Troy (tur. Truva), the second name is Ilion, an ancient city in the north-west of Asia Minor, off the coast of the Aegean Sea. It was known thanks to the ancient Greek epics, discovered in 1870. during the excavations by G. Schliemann of the Hisarlyk hill. The city gained particular fame thanks to the myths about the Trojan War and the events described in Homer's poem "The Iliad", according to which the 10-year war of the coalition of Achaean kings led by Agamemnon - the king of Mycenae against Troy ended with the fall of the city - fortress. The people who inhabited Troy are called Tevkras in ancient Greek sources.
Troy is a mythical city. For many centuries, the reality of the existence of Troy was questioned - it existed like a city from a legend. But there have always been people looking for a reflection of real history in the events of the Iliad. However, serious attempts to search for the ancient city were made only in the 19th century. In 1870, Heinrich Schliemann, during excavations of the mountain village of Gissrlyk on the Turkish coast, stumbled upon the ruins of an ancient city. Continuing to excavate to a depth of 15 meters, he unearthed treasures belonging to an ancient and highly developed civilization. These were the ruins of the famous Homeric Troy. It is worth noting that Schliemann unearthed a city that was built earlier (1000 years before the Trojan War), further research showed that he simply went through Troy, since it was erected on the ruins of the ancient city he found.
Troy and Atlantis are one and the same. In 1992, Eberhard Zangger suggested that Troy and Atlantis are the same city. He built a theory on the similarity of the description of cities in ancient legends. However, there was no distribution and scientific basis for this assumption. This hypothesis has not received wide support.
The Trojan War broke out because of a woman. According to Greek legend, the Trojan War broke out because one of the 50 sons of King Priam, Paris, kidnapped the beautiful Helen, the wife of the Spartan king Menelaus. The Greeks sent troops precisely to take Helen. However, according to some historians, this is most likely only the pinnacle of the conflict, that is, the last straw that gave rise to the war. Prior to this, presumably, there were many trade wars between the Greeks and the Trojans, who controlled trade along the entire coast in the area of the Dardanelles.
Troy held out for 10 years thanks to outside help. According to available sources, the army of Agamemnon encamped in front of the city on the seashore, without besieging the fortress from all sides. The king of Troy, Priam, took advantage of this, establishing close ties with Caria, Lydia and other regions of Asia Minor, which during the war provided him with assistance. As a result, the war turned out to be very protracted.
The Trojan horse really existed. This is one of the few episodes of that war that has not found its archaeological and historical confirmation. Moreover, there is not a word about the horse in the Iliad, but Homer describes it in detail in his Odyssey. And all the events associated with the Trojan horse and their details were described by the Roman poet Virgil in the Aeneid, 1st century BC. BC, i.e. almost 1200 years later. Some historians suggest that the Trojan horse meant some kind of weapon, such as a battering ram. Others claim that this is how Homer called the Greek sea vessels. It is possible that there was no horse at all, and Homer used it in his poem as a symbol of the death of gullible Trojans.
The Trojan horse got into the city thanks to a cunning trick of the Greeks. According to legend, the Greeks spread a rumor that there was a prophecy that if a wooden horse were to stand within the walls of Troy, he could forever protect the city from Greek raids. Most of the inhabitants of the city were inclined to believe that the horse should be brought into the city. However, there were also opponents. The priest Laocoön offered to burn the horse or throw it off a cliff. He even threw a spear at the horse, and everyone heard that the horse was empty inside. Soon a Greek named Sinon was captured, telling Priam that the Greeks built a horse in honor of the goddess Athena in order to atone for many years of bloodshed. This was followed by tragic events: during the sacrifice to the god of the sea Poseidon, two huge snakes swam out of the water, which strangled the priest and his sons. Seeing this as an omen from above, the Trojans decided to roll the horse into the city. It was so huge that it did not fit through the gate and had to dismantle part of the wall.
The Trojan horse caused the fall of Troy. According to legend, on the night after the horse entered the city, Sinon released from its womb the warriors hiding inside, who quickly killed the guards and flung open the city gates. The city, which fell asleep after violent festivities, did not even put up strong resistance. Several Trojan warriors, led by Aeneas, tried to save the palace and the king. According to ancient Greek myths, the palace fell thanks to the giant Neoptolemus, the son of Achilles, who broke the front door with his ax and killed King Priam.
