Lion Gate

The Lion Gate (Greek: Πύλη των Λεόντων) is the popular modern name for the main entrance of the Bronze Age citadel of Mycenae in Southern Greece. It was erected during the thirteenth century BC, around 1250 BC, in the northwestern side of the acropolis. In modern times, it was named after the relief sculpture of two lions or lionesses in a heraldic pose that stands above the entrance.

The gate is the sole surviving monumental piece of Mycenaean sculpture, as well as the largest surviving sculpture in the Bronze Age Aegean. It is the only monument of Bronze Age Greece to bear an iconographic motif that survived without being buried underground. It is the only relief image that was described in the literature of classical antiquity, such that it was well known prior to modern archaeology.

The Lion Gate is also a testimony of the presence of lions in Europe and Greece, before their disappearance in the late stages of Ancient history.

Text adapted from “Lion Gate” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Lion Gate ranks #263 of 7,044 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #5 of the 119 mapped in Greece. Founded 1249 BC, it is older than 100% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 3 atlas entries founded in the 13th century BC. See how Greece compares in the castle statistics.

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Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