Visit Bronze Age Greece in Mycenae
Today, I'm in Mycenae, Greece. It’s a UNESCO world heritage site and unfortunately, it’s as close to Bronze Age Greece as I’ll probably ever get. Join me on a day trip back to the ancient days of Greece to meet Agamemnon and learn more about the people who, according to Homer, defeated the ancient Trojans in the Trojan War.
The Soldiers Who Fought Troy
Mycenae was, we think, the ancient capital of the first Greek civilization. These are the Greeks who fought the Trojans in Homer's Iliad, the ones who famously fooled the city of Troy with the gift of a wooden horse.
They lived here from around 1600 to 1100 B.C.E. and here, they built an empire. There was a large palace complex, public buildings, lots of art and clay tablets inscribed with the first Greek language, known as Linear B.
Legend says that this was the kingdom of the legendary Agemmenon and in its day, Mycenaean Greece was a powerful player on the world stage. They traded with Egypt in Africa, communicated with the Hittotie empire in the Middle East and even knew the people living in Sicily, way over in Italy.
How to Get to Mycenae
You can get to Mycenae from Athens in about an hour and a half by car, longer if you take a bus. Which is what I did. There are many group day trips available from Greece and you can also see some other sites along the way if you use this option, and this is what I recommend.
There are a lot of cool places to see outside of Athens and there are a ton of different day packages available, so consider your options and think about including some other areas of Greece to your trip if this appeals to you.
Visiting Ancient Greece
If you like history, Mycenae is a really nice choice. You can see the archaeological site itself, and I mean you can walk all around it and really see it. There are some incredible views from up here, because you do have to hike up a fairly rugged hill to get to where the palace was at the top of the hill.
But once you're up here, you'll see the mountains and the beautiful Greek countryside and it's pretty cool. You'll stand in the halls of an ancient Bronze Age palace, walk through tunnels and possibly solve the great mystery of what, exactly, happened to bring this ancient world to its end.
Around 1175 B.C.E., the Mycenaean Greeks, along with several of their Bronze Age peers, were wiped off the face of the Earth by an unknown enemy force that historians refer to as the Sea People.
What happened to them and the reasons why remains shrouded in mystery. So keep your eyes peeled. Someone someday somewhere could discover a tablet, a piece of pottery, some artifact buried in the ground that might unlock a mystery scientists have been trying to unravel for over 150 years.
Visiting the Museum
You can also visit the Archaeological Museum of Mycenae while you're here. It's not a large museum and it's included with your ticket to the archaeological site. The museum is very pretty and it houses a lot of Mycenaean artifacts, including weapons, jewelry, tools and art.
You can also see a copy of the famous golden mask of Agammenon here. The actual mask is in Athens, and you can come see that with me when we visit that museum.
There are audio guides available to tell you what you're looking at as you move through the museum, but there is signage in English so you don't have to do this if you don't want to.
Preserving World History
Because this is a world heritage site, there’s not a ton of stuff to do in Mycenae. There are some snack stalls if you want a little something to eat but mostly, you’ll be here to see the ruins and the museum and that’s it. That’s why I recommend choosing a day trip package that includes a stop here, so you can get in and look around and get on to another place in Greece.
If you like history or ruins or hiking in a beautiful place, Mycenaea is definitely worth a visit and you’ll enjoy your time here.
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