Today we took a bus to the citadel of Mycenae as well as to Eleusis to recite Antigone and sing cheesy American songs. I found Eleusis very interesting; however, architecture-wise it would make more sense to focus my entry on Mycenae. Anyway, as architecture goes, the citadel is one of the most typical and impressive creations in Mycenaean architecture. According to myth, the citadel was built by the Cyclops whom was employed by Perseus, Zeus’s son. This made total sense after looking at the ginormous rocks that made up the fortification wall. These things must have been 3x3x3 feet and had to way hundreds of pounds! What the 30,000 square foot structure is perhaps most well known for; however, is the lion gate entrance. The relief is made up of two large lions facing one another with their front paws on two small altars supporting a column. This had to have been one of the earliest examples of monumental structure (13th century BC) of the European culture, which is cool. Also, it was mentioned that the Mycenaean structure here was that several columns would be in the middle of the room to support the ceiling yet leaving the middle of the roof open. I imagine this was very beautiful and refreshing in the summertime.
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