King Agamemnon
Beehive tomb
As we walked under the towering gates of ancient Mycenae, we explored the tomb circles and the beehive tombs of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra. These beehive tombs echoed astonishingly well and were so dark at the top. We saw a bat fluttering around. Before he died, King Agamemnon was a wise and mighty king but he was also the brother of Menelaus, king of the great city state of Sparta and commander-in-chief of the Greeks during the Trojan War when he led many heroes into war with him.
Mycenae, Lion gate
The legendary King Agamemnon ruled the great city of Mycenae with its amazing lion gates, one of the few entrances mounted on top of the easily defendable hill. The fantastic city of Mycenae was built in 1350 BCE and was passed down from king to king eventually getting to King Agamemnon himself. The titanic city walls were constructed of stones so large that they were called cyclopean walls, at some spots eight meters thick. Right after the walls there lie beehive tombs, houses and a grave circle and then as you slowly walk up the hill admiring the bases of all the houses. Finally at the top of this amazing hill lies the Mycenaean palaces. Here you can see the bases of pillars and the stump of the back wall. Then, as you make your way down the hill on the other side you can now see the underground cistern, more houses, the edge of the thick walls, and a small back entrance.
Mycenae, Cyclopean walls
Mycenae, Tomb circle
The renowned Agamemnon was the brother of Menelaus, King of Sparta and husband of Helen. But Helen was not only the queen of Sparta. She was also the cause of the Trojan war. Right before the Trojan war, Paris was shepherding the king’s sheep at Troy and he stumbled upon three goddesses, Athena, Aphrodite and Hera. Right then, Hermes popped out of a portal and gave Paris a golden apple and told him to give it to the fairest of the goddesses. Athena said, “Give it to me and I will give you ultimate wisdom.” So Aphrodite said, “Let me have the apple and I will give you the prettiest mortal woman as your wife.” But then Hera said, “If you give me the apple, you will rule over Europe and Asia.'' Paris had to think for a while but in the end he picked Aphrodite as the fairest. Around that time, Helen was married to Menelaus, all the kings there pledged to ‘save’ Helen if she were to be kidnapped. But then Paris did kidnap her because he was angry that she was not his wife even though a goddess promised her to him. That was how the Trojan war started.
Troy
King Agamemnon led 100 ships to the 10 year battle at Troy where he was the commander-in-chief of the Greek forces. After the long journey Agamemnon made up and around Asia minor to fight at Troy, the Greeks fought the Trojans to win Helen back and bring her ‘home’. This famous Trojan war ended with the Trojan horse. On the side of the Greeks was Agamemnon, Achilles, Odysseus and Ajax, and their opponents were Hector and Paris.
Mycenae, underground cistern
As Agamemnon, brother of Menelaus, hit the shores of Asia Minor he brought with him the souls of the previous kings of that towering city, Mycenae. The gates of Mycenae that scraped the sky and the lions towering above you as you walk by, this is where King Agamemnon ruled. The Trojan war all started with Aphrodite promising Paris Helen as his wife. During the Trojan war the great Agamemnon was the commander-in-chief of the Greeks fighting the mighty Trojans. Agamemnon made a feat in history through his long life.