the Cyclopean wall and the Lion Gate at Mycenae
click image for an enlargement of the Lion Gate

The Mycenaeans built massive citadels with strong walls made of huge stones. Later Greeks thought the walls must have been built by super-humans, demi-gods. Centuries after the fall of the Mycenaeans, Homer would remember the great civilization of Mycenae with its Cyclopean walls (built by a Cyclops), and the Trojan War.  Amateur archeologist Heinrich Schliemann excavated the remains of Mycenae and discovered the Mycenaean civilization.

Plan C, “Plan of the Acropolis of Mycenae, with Dr. Schliemann's excavations,” Mycenae by Dr. Henry Schliemann, London 1880.

Mycenae was located on a hill with steep slopes to the north and a chasm to the south. Entrance was from the more gentle slope on the west side which had a narrow opening which could be easily fortified.

Part of The Long-Haired Achaeans - The Mycenaeans, a HistoryWiz exhibit