Mycenae Tomb Reconstruction
Ancient Greek Mythology, Religion, Art
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The main hive, or chamber, of the tholos tomb outside Mycenae is quite large: 13m high and 14.5m in diameter. Construction of the tholos tombs was achieved by first cutting away or hollowing out the side of a hill and building the stone structure itself. Once complete, the dirt from the ill would be replaced, giving the appearance that the tomb was always a part of it - thus symbolizing a return to mother earth, goddess of life and fertility. Some scholars believe that the construction technique used on the stone tomb was borrowed or adapted from Egyptian techniques.
This sort of tholos tomb represents an advancement over the Grave Circles found inside the walls of Mycenae. Older graves indicate something of an impious attitude towards the bones of ancestors. Here, however, we find what might be the seeds of a hero cult around royal ancestors, not unexpected in the context of a culture developing a pantheon of male and female gods that would later form the core of Greek mythology. The rosettes you see all along the wall are no longer extant, although some were still there as late as the nineteenth century.
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