Clytemnestra Tholos Tomb

Built in c. 1250 BC the Tomb of Clytemnestra with its imposing façade is together with the Treasury of Atreus the most monumental tomb of that type. 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. A 35 m long corridor leads to the gate. Above the carved marble lintel there is a hollow relief triangle, which takes the weight of the canopy from the lintel. The vault of the huge round building reaches a height of almost 13 m. The slightly curved shape of the lintel is adapted to the shape of the dome.
Clytemnestra, wife of the Mycenaean ruler Agamemnon, is unlikely to have been buried here. The two tholos tombs west of the acropolis were assigned to the two mythical figures Clytemnestra and Aegisthos who could not be buried within the city walls because of the murder of Agamemnon. Today it is known that the city extended even further west and that these tombs were simply located within Mycenae, but these designations are retained. Heinrich Schliemann called the grave 'Schatzhaus bei Löwentor' and Friedrich Adler Grave of Agamemnon.

Among the royal burial chambers, the tomb of Clytemnestra deserves special attention. A 35 m long corridor leads to the gate, above the carved marble lintel there is a hollow relief triangle, which takes the weight of the canopy from the lintel. The vault of the huge round building reaches a height of almost 13 m. Also note the slightly curved shape of the lintel, which is adapted to the shape of the dome.

The tomb was named after Clytemnestra, wife of the Mycenaean ruler Agamemnon, although it is unlikely that she was buried here. Pausanias reported that Clytemnestra and Aegisthos could not be buried within the city walls because of the murder of Agamemnon.[2] Therefore, the two tholos tombs west of the acropolis were assigned to these two mythical figures. Today it is known that the city extended even further west and that these tombs were located within Mycenae, but these designations are retained. Heinrich Schliemann called the grave Schatzhaus bei Löwentor and Friedrich Adler grave of Agamemnon.