The Mycenaeans: Was Agamemnon Real?
The Ancients

The Mycenaeans: Was Agamemnon Real?

B2Upper-intermediateNovember 1, 20261 hr 7 min
  • History

They built the great fortresses of the Bronze Age, developed a mysterious writing system and, according to Homer, led the Greek assault on Troy. But how much of the legend is rooted in reality? Was Agamemnon a real Mycenaean king? Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr Steve Kershaw to explore the world of the Mycenaeans. Who were these formidable Bronze Age Greeks, and what do their extraordinary palaces, tombs and undeciphered history reveal about the civilisation behind the legends? MORE The Trojan War Listen on Apple Listen...

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They besieged Troy. Their mysterious writing remained undeciphered until the 1950s. They built citadels from boulders so big that the ancient Greeks thought the giant cyclops must have made them. Thanks to Homer's epic, the Iliad, their leader Agamemnon became a legend. But was he real? Who were these Mycenaeans? Where did they come from? And why did they disappear?

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