Today, November the 11th, is Remembrance Day in the British Commonwealth, and Veterans Day in the United States.
This is a sacred day, for on this day we remember and honour the men and women in uniform, past and present, who risked, and are risking, their lives to keep us safe in this world.
It doesn’t matter what side of the political divide you find yourself, or whether you ‘agree’ with a specific conflict. Our courageous soldiers go where they are sent. They do the work most people shun and are terrified of. They tread pathways beyond the darkness so that we are not all dragged into that darkness.
Today we offer a heartfelt ‘Thank You’ and our deepest gratitude to our troops.
Thank you for all that you have done, and all that you are doing for the rest of us, for our safety and for our collective freedom.
Lest We Forget…
*Something to think about..
Because of the dread task our troops face, the lives they lead, and the things they suffer for all our benefit, we [the Team at Eagles and Dragons Publishing] firmly believe that all members of the military, and their families, should be permanently except from taxation, that they should have FREE post-secondary education (no matter the college or university), and that they should have proper pensions after their service.
It is the least our governments can do for them after all that they have endured.
If you missed the first post on drama and theatres in ancient Athens, you can read that by CLICKING HERE.
In Part II, we’re going to be taking a brief look at travel and transportation in the Roman Empire. As we shall see, this is something the Romans did really well!
We hope you enjoy!
Map of the Roman Empire at its greatest extent (Oxford Research Encyclopedias)
The Etrurian Players – the tumultuous theatre troupe of our story – regularly travel the Mediterranean Sea to get to the location of their next performance, be it in the cities of Iberia, the great polis of Alexandria or, as is the case in this story, the city of Athens where theatre was born.
But how easy is it for The Etrurian Players to get from one place to another while on tour? How did ancient Romans, and Etrurians for that matter, get about?
Travel is something that we take for granted today. We decide we need to get somewhere, and we just go, be it nearby, or over a great distance across oceans and continents. We often take it for granted in fiction too. Characters often need to get from point A to point B, and it happens.
But in the ancient world, travel wasn’t so easy. It required planning, and it took time.
There were also many factors involved such as destination, budget (not unlike today), mode of transportation, and time of year. Unless one was a soldier, or merchant, or someone wealthy, chances are that you might never have left your community or indeed your Etrurian latifundium!
So, when people did travel in the Roman Empire, how and why did they do so?
Ptolemy’s world map, reconstituted from Ptolemy’s Geography, circa AD 150, in the 15th century, indicating Sinae, China, at the extreme right. (Wikimedia Commons)
First off, we should probably discuss maps. We use maps today, and the Romans had maps. Geography was important, especially if you were planning a large scale invasion or military campaign, or even surveying for a new settlement. Not many maps from the Roman period survive, but copies of maps were made from originals. Sometimes they were even rendered in paintings or mosaics.
Maps, geography and cartography are mentioned by some ancient authors such as Strabo, Polybius, Pliny the Elder, and Ptolemy. We also know that large wall maps of the world were commissioned by Julius Caesar, and then by Agrippa, during the reign of Augustus.
Much of our knowledge of place names and geography from the Roman world comes from what are called ittinerarium pictum which were travel itineraries accompanied by paintings. Perhaps the most well-known of these is Ptolemy’s Geography which included six books of place names with coordinates from around the empire, including faraway places such as Ireland and Africa.
Another source is the Ravenna Cosmography. This was a compilation of documents by a cleric at Ravenna around 700 C.E. This particular source gives lists of stations, river names and some topographical details as far away as India.
Details of a map based on the 11th century Ravenna Cosmography (Wikimedia Commons)
The Notitia Dignitatum is a late Roman collection of administrative information which included lists of civilian and military office holders, military units and forts. The maps that accompanied this were medieval, but it is believed that they were derived from Roman originals of the fourth and fifth centuries C.E.
Perhaps the most important surviving example of an itinerary, however, is the Itinerarium Antoninianum, the ‘Antonine Itinerary’, which was a collection of journeys compiled over seventy-five years or more and assembled in the late 3rd century. It describes 225 routes and gives the distances between places that are mentioned. Some believe it was probably used for travel by emperors or troops. This particular source also included a maritime section with sea routes entitled Imperatoris Antonini Augusti itinerarium maritimum. The longest route in this itinerary appears to represent Emperor Caracalla’s trip from Rome to Egypt in about 214-215 C.E, about ten years after An Altar of Indignities takes place.
Map of Roman Britain based on the Antonine Itinerary, plotted by William Stukeley in the 1700s using the Itinerary as its source. (University of Kent)
Next, one cannot discuss travel in the Roman Empire without talking about roads.
There is a reason the expression ‘All roads lead to Rome’ exists. It was true, at least for a time. This is believed to have originally referred to the milliarium aureum, the ‘golden milestone’ near the temple of Saturn in the Forum Romanum, from which all distances were measured. It is believed that distances to specific cities or settlements were written upon it.
Part of the Via Egnatia near Kavala, Greece
When it comes to roads, Rome was the best. In fact, Roman roads forever altered the empire and travel itself. Not only did Roman roads make troop movements much easier – with the troops building the roads themselves! – but they also opened up parts of the empire to trade and further settlement. They spread out from Rome like a titanic spider web connecting the eternal city to the farthest outposts.
There were also various types of road too, not just the broad, paved roads upon which vehicles and legions could travel. There were also small tracks, causeways, narrow streets, embanked roads or strata, lanes and more. Whether you were crossing the world, or crossing a settlement, roads of all types were useful.
The Roman empire in the time of Hadrian, showing the network of main Roman roads. (Wikimedia Commons)
Of course, with Roman roads, came Roman bridges over rivers that might have added days to a journey in order to reach a suitable crossing point. Travel was shortened in many ways by using Roman roads.
Now that we know how important roads were to the Roman Empire, how did people travel upon them?
When it came to the legions, marching was the order of the day for most troopers, and the average Roman soldier, fully laden, could travel up to 25 Roman miles in one day. For the average person living within the bounds of the empire, walking was also the norm. This mode of travel was slower, to be sure, though roads made it much easier.
Apart from walking, there were of course other, faster modes of transportation such as by horse, pack animal, two-wheeled cart, and four-wheeled wagon. Obviously, these required one to have the funds to own or rent such animals and vehicles, but they did greatly cut back on the travel time.
A Roman relief showing a four-wheeled, covered wagon (photo – Penn Museum)
The time of year and the weather were obvious factors when it came to travel upon roads, but also when it came to water routes open to travellers such as by river, open sea, and coastal sea travel.
When it comes to seafaring, the Romans had no such tradition until after the wars with Carthage which forced them to come to terms with the need for a navy. With the creation of that navy, Roman troops could be moved more quickly from Rome to Africa, for instance.
The other reason for travelling by sea or waterway was, perhaps more importantly, trade. The Roman Empire at its peak was vast and varied, and there was an enormous trade network that ensured raw materials such as lead and marble made it to construction sites as far away as Britannia, or from there to Rome itself. Perhaps the officers on Hadrian’s wall missed their favourite garum produced in Hispania, or wine from their family’s Etrurian estate?
A Roman cargo ship, or ‘corbita’ (image: naval-encyclopedia.com)
To transport large amounts of goods where they needed to be at the farthest reaches of the empire, or to the heart of Rome, sea transport was the way to go, and massive ports such as those at Ostia, Carthage, Alexandria, and Piraeus were constantly alive with trade.
There were various types of ships, both commercial and military, but despite the efficiency of this mode of transport, it was even more restricted by the seasons and weather than travel over land. Sea travel could be absolutely treacherous, and the number of ancient shipwrecks that dot the coasts of the former Roman Empire are a testament to this.
The wreck of a 110-foot (35-meter) Roman ship, along with its cargo of 6,000 amphorae, discovered at a depth of around 60m (197 feet) off the coast of Kefalonia. (Photo: CNN)
As mentioned before, we often take travel for granted in the modern world, but it cannot be overstated how important travel was in the Roman Empire, nor how much Roman road and ship building opened up the world and the economy of Europe at the time. Yet another thing the Romans did for us!
Modern aerial view of the three harbours of the port of Piraeus, the port of Athens
We hope you’ve enjoyed this brief post about travel and transportation in the Roman Empire.
If you’re interested in taking a look, one particular tool that was especially useful when researching and writing An Altar of Indignities was Orbis: The Stanford Geospatial Network Model of the Roman World. This special GIS tool uses ancient and modern source information to accurately create itineraries for travel between destinations in the Roman Empire, taking into account mode of transport, time of year, and whether travelling by land or sea. You can check that out HERE.
Stay tuned for Part III in The World of An Altar of Indignities in which we will be taking a look at the Roman monuments of ancient Athens.
Thank you for reading.