Heinrich Schliemann, who found Troy and accumulated a huge fortune during his life, was born into a poor family. He was born in 1822 in the family of a country pastor. His homeland is a small German village near the Polish border. His mother died when he was 9 years old. The father was a harsh, unpredictable and self-centered man who loved women very much (for which he lost his position). At the age of 14, Heinrich was separated from his first love, the girl Minna. When Heinrich was 25 years old and already becoming a famous businessman, he finally asked in a letter for Minna's hand in marriage with her father. The answer was that Minna had married a farmer. This message completely broke his heart. Passion for Ancient Greece appeared in the soul of the boy thanks to his father, who read the Iliad to children in the evenings, and then presented his son with a book on world history with illustrations. In 1840, after a long and exhausting job in a grocery store that nearly cost him his life, Heinrich boards a ship bound for Venezuela. On December 12, 1841, the ship fell into a storm and Schliemann was thrown into the icy sea, a barrel saved him from death, by which he held on until he was rescued. During his life, he learned 17 languages and made a large fortune. However, the peak of his career was the excavation of the great Troy.
Heinrich Schliemann undertook the excavations of Troy because of the disorder in his personal life. This is not out of the question. In 1852, Heinrich Schliemann, who had a lot of business in St. Petersburg, married Ekaterina Lyzhina. This marriage lasted 17 years and turned out to be absolutely empty for him. Being a passionate man by nature, he married a sensible woman who was cold to him. As a result, he was almost on the verge of insanity. The unhappy couple had three children, but this did not bring happiness to Schliemann. Out of desperation, he made another fortune selling indigo paint. In addition, he came to grips with the Greek language. He had an inexorable desire for travel. In 1868 he decided to go to Ithaca and organize his first expedition. Then he went towards Constantinople, to those places where, according to the Iliad, Troy was located and began excavations on the hill of Gissarlik. This was his first step on the way to the great Troy.
Schliemann tried on the jewelry of Helen of Troy for his second wife. Heinrich was introduced to his second wife by his old friend, it was the 17-year-old Greek Sophia Engastromenos. According to some sources, when in 1873 Schliemann found the famous treasures of Troy (10,000 gold objects), he brought them upstairs with the help of his second wife, whom he loved immensely. Among them were two luxurious diadems. Putting one of them on Sophia's head, Heinrich said: "The jewel worn by Helen of Troy now adorns my wife." In one of the photographs, she is indeed depicted in magnificent ancient jewelry.
Trojan treasures were lost. There is a deal of truth in it. The Schliemanns donated 12,000 items to the Berlin Museum. During World War II, this priceless treasure was moved to a bunker from which it disappeared in 1945. Part of the treasury unexpectedly showed up in 1993 in Moscow. There is still no answer to the question: "Was it really the gold of Troy?".
During excavations at Hissarlik, several layers-cities of different times were discovered. Archaeologists have identified 9 layers that refer to different years. They are all called Troy. Only two towers remain from Troy I. Troy II was explored by Schliemann, considering it to be the true Troy of King Priam. Troy VI was the highest point of the development of the city, its inhabitants traded profitably with the Greeks, but this city seems to have been badly damaged by an earthquake. Modern scientists believe that the found Troy VII is the true city of Homer's Iliad. According to historians, the city fell in 1184 BC, being burned by the Greeks. Troy VIII was restored by the Greek colonists, who also erected the Temple of Athena here. Troy IX belongs to the Roman Empire. I would like to note that the excavations have shown that Homeric descriptions very accurately describe the city.
Now, speaking of Ancient Greece, many of us immediately recall cities such as and, however, in historical science this is called the classical period of Greece, and there was a time many centuries before these policies, when Mycenae were considered the main city of Greece and it was three thousand years back.
According to legend, Mycenae was founded by an ancient hero - Perseus, the winner of the Gorgon Medusa. However, the exact period of the founding of the city is unknown. The first people began to settle in this place about 7000 years ago, and the city itself appeared at least in 1500 BC, when the Mycenaean civilization began to spread throughout Greece and the nearest islands.
Mycenae in this period is well known to us thanks to the exploits of Hercules, as well as the campaign of the Greek Army against Troy. The campaign was led by the king of Mycenae Agamemnon. However, after the end of the Trojan War in the XII century BC, the ancient world fell into decay, Mycenae also weakened and almost completely disappeared. By the beginning of the Greco-Persian wars, when Athens and Sparta rose in Greece, Mycenae was finally abandoned.
