Language/Modern-greek-1453/Culture/Mask-of-Agamemnon

Mycenae Mask of Agamemnon

This so-called mask of Agamemnon is the best known of Schliemann's finds from the royal tombs at Mycenae. A death-mask, it was made from a thick sheet of metal hammered against a wooden background, with the details chased on later with a sharp tool. It illustrates the dignified image of a man with an oblong face, wide forehead, long fine nose and tightly closed thin lips.

The eyebrows, mustache and beard are indicated with repouss? parallel lines. Two holes near the ears were used to hold the mask in place with twine over the deceased's face.

The five gold masks discovered in Mycenae's Grave Circle A were probably made for rulers.

This one, the only mask showing a bearded man, stands out for its elegance and the intensity of the facial characteristics.

However, modern researchers and archaeologists are of the opinion that the mask dates from an era much before the life and reign of Agamemnon.

Whatever the case is, this mask is crafted out of pure gold and such masks were put on the faces of deceased kings and royal people.

According to Greek histori, Agamemnon was the son of King Atreus of Mycenae and Queen Aerope.

He was the leader of the Greeks during the Trojan War, as Mycenae was the most powerful Greek town at that time.

He was also the brother of Menelaus and the husband of Clytemnestra. Agamemnon had three daughters and one son.

One of his daughters, Iphigenia, was sacrificed to goddess Artemis so that the wind blows and the Greek ships could set sail to Troy.

When Agamemnon returned to his kingdom after the end of the Trojan War, he was murdered by his wife Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus, in revenge for the sacrifice of Iphigenia.

This golden exhibit is currently on display at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.

This distinguished mask of gold which is about 12 inches in height is still known as the Mask of Agamemnon and is one of the most prized discoveries from the ancient Mycenaean ages.

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