Mycenae was located in Peloponnese, Greece. There were many Greek mythologies like Cytemnestra myth, Pelops Legacy, and the curse of Agaememnon from Mycenae. These stories shaped the foundation of the Athenian justice system.
The image on the right shows that Peloponnese was on the left of Attica.
The above image shows the overall Mycenae site
A Bronze Age Castle at Mycenae
These two images on the top and on the right show where the Lions Gate was and how it was structured as an aesthetic artwork. The Lions Gate was an oldest work of monumental art in Europe. At the top of the gate, you could see an image of the two lions flanking a pillar and forming a triangle. The lions were standing in a heraldic composition. In addition, the huge stones were piled up around the gate to seem like as if the lions and these stones anchored the gate so Mycenae would be protected from penetration and destruction.
The left image below represents the Cyclopean walls where there were strong and big stones piling up to create a natural stone wall.
The right image below shows the Polygonal mansory with stones of multiple number of sides and angles like the polygons.
The shalf graves was a burial place consisting of rectangular shafts above stone-walled burial chambers.
The Megaron on the left image was a rectangular hall with the surrounding columns and an open hearth that opened to the sky. The Megaron was found in Mycenae palaces and was built as a part of the houses.
Greek mythology:
+Clytemnestra myth: one of the children was born after the story of Leda laying egg and the Swan. Clytemnestra, a child of Leda, was married to Agamemnon. Agamemnon then sacrificed his daughter for Helen's honor and his glory.
The left image represents the story of Leda and the Swan
The right image represents the story of Pelops being cooked. You could see his hand raising up in the pot.
+Pelops Legacy: Pelops was a Father of the Peloponnesus and a founder of the Olympic Games. Pelops was also a son of Tantalus, who cut him off and cooked him for a dinner party of the gods. Pelops still survived after being cooked. He then had two sons, Thyestes and Atreus. Thyestes then had a son named Aegisthus. Then, Aegisthus and Clytemnestra killed Agamemnon. Aegisthus also overturned the house of Atreus and re-established the house of Thyestes. Both Aegisthus and Clytemnestra were both condemned for the killing plot.
Connections to Athens, Greece:
Aeschylus used the story of the cursed and crime-ridden return of Agamemnon to create a mythological formation for the Athenian legal justice system.
National Archeological Museum's object:
Chamber tomb, Voula, Attica, 14th cent.BC
The object represented the ritual vase in the shape of a shoe to demonstrate the shape of the chamber tomb in Mycenae.
I like how the chamber tomb was made into a shoe to represent the depth, length, and structure of the chamber at Mycenae. It is interesting of how they could think of the chamber tomb as a shoe shape that looks ancient and valuable with the patterns.
Reflection:
My favorite part about the Mycenae site was the Lion Gate. I like how the two lions flanked a pillar and formed a triangle. I found it to be an aesthetic artwork. At first, if I just looked at the rock, I would not be able to realize that those were two lions. But when I looked closer and created some imagination in my head, I could see the lions standing in a heraldic composition. Moreover, it was interesting to me that they piled up the huge stones around to anchor the gate. It seemed to me as if the lions were protecting and looking after Mycenae with these giant rocks as their anchor so no one would penetrate and destroy Mycenae. On another topic, the Pelops legacy blew my mind when Pelops was cut off and cooked for dinner, and he survived from that. It seemed very impossible to me and I found the myth to be supernatural. I think that it was inhumane for Tantalus to kill his own son for food, even though I know this was a myth. It was also interesting to see how the myth of Agamemnon's cursed return affected the Athenian legal justice system in Greece. After all, you could learn a moral story from myths, too. Myths also helped us learn more about the Greek gods, too!
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