Mycenae was once a great city. They were one of the power houses in the days where city states such as Athens,Corinth, and Sparta controlled the region. The wealth that they obtained was enormous. The riches of kings were uncovered in the various burial sites. Many of those riches are on display in the Athens' Archaeological Museum. At one point the Mycenaens had control of the island of Crete which most likely aided in their control of the region.

However, Mycenae is best known from Mythology. Here is the readers digest version of events surrounding the city:
    Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, had a brother named Menelaus, who was the king of Sparta. These two brothers married two sisters, Clytemnestra and Helen. Clytemnestra was Agamemnon's bride and Helen was Menelaus. Helen was of renowned beauty and was offered to a Trojan prince, Paris, by Aphrodite (Goddess of Beauty and Love) by judging her the most beautiful Goddess. So Helen went, some what willingly, with Paris to Troy. This enraged the brothers and Agamemnon arranged an expedition to go to Troy and bring back Helen. However, Artemis (Goddess of the hunt, and of the moon) stopped the winds from blowing because Agamemnon had shot one of her prized deer, and made him sacrifice his daughter, to make amends and to bring the wind back.  After this, the party of Greeks was able to set sail for Troy. This resulted in the Trojan war, a war that lasted ten years. (The Iliad, Homer)

    During this ten years, Clytemnestra finds a lover, Aigisthos and the two rule Mycenae together after they drive Agamemnon's son Orestes and his remaining daughter, Electra, into Exile. Upon Agamemnon's return, this pair slaughter Agamemnon in his bath with an ax. Ten more years pass and Orestes finds him self at the Temple of Apollo (God of light and the sun) at Delphi. Apollo tells Orestes that to avenge his fathers death, he must slay his mother and her lover. So he returns to Mycenae and kills Clytemnestra and Aigisthos. Because he killed his mother The Furies rise up from the Earth and try to take vengeance for the death of Clytemnestra(Killing ones mother was a serious crime) The Furies chase Orestes to Delphi where Apollo tells Orestes to go to Athens and ask for Athena's forgiveness. So he then goes to Athens where he seeks shelter in the temple of Athena (Goddess of wisdom, patron of Athens) and begs for forgiveness. He is put on trial by the Athenians in front of the Aropagus. The jury reports a six six tie and Athena casts the final vote finding him not guilty. This was the first instance of a jury trial. Athena then had to ask the Furies to spare the city from their wrath and the furies agreed and became the Eumnides, the benevolent ones, blessing the earth with fertility and fruitfulness. (The Libation Barriers, Eumnides)

   This is just the readers digest version of myths involving Mycenae. It is believed that these events may have happened then were embellished by poets. The city does indeed exist and it attracts a large amount of people, mainly because of the "royal tombs" that were uncovered there. The site has been in ruins since at least the second century A.D. These pictures are to give you a feel for what the site is like. .