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Mycenae 'Rich in Gold', the kingdom of mythical Agamemnon, first sung by
Homer in his epics, is the most important
and richest palatial centre of the Late Bronze Age in Greece. Its name was given to one of the greatest
civilizations of
Greek prehistory, the Mycenaean civilization, while the myths related to its history have inspired poets
and writers over
many centuries, from the Homeric epics and the great tragedies of the Classical period to contemporary
literary and
artistic creation. Perseus, son of Zeus and Dana?, daughter of Akrisios, king of Argos and descendant
of Danaos, is
traditionally considered as its mythical founder. Pausanias (2, 16, 3) reports that Perseus named the
new city Mycenae
after the pommel (mykes) of his sword, which fell there, or after the Perseia spring, discovered there
under the root of
a mushroom (mykes). According to the myth, Perseus's descendants reigned at Mycenae for three generations.
After
the last of them, Eurystheas, died childless, the Mycenaeans chose Atreus, son of Pelops, father of
Agamemnon and
Menelaos, as their king.
[from Ministery of Culture and Sports: Mycenae, 2014]
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