Midea

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The climb to the castle
The settlement at the west gate

The castle of Midea ( Greek  Μιδέα ; also Mideia Μίδεια ) is located on the northeastern edge of the plain of Argos and about 10 km east of Argos . It is located on a 268 m high hill that rises 171 m above the plain. About 1 km north is the town of the same name Midea and about 1 km west is Dendra . A Mycenaean cemetery was found in Dendra, presumably connected with Midea.

exploration

In 1907, the German Archaeological Institute in Athens carried out test excavations, but found no remains of houses. It was not until 1939 that a Swedish expedition led by Axel W. Persson first dug in Dendra. Then the two gates of Midea were exposed. A few excavation cuts were made and foundations of buildings were discovered on the upper castle. In 1963 the Greek archaeologist Nikolaos Verdelis and his Swedish colleague Paul Åström led a short excavation campaign. From 1983 to 1999 a Greek-Swedish team carried out systematic excavations under the direction of Katie Demakopoulou and Paul Åström. Ann-Louise Schallin has been leading the Swedish excavations since 2000. Most of the finds are exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Nafplio .

mythology

Proitos is mentioned as the first ruler of Midea . According to other sources, however, Perseus is said to have founded the city, which is why it was originally called Persepolis ( Περσέως πόλις ). According to the library of Apollodorus , Perseus built the fortification wall around Midea. Perseus son Elektryon ruled the city after his father. He was married to Anaxo , but fathered an illegitimate son, the " Phrygian " Mideia , whom they called Likymnios . In her honor he changed the name of the city to Midea.

Alkmene , daughter of Electryon and mother of Heracles , is said to have been born here and ruled here together with her husband Amphitryon . However, he accidentally killed his father-in-law and had to leave the Argolida with his wife and Elektryon's brother Sthenelos now took over the rule. Since Hippodameia , the wife of Pelops , instigated her sons Atreus and Thyestes to murder Chrysippus and they carried out the act, all three were banished from the Elis . Sthenelos, who continued to rule Mycenae , left Midea Atreus and Thyestes.

History of Midea

The hill of Midea was already inhabited during the Early Neolithic and Late Neolithic (5th – 4th millennium BC). In the Early Helladic a settlement arose that also existed during the Middle Helladic and Late Helladic . In the 14th century BC Midea gained in importance and reached in the 13th century BC. Its bloom. Middle of the 13th century BC The city wall and most of the houses that can still be identified today were built. The finds from this period attest to trade relations with Crete and the eastern Mediterranean. Trade goods could have been textile products, among other things; in the area of ​​the east gate of Mideas, traces were discovered that point to a production facility for textiles. Around 1200 BC Midea was heavily destroyed in the 12th century BC. Continued to be inhabited.

Few finds from the archaic period (7th – 6th centuries BC) indicate that there was a sanctuary at the site. Shortly after the Persian Wars around 470 BC According to Pausanias , Midea was destroyed by the Argives. Strabo found it abandoned in the 1st century AD and Pausanias saw only the foundations of the city in the 2nd century AD. For the late Roman and early Byzantine (4th – 7th century AD), as well as for the Byzantine period (12th – 13th century AD), however, settlement in Midea could be proven.

description

The castle covered an area of ​​about 24,000 m² and was fortified by a 450 m long and 5-7 m thick wall, which is still preserved today up to a height of 7 m. This wall did not run around the entire hilltop - since the southeast flank drops steeply, a wall was not used here. The facades of the wall were built from large stones and smaller stones were used as filling material. The walls were straight and the rounded corners were bulging out into bastions. The wall was erected in one construction phase and repairs can only be found on the northwest wall line.

