Mycenae Archaeological Site

Pass through the Lion Gate into the citadel of Agamemnon, leader of the Greeks at Troy. Mycenae's Linear B tablets (1400-1200 BC) contain the first Greek wine records - inventory lists of wine quantities stored for the palace. The Treasury of Atreus (tholos tomb) and the palace ruins evoke an age when wine was both sacred offering and royal prerogative. UNESCO World Heritage site.

What to do there

3 things to do

1. 1 Pass Through the Lion Gate Into the World's First Documented Wine Culture History · Price: moderate

   The Lion Gate (~1250 BC) is the sole surviving monumental Bronze Age sculpture in the Aegean. Every king who drank wine from a golden cup passed through it.

   This gate is 3,275 years old and still standing. Every Mycenaean king who drank from the golden cups Schliemann found in 1876 walked through this exact threshold. The Linear B tablets found here contain the FIRST written word for wine in Greek - the same ideogram that became 'oinos', 'vino', 'vin', and ultimately 'wine' in every European language. Buy the combined ticket (€20 adult, includes site + museum + Treasury of Atreus) at the main entrance to the citadel of Mycenae. Arrive before 9am to have the Lion Gate to yourself - tour buses arrive 10am-2pm. Stand directly under the lion relief and look up, then walk into Grave Circle A where Schliemann found the golden cups.

   Backup: The Treasury of Atreus (tholos tomb, 1250 BC) is 400m from the main site and included in the combined ticket. If the main site is crowded, start there - its 9-meter entrance passage and 14-meter beehive dome are extraordinary even without crowds. Open April-Oct 8am-8pm, Nov-Mar shorter hours.

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2. 2 Find Grave Circle A - Where Schliemann's Golden Wine Cups Were Buried History · Free

   The shaft graves inside the Lion Gate are where Heinrich Schliemann found the golden cups in 1876, proving Homer was writing history not fantasy.

   On November 28, 1876, Schliemann stood in this exact circle and telegraphed King George of Greece: 'I have gazed upon the face of Agamemnon.' He'd just opened Shaft Grave V and found a golden burial mask, golden cups, and hundreds of other gold objects. At least one golden wine cup was in EVERY burial. Wine was so essential to Mycenaean life they literally took their drinking vessels to the afterlife. Immediately inside the Lion Gate on the left, walk the inner perimeter of Grave Circle A slowly. Find the location of Shaft Grave IV - this one contained Nestor's Cup (the golden goblet that matches Homer's Iliad description precisely). Homer wrote about this cup ~700 BC, describing events from 1200 BC. The cup was found in 1876. Homer was right.

   Backup: The circular stone slabs around Grave Circle A are original - they were placed by later Mycenaeans to mark the site as sacred (ca. 1300 BC). Touch them. They're 3,300 years old and free to approach once you have site admission.

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3. 3 Read the Amphora That Proves Retsina Is 3,300 Years Old Wine · Free

   The wine storage amphorae at Mycenae contained traces of wine mixed with pine resin - the first documented retsina, predating its supposed 'origins' by over a millennium.

   Archaeologists analyzing clay amphorae and stirrup jars from Mycenae found wine residue mixed with tree resin - identical chemistry to modern retsina. This is from 1200-1400 BC. The story Greeks tell about retsina's origin (that they sealed Roman amphora with pine pitch and acquired a taste for it) is wrong. Mycenaean KINGS drank resin-infused wine from GOLD cups 3,300 years ago. At the palace ruins in the upper citadel, find the storage magazines (long narrow rooms along the palace perimeter). These held hundreds of amphorae of wine, oil, and grain. Look for the tablet reproduction showing the wine ideogram - a goblet symbol. This is the first Greek word for wine, and 'Dionysus' appears on those same tablets.

   Backup: The site's information panels near the palace and grave circles explain the wine evidence clearly. Audio guides (available at ticket office) have dedicated wine archaeology sections. If boards are sun-faded, the Mycenae Museum has the same content with better lighting.

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Insider tips

• Arrive at 8am opening to avoid crowds and heat

• The Treasury of Atreus is free - don't miss it

• Bring binoculars to study the Lion Gate carvings

• The site museum shows Linear B wine tablets