As I approached the great stone walls and the entrance gate topped by two powerful lionesses - minus their heads, unfortunately - the stories seemed all too believable.
The fortress, and what remains of the palaces and temples that once stood inside, look exactly as though they've been thrown together by clumsy giants from huge, crudely shaped blocks of stone. Archaeologists have apparently calculated that the completed citadel would have required 14,420 blocks of stone - averaging 10 tonnes in weight, the largest perhaps 100 tonnes - fitted together without mortar.
And maybe it was the gloom spread across the rocky landscape by the thunder clouds above, but as I wandered round the hilltop complex, I felt suddenly chilled. The place seemed haunted by the bloody deeds of Electryon and Atreus, Agamemnon and Orestes, who between 1600 and 1100BC presided here over an oppressive empire covering much of southern Greece.
Even the outlook from the top of the citadel is harsh and unforgiving, revealing a landscape filled with great rocks and treacherous chasms, high peaks and steep cliffs, obviously chosen to make life difficult for an invading army rather than to provide the inhabitants with a lush lifestyle ... though these days there are groves of olives to soften the view.
Yet, strangely, the museum on the site shows a different side to the city. Its exhibits include some of the most superb painted pottery and figurines I saw in the course of a trip embracing a great many museums. There's also some nice jewellery, apparently recovered from the tombs of the military aristocracy who ruled the place, further confirming that the Mycenaeans might have been violent, but they also had good taste.
The most striking item of all is a gold death mask (pictured) - it's actually a copy. The original is in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens - discovered in a grave at Mycenae in 1876 by the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, who declared: "I have gazed on the face of Agamemnon," believing he had discovered the body of the legendary leader of the Greek assault on Troy.
Unfortunately, modern research has dispelled this fascinating possibility by determining that the mask dates from about 1500BC, whereas the king himself probably lived three or four centuries later.
In any case, from the picture painted of Agamemnon in Homer's Iliad, I rather think he'd have been more interested in the massive swords on display than in gold ornaments.
CHECKLIST
Getting there: Emirates provides daily services from Dubai to Athens, with connections from its three daily flights from Auckland. Fares are from $2765 return.
Further information: To find out about touring Greece, visit Tempo Holidays.
Jim Eagles visited Mycenae with help from Emirates and Tempo Holidays.