There are more posts coming in The World of An Altar or Indignities, so make sure that you are subscribed to the Eagles and Dragons Publishing Newsletter so that you don’t miss any of them. When you subscribe you get the first prequel book in our #1 best-selling Eagles and Dragons series for FREE!
In celebration of drama in the ancient world, be sure to check out our ‘Ancient Theatre’ Collection in the Eagles and Dragons Publishing AGORA on Etsy which features a range of ancient theatre-themed clothing, glassware and more! CLICK HERE to browse.
We know that many of you are fans of these blog series connected with each of our book releases and we hope that you enjoy this one as much as those that have gone before.
In this newest series, we’ll be publishing a new article every two weeks or so on a wide range of relevant topics such as theatre, ancient Athens, festivals, religion, playwrights, customs and more.
And now, without further ado, let’s step into The World of An Altar of Indignities!
The Theatre of Epidaurus
In this first post, we’re going to be taking a brief look at drama and theatres in ancient Athens.
But this book is set during the Roman era, isn’t it? you might ask.
That is true, but the Romans were the inheritors and adopters of Greek theatrical traditions and, as the book is set in Roman Athens, we thought it would be good to start with a look at the birth of drama in ancient Greece.
Tragedy is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude…through pity and fear effecting the proper purgation of these emotions.
(Aristotle, Poetics)
In the West, we owe a great deal to the ancient Greeks, particularly the Athenians. Out of ancient Greece came epic poetry, and lyric poetry sung to music. There was elegiac poetry that expressed personal sentiments of love, lamentation, and military exhortations. Epigrams memorialized the dead in inscriptions across the Greek world. Iambic poetry relayed often satyrical ideas as close to natural speech as possible, and bucolic poetry in hexameter told stories of the lives of ordinary country people rather than of heroes.
There is much more to it, but you get the idea. Basically, all of our western literary traditions came out of Ancient Greece.
Not least among these genres was drama.
Relief of Maenads in ritualistic, frenzied dance honouring Dionysus.
The first thing we should look at is how the artform of ‘Drama’ came about as a form of entertainment.
Similar to gladiatorial combat in Ancient Rome, which began as a religious ritual for the dead, drama in Ancient Greece was born out of religious practices, in particular, rituals honouring the god, Dionysus.
Early worship to Dionysus involved a darker side with ecstatic worship by female followers – the maenads of mythology – who were said to partake in frenzied dances and tear into animal, and sometimes human, flesh. In the sixth century B.C.E the worship of Dionysus involved obscene play, extreme emotion, singing, and dancing.
This was the genesis of Greek drama.
It was the tyrant Peisistratos (c. 600-527 B.C.E) who founded the city Dionysia of Athens, the great festival in honour of Dionysus, which involved a chorus of men singing and dancing for the god. Later, there were also rural Dionysia about Attica, with similar rituals. These early choruses could be as large as fifty people, but most were believed to consist of twelve to fifteen members.
In the sixth century (c. 535 B.C.E), when a man named Thespis added himself to the ritual to deliver a prologue and interact with the Dionysian chorus, he is said to have become the very first actor, or ‘thespian’.
The addition of this one person to interact with the chorus is thought to be the beginning of true drama, the transition from religious ritual to dramatic performance for an audience.
Later, the playwright Aeschylus added a second actor and, after him, Sophocles added a third, and this became the standard number of actors for a while, in addition to the members of the chorus.
Roman bronze from Herculaneum thought to represent Thespis, the first actor.
In early drama, Greek comedies and tragedies were, more or less, musical productions. This was due to drama’s origins in dance and song for Dionysus. The members of the chorus played groups of people like the citizens of a city, dancing and singing.
These new dramas or plays, until the Hellenistic age, were performed in competitions as part of religious festivals like the Dionysia, the Lenaea (a winter festival to Dionysus), and the Panathenaea (to Athena Parthenos) at Athens. These theatre festivals were organized by the state.
For festivals, usually three poets were selected to have their work performed, and they were assigned an actor, or actors. The playwrights who participated wrote either tragedy or comedy, but not both. They usually submitted three tragedies on different themes and a satyr play, a short comedic piece (ex. Euripides’ Cyclops).
The winner of these competitions received a wreath. From about 499 B.C.E, the best actor also received a prize. All actors, even those playing female roles, were men. Oftentimes, the poets also acted in their own plays.
At Athens, when the Dionysia was in its infancy, the admission to watch the dramas was, apparently, about two obols. However, when Pericles was leading the way through Athens’ Golden Age, the state began to pay for admission to the theatre. In addition to male citizens, this sometimes also included non-citizens, or metics, as well as women and children who were, of course, accompanied by well-respected male citizens.
But before we get into the role that theatre played in Greek society, let’s first take a look at the types of drama that were performed, mainly Tragedy and Comedy.
It should be said at this point that, unfortunately, very little ancient drama has survived the centuries, and when it comes to tragedy, only Attic tragedies have survived.
Tragic dramas or plays from Ancient Greece seem to have originated in the mid-sixth century B.C.E in Attica or the Peloponnese, and the earliest surviving one we have is Aeschylus’ Persians (c. 472. B.C.E).
Ah! Miserable Fate! Black Fortune!
Black, unbearable, unexpected disaster!
A savage single-minded Fate has ravished the Persian race!
What troubles are still in store for me?
All strength has abandoned my body… my limbs… there is none left to face these elders.
Ah, Zeus! Why has this evil Fate not buried me, as well, send me to the underworld, among all my men?
(Aeschylus, Persians)
Tragedies were the first dramas and they were almost all based on mythological tales of gods, goddesses and heroes. They also had a standard format that comprised a prologos, sometimes presented by the chorus, and sometimes by an actor. Then there was a monologue or introduction. There was a parados, which was a song sung by the chorus as it entered. After that, there were various epeisodia, scenes with actors and the chorus, and during these epeisodia, stasima (songs) were performed. The play usually closed out with the exodos, the final scene or ‘exit’.
So, the first dramatic performances were tragedies and the genre gave rise to some of the most famous playwrights of the ancient world, including Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. However, tragedy began to decline by the end of the fourth century B.C.E in favour of comedy.
Melpomene – The Muse of Tragedy
The word comedy is derived from the Greek komoidia which comes from komos, a procession of singing and dancing revellers.
It is believed that comedy dates to the sixth century B.C.E and that it may have its roots in Sicilian or Megarian drama.
As with the tragedies, only Attic comedies survive to this day, and the earliest surviving one we have is Aristophanes’ Acharnians (c. 425 B.C.E). There were earlier comic poets such as Cratinus, Crates, Pherecrates, Eupolis and Plato (different to the famous philosopher), but none of their works survive.
Oh! by Bacchus! what a bouquet! It has the aroma of nectar and ambrosia; this does not say to us, “Provision yourselves for three days.” But it lisps the gentle numbers, “Go whither you will.” I accept it, ratify it, drink it at one draught and consign the Acharnians to limbo. Freed from the war and its ills, I shall keep the Dionysia in the country.
(Aristophanes, Acharnians)
Ancient Greek comedy can be separated into three different types: Old Comedy, Middle Comedy, and New Comedy.
Comedies were humorous and uninhibited with many jokes about sex and excretions. They ridiculed and parodied contemporary characters, and an excellent example of this is Aristophanes’ ridiculing of Socrates in Clouds:
A bold rascal, a fine speaker, impudent, shameless, a braggart, and adept at stringing lies, and an old stager at quibbles, a complete table of laws, a thorough rattle, a fox to slip through any hole, supple as a leather strap, slippery as an eel, an artful fellow, a blusterer, a villain, a knave with one hundred faces, cunning, intolerable, a gluttonous dog.
(Aristophanes, Clouds)
Comedies also made fun of contemporary issues as well as gods, myths, and even religious ceremonies, making it a sort of acceptable outlet for mocking things that were otherwise sacred. This was a form of ‘free speech’ at work in the new Democracy of Athens.
All performances were staged during the city Dionysia and the Lenaea in Athens.
Old Comedy consisted of choral songs alternating with dialogue but it had less of a pattern than tragedy did. The chorus consisted of about twenty-four men and extras, and they often played animals. The actors wore grotesque costumes and masks.
Old comedies began with a prologos, and then the entrance of the chorus which proceeded to sing a parados, a song. Then there was the main event, the agon, a struggle, which was a debate or physical fight between two of the actors. There were songs during the action and subsequent scenes or epeisodia. The chorus also uttered a parabasis, which was a blessing on the audience. As with tragedy, comedies also ended with the final scene, or exodos.
Second century C.E. mosaic depicting dramatic masks for Tragedy and Comedy
Middle Comedy in Ancient Greece was basically Athenian comedy from about 400-323 B.C.E. It developed after the Peloponnesian War and was more experimental with different styles beginning to emerge. Apparently it became quite popular and experienced a revival in Sicily and Magna Graecia.
