Amy Whitehurst

Salon 1, catalog no. 8

1300-1250 BCE

Mycenae, Greece

Treasury of Atreus

The Treasury of Atreus is an example of one of the best preserved tholos tombs. It was also mistakenly believed to be the repository of the treasure of Atreus, father of Agamemnon and Menelaus. The tomb chamber entered through a doorway surmounted by a relieving triangle similar to that employed in the roughly contemporary Lion Gate.

I chose this work of architecture because I love the way that the treasury appears to be built directly into the natural element of the hill. This tholos tomb peaked my interest.