Overview

Famous from ancient Greek literature as King Agamemnon's capital, Mycenae was the site of almost unbroken excavation during the 20th century, and this continues today. In presenting a full up-to-date account of the site and placing it in its geographical and historical setting, the author concentrates on the great buildings of the citadel--the Lion Gate, the Cult Centre, and the Palace Complex--which flourished during the palatial Period in the 14th and 13th centuries BC. But she also investigates the legends associated with Mycenae and examines the evidence for the pre-palatial and post-palatial periods. Additionally, she is able to incorporate new information on the town and tombs outside the citadel.

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9780752419510

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Long before Alexander built an empire that stretched to the banks of the Indus, before Xerxes launched his Persian army into an invasion of Greece, before the vicious Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta, the Bronze Age Mediterranean in the 13th and 14th centuries BC was ruled from Mycenae. The citadel, balanced on a rocky outcrop surveying the plains of the north-east Peloponnese, has been the focus of centuries of archaeological investigation. Roman archaeo-traveller Pausanias was the first to record his interest in writing in the second century AD. And Elizabeth French, who has taken part in almost every dig there since the Second World War and doubtless read every book on Mycenae published since Pausanias, is the ideal guide to the current state of knowledge about the site. A Tutankhamun's tomb of archaeological detail, this volume covers the mythological background, important structures, economy and pottery of the city. Detailed maps and photographs show the city's layout and its Peloponnesian setting. Numerous drawings record the innumerable archaeological finds. But don't expect too many diversions into Homeric fable. Though legend and the Iliad claim Mycenae was home to King Agamemnon, who launched a thousand ships on Troy, the book rarely drifts into unverifiable conjecture. And though the style is terse and academic - limiting the book's appeal to specialists or seriously curious tourists - if you count yourself among that group, I doubt there's another out there to match it. (Kirkus UK)

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