Homeric World – Key Sites Flashcards

Question

Describe Mykenae's south sally port

Answer 1

2.5 metres wide. Visible from some distance – questionable how effective it was as a defence measure, or whether it was actually for something else.

Answer 2

Accessed from a passage that comes from within the citadel 18 metres underground Collects water through a series of clay pipes in the roof. The water came from the natural spring that lay close to the city. If attackers lay siege and tried to cut off the water, the Mykenaeans could secretly get to a supply of water to enable them to hold out for a long time

Answer 3

Impressive feat of engineering and construction: even the Ancient Greeks could not understand how they were built, calling them **Cyclopean Walls**. First phase began around 1350BC; it was enlarged a century later and finished around 1200BC. It was **900m long**. The northern wall is between 5.5 and 7.5m thick. It is estimated that the wall rose to up to 12m high. It is 8.25m high at the Lion Gate. Built from limestone blocks weighing around **2 tonnes** from local quarries.

Answer 4

Most impressive work of masonry in the Ancient Greek world. Main entrance to the city and built 13thC BC The **approach is along an uphill path**. The surrounding wall is of a conglomerate rock unlike the rest of the limestone walls. It is shinier and smoother than limestone. the opening is square; it has two vertical supports (jambs - [Fr.- legs!] The lintel (horizontal beam on top) weights 20 tonnes. Above the lintel is the corbel arch. Holes in the threshold and lintel indicate that there the gate had doors and a bar to lock them.

Answer 5

Two lions are carved in relief. (carved into but stand proud of the flatness around them) The lions have paws on altars. Their heads have not survived but probably faced forward to those entering the city (**symbolism - power, strong, site of Kings, solemnity, majesty**) Columns above the altars are typically Minoan – thicker at top. Defenders either side of the gate could hurl stones and arrows on any attackers.

Answer 6

Grave Circle B - 200m to the west of the city. 24 graves dated to 1700-1500C BC. The graves are enclosed by a stone wall of diameter 28m. Objects found there suggest that half the graves were of the Royal Family. 35 bodies of men, women, and children. Some were marked by an upright stela. Carved stelai = male; uncarved = female. Part of Clytemnestra's tomb was built on top of the graveyard.

Answer 7

Circle A was found before B but is younger. Similar to B: 20m diameter. Shaft graves, but deeper than B. Royal burial site, and from what was found there, it has been date from 1600-1501. At the time of the Lion Gate construction, the Grave Circle's wall was raised and grander tombs were created for the dead - perhaps honouring the ancestral greats. Six shaft graves - 9 women, 8 men, 2 children buried **precious objects** of gold, silver, amber, glass, ivory, indicative of wealth and prestige. The ***stelai* were elaborately carved**, three of which depict **chariot scenes**. Some gold objects weighed 14kg (£840,000 each in today's prices) Homer called **Mykenae 'rich in gold'**

Answer 8

The so-called tombs of **Clytemnesta** and **Aegisthus** and the **Treasury of Atreus**. They did not house Clytemnestra (married first to Agammenon and secondly to Aegisthus) - they were named relatively recently by locals. Atreus' tomb may have been his: Pausanias wrote, "In the ruins of Mycenae ... there are also undergound resting places of Atreus and his children. Their treasure was kept in these chambers." These were built 1400-1301BC (14th C) and are known as **tholos** tombs. They lie west of the city. 'Clytemnestra's and Aegisthus' tombs were 13m in diameter and Aegithus' was also 13m high. The tombs had been robbed in Ancient times.

Answer 9

Tiryns is built on a hill like Mykanae. 300m long, 45-100m wide. Dates from 2500BC **City walls built in Mykenaen times 1400 onwards**. 1300BC - Eastern gate constructed. Western wall added with curved defences: ***Iliad* refers to Tiryns as "surrounded by walls."** Walls also said to have been built by Cyclopeans, brought by Proitos from Turkey; they used to be 10m high. The **approach was on the east side and up a ramp,** now called the Cyclopean Ramp, again reflecting its size. Little remains today though.

Answer 10

3m high, 3m wide (similar width to Lion gate) Pivot holds for the doors are visible and slots for a bar to lock the gates. Attackers would be trapped by narrow passage leading to the gate and defenders could hurl objects and missiles from the walls.

Answer 11

Most were straight but the west wall has a deliberate curve to it

Answer 12

Built on the highest part of Tiryns called the Upper City. **It had its own defensive walls.**

Answer 13

A grand entrance to the megaron (central hall) with four wooden pillars around a central hearth. To the east was the King's throne. The plastered floor had images of octopi and dolphins. The plastered walls had frescoes of rich ladies on a hunting scene. Off the megaron were the rulers' apartments and colonnades; there was even a 'wet room' bathroom whose floor was made of polished limestone and was holed to allow for drainage. **Two staircases hint that there was a second storey.**

Answer 14

The galleries were build into the outer wall of the city; they used the corbelling technique to create vaulted roofs. A large number of rooms were accessible from the galleries and in the 1200s, an extra loop to the wall extended the site to include workshops and houses.

Answer 15

Half mile away from Tiryns, built into the side of a hill, 6m tall, 6m wide and an entrance 1.5m high. Contains a large round stone, possibly an altar. Corbelled roof and massive stone blocks holding up the roof of the entrance.

Answer 16

*The Iliad*

Answer 17

It was populated in the Mykeneaen age. There is evidence of several wars fought at Troy and, mixed up, they may recount the literary siege of Troy that Homer threw into one story.

Answer 18

Troy VI and VIIa

Answer 19

* It was destroyed around 1250BC - the Trojan war is traditionally dated to 1200. * It seems to have been a rich town with large houses. * Its stone walls were over 7m high - which *The Iliad* refers to. * The walls had towers, which *The Iliad* refers to. * It extended over a large area suggestive of a population of 10,000, which indicates the thriving city of *The Iliad*.

Answer 20

Archaeologists believe that Troy VI was destroyed by an earthquake not the fire of the story. It was supplanted by Troy VIIa, which only lasted for 30-40 years and which may have been Homer's reference.

Answer 21

* It had large towers. * It had single storey houses - built in a short period which may indicate the building of emergency houses for the Trojans seeking refuge against Greek attacks. * Storage jars were sunk deep into the ground perhaps for a protracted siege (keeps the foods cold). * It was destroyed by a large fire. * Partial human remains have been found, possibly victims of the siege. * Three bronze arrowheads have been found. * BUT - the crammed housing does not reflect Homer's view that Troy was rich. * The sunken jars may not indicate a siege but simply a lack of storage space.