The architectural plan of the megaron became the basic shape of Greek temples, demonstrating the cultural shift as the gods of ancient Greece took the place of the Mycenaean rulers.Ĭitadel sites were protected from invasion through natural and man-made fortification.

It contained a more or less central open hearth, which was vented though an oculus in the roof above it and surrounded by four columns. The megaron was a rectangular hall, fronted by an open, two-columned porch. Mycenaean citadel sites were centered around the megaron, a reception area for the king. The corbel arch was often used by the Mycenaeans in conjunction with a relieving triangle, which was a triangular block of stone that fit into the recess of the corbeled arch and helped to redistribute weight from the lintel to the supporting walls. The corbel arch is constructed by offsetting successive courses of stone (or brick) at the springline of the walls so that they project towards the archway's center from each supporting side, until the courses meet at the apex of the archway (often, the last gap is bridged with a flat stone). Therefore, a corbeled (or corbel) arch is employed over doorways to relieve the weight on the lintel. A typical post and lintel structure is not strong enough to support the heavy structures built above it. The Mycenaeans also relied on new techniques of building to create supportive archways and vaults. The thick Cyclopean walls reflect a need for protection and self-defense since these walls often encircled the citadel site and the acropolis on which the site was located. Due to this ancient belief the use of large, roughly cut, ashlar blocks in building is referred to as Cyclopean masonry. The blocks were considered too large to be moved by humans and were believed by ancient Greeks to have been erected by Cyclopes, or one-eyed giants. The walls of Mycenaean citadel sites were often built with ashlar and massive stone blocks. The citadels vary from city to city but each share common attributes including building techniques and architectural features. The Mycenaeans populated Greece and built citadels on high, rocky outcroppings that provided natural fortification and overlooked plains used for farming and raising livestock. Mycenaean culture can be summarized by its architecture, whose remains demonstrate the Mycenaeans' war-like culture and the dominance of citadel sites ruled by a single ruler. The core fortified area of a town or city. The rectangular great hall in a Mycenaean building, usually supported with pillars.Ī type of stonework found in Mycenaean architecture, built with massive limestone boulders, roughly fitted together with minimal clearance between adjacent stones and no use of mortar.Ī simple construction method using a header as the horizontal member over a building void supported at its ends by two vertical columns.

Uniformity among citadel sites throughout the Mycenaean civilization allow us to compare components such as megarons easily.Ī structural member jutting out of a wall to carry a superincumbent weight.

The megaron is entered through a porch with two columns and the main room included four columns around a central hearth.

The central feature of a Mycenaean citadel site was the megaron, a room that functioned as the king's audience chamber.

Since a lintel over a doorway could not support the wall above it without collapsing, the Mycenaeans used corbeled vaults and a relieving triangle over lintels to redistribute the weight off the horizontal beam and into the supporting walls.

A wide, strong wall built from large roughly cut stones (known as cyclopean masonry) was one method of protection, as was limited access to citadel sites and well protected gates.

It is especially known for its protective gateway, the Lion Gate, and the Treasury of Atreus, an example of a tholos tomb.Mycenaean architecture reflects their warring society. The city of Mycenae was the center of Mycenaean culture.

Warlike mycenaean art