The ruins of the city are located in Argolis in the Peloponnese, not far from the modern capital of the region - Nafplion. One of the neighboring villages can be reached by bus, otherwise it is a car trip. A ticket to Mycenae costs 12 euros, for students of Russian universities - 6 euros. The complex works from 8 to 20.00, but this is most likely in the warm season
Ruins of Mycenae to the right of the course
The current state of Mycenae is a well-preserved outline of the fortress (Acropolis), which appeared at least in 1350 BC, in which the palace and a number of other structures were located. Several tombs of giants, where kings and nobility were buried, and a small museum with finds from Mycenae. The inhabitants of the city lived mainly on the hillside near the walls of the fortress, but almost nothing remained of these buildings.
city plan
city layout
To the right of the road, a small pile of stones is visible - these are the remains of the so-called house with the Perseus fountain. This building, built 3-2 millennia BC, was located above the sacred spring that supplied the city with water, it was erected either in honor of Perseus or the goddess Hera.
The famous lion gates of Mycenae - it was from them that archaeologists guessed which city they were excavating
Lions with two altars and a column are the coat of arms of the Atrids, the ancient dynasty of rulers of Mycenae. The heads of the lions, unfortunately, have not been preserved, most likely they were from a different material and looked at those entering the city. And the lion gate itself is known thanks to the Greek historian and geographer Pausanias, who made a description of the gate
The fortress of Mycenae was surrounded by a powerful cyclopean wall of blocks, some of which weigh 100 tons each. In fact, this is why such structures are called cyclopean, since it is believed that only the cyclops could build them. The wall was 9 meters long, 6 meters wide and up to 7 meters high.
Just outside the gate, a small outbuilding is visible, which was used to lock the gate.
Niche bolt
To the right of the entrance behind the gatehouse was a granary
big ramp
The first building that visitors to the fortress met was one of the tombs of the giants - a large domed tomb built before the fortress and included in its territory in the 13th century BC
The domed tomb is only one of the buildings on the lower terrace of the fortress. In addition, there were residential buildings, a treasury, objects of worship and some other buildings behind the wall, but now it is difficult to recognize them.
The foundations of the pantries where vessels with food were stored, including the famous vase depicting Mycenaean warriors
Ramp going uphill to the right
In addition to the domed tomb and several buildings, there was a cult center on the lower terrace of the citadel, a procession road passed here and altars and temples built in the 13th century BC were located, these objects were destroyed a century later and replaced by ordinary houses
The ruins of the lower terrace, the remains of places of worship
After exploring the lower terrace, you need to climb the zigzag path up to the palace
The ascent starting from the Great Ramp, under which in the 13th century there were rooms where textiles were produced
There were other buildings besides the palace at the top of the hill.
The northern quarter of the fortress, where there were storerooms and several large houses. This part was abandoned before anyone else, as it was badly damaged by the earthquake
Place of the Propylon Palace - the gate of the palace complex with columns in the center
View from the palace
Temple ruins
almond trees
And here is the palace itself, consisting of a large house - a megarun, as well as a courtyard. Here was the throne of the ruler. Archaeologists have proven that there were other buildings on this site 1000 years before the construction of the palace. In the 13th century, the palace was destroyed by fire, but it was restored in the 12th century, although it did not reflect its former grandeur.
On the site of the palace, a place for two columns is clearly visible, as well as an entrance. The palace was not big
A road descends from the palace to the part of the hill opposite from the entrance, in the northern part of the fortress there were a large number of buildings, but the purpose of most of them is unknown
Descent to the northeastern part of the fortress
One of the recognizable objects in this part of the citadel is the quarter of artisans, among which a house with columns (two columns in the courtyard) is distinguished. The purpose of the buildings was determined thanks to the blanks found here, gold leaf, unfinished ivory items, unprocessed semi-precious stones. In the house with columns there were jugs. All houses built in the second half of the 13th century in the same period perished in fire (along with the palace located nearby)
Craftsmen's Quarter
house with columns
Northern pantries and the road to the northern gate
In this part of the citadel there was a cistern with drinking water.
