Everyone was speaking quietly as they were looking in awe the amazing construction of the tomb. Myself, as I was taking pictures from the edge of the vaulted chamber, I felt like I was watching the stage of a surreal theatrical act!
The people seemed so small, almost insignificant, in comparison to the grandness of the monument. This was obviously built to house a huge ego, someone that felt (or others believed that he was) unbounded important.
And of course rich, infinitely rich!
The sign in the picture above, lies next to the entrance and gives some basic information about the monument and its history. I typed it so that you can easily read it:
The tholos or "beehive" tomb dubbed the "Treasury of Atreus" or the "Tomb of Agamemnon" is one of the most splendid monuments of Mycenaean architecture. Built between 1350 and 1250 BC, it consists of a passage, an entrance, a vaulted chamber and a small side chamber. Distinctive features of its construction are the use of megalithic elements in the entrance (jambs and lintel) and its carefully dressed masonry. The monumental façade was decorated with a variety of materials. Parts of the sculpted decoration are today in the British Museum, London and the National Archaeological Museum, Athens.
The tomb was found robbed, like all the tholos tombs and there is no information on either the grave goods or the burials it once housed. It was never buried by earth and remained always visible, attracting the attention of ancient and later travellers.
Imagine that, a construction of that size standing intact for 3.300 years. That's insane isn't it? And it looks in much better condition than modern buildings after 50 years of existence!
The lintel stone above the entrance, it is said to weight 120 tons. You can see it in the picture below. It is a miracle how they managed such a feat so many millenniums ago. I would suspect though that many people suffered and probably died during the construction, as in most of the great monuments that we so eagerly admire.
What has truly happened there, over the course of time, is vague. Who was buried in the tomb, what treasures accompanied the dead body, who took them and when, they are all questions that would probably remain unanswered for ever.
But standing inside this magnificent construction is enough to feel the weight of history itself. The vanity that lead to its construction, the sweat and suffering that was necessary to get it done and in the end the vanity of all the human creations that aim immortality.
Or maybe I am just in a pessimistic mood :)
All the pictures and the words are mine.
Thank you for reading and if you want to know more about me you can check out my introduction post.
Commenting, upvoting and rebloging are highly appreciated!