book you really should read – I recommend Lattimore or Lombardo’s translations). But it is undoubtably the tomb of a king, and probably a king that pre-dates Agamemnon.
The door to this tholos tomb (beehive tomb) measures over 5m tall, the lintel above the door, which weigh over 100tons each!
We will never know who was burried there, but it is a remarkable place to visit.
In my last post I shared a photo of the Lion’s Gate in Mycenae. Today I’m sharing the view from the middle of the city you can see the walls and various paths.
And below is another gate. The North Gate is much more simple than the Lion Gate, but it’s still a massive portal with a huge little holding the gate together.
The Lion Gate was the main entrance of Mycenae. It is over 3200 years old. Agamemnon, the Mycenae king and hero in the Iliad by Homer would have walked through this gate to start his travels to fight in Troy, and it was in Mycenae that upon returning from surviving a 10 year war in Troy he was murdered by his wife.
It is a massive structure and a remarkable feeling to trace the footsteps of people that have featured so much in the Greek epics.
No, I am not posting a picture of a toilet. This cistern supplied water to the ancient city of Mycenae around 1600 BCE. It collected water from a spring and sent it under the city for use. You can still walk quite far through the tunnel under the city
The Temple of Hephaistos is one of two original buildings in the Ancient Agora in Athens. The other is the Church of the Holy Apostles. Hephaestus was the god of metal working, craftsmanship, and fire; essentially the god of engineers, and I find it somewhat amusing that the building dedicating the engineer is the one that survived!
Actually the building was used far beyond its original purpose, including as a Greek Orthodox Church, which partly explains its well-preserved state.
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