Tank
And there was also a tunnel to an underground source, located at a depth of 18 meters, now it is littered
There is no further passage
There was also a side, secondary entrance to Mycenae, built during the rebuilding of the fortress around 1250 BC.
north gate
Outside the walls of the fortress, as was said, most of the inhabitants of Mycenae lived. These stones are all that remains of buildings outside the walls of the citadel, and these are not even houses, but a complex of 4 trading houses, in one they traded shields, in the second olive oil, in the third they found two plaques with sphinxes, the purpose of the fourth house is unknown
And in front of the entrance to the fortress there was a cemetery, mainly consisting of domed graves and tombs-shafts.
In addition, behind the hill with the fortress is the Mycenae Museum.
The remains of a fresco from the walls of one of the objects of worship
Statuettes found on the site of a quarter of religious buildings
Copies of royal treasures with the famous mask of Agamemnon
Ceramics
Sacred figurines found above one of the shops
And about the graves of the giants themselves, of which there are 4 pieces, I told
The descendants of the mythical Perseus ruled Mycenae for many generations, until they were replaced by the powerful Atreus dynasty, with which many heroic and tragic events are associated. The son of Atreus, the legendary Agamemnon, who led the campaign against Troy, on the advice of the oracle, sacrificed his own daughter Iphigenia to the gods. After a triumphant return from the Trojan War, Agamemnon was killed in the bathroom by his wife Clytemnestra, who did not forgive her husband for the death of her daughter. Clytemnestra, in turn, is killed by her son Orestes, distraught with rage, incited by her sister Electra. What can I say? Tough times, tough habits. But after millennia, the name of Clytemenestre became a household name in Greece for wives - murderers of men.
These legends and assumptions found historical confirmation when the German amateur archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, in search of Troy, accidentally stumbled upon one of the mine burial grounds. Several more burials of the same type were found nearby, and then it became clear why Homer called Mycenae rich in gold. During the excavations, an incredible amount of gold and amazingly beautiful things (about 30 kg!) was found: jewelry, goblets, buttons, military equipment and bronze weapons trimmed with gold. Struck Schliemann wrote: "All the museums of the world do not possess even a fifth of these riches." But the most significant find was the golden death mask, which, according to Schliemann, belonged to Agamemnon himself. But the age of the burial grounds did not confirm this version; the burials were made much earlier, before the reign of Agamemnon. An interesting fact confirming the power and wealth of ancient Mycenae is that no iron objects were found. The main materials from which the discovered objects were made are silver, bronze and gold. Artifacts found in the mine burial grounds are kept in the Archaeological Museum of Athens and in the Archaeological Museum of Mycenae.
The ancient city occupied a strategically advantageous position on a hilltop, protected by the massive walls of the acropolis. The laying of the defensive walls was carried out without the use of any binder solution. The stones were fitted so tightly that the walls give the impression of being monolithic. The famous "Lion's Gate" led to the acropolis - a cyclopean structure made of stones, decorated with a bas-relief with two lionesses - a symbol of the power of the royal dynasty. The gate is the most famous building of Mycenae, and the bas-relief is considered one of the most significant heraldic monuments in the world.
In the citadel there were residential houses of the nobility and household buildings, and many of the buildings were two and three stories high. Not far from the entrance, the remains of burial circle A have been preserved, where shaft tombs dating back to 1600 BC are located. The objects found in them indicate that there were burials of royal families.
From the courtyard at the "Lion's Gate" began a large staircase leading to the royal palace. The center of the palace was Megaron - a large room with a hearth on the floor. The royal Megaron was the central building, a kind of administrative center. Meetings were held here, courts were decided. Only the foundation remained of the royal chambers. You can also make out fragments of the foundation of the red bathroom in which Agamemnon was killed.
At a short distance from the walls of the acropolis, burial circle B was discovered, which includes domed tombs (tholos) - another example of Mycenaean architecture. The most impressive and well-preserved of them is the so-called "Treasury of Atreus" or "Tomb of Agamemnon". When the burial was found by Schliemann, it turned out to be looted. Therefore, it was not possible to establish who owned the tomb, but the size and architectural features suggest that there was a royal tomb inside. Round underground structures have replaced mine burials. An inclined corridor lined with stones leads to a high narrow entrance. Inside the tomb is an imposing dome 13.5 m high and 14.5 m in diameter, lined with horizontal rows of stones. Each row protrudes slightly from the previous one. Prior to the construction of the Roman Pantheon, the tomb was the tallest building of its type.
