From 1868 until his death twenty-two years later, the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, devoted his life to finding evidence of the heroic Greek civilization described in Homer's books The Illiad and The Odyssey. Schliemann first uncovered evidence of a civilization that predated Classical Greece by over a thousand years in Troy, on the eastern coast of Turkey. He then turned to Greece where his excavations around the Peloponnese located Mycenae.

The Myceneans, named after their capital, Mycenae, thrived between 1600 BC and 1200 BC and built huge monumental structures and citadels, such as the 1,100-meter long 'Lion's Gate' at Mycenae. From these impressive forts their kings ruled over numerous smaller settlements and villages bound to them by feudal loyalties and trade.

Accomplished traders and seafarers the Myceneans conquered the older Minoan civilization, based on the island of Crete, around 1375 BC. And evidence indicates that the 'Linear B' writing system of the Minoans was originally developed for the form of Greek the Myceneans spoke. The bronze armor, pottery, and ivory found in the unique beehive-like tombs of Mycenean nobles also suggests they came to dominate trade in the eastern Mediterranean until the collapse of their civilization in the 12th century BC.

Why their civilization disappeared is a matter of debate, but after them, Greece fell into a long 'Dark Age' which lasted until the 6th century BC.