Tomb of Clytemnestra
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| Location | Mycenae, Greece |
|---|---|
| Region | Argolid |
| Type | Royal tomb |
| History | |
| Founded | c. 1250 BC |
| Cultures | Mycenaean Greek |
The Tomb of Clytemnestra was a Mycenaean tholos type tomb built in c. 1250 BC. A number of architectural features such as the semi-column were largely adopted by later classical monuments of the first millennium BC, both in the Greek and Latin world. The Tomb of Clytemnestra with its imposing façade is together with the Treasury of Atreus the most monumental tomb of that type.
The tomb is named after Clytemnestra, the wife of king Agamemnon, mythical ruler of Mycenae and leader of the Greeks in the Trojan War. However, it has been also suggested by modern scholars that this might have been Agamemnon's tomb or even that the tomb was never occupied due to the destruction of Mycenae which occurred during that time.
Tholos type tombs emerged in Mycenaean Greece in c. 1500-1450 BC as the resting places of the local royal families. They consisted of large circular burial chambers with high vaulted roofs and a straight entry passage (dromos) lined with stone. A total of nine royal tholos tombs were built in the immediate vicinity of the citadel of Mycenae during 15th-14th century BC. The most monumental of these with imposing façades are the Treasury of Atreus and the Tomb of Clytemnestra. The latter built in c. 1250 BC was the last tomb of this type in the region. It is also one of the representative examples of Mycenaean tholos tombs together with the Treasury of Atreus and the Tomb of the Genii.
The entrance to the tomb consists of a dromos with walls of ashlar in conglomerate. Similarly, the stomion is built from the same element. The exterior façade of the stomion is decorated with half-columns made of gypsum which were carefully carved with ornate capitals and vertical fluting. A large relieving triangle overlaps the door lintel. It was originally decorated by a colored relief sculpture. Through the lintel block a small drain is cut in the rock, lined with low rubble walls and roofed with small slabs. Above them two stones are set to take the direct pressure off the covering slabs.
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