Mycenae is one of the oldest cities in the world. According to numerous legends, it was built by Perseus, who defeated the Gorgon Medusa. In the XVIII century BC. e. the fortress wall of the city was expanded, and the entrance to it was decorated with a gate with a lion bas-relief. Now they lead only to ruins, but over the centuries they have not lost their greatness.
The gates themselves in Mycenae look as simple as possible. These are four monolithic blocks of limestone, folded in the form of a square with a side of 3.1 m. lintel- a horizontal slab forming a vault - much thicker than the side walls. This allows it to withstand the weight of the overall bas-relief.
There are holes in the side supports, indicating that the lion gate was closed with wings. Presumably they were made of wood.
All blocks are stacked without the use of a binder solution. The structure is supported only by the heavy weight of the stone elements.
Interesting fact: by mathematical calculations, scientists came to the conclusion that the weight of the lintel reaches 20 tons!
The bas-relief has the shape of a triangle. Along the perimeter, it is surrounded by beveled slabs of the city fortress, which take on part of the load from stone lions.
From the plate with lions it exudes royal majesty and power, despite the fact that their heads have not survived to this day. However, it is assumed that they were turned towards the people entering the gate, and these were precisely the lionesses.
The bodies of animals are carved from stone with anatomical accuracy. They stand on their hind legs, with their front legs resting on the altars supporting the column.
The Lion Gate in Mycenae is shrouded in secrets and legends. Until now, scientists do not get tired of putting forward versions of who, how and when erected this structure.
Mycenae in the period of its appearance and heyday is walled city built on a rocky hill. It was divided into two parts: in the upper part of the hill (the acropolis) the nobility lived, in the lower part (at the foot) - commoners.
According to legend, Perseus invited the Cyclopes to divide the city into two parts. It was they who built the majestic fortress wall almost a kilometer long, 12 m high and 8-10 m thick. The ancient Greeks believed that only one-eyed giants could do it. That is why the masonry of hewn blocks was called "cyclopean".
The lion bas-relief is one of the first decorative elements on the fortress walls of those times. The question of what it symbolizes and what it is intended for is still open.
Several versions:
The missing heads of the lionesses are also a mystery. Either they were destroyed under the influence of time and atmospheric phenomena, or they were cast in gold and simply stolen. The fact that the heads in the bas-relief were made of a material different from limestone is beyond doubt. This is evidenced by the place of their break.
Guides are ready to tell tourists a few more versions about the Lion Gate in Mycenae and spice them up with their guesses. This makes the halo of mystery around the ancient building even brighter.
Due to constant internal wars, the cultural, economic and political life of the Achaean state formations was concentrated around the palace-citadel, which makes this civilization similar to the Cretan-Minoan culture , although the latter was much less militant. One of the largest citadels was located in the Mycenae region, thanks to the rich archaeological finds in this area associated with the Achaeans, their civilization was called Mycenaean.
Approximately in the XIV century. BC. began the mass migration of the Achaeans to the peninsula of Asia Minor (the territory of modern Turkey) . This historical period is reflected in the work of the ancient poet Homer "Iliad", which tells about the united campaign of the Achaeans led by King Agamemnon against Troy, the epic tells us about a ten-year siege of this settlement, which ended with its plunder. It can be argued that the Iliad tells us about the military confrontation between the Achaeans and the inhabitants of Asia Minor, which ended in the victory of the first, as evidenced by the many Achaean settlements in this region, the time of which corresponds to approximately the 13th century BC. BC.
At the turn of the 13th and 12th centuries, the Balkan Peninsula was swept by a new wave of migrations: less developed culturally and economically than the Achaeans, but militarily successful (this is due to the development of the production of iron weapons), the Dorians quickly captured the Mycenaean citadels and subjugated their masters. The Dorian conquest of Greece is generally considered to be the end of the Mycenaean civilization.
The Mycenaean civilization left behind a rich cultural heritage, it also contributed to the formation of the civilization of classical Greece, and the famous Iliad and Odyssey, which tell about the Mycenaean era, became the most significant works for the ancient world.
