Archaeology reveals that the citadel of Mycenae was the city’s defensive centre and the hub of its economic, religious, and administrative life.

The citadel was well provisioned to resist a siege but, on a day-to-day basis, was home to Mycenae’s places of worship and nobility. At the highest point was the royal palace.

Sanitation and Sieges

Not only was the citadel well-defended, but it was also equipped with all it needed to enable the people to withstand a siege. At its entrance was a substantial granary, ensuring that food supplies were safe from invaders and that the citizens seeking temporary shelter would have enough to eat.

Most importantly, the citadel had its own water supply and an effective sanitation system. Drains occupy its southwest corner and water storage cisterns, at least one of which was constructed around an existing source of water — a deep spring reached by a stairway from the citadel itself.

Mycenaean Religion

The western part of the citadel was given over to the cult centre of Mycenae. Close to the famous shaft graves, archaeologists discovered a series of small buildings similar to small houses. They were, in fact, shrines to the Mycenaean deities.

Finds and frescos have helped identify these buildings as dedicated to the gods. The House of the Idols, in particular, was full of ritual figures-human models and coiled snakes. It is unclear which deities these figures represented. Linear B tablets, however, make it clear that the Mycenaeans did worship the Olympian deities of the Greeks. The names of Hera, Zeus, and Poseidon, have all been found inscribed on the tablets.

Aristocratic Mycenaean Houses

Although ordinary homes lay outside the citadel walls, the Mycenaean aristocracy was housed within the citadel. Not far from the cult centre are the remains of several large houses built around a megaron — a rectangular room with a central hearth and pillared porch. These aristocratic houses also had upper stories. One, known as the House of Columns, was the remains of a staircase leading upwards.

Large and potentially elaborate as they may be, none would have matched the palace of Mycenae.

The Palace of Mycenae

The palace was at the citadel’s highest point, which unfortunately means it was open to the elements and so heavily eroded. But enough remains to give an idea of the Mycenaean royal residence’s scale, size, and opulence.

The palace was entered from the northwest. A porch, flanked by guardrooms, led out onto a cobbled outer courtyard that directed visitors to the palace’s main entrance. Various corridors threaded through the palace. Amongst them was the route to the great inner courtyard — the destination for those seeking a royal audience. 

Once in the courtyard, the visitor took the grand staircase to the right up a further upper story. This terminated in a porch and vestibule that led to the megaron — the royal audience chamber. 

The private quarters of the royal family were to the north. Archaeologists have identified these quarters by features, such as a red stuccoed bath — a hint of the luxurious decor and conveniences that the palace’s inhabitants enjoyed.

Resources

Illustrated Dictionary of Archaeology (1977) Book Club Associates: London.

Gates, Charles (2003) Ancient Cities: The Archaeology of Urban Life in the Ancient Near East and Egypt, Greece and Rome (2003) Routledge: London and New York