Gates

There were two gates, the main one in the east and a smaller one in the west. In the north-west an underground secret passage (syrinx) was discovered, which led under the wall and probably served as an escape or emergency gate. A ramp led to a terrace just outside the east gate. This had a width of 1.55 m on the outside and 2.25 m on the inside, so it could be better defended against attackers. A hole was found in the monolithic door sill to accommodate the door hinge. The west gate was at the south end of the west wall. A ramp also led to a terrace in front of the gate. North of this terrace was an 11 × 11 m bastion. In the gate entrance there was a chamber - probably intended for a guard - in which one found storage vessels and fragments of wall paintings, possibly a miniature fresco. In the center of the entrance was a stuccoed base 30 cm high and 37 cm in diameter, which is likely to be connected to a support for the gate roof. On both sides of this pillar, the actual passage was therefore only one meter wide.

A street inside the castle connected the two gates. East along this road there is a cliff edge that divided Midea into an eastern upper castle and a western lower castle. A retaining wall was built on this edge. The access to the upper castle was directly at the east gate.

Oberburg

Ceramics from the late Neolithic were found in the northwest of the upper castle . Building foundations date from the early and middle Helladic times. In addition, graves from the Middle Helladic period were found. Pottery was discovered from throughout the Helladic period . In the center of the upper castle, due to soil erosion, only sparse remains of a building from the Mycenaean period could be observed. Since high quality ceramics were found nearby, it is believed that the palace of Midea was located here. Underground rooms were discovered on the east wall, which served as workshops and storage rooms and originally carried another floor.

Lower castle

The largest building in the lower castle, the so-called Megaron , was found in the northeast . It was a 14 m long and 7.50 m wide building with a hearth in the middle, which was lined with four wooden pillars. The building was destroyed in an earthquake around 1200 BC. Chr. Destroyed. Soon after, it was replaced by an elongated building with a central row of columns. The finds from the megaron included ritual vessels, cult figures, sword knobs, faience and glass jewelry, and seal impressions . Two of the seal impressions bore Linear B characters .

A complex of buildings was uncovered near the west gate from 1996 to 2000, the walls of which were partially decorated with frescoes . 15 rooms, which served as workshops and storage rooms, were grouped around a central aisle, with a second floor above. Ceramic finds refer to the late Helladic era (SH III B2 = approx. 1240 / 25–1190 BC), the time shortly before the earthquake to which the building fell victim. In addition to Mycenaean ceramics, numerous swing jugs and clay jugs from Crete were found, some of which bore linear B inscriptions. A swing jug bears the proper name wi-na-jo . A seal shows a spider and bears the linear B ideogram for wheat.

Remains of three buildings were found on a street about 40 m north of the west gate. The uncovered rooms served as a workshop and apartment. In addition to ceramics from the late Helladic period (SH III B2), the figure of a goddess made on a potter's wheel, seals, tools, raw materials, semi-precious stones and charred figs were found. A clay seal depicting a lion attacking a bull bears the linear B inscription o-pa, me-ka-ro-de a 3 -so-ni-jo ( tribute to the megaron of Aisonios ).

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : Midea  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Pausanias , Journeys in Greece 2, 16, 2.
  2. ↑ Stephanos of Byzantium sv Μίδεια .
  3. ↑ Libraries of Apollodorus 2, 4, 4.
  4. ^ Pausanias, Travels in Greece 2, 25, 9.
  5. ↑ Libraries of Apollodorus 2, 4, 5.
  6. ↑ Theokritos , Idyllen , 13, 20 ( online ); 14, 1 ( online ).
  7. ↑ Libraries of Apollodorus 2, 4, 6-7.
  8. ^ Pausanias, Journeys in Greece 6, 20, 7.
  9. ↑ Libraries of Apollodorus 2, 4, 6.
  10. ↑ See also Serena Sabatini: Textile tools from the East Gate at Mycenaean Midea, Argolis, Greece. Opuscula 9, 2016, pp. 217-247.
  11. ^ Pausanias, Travels in Greece 8, 27, 1.
  12. ^ Strabo, Geographica 8, 6, 11.
  13. ^ Pausanias, Travels in Greece 2, 25, 9.
  14. ↑ For the west gate see Michael Küpper: Mykenische Architektur. Material, processing technology, construction and appearance . Marie Leidorf, Espelkamp 1996, p. 40 f.

Coordinates: 37 ° 38 ′ 59 "  N , 22 ° 50 ′ 33"  E