GREECE PELOPONNESE ARGOLIS TIRYNS ACROPOLIS

The road between Nafplion and Argos passes the low hill of Tiryns, rising only some 20 m above the fertile Argive plain, but with one of the mightiest citadels of Mycenaean time.

The walls of Tiryns, famous already in antiquity, are said to have been erected by the legendary founder of Tiryns, Proitos, with the help of Cyclopes. Such "Cyclopean Walls" also appear at other sites of this period (see e.g.: Mycenae), but not at all Mycenaean palaces (see: "Nestor's palace"). Nowhere are they more impressive than in Tiryns. They fit the story of Zeus' son Herakles, born in Tiryns. It was Tiryns from where Herakles was sent to his twelve labours.

The earliest habitation of Tiryns was already in the Late Neolithic period (5th millenium BC), but because of the extensive Mycenaean constructions, nothing is left of the early settlements. There are, however, architectural remains of the Early Bronze Age (2500 - 2000 BC) with a very remarkable circular building. In the Helladic period between the 14th and the 11th century BC, the fortification walls were erected to girt the Upper and Lower Citadel. They have a total length of some 700 m, the thickness varies between 4.5 m and about 10 m (some blocks are 4 m long, weighing up to 14 tons).