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"Mycenae, the leader of
the Greeks in the Trojan war, and Nineveh, where
was the royal palace of the Assyrians, are utterly
ruined and desolate ... Of the opulent places in
the ancient world, Egyptian Thebes and Minyan
Orchomenus are now
less prosperous than a private individual of
moderate means...Of Babylon that was the greatest
city of its time under the sun nothing remains but
the wall. The case of
Tiryns in the Argolid is the same. These
places have been reduced by heaven to nothing."
[Pausanias,
Description
of Greece 8.33.2]
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Mycenae is a city in Argolis north of Argos.
According to tradition, Mycenae was founded by
Perseus 1 when, after
having delivered
Andromeda, he became
king in Tiryns.
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Origin of the name 'Mycenae'
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Antinous 2, one of the
SUITORS OF
PENELOPE, recalled that the city of Mycenae was
named after Mycene, a beauty of former times,
daughter of the river god Inachus and mother of the
all-seeing Argus 1.
However, some have asserted that the city was named
after Myceneus, son of Sparton 2, son of
Phoroneus. This
Phoroneus has the
reputation of being the first man; he was king of
what was later called the Peloponnesus. But some
say that when Perseus 1
exchanged kingdoms
(Tiryns against Argos),
he founded Mycenae and called the city so because
on its site the cap (myces) fell from his scabbard,
and he regarded this as a sign to found a city. It
is also said that Perseus
1, being thirsty, picked up a mushroom (myces),
and drinking the water that flowed from it, named
the site Mycenae.
The city wall and the gate, upon which stand
lions are said to be the work of the
CYCLOPES.
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War with the Taphians (Teleboans)
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At the beginning, the descendants of
Perseus 1 reigned in
Mycenae [see Throne Succession below] However,
among Perseus 1's many
sons was Mestor 1, who married Lysidice 2, daughter
of Pelops 1, and had by
her a daughter Hippothoe 3. Hippothoe 3 was seduced
by Poseidon, and
Taphius was born. Taphius colonized Taphos (which
is in the islands off the coast of Acarnania),
called the inhabitants Teleboans, and had a son
Pterelaus. So at the time when Electryon 1, son of
Perseus 1, was king of
Mycenae, the sons of Pterelaus came with an army of
Taphians and claimed what they called "the kingdom
of Mestor 1," referring to their maternal
grandfather. Electryon 1 rejected this claim, but
the Taphians took away the cattle, and in a battle
between the sons of Pterelaus and the sons of
Electryon 1, everyone was killed except Lycimnius,
Electryon 1's youngest son, and Everes 3, the son
of Pterelaus who had guarded the ships during the
battle. After the battle, the Taphians sailed away,
taking with them the cattle and entrusting them to
King Polyxenus 1 of Elis.
Amphitryon, grandson
of Perseus 1, brought
the cattle back to Mycenae, and Electryon 1 decided
to entrust the kingdom to him as he purposed to
make war on the Taphians to avenge his sons' death.
And along with the kingdom, he entrusted to him his
daughter Alcmena, on
condition that he would keep her a virgin until his
return. But when Amphitryon restored the cattle,
one of the cows went mad and charged, and
Amphitryon threw a club at the cow but it rebounded
from the cow's horns, striking Electryon 1 and
killing him. This is the reason why Amphitryon was
banished from Mycenae and the whole of Argolis by
the successor of Electryon 1, King Sthenelus 3,
another son of Perseus
1.
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Amphitryon leaves
Mycenae
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Amphitryon left
for Thebes together with
Alcmena, but as she
would not marry him until he had avenged her
brothers' death, he engaged in war against the
Taphians and it was just before his return to
Thebes that
Zeus, assuming his
likeness, consorted with
Alcmena, who later gave
birth to Heracles 1.
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The Pelopides take
over
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It was the son of Sthenelus 3 by Nicippe 1
(another daughter of Pelops
1), Eurystheus,
who later imposed the
LABOURS on
Heracles 1.
Eurystheus succeeded
his father, and from this moment Mycenae was ruled
by the Pelopides [see
Pelopides and
HERACLIDES to follow
the reigns of Atreus,
Thyestes 1, Agamemnon,
Aegisthus, Aletes 1,
Orestes 2, and
Tisamenus 2 until the return of the
HERACLIDES].
Agamemnon was king
of Mycenae at the time of the
Trojan War [for other
Mycenaeans who fought in that war see also
Map ACHAEANS
& TROJANS which also shows the aproximate
territory ruled from Mycenae].
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Sicyon, vassal state
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Sicyon became a vassal
state under the rule of
Agamemnon during the
kingship of Hippolytus 5, who himself was a
descendant of Heracles
1. When Lacestades, son of Hippolytus 5,
succeeded to the throne of
Sicyon, it occurred the
return of the
HERACLIDES. Phalces
2, the general of the
HERACLIDES, surprised
Sicyon by night but
spared Lacestades because he too was one of the
HERACLIDES, and made
him partner in the kingdom. Phalces 2 was son of
Temenus 2, son of Aristomachus 2, son of Cleodaeus
2, son of Hyllus 1, son of
Heracles 1.
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Destruction for all time to come
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Mycenae lost importance after the return of the
HERACLIDES. Succesive
invasions laid waste the city, and what remained of
it was finally destroyed by the
Argives, who were jealous
of the Mycenaean participation in the famous
adventure at Thermopylae during the Persian wars in
historical times.
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Remains
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In the ruins of Mycenae could be seen a fountain
called Persea, and underground chambers belonging
to Atreus and his
descent, in which they stored their treasures.
There are as well the graves of
Atreus,
Agamemnon and others,
who after their return from
Troy, were murdered by
Aegisthus at a
banquet.
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