Nikon D7200, 12-24mm f/4G lens @12mm f/8, aperture priority. Minor edit in post for contrast, saturation, and shadow detail. |
"The gate itself and the walls to either side (which are almost 20 feet thick) are constructed of dressed stone layed in regular courses. This is called ashlar masonry. The massive stones out of which the Lion Gate and the walls of Mycenae have been constructed are sometimes also called Cyclopean. The Cyclops were a mythical race of Giants. The later Greeks believed that only the Cyclops would have been strong enough to lift the blocks of stone found at Mycenaean sites. "The Cyclopes are described by Homer in the Odyssey as having a single round eye in the center of their foreheads (the name derives from the Greek kuklos meaning 'circle' and ops meaning 'eye'). In Book IX of the Odyssey, Odysseus escapes from the Cyclops Polyphemus by putting out his single eye with a stake and tying himself and his men to the undersides of a flock of sheep." — Christopher L.C.E. Witcombe, "ARTH232 Spring 2016 Greek Art & Archaeology", arthistoryresources.net |
