The Citadel at Tiryns

#Tiryns #MycenaeanCitadel  #mycenaean

For our first look at Mycenaean Citadels I want to take another look at Tiryns in the Argolid.

First a look in context. Note the distance bar on the bottom right. Nearly all of these sites could seen from each other or contacted using signal beacons or messengers. Was there a mutual defence pact?
The High Kings city which seems too distant from the coast is actually on what have been a major road up to Achaea Corinth and further north.

Note Tiryns and just how close it is to Nauplia still  famous harbour to this day. While the coast may have been closer to Tiryns in the Mycenaean era Nauplia is the better harbour.

Now Tiryns from the air.

If you have Google Earth you can see the citadel then and now was surrounded by fertile fields.
The steepest and highest part shelter the town which archaeologists believe spread to the east and north.

This second aerial shot makes this even more obvious.

Despite later damage obscuring the entry point excavations confirm it was on the city side allowing the citadel dwellers to both defend and CONTROL those below.

Please follow the next few posts as I try to figure out and reveal if theres a design philosophy or just a really good eye for using sites or other unique features of Mycenaean citadels.

You may see some maps and photos used over several blogs for the benefit of people who may have found a single post by a random search.

Next time Argos. If you get any of the weekend bible study posts please scroll onwards or backwards if you're not also interested in Koine Greek.

Other Cities - ARGOS

Secular Saturday #ancienthistory #argos #greece #maps

ARGOS is one of those Greek cities that have lasted for centuries.

Why?

Having two very convenient hills to center and strengthen your western defences helps!

First a map showing the general area of the #Argolid.  Notice the surrounding roads hills rivers and plains. A great location for trading with Laconia Arcadia and other polises. Two rivers. A nearby port at Tiryns. Mycenae guarding the north east pass to Corinth. A plain suitable for both crops and herds.

Now more detail.

Note that Larissa and the Aspis are both HILLS. 

BIG Hills with Forts and Citadels. 

The modern city center is further east since the invention of cannons and gunpowder overcame the advantages of two high hills joined by walls. 

Still great location. 

Water. Defences. Nearby Farmland. Trade by land and sea.

Successful cities share common resource factors. 

Next time we look at a polis where advance planning and a good location did NOT work yet could have!

Yes Megalopolis in Arcadia!

OTHER CITIES TIRYNS

OTHER CITIES TIRYNS
#Tiryns #greekpolises #polis Hydro-engineering #mycenaeans #argolid

The #Argolid is one of the largest agricultural areas in Greece.

Legend and history describe the three major centres as Argos Tiryns and Mycenae. The rulers at Mycenae if we can trust the Catalogue of Ships section of the Iliad also controlled most of what was later called Achaia and had access or some kind of arrangement / alliance to use Corinth as a port.

Argos and Tiryns controlled much smaller areas but areas that allowed for grazing of horse and cattle and growing crops that could be traded with other areas plus Argos controlled several trade and road routes into the interior of the Peloponnese.

#TIRYNS may be inland today but it was a major power in the Mycenaean era because it was a port hard as that may seem to believe. It is odd Nauplia is not mentioned. Perhaps it was only a fishing village in that era?

WATER again is the key.

Notice how the shoreline has changed !

Here's a modern map for contrast.

Here is the citadel of Tiryns today.

I chose this aerial shot of several available because it shows the thickness of the walls and just enough of the surrounding area to show how flat it is by contrast.

Modern Tiryns is further to the north east as ancient Tiryns was destroyed in a war with Argos. Areas that were once housing are now farms and fields.

Now when you saw the first two maps did you notice the ancient water courses around Tiryns?  In the 1960s archaeologists realised a water diversion shifting a river bed and credited to the Venetians actually dated back to the Mycenaean era after evacuations revealed the base of the "Tiryns dam" had stone work that predated Classical Roman or other styles. 

I read of this being described as a flood diversion scheme but another possibility is that some one in Tiryns realised a barrier placed there would not only divert floods away from the suburbs of the city and maybe slow down the silting of the bay but also cause silt to build up behind the barrier and create more farmland.

The dam / diversion weir became almost hidden because soil built up behind and around it.

You can see the farms in the area on Google Earth.

Eventually the shore line changed around Tiryns and it was no longer a port but it was and still is a farming area whereas on the other side of the plain the soil is much drier though fortunately for Argos and modern farmers the Lake or Lagoon at Lerna filled over the centuries creating more farmland.

Perhaps Argos should have invested in diversion weirs?

Tiryns may not be a major city by our modern standards but as a Greek polis considering it lasted from the Helladic well into the Classical era its a success story.   Because of water management.  And there's still a TIRYNS there!