Comic choruses began to play less of a role, and the parabasis was no longer used. Interestingly, the more grotesque costumes and phalluses were not as popular either.
Comedic plots based on mythology and political satire began to give way to less harsh humour and a focus on ordinary lives and issues.
Sadly, no complete plays from Middle Comedy survive, but some of the authors we know of were Antiphanes, Tubules, Anaxandrides, Timocles, and Alexis. Some might also class Aristophanes as one of the earliest poets of Greek Middle Comedy.
Thalia – The Muse of Comedy
Lastly, New Comedy is generally considered to be Athenian comedy from the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C.E to about 263 B.C.E.
In New Comedy performances, plays were five acts long and were interspersed with unrelated choral or musical interludes. They were generally set in Athens or Attica, and the actors wore masks, but now dressed in regular everyday clothes.
Though new comedies were Athenian, writers came from around the broader Greek world to Athens to write, and to see the plays.
The themes of these new plays were more human and relatable and dealt with things such as family relationships, love, mistaken identities (a throw-over from Middle Comedy), the intrigues of slaves, and long-lost children.
There were also stock characters that emerged such as pimps and courtesans, soldiers, young men in love, genial old men, and angry old men.
The themes and characters of Greek New Comedy greatly influenced Roman drama and which became so popular for the Roman theatre crowd.
Menander (c. 343–291 B.C.E)
Sadly, little survives in the form of Greek New Comedy, but much Roman comedy such as plays by Plautus and Terence, were based on those Greek plays, particularly Menander (c. 341-290 B.C.E). Other authors included Diphilus and Philemon.
It is a true tragedy that so much comedy does not survive. Menander alone is thought to have written over one hundred plays, and yet only a small fragment of a single one of his plays survives.
Thankfully, Roman playwrights such as Plautus and Terence used Menander’s plays as blueprints for their own and, as a result of that New Comedy format and formula, they gave rise to the western comedic tradition we are familiar with to this day through Shakespeare, Moliere, and others.
Now that we have briefly touched on the history of drama and plays, let’s take a look at where these plays were actually performed.
The Theatre of Dionysus, Athens
The word ‘theatre’ comes from the Greek word theatron which literally means ‘a place for watching’.
Theatres were built from the sixth century B.C.E onward. Most religious sites had a theatre and, as previously mentioned, they were used to celebrate festivals in honour of Dionysus.
Greek drama grew out of these religious festivals.
Early theatres could be temporary wooden structures, or a sort of scaffolding, but this practice was ceased after a deadly collapse in the Agora of Athens in about 497 B.C.E. After that, performances in Athens moved to the hillside where the theatre of Dionysus was built on the south slope of the Acropolis.
It became common practice to build theatres into the slopes or hillsides of natural hollows or, alternatively, into man-made embankments which supported tiers of seats on the hillside. Beginning in the fourth century B.C.E, theatre seating was built in marble. Theatres were generally D-shaped or on half-circle plans.
Ground Plan of the Ionian Greek theatre at Iassos.
All theatres where drama was performed were ‘open-air’ and had several common components: the koilon (the seating area) where the seats in the front row were reserved for priests and officials, the orkestra (the circular performance space), and the skene (a building for storage and changing rooms for actors). Later, the skene became a stage with a backdrop called the proskenion (in Latin, the scaena frons). The addition of this stage (pulpitum in Latin) expanded the performance area.
The other common performance space that was similar to theatres in Ancient Greece was the odeon (plur. odeia). These were usually roofed structures for listening to musical recitals and contests, poetry readings and other similar performances. Odeia were basically small theatres with a roof.
The first odeon of ancient Athens is thought to be that built by Pericles in the fifth century B.C.E. It was located directly beside the theatre of Dionysus and was a pyramidal structure made of wood with the roof supported by many columns. Some believe it was designed to resemble the tent of the defeated King of Persia.
Other odeia of ancient Athens included the Odeon of Agrippa in the Athenian Agora, and the stunning Odeon of Herodes Atticus on the southwestern slope of the Acropolis which is still used for performances to this day and which is featured in An Altar of Indignities.
Acropolis of Athens with the Odeon of Herodes Atticus before it on the left.
Today, theatre and dramatic performance is seen as more of a luxury in western society, something for the privileged few.
This was not the case in ancient Athens.
Though drama had religious beginnings, it evolved into an important way for Greeks as a society (albeit mostly for male citizens) to investigate the world in which they lived and what it meant to be human.
Aristotle believed that drama, tragedy in particular, had a way of cleansing the heart through pity and terror. It could purge men of their petty concerns and worries and, with this noble ‘suffering’, they underwent a sort of catharsis.
With the advent of philosophical thought, theatre and drama became the vehicle that encouraged average Greeks to become more ‘moral’ by helping them to process the issues of the day through both Tragedy and Comedy.
Rather than being a leisure activity for the elites, as it is perceived today, attending the theatre in ancient Athens was an important form of civic engagement after exercising one’s rights and performing one’s duties for the community (such as voting). Watching and experiencing tragedies and comedies with one’s fellow citizens became an important activity in the new Democracy of the day.
Not only did the drama and theatres of ancient Athens inspire their Roman successors, they also helped to shape the artistic traditions of western civilization.
For that, we should all be grateful.
Thank you for reading.
An array of Greek theatre masks
We hope that you’ve enjoyed this short post on drama and theatres in ancient Athens. There is a lot more to learn on this subject. We highly recommend the documentary series by Professor Michael Scott, Ancient Greece: The Greatest Show on Earth. You can watch the first episode HERE.
There are a lot more posts coming in The World of An Altar or Indignities, so make sure that you are subscribed to the Eagles and Dragons Publishing Newsletter so that you don’t miss any of them. When you subscribe you get the first book in our #1 best-selling Eagles and Dragons series for FREE!
In celebration of drama in the ancient world, be sure to check out our ‘Ancient Theatre’ Collection in the Eagles and Dragons Publishing AGORA on Etsy which features a range of ancient theatre-themed clothing, glassware and more! CLICK HERE to browse.
Stay tuned for the next post in this blog series in which we’ll be looking at travel and transportation in the Roman Empire.
Eagles and Dragons Publishing is thrilled to announce the release of Book II in The Etrurian Players series!
The title is An Altar of Indignities: A Dramatic and Romantic Comedy of Ancient Rome and Athens and it is an embarrassing and touching story of family and friendship, creativity, and the discomfort that humans experience as life inevitably changes.
The story takes place in the Roman Empire in the year 205 CE…
Brace yourselves! The Etrurian Players are back!
The Gods are well aware that mortals have a habit of taking themselves far too seriously. This is especially true of The Etrurian Players, the greatest theatrical troupe in the Roman Empire.
Basking in the glories of their resounding success in Rome, Felix Modestus and his players find themselves on the sacred island of Delos when Apollo decides it is time to check Felix’s growing hubris with a new and potentially deadly mission: he must show the people of Athens that Romans are just as capable of theatrical greatness as the Greeks!
Faced with this titanic task, Felix once again enlists the help of his oldest friends, Rufio and Clara, who travel from their farm in Etruria to Athens for the great Panathenaic festival when the precarious production is destined to take place.
As the company attempts to prepare for the performance, their efforts are constantly hampered by haughty critics, a rival theatre troupe, wailing children, wild animals, and the pleasures of Athena’s polis.
Will The Etrurian Players overcome distraction to win over the people of Athens? Will they survive the trials and judgement of Apollo? Or will they succumb to the humiliation and self-doubt that lurks around every creative corner?
Only by believing in themselves and helping each other can they survive and prove once again that The Etrurian Players are worthy of praise and the Gods’ favour.
If you like dramatic and comic stories about wild artists, persistent shades, and unbelievable episodes with goats, monkeys, and dogs, then you will howl and cry at An Altar of Indignities!
Read this book today for a theatrical misadventure in Roman Athens that will leave you asking the Gods ‘What were they thinking?’.
If you are feeling down about the world at the moment, The Etrurian Players series is just the ticket you need to feel good and know that there is indeed hope for us all!
An Altar of Indignities is now available in ebook, paperback and deluxe hardcover editions from all major online retailers, independent bookstores, brick and mortar chains, and your local public library.
CLICK HERE to buy a copy or get ISBN# information for the edition of your choice.
You can also purchase the ebook directly from Eagles and Dragons Publishing by clicking HERE.
We’re so excited to share this dramatic and romantic comedy with the world, and we’re thrilled that you’re joining us on the adventure!
The competition is judged by experts from different aspects of the book industry, including publishers, writers, editors, designers, booksellers, librarians and professional copywriters. Winners are based on overall excellence.
