What do the great Mycenaean citadels reveal about the Bronze Age world behind Homer?
The major Mycenaean sites and citadels: Mycenae (the Lion Gate, the grave circles and the citadel walls), Tiryns and Pylos, their fortifications and architecture (Cyclopean masonry), and what they reveal about Mycenaean power and society.
An OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (J199) study of Mycenaean sites in The Homeric World. Covers the major citadels of Mycenae (the Lion Gate, grave circles and walls), Tiryns and Pylos, their Cyclopean fortifications and architecture, and what they reveal about Mycenaean power and society, with the source and essay skills the J199/21 paper rewards.
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What this dot point is asking
The Homeric World begins with the Mycenaean civilisation, the Bronze Age world that lies behind Homer's poems. You need to know the major sites and citadels: Mycenae (the Lion Gate, the grave circles and the walls), Tiryns and Pylos, their fortifications and architecture (the famous Cyclopean masonry), and what they reveal about Mycenaean power and society. The paper tests precise knowledge (AO1) and the analysis of archaeological sources plus your own argument (AO2).
The answer
Who the Mycenaeans were
Mycenae: the Lion Gate, the walls and the grave circles
Tiryns and Pylos
What the citadels reveal
The citadels reveal a society that was:
- Warlike - high, defensible sites, thick Cyclopean walls, strong gateways and (at Mycenae and Tiryns) protected underground water supplies.
- Hierarchical and wealthy - the Lion Gate and the gold of the shaft graves advertised the power and riches of the kings.
- Organised - the palaces inside (best seen at Pylos) were centres of government, storage and religion.
So the citadels were built for defence but also as deliberate statements of royal power and as centres of rule.
Examples in context
A strong essay would argue the citadels were built for defence but also as statements of royal power and centres of government.
Try this
Q1. Why are the great Mycenaean walls called "Cyclopean"? [Knowledge recall]
- Cue. They were built of such huge, roughly shaped stones that later Greeks could not believe humans had moved them and credited the giant Cyclopes, hence "Cyclopean masonry".
Q2. Explain what the Lion Gate and Grave Circle A at Mycenae suggest about its rulers. [Short explanation]
- Cue. The monumental Lion Gate (with lions as a symbol of royal power) and the gold masks, weapons and jewellery of the shaft graves show that Mycenae was ruled by wealthy, powerful kings, matching Homer's description of it as "rich in gold".
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of OCR exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
OCR J199/21 2019 (style)4 marksIdentify two features of the citadel at Mycenae. [4]Show worked answer →
A short knowledge question (4 marks, AO1, 2 marks each). Reward two correct, developed features.
Feature one. The Lion Gate, the monumental entrance, with two lions (or lionesses) carved in relief above the doorway, a sign of the city's power.
Feature two. The massive defensive walls built of huge unworked stones, called Cyclopean masonry because later Greeks thought only the Cyclopes could have lifted them.
Top marks. Two separate features, each with a precise supporting detail (for example the Lion Gate, the Cyclopean walls, Grave Circle A, the citadel's hilltop position).
OCR J199/21 2021 (essay, true tariff 15)15 marks'The Mycenaean citadels were built mainly for defence.' How far do you agree? Justify your response. [marked here out of 15; this is the true J199/21 tariff]Show worked answer →
The 15-mark extended response (AO1 and AO2). The marker rewards a clear argument supported by named features.
For (defence). The citadels stood on high, easily defended hills, ringed by massive Cyclopean walls up to several metres thick, with strong gateways (the Lion Gate) and, at Mycenae and Tiryns, a protected underground water supply, all pointing to a need for defence in a warlike age.
Other purposes. The citadels were also centres of power and display: the Lion Gate and the rich shaft graves advertised the ruler's wealth and status, and the palace inside was an administrative and religious centre, so they did more than defend.
Judgement. The top band argues a clear line, for example that defence was a central purpose, but the citadels were also deliberate statements of royal power and centres of government. Support with named features.
Related dot points
- Mycenaean society and the palace: the role of the king (wanax) and the social hierarchy, the megaron at the heart of the palace, and the evidence of the Linear B tablets for administration, economy, religion and trade.
An OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (J199) study of Mycenaean society in The Homeric World. Covers the role of the king (wanax) and the social hierarchy, the megaron at the heart of the palace, and the evidence of the Linear B tablets for administration, economy, religion and trade, with the source and essay skills the J199/21 paper rewards.
- Mycenaean art and material culture: the gold of the shaft graves (including the so-called Mask of Agamemnon), frescoes, decorated pottery, weapons and armour, and the tholos tombs such as the Treasury of Atreus, and what they reveal about Mycenaean wealth, beliefs and craftsmanship.
An OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (J199) study of Mycenaean art in The Homeric World. Covers the gold of the shaft graves (the Mask of Agamemnon), frescoes, decorated pottery, weapons and armour, and the tholos tombs such as the Treasury of Atreus, and what they reveal about Mycenaean wealth, beliefs and craftsmanship, with the source and essay skills the J199/21 paper rewards.
- Troy and its identification with Homer's city, Knossos and the relationship between the Mycenaeans and the earlier Minoan civilisation, and the evidence for Mycenaean trade and contact across the Bronze Age Mediterranean.
An OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (J199) study of Troy, Knossos and trade in The Homeric World. Covers Troy and its identification with Homer's city, Knossos and the Mycenaeans' relationship with the earlier Minoan civilisation, and the evidence for Mycenaean trade and contact across the Bronze Age Mediterranean, with the source and essay skills the J199/21 paper rewards.
- The decline and collapse of Mycenaean civilisation around 1200 to 1100 BC: the destruction of the palaces, the possible causes (invasion, internal conflict, natural disaster and wider Mediterranean upheaval), the loss of writing and the coming of the Dark Age, and how the memory of the Mycenaeans survived into Homer.
An OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (J199) study of the collapse of Mycenaean civilisation in The Homeric World. Covers the destruction of the palaces around 1200 to 1100 BC, the possible causes (invasion, internal conflict, disaster and wider upheaval), the loss of writing and the Dark Age, and how the memory survived into Homer, with the source and essay skills the J199/21 paper rewards.
- The world of the Odyssey: the structure of Homeric society (kings, nobles, ordinary people and enslaved people), the heroic values of kleos (glory), time (honour) and arete (excellence), the importance of the household (oikos) and gift-exchange, and how this world relates to the Mycenaean evidence.
An OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (J199) study of Homeric society in The Odyssey. Covers the structure of Homeric society, the heroic values of kleos, time and arete, the importance of the household (oikos) and gift-exchange, and how this world relates to the Mycenaean evidence, with the source and essay skills the J199/21 paper rewards.
Sources & how we know this
- OCR GCSE (9-1) Classical Civilisation J199 specification — OCR (2017)