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Tiryns

For Argive prince, seeTiryns (mythology).

Tiryns(/ˈtɪrɪnz/or/ˈtaɪrɪnz/;Ancient Greek:Τίρυνς;Modern Greek:Τίρυνθα) is aMycenaeanarchaeological siteinArgolisin thePeloponnese,and the location from which the mythical heroHeracleswas said to have performed hisTwelve Labours.It lies 20 km (12 mi) south ofMycenae.

Tiryns
Τίρυνς
Τίρυνθα
General view of the Citadel of Tiryns, with Cyclopean masonry
Tiryns is located in Greece
Tiryns
Shown within Greece
LocationArgolis,Greece
Coordinates37°35′58″N22°48′00″E/ 37.59944°N 22.80000°E/37.59944; 22.80000
TypeSettlement
History
PeriodsBronze Age
CulturesAncient Greece
Official nameArchaeological Sites ofMycenaeand Tiryns
TypeCultural
Criteriai, ii, iii, iv, vi
Designated1999(23rdsession)
Reference no.941
RegionEurope and North America

Tiryns was ahill fortwith occupation ranging back seven thousand years, from before the beginning of theBronze Age.It reached its height of importance between 1400 and 1200 BC, when it became one of the most important centers of theMycenaeanworld, and in particular inArgolis.Its most notable features were its palace, itsCyclopeantunnels and especially its walls, which gave the city itsHomericepithet of "mighty walled Tiryns". Tiryns became associated with the myths surrounding Heracles, as the city was the residence of the hero during his labors, and some sources cite it as his birthplace.[1]

The famousmegaronof the palace of Tiryns has a large reception hall, the main room of which had a throne placed against the right wall and a centralhearthbordered by fourMinoan-style wooden columns that served as supports for the roof. Two of the three walls of the megaron were incorporated into anarchaictemple ofHera.The site went into decline at the end of theMycenaean period,and was completely deserted by the timePausaniasvisited in the 2nd century AD.

In 1300 BC, thecitadeland lower town had a population of 10,000 people covering 20–25 hectares. Despite the destruction of the palace in 1200 BC, the city population continued to increase and by 1150 BC it had a population of 15,000 people.[2][3][4]

Along with the nearby ruins ofMycenae,UNESCOdesignated Tiryns as aWorld Heritage Sitein 1999 because of its outstanding architecture and testimony to the development of Ancient Greek civilization.[5]

Legend

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Plan of Tiryns excavations.

Tiryns is first referenced byHomer,who praised its massive walls.[6]Ancient tradition held that the walls were built by theCyclopesbecause only giants of superhuman strength could have lifted the enormous stones.[7]After viewing the walls of the ruined citadel in the 2nd century AD, the geographerPausaniaswrote that two mules pulling together could not move even the smaller stones.[8]

Tradition also associates the walls withProetus,the sibling ofAcrisius,king ofArgos.According to the legend Proetus, pursued by his brother, fled to Lycia. With the help of the Lycians, he managed to return to Argolis. There, Proetus occupied Tiryns and fortified it with the assistance of the cyclopes. Thus Greek legend links the three Argolic centers with three mythical heroes:Acrisius,founder of theDoriccolony ofArgos;his brotherProetus,founder of Tiryns; and his grandsonPerseus,the founder ofMycenae.But this tradition was born at the beginning of the historical period, when Argos was fighting to become thehegemonicpower in the area and needed a glorious past to compete with the other two cities.[citation needed]

History

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Masonry tunnel

Neolithic

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The area has been inhabited sinceprehistory.A smallneolithicsettlement thrived.

Early Helladic

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See also:Tiryns culture

In the middle of the 3rd millennium BC, it was a flourishing early pre-Hellenic settlement located about 15 km (9.3 mi) southeast ofMycenae,on a hill 300 m (980 ft) long, 45–100 m (148–328 ft) wide, and no more than 18 m (59 ft) high. From this period, an imposing circular structure survived under the yard of a Mycenaean palace. It was 28 m (92 ft) in diameter. It appears to be a fortifiedarea of refugefor the city's inhabitants in time of war, and/or a residence of a king. Its base was powerful, and was constructed from two concentric stone walls, among which there were others cross-cutting, so that the thickness reached 45 m (148 ft). The superstructure was clay and the roof was made from fire-baked tiles.

Middle Helladic

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The first Greek inhabitants—the creators of the MiddleHelladiccivilization and theMycenaean civilizationafter that—settled Tiryns at the beginning of the Middle Helladic period (2000–1600 BC).