Heart of Fire: A Novel of the Ancient Olympics
A Mercenary… A Spartan Princess… And Olympic Glory…
When Stefanos, an Argive mercenary, returns home from the wars raging across the Greek world, his life’s path is changed by his dying father’s last wish – that he win in the Olympic Games.
As Stefanos sets out on a road to redemption to atone for the life of violence he has led, his life is turned upside down by Kyniska, a Spartan princess destined to make Olympic history.
In a world of prejudice and hate, can the two lovers from enemy city-states gain the Gods’ favour and claim Olympic immortality? Or are they destined for humiliation and defeat?
Remember… There can be no victory without sacrifice.
The NYC Big Book Award received book submissions worldwide. Journalists, well established authors, small and large press, and first time indie authors participated in record numbers. Entries this year were received from the United States as well as countries such as Australia, Canada, China, Cyprus, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Scotland, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom. Cities represented included Asheville, Beijing, Colorado Springs, Dublin, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Melbourne, New York, Portland, San Francisco, Singapore, Tel Aviv, and Vancouver were among the entries.
Publishers included Atmosphere Press, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Beaufort Books, Beyond Words Publishing, Blackstone Publishing, Eagles and Dragons Publishing, Familius Publishing, Flatiron Books, Hachette Go, HarperCollins Leadership, Oceanview Publishing, Old Stone Press, Rowman & Littlefield, Simon & Schuster, Ulysses Press, Watkins Publishing, Westminster John Knox Press to name a few.
“We were delighted to see so many quality publishers and authors from around the world participate this year. I can’t wait to share these books with a global readership,” said awards sponsor Gabrielle Olczak.
Click the image to check out Heart of Fire and other books in the 2024 Announcement Issue of the NYC Big Book Award
Here at Eagles and Dragons Publishing we’re thrilled that Heart of Fire has received this award. It really is an honour as this year’s competition involved a great many authors and publishers from around the world!
To commemorate this event, Eagles and Dragons Publishing has designed a special edition ‘Heart of Fire Olympic Hero’ t-shirt which is now available in the Eagles and Dragons Publishing AGORA on Etsy! You can check that out by CLICKING HERE. This elegant, unisex t-shirt is 100% cotton and features the Corinthian helmet and olive crown that grace the cover of the book.
This is the second accolade given to Heart of Fire: A Novel of the Ancient Olympics.
In the Spring of 2024, Heart of Fire also received the prized ‘Highly Recommended’ award from The Historical Fiction Company in another international competition!
To read The Historical Fiction Company’s full 5-Star review of Heart of Fire, CLICK HERE.
Thank you for your support, and thank you for reading!
Heart of Fire is available in e-book, paperback and special edition hardcover from all major online retailers, independent bookstores, brick and mortar chains, and your local public library.
CLICK HERE to buy a copy or get ISBN# information for the edition of your choice.
Remember… There can be no victory without sacrifice.
This October, Eagles and Dragons Publishing is thrilled to announce the release of our complete historical horror trilogy, The Carpathian Interlude, in a new, deluxe hardcover edition!
We’re really proud of the hardcover books we design here at Eagles and Dragons Publishing, and with this latest one we’ve exceeded our expectations!
In addition to the sturdy hardcover case and jacket that will see this book pass safely through many readers’ hands – especially in a public library setting – there are also fun design details like the carved image of the ‘Taurauctony’ of the god, Mithras, as well as the haunting image of the Kalkriese mask from the Teutoberg Forest massacre.
If you don’t know why those are relevant to the story, then you’ll need to read the book!
Here’s a peek at the full hardcover jacket, case, and the story synopsis…
Hardcover Dust Jacket
The Hardcover Case beneath the jacket
The Carpathian Interlude
Only when fear is at its most intense can true heroism come into the light.
For ages, an ancient evil has been hiding in the heart of the Carpathian Mountains, an enemy of the god Mithras, Lord of Light.
In A.D. 9, when three of the Emperor Augustus’ legions are slaughtered in the forests of Germania, it becomes evident to a small group of experienced veterans that something more sinister than the rebellious German tribes is responsible for the massacre.
It falls to Gaius Justus Vitalis and a few warriors favoured by Mithras to hunt down and destroy the forces of undead spurred on by this ancient evil. Summoning all of their courage, they must wade through horror and rivers of blood to bring Mithras’ light into the darkness, or else see the destruction of Rome, the Empire, and all they hold dear.
The adventure begins with the appearance of a young refugee beneath the walls of a distant legionary base…
The Carpathian Interlude is the perfect read for fans of Roman historical fiction and horror. Read it for Halloween, during the dark days of Winter, or any time you’re craving adventure.
Step into the world of The Carpathian Interlude today for an epic and visceral adventure in the Roman Empire that you will never forget!
The Carpathian Interlude: The Complete Trilogy is available in ebook, paperback and hardcover from all major online retailers, independent bookstores, brick and mortal chains, and your local public library.
CLICK HERE to buy a copy or get ISBN# information for the edition of your choice.
There is one race of men, one race of gods; and from a single mother we both draw our breath. But all allotted power divides us: man is nothing, but for the gods the bronze sky endures as a secure home forever. Nevertheless, we bear some resemblance to the immortals, either in greatness of mind or in nature, although we do not know, by day or by night, towards what goal fortune has written that we should run…
(Pindar, Nemean Ode #6)
For those who love history and archaeology, travelling through Greece is an absolute joy. There is something around every corner, bend in the road, mountain top or valley. History, and its remains, are everywhere.
For me, however, the thing I like the most about this ancient land is how history and mythology are so closely linked, and how they are indelibly tied to the landscape itself.
The Peloponnese is especially rich in this way.
It would take a whole lifetime to visit every historical and archaeological site and landscape that has strong links to the stories of myth and legend from Ancient Greece.
This past summer, we returned to one such place, and I was reminded of how rich and deeply moving this connection between myth, history, and the land can be.
This place is Ancient Nemea.
I first visited Nemea almost twenty years ago, just prior to the 2004 Athens Olympics. At the time, I was unfamiliar with the history and mythology of the site. I was more caught up with this gathering of mysterious ruins set among the undulating vineyards of Nemea’s Wine Country, the largest wine region in Greece where the variety is sometimes known as the ‘Blood of Herakles’.
The myths are as much a part of the Agiorgitiko wine as are the fragrant aromas of raspberry or cherry.
Returning to the site in 2023, I explored the site with a great deal more knowledge of what I was looking at, but also with an awareness of the poignant reason for the creation of the site and the Nemean Games, one of the four Crown Games of Ancient Greece, which were held here.
First, a bit about the myths…
Perhaps the most famous myth related to Nemea is in relation to the first labour of Herakles in which the hero defeated the Nemean Lion. It’s a fantastic and exciting myth, but the Nemean Games were not started in honour of Herakles’ great labour.
In legend, the Nemean Games are related to the ‘Seven Against Thebes’, the group of warriors who went with Polynices to take back Thebes from his brother, Eteocles. On their way to Thebes, the Seven stopped in Nemea where King Lykourgos ruled with his queen, Eurydike.
The king and queen had a newborn son named Opheltes, whom they were told by the Oracle at Delphi that they could not let touch the ground until he could walk.
However, one day, the baby’s nurse, Hypsipyle, was walking with the baby when the Seven stopped in Nemea. The Seven asked where the nearest well was, and so Hypsipyle put the baby Opheltes down on a bed of wild celery while she took the generals to the well.
The baby was set upon the ground in contradiction of the Oracle of Delphi’s warning, and so a snake came along and killed the child.
The Seven saw this as a bad omen and sought to honour the soul of the slain child, and propitiate the Gods by holding funeral games on site.
Thus were the Nemean Games born as funeral games for the deceased child, Opheltes.
The victory crown for the Nemean Games, was a crown of wild celery.
The slaying of the Opheltes by the serpent
The first historical games at Nemea were held in 573 B.C., and they took place every two years. There was no settlement at Nemea, and the games were most often under the auspices of Argos, moving to that ancient city to the south for long stretches of time, except during the period of Macedonian hegemony.
The sanctuary at Nemea was important in the ancient world, but somehow experienced more neglect than others when the Games were moved to Argos. Pausanias, in his second century A.D. tour of Greece, describes the run-down ruins of the site during the Roman period:
In Nemea there is a temple of Zeus Nemeios worth visiting, although the roof has collapsed and there is no longer any statue. Around the temple is a sacred cypress grove. Here was Opheltes, put on the grass by his wet-nurse, killed by the snake, according to the story. The inhabitants of Argos sacrifice to Zeus also in Nemea and choose a priest of Zeus Nemeios. They organize a running contest for men in armour at the festival of the Winter Nemea. So there is the grave of Opheltes, with a stone enclosure around it and inside the enclosure altars. There is also a tumulus as a monument for Lykourgos, the father of Opheltes.
