Mycanea: Lions' Heads and Beehive Tomb

In Mycanea, we got to see the sites The Lion’s Heads and The Beehive Tomb. They were very close to each other.
The The Lion’s Head was the site of a settlement that is older than the Parthenon. This settlement is the first monumental site in Europe. The Arch seen her is the opening to this guarded village. The two lions at the top of the arch once had heads made of gold. But once again those heads were pillaged by the people over time. It once had large doors that could be barricaded from the inside to protect the people from wandering warriors and other dangers.

As you can see from this picture, it was quite a hike to the top. We only had 35 minutes to reach the top view the ruins and be back on the bus.

Inside these cyclopean walls, there was once a place to hold the grains, a burial place, a cistern, and several small homes. At the very top of the Lion’s head was once the royal headquarters. It had a magnificent view from up there.

This was the entrance to the cistern (well). I couldn’t believe it wasn’t blocked off so I went down. I was so happy that it was getting colder the farther down I went. I had to stop my cool descent when I could no longer see in front of me. I could smell the water but never saw the actual cistern. I knew I should have packed a flashlight!

The Beehive Tomb was the burial place of Atreus. A king of Greece in the 14th century. The king and his treasures were put on display after his death. It was not enclosed and did not have a door.

Inside the tomb there were blocks of conglomerate rock stacked in a circular pattern. Some say it looks like a honey comb and that is how it got its name. The king was placed facing the east and had a separate room for his treasures.

From 1400 A.D. to 1847 the tomb was left open and many people over the years removed items from the tomb. It was completely emptied by 1847. The tomb is left open and viewed by thousands every year.