Late Helladic

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In the Late Helladic, the city underwent its greatest growth, also known as the Mycenaean period. The Acropolis was constructed in three phases, the first at the end of the Late Helladic II period (1500–1400 BC), the second in Late Helladic III (1400–1300 BC), and the third at the end of the Late Helladic III B (1300–1200 BC). The surviving ruins of the Mycenaean citadel date to the end of the third period.[9]The city proper surrounded the acropolis on the plain below.

Thedisasterthat struck the Mycenaean centers at the end of theBronze Ageaffected Tiryns, but it is certain that the area of the palace was inhabited continuously into the earlyArchaic period,until the middle of the 8th century BC (a little later a temple was built in the ruins of the palace). In the post-palatial LH IIIC period (c. 1180 BC), an extensive deposit of precious items, including gold and silver objects and a fifteenth-century BC Minoansignet ring,was made in acauldronin Tiryns's lower town, within the foundations of a Mycenaean house.[10]: 129 

Classical period

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At the beginning of theClassical periodTiryns, like Mycenae, became a relatively insignificant city. WhenCleomenes IofSpartadefeated theArgives,their slaves occupied Tiryns for many years, according toHerodotus.[11]Herodotus also mentions that Tiryns took part in theBattle of Plataeain 480 BC with 400hoplites.[12]Even in decline, Mycenae and Tiryns were disturbing to the Argives, who in their politicalpropagandawanted to monopolize the glory of legendary (and mythical) ancestors. In 468 BC, Argos completely destroyed both Mycenae and Tiryns, and—according to Pausanias—transferred the residents to Argos, to increase the population of the city.[citation needed]However,Strabosays that many Tirynthians moved to found the city of Halieis, modernPorto Heli.[13][14]

Despite its importance, little value was given to Tiryns and its mythical rulers and traditions byepicsand drama. Pausanias dedicated a short piece (2.25.8) to Tiryns, and newer travelers, traveling to Greece in search of places where the heroes of the ancient texts lived, did not understand the significance of the city.

Excavations

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The Acropolis was first excavated byAlexandros Rizos Rangavisand the German scholarFriedrich Thierschin 1831.[15]After trial excavations in August 1876,Heinrich Schliemannconsidered the palace of Tiryns to be medieval, so he came very close to destroying the remains to excavate deeper for Mycenaean treasures. He returned in 1884 with more archaeological experience and worked for 5 months there.[16]However, the next period of excavation was underWilhelm Dörpfeld,a director of theGerman Archaeological Institute;this time, the ruins were estimated properly.[17][18]

The excavations were repeated later by Dörpfeld with the cooperation of other German archaeologists, who continued his work until 1938. From 1910, the excavations were led byGeorg Karo,[19]: 639 though the "Tiryns Treasure" was initially excavated in 1915 in Karo's absence by the Greek archaeologistApostolos Arvanitopoulos[el],who was stationed in the region as a reserve officer of theHellenic Army.[10]: 129 Karo was removed from his post at the DAI in late 1916, and excavations at Tiryns thereafter ceased until the end ofWorld War Iin 1918.[20]: 261 AfterWorld War II(1939–1945), the work was continued by the Institute and the Greek Archaeological Service. In particular, there were excavations in 1977, 1978/1979, and again in 1982/83.[21][22][23]

Archaeological site

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Fresco with a representation of a wild boar hunt. From the later Tiryns palace.

The walls extend to the entire area of the top of the hill. Their bases survive throughout all of their length, and their height in some places reaching 7 meters, slightly below the original height, which is estimated at 9–10 m. The walls are quite thick, usually 6 meters, and up to 17 m at the points where the tunnels pass through. A strong transverse wall separates the acropolis into two sections -the south includes the palatial buildings, while the northern protects only the top of the hill area. In this second section, which dates to the end of the Mycenaean era, small gates and many tunnels occasionally open, covered with a triangular roof, which served as a refuge for the inhabitants of the lower city in times of danger.[24]

The entrance of thecitadelwas always on the east side, but had a different position and form in each of the three construction phases. In the second phase, the gate had the form of theLion GateofMycenae.Left there was a tower and to the right was the arm of the wall, so the gate was well protected, since the attackers were forced to cross a very narrow corridor, while the defense could hit them from above and from both sides. In the third phase, the gate was moved further out. The palace of the king, inside the citadel, similar to that of Mycenae (dimensions 11.8 × 9.8 m) consists of three areas: the outer portico with the two columns, the prodomos (anteroom) and the domos (main room) with the cyclical fireplace that was surrounded by four wooden columns. The lateral compartments of the palace seem to have a second floor.

