A glance at the map of ancient Greece shows that these last two cities, situated at the north of the rich plain of Argolis, commanded the approaches to the peninsula of the Peloponnesus; Mycenæ occupying a strategic position on the highroad; Tiryns, on the sea. They were equally important in resisting invasion from the North across the Isthmus of Corinth, and in the struggle for supremacy that was waged between Argolis and the Peloponnesus. Accordingly, the distinguishing feature of each city was that it occupied an acropolis, the natural strength of which was increased by fortifications built with irregular blocks of stone of great size, in the style known as _Cyclopean_. =Mycenæ.=--Those at Mycenæ surrounded an area which is roughly triangular in plan, the main entrance being through the above mentioned portal of the =Lion Gate=. Its side posts and lintel are composed of monoliths and surmounted by the famous lion-relief, which fills the triangular space formed by the gradual projection of the stones of the wall. The pillar or fetish-post corresponds to the alabaster columns, now in the British Museum, which flanked the entrance of the =Treasury= or =Tomb= of =Atreus=, just outside the Lion Gate. The shaft of these columns is without a base and tapers slightly to the bottom. Ornamented with bands of repeated _chevrons_, which alternately are plain and embellished with flutings, it supports a cushion or _echinus_, decorated with plain and spiral bands, on which rests a square plinth or _abacus_. It comprises, in fact, the features which in later times were simplified into the Doric column. The tomb itself is a subterranean chamber, of the style known as _beehive_ or in Greek, _tholos_. Its circular plan has a diameter of nearly 50 feet, and the domed ceiling, commencing at the floor and formed of inwardly projecting courses of stone, rises to about the same height. It leads into a small square chamber and is itself approached by a horizontal avenue, 20 feet wide and 115 feet long, the sides of which are of squared stone, sloping upward to a height of 45 feet. A trace of this subterranean beehive method seems to survive in some of the rock-hewn tombs at =Myra=, in =Lycia=. Here the façade represents the front of a house, which is clearly of primitive wood construction. In later instances it is composed of Ionic columns and cornices. In the older examples the entrance is surmounted by a gable, which frequently takes the curves of the beehive. Intermediate between these Lycian Tombs and the Minoan structures are certain rock-cut tombs in =Phrygia= which recall the Lion Gate. The façade comprises a cornice supported by columns, above which is a gable, occupied by colossal lions. At =Arslan=, one of these _pediments_ shows two lions, in this instance not rampant, which support a central pillar. Inside, however, two rampant lions flank a nude human figure.