The Lion Gate

For our culture section, this week, I will show you a place very interesting and famous for his history.
In the second millennium BC, Mycenae was one of the major centers of Greek civilization, a military stronghold which dominated much of southern Greece.

As you approach the entrance of the citadel, you will notice the large stones of which the walls are made. The city is surrounded by a wall and has only one entrance, the Lion's Gate.
The Lion Gate was the main entrance of the bronze age citadel of Mycenae. It was erected in the 13th century BC in the northwest side of the acropolis and is named after the relief sculpture of two lionesses or lions that stand above the entrance.
It is part of the fortifications of the Cyclopean walls system. The term "Cyclopean" was therefore applied to imply that the ancient structures had been built by the legendary race of giants whose culture was presumed to have preceded that of the Classical Greeks, as described in their myths.

This triangular relief is considered to be the oldest surviving monumental sculpture in Europe. The heads of the lions - or lionesses - should have been facing towards the people coming to the gate, but unfortunately neither of them survived. The fore legs of lions are set on two altars on which a column stands. This should have been the symbol of either the city of Mycenae or of the royal family.
The Lion Gate is a massive and imposing construction, standing 3.10 m wide and 2.95 m  high at the threshold. It narrows as it rises, measuring 2.78 m below the lintel. The opening was closed by a double door to a vertical beam that acted as a pivot around which the door revolved.

The Lion Gate is the sole surviving monumental piece of Mycenaean sculpture, as well as the largest sculpture in the prehistoric Aegean.

A last interesting information: it was from this citadel that king Agamemnon led the Greeks when they sailed off to fight the Trojans as described in the epic poem by Homer known as 'The Iliad'.