(Pausanias II 15, 2-3)
The Temple of Zeus at Nemea with the great Altar of Zeus in the foreground
Unlike the sanctuary at Ancient Olympia, the archaeological site of Nemea is quiet and uncrowded. You can roam at will where you like without running into any other tourists. It is almost a meditation to visit this place, and that’s good, for the air is heavy with tragedy and toil, and the songs of victory.
The archaeological site is actually two different sites: the Sanctuary of Zeus, and the Ancient Stadium.
The main site, the Sanctuary of Zeus, where the wonderful museum is located, includes the remains of houses, baths, and a hero shrine or heroon dedicated to the child, Opheltes. It also includes the ruins of the xenon, a sort of ancient hotel for visitors or participants in the Games, and a series of nine oikoi, or ‘clubhouses’ sponsored by specific city-states to house their athletes and coaches during the Games.
The most impressive part of the Nemean sanctuary, however, is the temple of Nemean Zeus which was built c.330 B.C.
The lovingly restored ruins of this temple are truly inspiring and, unlike other sites such as the Parthenon, you can walk through the temple to get a better sense of its scale and its magic. Uniquely, the temple contains the remains of a sunken crypt accessed through the cella, or inner chamber. It is believed the crypt was either used as the site of an oracle, or as a treasury for the sanctuary.
On the east side of the temple is another feature that is unique to Nemea, and Isthmia (an altar to Poseidon), and that is a very long altar to Zeus where athletes and trainers swore their oaths and made sacrifices prior to the competitions. This altar dates to the fifth century B.C.
When we visited the site this time, we were armed with a 4K video camera and so, rather than tell you about all the minute details of the sanctuary, we can now show you in the video Nemea – A Tour of the Sanctuary of Zeus…
After roaming the Sanctuary of Zeus, we got in the car and drove the very short distance down the road to the second part of the archaeological site of Ancient Nemea, the Stadium.
This site is much smaller than the sanctuary, taking less time to visit, but it is well worth it.
Participants in the Nemean Games would have sworn their oaths and made their offerings to Zeus at the long altar in the sanctuary before processing to the stadium for the actual athletic competitions.
Nemea’s stadium is smaller than Olympia’s, but it’s still substantial, as it should have been for a location of one of the four Crown Games. It could seat up to 40,000 spectators in its day on the roughly hewn stone seats and embankments.
There are some fascinating remains to be seen at Nemea’s stadium, including the starting line and its mechanism, as well as the channels that flow around the stadium, once fed by mountain springs, so that athletes and spectators could drink and stay hydrated during the competitions.
The apodyterion, or ‘locker room’ where athletes prepared
Perhaps the most fascinating parts of the stadium, however, are the remains of the apodyterion, or ‘locker room’, and the barrel-vaulted tunnel which led from there to the stadium. One can still see the graffiti carved by waiting athletes on the stone walls of the tunnel.
When you visit this site, you can walk everywhere at will, including on the stadium floor, and then on a path high on the treed embankments for a magnificent view of the stadium and surrounding countryside.
Even more so than the massive stadium at Ancient Olympia, the stadium at Nemea really does give one a sense of the competitions and sacred games that took place here. And for those of you who want to deepen your experience of the Nemean Games, you can participate for yourselves in the modern, revived Nemean Games which are actually taking place in the summer of 2024! CLICK HERE for more information!
Once again, we visited this amazing archaeological site with our video camera in hand. You can take a full virtual tour of the stadium in Nemea – A Tour of the Ancient Stadium…
I firmly believe that it is well worth revisiting sites such as Ancient Nemea, for as the years go by, as we experience more of this life, as we learn more, our new perspectives allow us to see such places in a different light.
For me, Ancient Nemea is one such place.
If you ever get the chance to visit, I highly recommend it.
Who would have thought that so much could come out of the death of a small child? Then again, tragedy and glory are interwoven in the myths and places of Ancient Greece.
Thank you for reading.
If you are interested in visiting Ancient Nemea for yourself, be sure to check out the deals that are available from Eagles and Dragons Publishing’s subsidiary, Ancient World Travel here: https://www.ancientworldtravel.net/travel-resources-1
Check out our specially-curated deals on visits, tours and tickets to Ancient Nemea, and Nemean Wine Tours at the following link:
First of all, The Historical Fiction Company (HFC) recently awarded Heart of Fire Five Stars and the ‘Highly Recommended’ Award of Excellence.
As the HFC one of the premier reviewers of historical fiction in the world, this is indeed an honour that we are all proud of.
In addition to the award, the HFC’s editorial review of Heart of Fire rendered us speechless with extremely high praise for the story, for Adam’s knowledge and storytelling abilities, and for our amazing editor at Beautiful Ink Editing whose work is “top-notch, making for a smooth reading experience.”
Below are some excerpts from The Historical Fiction Company’s review of Heart of Fire…
“…Haviaras grabs the reader’s interest right away with an engaging and evocative opening. The first sentence immediately immerses the reader in antiquity and establishes the epic tale’s setting. This intriguing hook reveals the author’s skill in drawing readers in from the beginning of the narrative.
In Heart of Fire, Adam Alexander Haviaras transports us to the vibrant heart of ancient Greece through a story that is both a realistic recreation of the ancient Olympic Games and a voyage of personal salvation. Haviaras is an engrossing, poignant story that is full of the essence of human struggle and victory through the perspective of Kyniska, a Spartan princess with dreams of Olympic glory, and Stefanos, an Argive mercenary with a turbulent background.
Heart of Fire brings the most famous athletic event in ancient history to serve as the backdrop for a brilliant fusion of romance, mythology, and history. The plot is intriguing, drawing us in with a blend of deep personal stakes and wider historical ramifications. Haviaras explores what it means to pursue glory and redemption in a civilization constrained by strict conventions and long-standing rivalries via the weaving of a tale of love, honor, and ambition…
… The next strong suit of the book is the character development. It’s very well done and we’re able to relate to Stefanos and Kyniska’s challenges and goals because of the nuanced and intricate writing. Stefanos has a fascinating and complex path from a violent existence to one filled with honor and purpose. Kyniska defies the norms of her era and epitomizes strength and resolve. Their growth throughout the book is evidence of Haviaras’ talent for developing believable and incredibly inspirational characters.
The plot keeps up a smooth flow, with each chapter adding to the story’s increasing energy. Haviaras skillfully strikes a balance between the personal and historical aspects, allowing the story to flow naturally toward its conclusion. Heart of Fire’s continuity is a crucial component that keeps you interested and ready to find out what happens to the characters.”
Green olive wreath on white. Top view
“Another positive of this book is the uniqueness. Heart of Fire is notable for how differently it portrays the historical Olympic Games. Haviaras provides a novel viewpoint on a well-known historical era by contrasting the grandeur of the Olympics with the intimate tales of its protagonists. The novel’s examination of concepts like love, competition, and atonement via the prisms of athletics and combat brings a noteworthy level of uniqueness…
…Heart of Fire‘s narrative arc is expertly written, following a precise path that heightens suspense and expectation. The story moves along at a good clip, striking a pleasing mix of action and emotional nuance from Stefanos’ early search for atonement to the pivotal events of the Olympic Games. The storyline comes to a dramatic climax that not only settles the main problems but also has a long- lasting effect on the reader.
With vivid descriptions and real dialogue, Haviaras’ writing eloquently and precisely captures the spirit of Ancient Greece. The author’s skill in fusing vivid storytelling with historical detail is astounding, resulting in an engaging and educational story. Heart of Fire is an excellent example of Haviaras’ storytelling ability and his in-depth knowledge of antiquity.
Heart of Fire ends in a way that is both thought-provoking and satisfying. The conclusion, which will not give away any plot points, sums up the themes of sacrifice and triumph and leaves readers with a strong impression of the characters’ travels. For anyone who has ever dared to dream large, it is a fitting conclusion to the novel’s examination of reaching greatness despite all circumstances.
In summary, Adam Alexander Haviaras’ Heart of Fire: A Novel of the Ancient Olympics is a magnificent story that vividly and emotionally captures the world of ancient Greece. Haviaras explores the ageless human search for greatness and significance via the connected destiny of Kyniska and Stefanos, as well as the spirit of the ancient Olympics. For those who enjoy historical fiction as well as those who are enthralled with Ancient Greece and its lasting influence, this book is a must-read.”
We’re thrilled by this wonderful award and the amazing review which The Historical Fiction Company has bestowed on Adam and Heart of Fire.
To read the full review on The Historical Fiction Company’s website, CLICK HERE.