After the death of the Cretan civilization, the flowering of Mycenaean culture began. We learn about this period of Greek history from the myths of the Trojan War, information from which is confirmed by archaeological finds. Heinrich Schliemann, a German self-taught scientist, devoted his whole life to the search for the mysterious Troy; it is he who has the honor of discovering ancient Troy and Mycenae. In today's lesson, following Schliemann, we will visit the ruins of ancient Mycenae and Troy, learn about the mythological and historical reasons for the start of the war between the Greeks and the Trojans.
Mycenae was located in southern Greece, on a rocky hill. The city was surrounded by a fortress wall 900 meters long and 6 meters wide. The entrance to the fortress, built of huge boulders, passed through the Lion's Gate (Fig. 1). From the gate, the entrance opening has been preserved. Archaeologists have unearthed royal graves near the Lion's Gate. Numerous precious ornaments were found in the tombs. From the golden masks that lay on the faces of the buried, one can imagine the appearance of the Mycenaean rulers. They had stern faces with beards and mustaches.
Rice. 1. Lion Gate ()
During excavations of royal palaces in the most ancient Greek cities, hundreds of clay tablets with inscriptions were found. These inscriptions have been read. They contain lists of female slaves, rowers on ships, artisans who worked for the king. Many of the inscriptions refer to preparations for the war. The Mycenaean kings, greedy for other people's wealth, undertook long campaigns for prey.
Around 1200 BC e. Greek cities united under the leadership of the king of Mycenae and opposed Troy, a rich trading city on the coast of Asia Minor. The siege of the city lasted 10 years and ended with the fall of Troy.
The Greeks failed to take advantage of the victory. Warlike tribes invaded Greece from the north. Long-haired, in animal skins, they devastated the south of the country, destroyed Pylos, Mycenae and other cities. The population hid in the mountains, moved to the islands of the Aegean Sea and Asia Minor. There was a decline in the economy, writing was forgotten.
Among the newcomers were also Greek tribes related to those that lived in Greece before their invasion. They settled in the deserted lands.
From generation to generation, the Greeks passed on myths about their gods, ancient heroes, and the war against the Trojans. One day the gods arranged a sumptuous feast. The goddess of quarrels and strife was not called to him. However, she appeared uninvited and imperceptibly threw a golden apple with the inscription: "To the most beautiful" among the feasting. Three goddesses argued over an apple. One was Hera - the eldest of the goddesses (the Greeks portrayed her as a beautiful and majestic woman). The other is the warrior Athena. Despite her formidable appearance, she was just as attractive. The third is Aphrodite, the eternally young goddess of beauty and love. Each of the goddesses believed that the apple was intended for her. They turned to the god of thunder and lightning, Zeus, asking him to judge them. But Zeus, although he was the main god, did not want to interfere in the quarrel, because Hera was his wife, and Athena and Aphrodite were daughters. He ordered them to turn to the Trojan prince Paris, so that he would resolve the dispute about the golden apple (Fig. 2).
Rice. 2. Judgment of Paris ()
Three goddesses flew across the Aegean and appeared before Paris. “Give me an apple,” said Hera, “and I will make you the ruler of all Asia.” “If you award the apple to me,” Athena intervened, “I will help you accomplish great feats and become famous.” Aphrodite said: "Give me the apple, and I will find you the most beautiful woman in the world as your wife." Paris awarded the apple to Aphrodite. Since then, she began to help him in everything, and Hera and Athena hated Paris and all the Trojans.
Elena was considered the most beautiful of women (Fig. 3). She lived in the Greek city of Sparta and was the wife of King Menelaus who ruled there. To him, as if to visit, and Paris came. He was received kindly and cordially. But when the king left for a few days on business, Aphrodite inspired Helen with love for Paris. She forgot her husband, agreed to flee to Troy. Returning home, the king of Sparta, Menelaus, became furious and began to call all the kings of Greece to war against Troy. They agreed to participate in the campaign.
Rice. 3. Beautiful Elena ()
On hundreds of ships, the Greeks crossed the sea and landed near Troy. Pulling the ships ashore, they set up camp, protecting it with a wall. Fighting began on the plain between the camp and Troy. For many years the Greeks unsuccessfully besieged Troy. The Trojan War was the last venture of Mycenae. According to the myths, Troy was defeated and captured by the Greeks. In fact, the city was destroyed by an earthquake around 1300 BC. e. A long war exhausted the strength of the Greek cities, including Mycenae, after which their decline began.
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