The decoration of the walls of the outer arcade was rich. They had a zone at the bottom of alabaster slabs with relief rosettes and flowers. The rest was decorated withfrescos.Three doors lead to prodomos and then another to the domos. In the middle of the eastern wall is visible in the floor the place that corresponded to the royal throne. The floor was richly decorated with different themes in the area around the walls and the space between the columns of the fireplace. Of course, here the walls were decorated with paintings.

In the ruins of the mansion, which burned during the 8th century BC, a Doric temple was built during theGeometric period.Smaller than the mansion, it consisted of two parts, the prodomos and the cella. The width of the temple was just greater than half that of the mansion, while the back wall of the temple reached the height of the rear columns of the fireplace. Three springs fed into the compound, one in the western side of the large courtyard which could be accessed by a secret entrance, and two at the end of north side of the wall, accessed via two tunnels in the wall. These and similar such structures found in other shelters are witnesses to the care which was taken here, as in other Mycenaean acropolises, to the basic problem of water access in a time of siege.

See also

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References

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  1. ^"Tiryns, Greek Mythology Link".Archived fromthe originalon 2002-08-07.Retrieved2002-08-07.
  2. ^Yasur-Landau, Assaf (16 June 2014).The Philistines and Aegean Migration at the End of the Late Bronze Age.Cambridge University Press.ISBN9781139485876– via Google Books.
  3. ^Centre, UNESCO World Heritage."Archaeological Sites of Mycenae and Tiryns".
  4. ^Ring, Trudy; Salkin, Robert M.; Boda, Sharon La (1 January 1994).International Dictionary of Historic Places: Southern Europe.Taylor & Francis.ISBN9781884964022– via Google Books.
  5. ^"Archaeological Sites of Mycenae and Tiryns".UNESCO World Heritage Convention.United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization.Retrieved27 November2022.
  6. ^HomerIliad 2.555
  7. ^PausaniasDescription of Greece - about Boeotia9.36.5
  8. ^PausaniasDescription of Greece - about Corinth2.25.8
  9. ^Davis, Brent, Maran, Joseph and Wirghová, Soňa. "A new Cypro-Minoan inscription from Tiryns: TIRY Avas 002" Kadmos, vol. 53, no. 1-2, 2014, pp. 91-109
  10. ^abMaran, Joseph (2006). "Coming to Terms with the Past: Ideology and Power in Late Helladic IIIC". InDeger-Jalkotzy, Sigrid;Lemos, Irene S. (eds.).Ancient Greece: From the Mycenaean Palaces to the Age of Homer.Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. pp. 123–150.ISBN978-0-7486-1889-7.
  11. ^HerodotusBook 6, 83
  12. ^Herodotus Book 9, 28
  13. ^Strabo8, 373
  14. ^"A Brief History of Halieis".Geocities. Archived fromthe originalon 2009-10-21.Retrieved2019-01-11.
  15. ^F. Thiersch, "Thiersch's Leben", Leipzig, 1866
  16. ^[1]Heinrich Schliemann et. al., "Tiryns: The prehistoric palace of the kings of Tiryns, the results of the latest excavations", Charles Scribner's Sons, London, 1885
  17. ^Jebb, Richard Claverhouse. "The Homeric House, in relation to the Remains at Tiryns." The Journal of Hellenic Studies 7 (1886): 170-188
  18. ^Middleton, J. Henry. "A Suggested Restoration of the Great Hall in the Palace of Tiryns." The Journal of Hellenic Studies 7 (1886): 161-169
  19. ^Matz, Friedrich(September 1964). "Georg Karo".Gnomon.36(6): 637–640.JSTOR27683484.
  20. ^Marchand, Suzanne (2008) [1996]. "Kulturand the World War ". In Murray, Tim; Evans, Christopher (eds.).Histories of Archaeology: A Reader in the History of Archaeology.Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 238–278.ISBN978-0-19-955008-1.
  21. ^Kilian, K. 1979. Ausgrabungen in Tiryns 1977: Bericht zu den Grabungen, Archäologischer Anzeiger 1979, 379–411
  22. ^Kilian, K. 1981. Ausgrabungen in Tiryns 1978/1979: Bericht zu den Grabungen, Archäologischer Anzeiger 1981, 149–194
  23. ^Kilian, K. 1988. Ausgrabungen in Tiryns 1982/83: Bericht zu den Grabungen, Archäologischer Anzeiger 1988, 105–151
  24. ^Zangger, Eberhard. "Landscape changes around Tiryns during the Bronze Age." American Journal of Archaeology 98.2 (1994): 189-212

Further reading

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