If you are looking for an exciting summer read in this year of the Olympiad, then look no further than Heart of Fire: A Novel of the Ancient Olympics!
Heart of Fire is available in e-book, paperback and special edition hardcover from all major online retailers, independent bookstores, brick and mortar chains, and your local public library.
CLICK HERE to buy a copy or get ISBN# information for the edition of your choice.
Remember… There can be no victory without sacrifice.
We are heading back to Mycenae in this post to explore the domiciles of the Dead outside the walls of the ancient citadel, that is, the great tombs of Mycenae.
In our previous post, we walked through the entire fortress of Mycenae, discussed what it was like and how it felt to return to that ancient and, some would say, menacing, fortress after twenty years.
To read the previous post, Return to Mycenae, CLICK HERE.
Likewise, to go on a full tour of the archaeological site, check out our video Mycenae: A Tour of the Ancient Citadel, HERE.
Grave Circle ‘A’ within the walls of Mycenae’s citadel.
In our tour of the fortress, and the video, we explored what is known as ‘Grave Circle A’ which is located within the walls of Mycenae and was the location of the royal cemetery. It was here that graves pre-dating the Trojan War were located, and where many of the magnificent finds of Mycenae were discovered, including the golden death mask Heinrich Schliemann mistakenly took to be the ‘Face of Agamemnon’.
In this post, we are going outside the fortress walls of Mycenae to explore four of the most astonishing tombs of the Greek Bronze Age: the Lion Tomb, the Tomb of Aegisthus, the Tomb of Klytemnestra, and of course, the Treasury of Atreus.
But first, let us take a brief look at the types of tombs these represented.
Parts of a Mycenaean chamber tomb, drawn up by Piet de Jong in 1920–1923
The graves located within ‘Grave Circle A’ are what are known as ‘shaft graves’ and, within the citadel, these were used to bury royalty with their astounding grave goods.
The tombs which we are looking at here are known as ‘chamber tombs’, of which there are many in the hills about Mycenae. These consisted of rock-cut chambers underground which were achieved by way of a passage called the dromos, which means ‘road’.
These chamber tombs could vary in size and shape, but when it came to the royal chamber tombs, or ‘beehive tombs’, they were meant to impress!
Artist representation of a Mycenaean tholos or ‘beehive’ tomb
The royal beehive tombs outside the walls of Mycenae were built into the hillsides and approached each by a long dromos, the largest being thirty-seven meters in length!
They had elaborate doorways and entranceways known as the stomion, beyond which are the vast, round burial chambers. These beehive tombs were roofed by a stone vault of horizontal rings which diminished in diameter until the roof closed at the top. They were true feats of engineering at the time. They were also referred to as tholos tombs because of their round shape. In some cases, such as the Lion Tomb, rectangular cists were cut into the floors of these tombs to accommodate bodies and valuable grave goods.
At Mycenae, there are approximately nine tholos or ‘beehive’ tombs that are known to date, dating from roughly around 1550 B.C.E to the end of the 13th century B.C.E.
Unfortunately, the grave robbers had cleaned all of them out, but the tombs themselves remained largely intact, and we are going to explore four of them today.
Map of Tombs at Mycenae
There is the grave of Atreus, along with the graves of such as returned with Agamemnon from Troy, and were murdered by Aegisthus after he had given them a banquet… Klytemnestra and Aegisthus were buried at some little distance from the wall. They were thought unworthy of a place within it, where lay Agamemnon himself and those who were murdered with him.
(Pausanias, Description of Greece, 2.16)
In his ‘Description of Greece’, the second century C.E. traveller and historian, Pausanias, makes mention of the tombs outside of the fortress walls, and three of them were on our list to visit after we finished our long, hot journey through the ruins of the fortress that dominated the area.
When we came out of the Lion Gate of Mycenae, cutting our way through the army of invading tourists, we turned left immediately and followed the dirt path down to where we knew there were two of the tombs we wanted to see.
Over twenty years ago, when we were last in Mycenae, these had been closed to the public because of their state of disrepair and the risk of stone falling upon one’s head. However, this time, we were thrilled to discover that these first two tombs, the tombs of Aegisthus and of Klytemnestra, were open!
Entrance to the ‘Tomb of Aegisthus’
The Tomb of Aegisthus was the first into which we ventured. It is the smaller tomb, and seemed to have born the brunt of time as much of the beehive roof was missing, leaving its golden sandstone walls open to sky. The chamber of this is still an impressive thirteen meters wide and the dromos is twenty-two meters long and five meters wide.
What struck me about this tomb – aside from the fact that this grand house of the dead may have been built for the murderer of Agamemnon – was the size of the lintel above the deep entrance.
There was a scaffold beneath this, supporting the entrance, which forced us to look carefully as we walked beneath and into the sun-drenched inner chamber.
The interior of the ‘Tomb of Aegisthus’ viewed from above with the plain of Argos in the distance.
When we emerged from the Tomb of Aegisthus, we turned right and went a short distance downhill to the site of the Tomb of Klytemnestra, King Agamemnon’s queen, and the mother of Electra and Orestes.
I would be lying if I didn’t note that I felt strange approaching the supposed tomb of this legendary character of Greek legend. Yes, Klytemnestra was said to be an adulterer with Aegisthus, but she was also daughter of King Tyndareus of Sparta, the older half-sister of the famed Helen, a jilted wife, and a tragically vengeful mother whose daughter was sacrificed by her husband.
I felt for the tragic, yet powerful spirit of Klytemnestra as I approached her final resting place.
The ‘Tomb of Klytemnestra’
The Tomb of Klytemnestra is thought to be the latest in date at Mycenae, constructed around 1220 B.C.E. The dromos of the tomb is thirty-seven meters long and six meters wide, and is lined with massive rectangular blocks.
The triangle over the lintel and the rest of the entrance would have been faced with marble slabs that were covered with elaborate carvings of spirals, rosettes and more, and the stromion seems to have contained a great wooden door about midway through its depth.
When we entered the Tomb of Klytemnestra, it was dark and sad, a feeling that was no doubt added to by what looked like a dead body at a glance, but which turned out to be a sad stray dog come to cool itself from the 45+ Celsius degree day.
The chamber of this tomb is only slightly larger that that of Aegisthus’ at thirteen and a half meters, but the beehive vault is fully intact and disappears into the darkness thirteen meters overhead.
This truly is an impressive monument and well-worth the visit if you have the strength after visiting the citadel. To be able to see even more, consider bringing a good flashlight the better to view the stonework inside.
Interior of the ‘Tomb of Klytemnestra’
After the Tomb of Klytemnestra, we climbed back up the hill toward the Lion Gate and then down toward the site museum.
To our surprise, there was yet another tholos tomb to the left of the museum. Without delay, we went down the rocky slope to its dromos, delighted to find that no one else was there.
Entrance to ‘The Lion Tomb’ of Mycenae
The ‘Lion Tomb’ is thus named because of its proximity to the famed‘Lion Gate’ of Mycenae’s citadel. This is believed to have been constructed some time in the middle of the fourteenth century B.C.E. and has a dromos that is twenty-two meters long and almost five-and-a-half meters wide.
Sadly, the roof of this tomb is no longer intact, but it is estimated that its dome soared to a height of fifteen meters. It is still an impressive work, the chamber of which is fourteen meters wide and contained three pit graves which were found to be empty upon its discovery.
We stood in the middle of this chamber, our voices carrying around the bright, poros stone, and marvelled at its beauty, wondered who had been buried here. Had they been warriors of Mycenae, or members of the royal family who were not fit to be buried within the citadel, as Pausanias points out was the case for Klytemnestra and Aegisthus?
We will never know, but it certainly felt like a gift to be there with no one else around.
Interior of ‘The Lion Tomb’
From the Lion Tomb, we made our way to the museum to view many of the wonderful artifacts discovered at Mycenae. It is worth a visit, if anything to cool off from the Greek summer heat. The most important finds from Mycenae, including the golden death masks and bronze daggers, can be seen at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, which everyone should visit.
After a refreshing, and overpriced, cup of freshly squeezed Argive orange juice in the parking lot, we got in our car and bid farewell to Mycenae’s walls.
But not before one final stop.
A short distance down the road to the modern village of Mykines, you will find on the right the entrance to the great ‘Treasury of Atreus’, or, as the locals have called it in the past, the ‘Tomb of Agamemnon’.
The Treasury of Atreus is accessed by way of a separate entrance to the main archaeological site, but it is no less impressive.
Artist impression of the ‘Treasury of Atreus’
The Treasury of Atreus – named for the legendary son of Pelops and Hippodameia, and father of King Agamemnon, and King Menelaus of Sparta – is one of the most impressive monuments of the Mycenaean Age. It is completely preserved with only the decoration of the facade and interior missing.
