Homer and Mycenae, Part II: The Last Days of Pylos
Among the ruins of ancient Pylos— which, together with all the other major strongholds of Mycenaean power, was destroyed at the end of the Hellenic Bronze Age—a library of clay tablets has come to light, depicting a threatened society “in the throes of total moblization.” By L.R. Palmer.
The destruction of the Palace of Nestor at the end of the Bronze Age of Greece was no isolated incident. The influence and power of Mycenae had spread throughout the Eastern Mediterranean during the fourteenth and the first half of the thirteenth century, but then signs of insecurity begin to make themselves apparent. The fortifications of Mycenae and Tiryns were strengthened and remodelled so as to protect the access to water supplies. Archaeologists have also observed symptoms of a decline in techniques, and regional exclusiveness begins to impair the essential cultural unity which marks the heyday of Mycenae. The Bronze Age of Greece ends with the storming and firing of all the major strongholds of Mycenaean power. The site of the Palace of Nestor was never again occupied by human habitations.
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