Approaching the tomb, one is filled with a sense of awe and wonder. Who was truly buried here, and why did their people believe they deserved such a monument? What was the burial ceremony like, and what magnificent grave goods were interred with the dead, only to be stolen by grave robbers to disappear for all time?
Standing in front of the Treasury of Atreus
The dromos leading to the tomb is cut into the rock of the hillside and is lined with massive rectangular blocks. It is thirty-six meters long and six meters wide, and the height of the entrance to the tomb is a stunning ten and a half meters high. The actually doorway measures just under five-and-a-half meters high and nearly three meters wide.
Passing beneath the lintel and the gaping triangle that would have been faced with ornate columns of green stone and a fresco or sculpture is an eerie experience. Remains of these can be seen in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.
As we walked from the blistering heat and sunlight into the cool darkness of the tomb, it was indeed like stepping into another world, a world of the Dead.
Though there were many tourists by the time we reached the Treasury of Atreus, their presence seemed to be swallowed up by the tomb’s darkness, allowing us to observe our surroundings in relative peace.
Ceiling of the ‘Treasury of Atreus’
The main chamber of the tomb measures just over fourteen-and-a-half meters in diameter. It is a broad space one steps into upon entering the tomb, but the first thing that really draws the eye is the soaring ceiling of the tomb’s mesmerizing beehive construction.
The ceiling reached to a height of about thirteen-and-a-half meters high with thirty-three courses, or ‘rings’, of perfectly joined stones making up the construction. It is a true feat of engineering, that much is obvious, but it was also ornate, a home fit for kings in the Afterlife, though the ornamentation that would have decorated the circular walls is all gone, stolen since long before the visit of Pausanias in the second century C.E.
It is not only incredible to think that this tomb may have held the remains for such legendary figures as Atreus or Agamemnon but also, perhaps more so, it is stunning that it is still intact. The construction of this tomb has survived since the thirteenth century B.C.E.
The ante-chamber within the ‘Treasury of Atreus’
One feature that sets this particular Mycenaean chamber tomb apart from the others is the addition of an ante-chamber within the tomb. This large room is located to the right as one enters the treasury and was another burial chamber, in addition to the main chamber. The ante-chamber is blocked off and is deep and dark, but if you have a flashlight handy you can just make out the interior.
Once we finished explored the tomb, the air growing somewhat heavy within, we bid farewell to the shades of Atreus and Agamemnon, and made our way to the doorway and the light outside in the land of the living.
The tomb’s maw spat us out and we shielded our eyes as we walked in the sliver of shade offered by the walls of the dromos. It was time to leave Mycenae and the dead behind but, just as Orpheus could not help but turn to seek Eurydice at the gates of the Underworld, we also felt the need to turn around for one final glance at the magnificent entrance of the Treasury of Atreus.
The light outside the ‘Treasury of Atreus’
If you ever go to Mycenae, after exploring the citadel itself, be sure to leave time to visit the tombs of Mycenae, those great houses of the Dead that surround it.
They are some of the most stunning pieces of Mycenaean architecture that you will ever see, and when you emerge from them, from the deep darkness into the light, those tombs, and the shades of their inhabitants, will leave a lasting impression.
The ‘Lion Gate’ of Mycenae
If you are interested in visiting Mycenae for yourself, be sure to check out the deals that are available from Eagles and Dragons Publishing’s subsidiary, Ancient World Travel here:
The name conjures something deep inside, something out of myth and legend. There is a feeling of mystery about the name, of power, and perhaps of dread.
How is that? It’s just a name after all, isn’t it?
Not really. It’s much more than that.
Mycenae.
It echoes in the mind, in the memory of time. For me, it is something of a sign post in far away antiquity. It’s not just a place, but also a culture, a people… It is a warlike period that stands out in the vast Bronze Age, between the Age of Heroes and the Archaic period.
Mycenae itself, the place, is a symbol of a brutal time, long ago, that continues to captivate our imaginations, the same way that it has done for our ancestors since then.
Mycenaean Warriors
A barrage of names comes to mind when I think of Mycenae, like so many barbed bronze arrows raining down in the midst of a battle – Atreus, Agamemnon, Achilles, Menelaus, Helen, Clytemnestra, Electra, Orestes and all the heroes of the Trojan War. I think of Homer whose epic Iliada immortalized them all, and even of Alexander the Great who is said to have slept with a copy of that epic beneath his pillow.
Before the summer of 2023, the last time I had visited Mycenae, that dread cyclopean-walled palace whose corridors echoed with war and murder, was on a warm day in March over twenty-years ago.
On my first visit, it was springtime, the ruins surrounded by wild flowers.
I had been back to Greece frequently since then, of course, visiting other archaeological sites, writing about them in my novels and articles, but in all that time, I avoided Mycenae.
I don’t know why exactly, but my natural tendency was to give it a wide berth, to be near it, but only orbiting it. I avoided the tourist assault upon the great ‘Lion Gate’, and the blazing heat that one experiences when visiting it in high summer.
I felt like returning to Mycenae too soon was like returning to the scene of a crime. There is a lingering sadness, a sense of loss about the place that is difficult to describe.
As the epics teach us, however, life is beautiful, and terrible, and fleeting. Since my first visit long ago, time seemed to have flowed more quickly than I would have wished when I as a child.
The citadel of Mycenae as seen from the approach on the road from the modern village of Mykines.
When I first visited Mycenae I was much younger, a little naive, and definitely more idealistic. I was just setting out for my own battles beneath the walls of a distant, metaphorical Troy.
Older now, and having endured my own toils, I wondered if I was ready to return to the flattened halls of Mycenae with a perspective that is afforded by age and experience.
With my wife, and our own children bearing the same excitement and idealism I once possessed, the decision was taken. We would make our way to Mycenae.
Aerial view of the archaeological site
Though it is mostly known as the fortress of King Agamemnon, who led the Greek army at Troy, Mycenae has a long, rich and mythical past.
Briefly then…
Although it is believed that there has been habitation on the acropolis of Mycenae since roughly c. 2500 B.C.E, legend has it that Mycenae was originally founded by Perseus, the son of Zeus and Danae, and first King of Mycenae. Perseus is said to have used the legendary Cyclops to build Mycenae’s great walls some time in the first half of the 14th century B.C.E.
For a long time, Mycenae thrived under the descendants of Perseus, including Eurystheus for whom Herakles performed his famed Labours. After Eurystheus was killed in battle against the children of Herakles and the Athenians, the people of Mycenae chose Atreus, the son of Pelops and Hippodameia to rule them.
Many years of prosperity and greatness followed under the Atreidai dynasty, beginning with King Atreus, and then under his son, King Agamemnon, who was said to be the greatest king in Greece, ruling over the plains of Argos to the south, and the entire northeastern Peloponnese, including Corinth, sometime between 1220-1190.
Mycenae was at the heart of this world, and one of the most important cultural and political centres during Greece’s Bronze Age until its destruction toward the end of the 12th century B.C.E.
It was (and remains) a place where the history of the curse of the Atreidai, written about by ancient playwrights, still echoes about the landscape, and behind the mass of Mycenae’s great Cyclopean walls.
Ajax, Agamemnon, and Odysseus
The later traveller Pausanias, who visited Mycenae in the middle of the second century C.E. is thought to be the last ancient author to write about Mycenae:
There still remain, however, parts of the city wall, including the gate, upon which stand lions. These, too, are said to be the work of the Cyclopes, who made for Proetus the wall at Tiryns.
In the ruins of Mycenae is a fountain called Persea; there are also underground chambers of Atreus and his children, in which were stored their treasures. There is the grave of Atreus, along with the graves of such as returned with Agamemnon from Troy, and were murdered by Aegisthus after he had given them a banquet. As for the tomb of Cassandra, it is claimed by the Lacedaemonians who dwell around Amyclae. Agamemnon has his tomb, and so has Eurymedon the charioteer, while another is shared by Teledamus and Pelops, twin sons, they say, of Cassandra, whom while yet babies Aegisthus slew after their parents. Electra has her tomb, for Orestes married her to Pylades. Hellanicus adds that the children of Pylades by Electra were Medon and Strophius. Clytemnestra and Aegisthus were buried at some little distance from the wall. They were thought unworthy of a place within it, where lay Agamemnon himself and those who were murdered with him.
(Pausanias, Description of Greece, 2.16)
The Murder of Aegisthus by Orestes
When we made the decision to visit Mycenae again, these are the stories and people whom I was thinking about the night before as we ate dinner on a terrace beneath the stars.
The night was hot and calm, those ancient mountains black against the purple and indigo night sky pocked with stars. From our hotel in the modern village of Mykines, I was constantly aware of the citadel up the hill, surrounded by the tombs of legends. As I sipped cool wine from a glass and listened to the bark of a distant dog, or the screech of a fox, I wondered if, from the palace of Mycenae itself, Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, Orestes and Electra, or even a young Iphigenia, had seen what I was seeing.
Had those people of myth and legend looked from their palace walls to see the flickering of fires atop the walls of Argos across the plain? Had they travelled to make offerings to Hera at her sanctuary down the mountainside on the way to Tiryns? Did they enjoy the slash of brilliant blue afforded by the Gulf of Argos that lit the distance on a clear day? Did they too savour the wine, oil, and fruit of that very same land as I was in that moment?
It that ancient landscape laced with history and myth, I felt certain that they had done all of that.
The myths are everywhere in the Argolid.
Dinnertime view from the village of Mycenae to the south from the terrace of our hotel, La Petite Planète.
The next morning we rose early with the crowing of a nearby cock and the barking of a dog, had a hearty breakfast, and drove the short kilometre up the road to the archaeological site in the hopes of beating the crowds.
It was just 8 a.m. and yet the car park was already half-full, the sun beating down, priming us for yet another day of 45 degrees Celsius.
While most of the sweating hordes of tourists went first to the museum, or a stop at the loos, we marched directly up the curving path toward the high walls of Mycenae and found ourselves with a blessedly unobstructed view of the famed ‘Lion Gate’ of the citadel.
The ‘Lion Gate’ of Mycenae
It took my breath away, though I had been before, and seen it countless times in books while doing research.
To stand in the shadow of those Cyclopean walls, before that monumental gate, to imagine Mycenaean warriors with their spears and boar’s tusk helmets staring down at you, is an experience unlike any other.
The pictures don’t do it justice.
How many kings and warriors had walked through that gate? How many chariots with bronze warriors had driven up to it? How many Trojan slaves, like Cassandra, had been forced within that stoney curtain of unimaginable size?
After taking it in, we filmed what we needed to, and pressed forward to begin our exploration of the vast ruins.
It can be overwhelming to visit a site as big as Mycenae, especially if you don’t know what you’re looking at.
Fortunately, that was not us. It helps to be familiar with the site and to come armed with a proper map such as we were. There is no grid pattern such as one might find in ancient Roman settlements. Mycenae is spread out over the top of a high rock, and surrounded by higher mountains with deep chasms on the north and south sides, and and rocky cliffs that fall away to plains covered in olive groves and fruit trees in the valleys to the northwest and southwest toward Argos and the sea.
Inside the Lion Gate, and past the guardhouse on the left, we made directly for one of the most famous locations within the citadel: Grave Circle ‘A’.
This vast, deep circle surrounded by upright slabs was the royal cemetery, intended to impress those who entered the fortress, and to honour the dead rulers of Mycenae. This is where Heinrich Schliemann, the German archaeologist who discovered Troy, found the six grave shafts in 1876 and the remains of nineteen skeletons, including eight men, nine women, and two children. They were buried with riches, gifts, food and furnishings for their journey to the Underworld.
Bronze daggers found in ‘Grave Circle A’
It is also here that Schliemann and Greek archaeologist, Panagiotis A. Stamatakis, discovered among the grave goods some of the most famous artifacts from the period, including the bronze swords and daggers, golden goblets and cups, five golden death masks and other objects with elaborate gold leaf designs, amber and more.
Though Schliemann was determined that one of the graves and the golden death mask within it, belonged to Agamemnon, it was later determined that these burials predated that period by a few hundred years.
Still, the beauty of those finds is unmistakable, and the site unlike anything else.
Site of the Royal Tombs in Grave Circle ‘A’
After visiting Grave Circle ‘A’, most people will begin the trek to the upper acropolis where the palace is located, but before one does, it’s a good idea to continue ahead to view the southern sector of the citadel where there was a temple and the dwellings of the priests of Mycenae. From here, beneath the shade of a lone fig tree, one can look out across the plain to the distant mountains and sea.
I stood there for a few moments, the air white hot and dusty, the light blinding as I looked over my map to see my route up the stairs and the path that leads to the propylon of the palace.
View from the ‘Great Court’ and propylon of the megaron of the palace toward the Argolic Gulf and Argos across the plain.
On my first visit to Mycenae I didn’t really know what I was looking at. It was all quite overwhelming. Of course I knew about the Trojan War, and something of Agamemnon, but the importance of that place, those stories and characters in the identity of the west, and corpus of literature of western civilization, was still unknown to me.
However, on this visit, as I passed through the propylon, the grand entrance to the palace, I knew what lay ahead, knew that I was walking in the footsteps of legends.
The pathway leads up until, on your right, you come to a series of rooms that were the beating heart of the palace. There is a guest chamber where dignitaries would have stayed, and the ‘Great Court’ where courtiers and guests would have waited for an audience with the king. And then from the ‘Great Court’, you can see another propylon leading to what was the megaron of Mycenae, the throne room.
Artist impression of the megaron of Mycenae
On my first visit to Mycenae, I was able to walk though the ‘Great Court’ unimpeded, forward through the propylon, and on into the megaron itself. I remembered looking at the outline of a great circle in the middle where the hearth fire was supposed to have been located.
Sadly, today, the ‘Great Court’ and megaron are closed off, so I could only admire them from the path higher up. There is also now a small shelter over the location of the hearth fire, shielding it from the elements, and also from the prying eyes of tourists.
The megaron of Mycenae today. Note the roof covering the site of the hearth fire in the centre.
Perhaps one of the most interesting parts of the site, that may be linked to one of the bloodier episodes purported to have taken place at Mycenae, is the room adjacent to the throne room. This long oddly shaped room that has some low walls is thought to be the bathroom where, as legend has it, Clytemnestra murdered her husband, Agamemnon, as he bathed.
The Murder of Agamemnon, painting by Pierre-Narcisse Guérin (1817) – though not in the bath in this representation.
Having taken in the heart of the site, it is worth crossing the path and climbing up the ruins on the other side for a magnificent 360 degree view of the site and surrounding countryside. There was a later temple on this high spot, believed to be dedicated to either Hera or Athena. The temple is long gone sadly, but it is still worth standing there and taking it all in.
That done, we proceeded down the path that led to the eastern quarter of the citadel where it is believed there were artists’ quarters, store rooms, and other structures that formed part of the palace’s east wing.
Stairs leading down to the cistern of Mycenae
If you pass this eastern area of the citadel and proceed to the end of the path, you will find low ruins of buildings flanked by an arched ‘sally port’ on the right, and to the left the north ‘sally port’ beside which is the arched tunnel that leads down a staircase to the underground cistern of Mycenae. It is definitely worth having a look down there, but if you do go, bring a good flashlight so that you can properly peer into the darkness below.
The ‘North Gate’ of Mycenae’s citadel
After we emerged from the cool dark of the cistern, we exited the citadel at the North ‘Sally Port’ and took a path along the outside of the north wall to re-enter the citadel at the sturdy north gate of the acropolis. From here, the cliff falls away to olive groves and the site museum down the hill, built to look like the palace itself might have done.
Beautiful views are a constant when one visits Mycenae. You just have to remember to look up.
From there, the path leads along the inside of the north wall back to the guardhouse and the inside of the ‘Lion Gate’.
When we arrived back at the main gate, it was to a great invasion of tourists, all of them crowded beneath the monumental sculpture which they admired, taking advantage of the shade afforded by those magnificent Cyclopean walls.
I was grateful we had come early, and felt blessed to have had a quiet moment alone with the Lions of Mycenae.
One of the golden death masks found in Grave Circle ‘A’ at Mycenae. This one was believed by Schliemann to be the ‘face of Agamemnon’
Admittedly, the heat had been so intense, my mind so taken up with the site itself, that the museum which we visited afterward, was a bit of a blur. The most impressive finds from Mycenae are in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, but there is still a lot to see in the site museum at Mycenae itself. Once you have rested, it is definitely worth a look.
There is another aspect to my return to Mycenae that I have not covered, and that is my exploration of the great tombs that surround it.
Mycenae, it seems to me, is surrounded by the Dead, and after a brief rest, we went in search of them.
But that is a story for next time…
Stayed tuned for the next post on the ‘Tombs of Mycenae’
If you are interested in visiting Mycenae for yourself, be sure to check out the deals that are available from Eagles and Dragons Publishing’s subsidiary, Ancient World Travel here:
Check out our specially-curated deals on visits, tours (many from Athens) and tickets to Ancient Mycenae by CLICKING HERE.
If you want to see the magnificent collection of artifacts from Mycenae, you can get affordable tickets to the National Archaeological Museum in Athens by CLICKING HERE.
Also, read the review of La Petite Planète, a lovely hotel (with an amazing terrace for dinner!) in the village of Mycenae where you can stay here:
