Mask of Agamemnon

gold funeral mask discovered at the ancient Greek site of Mycenae

Key facts

Material: Gold
Created: 1550–1500 BC
Discovered: 1876 at Mycenae , Greece by Heinrich Schliemann
Present location: National Archaeological Museum, Athens

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Wikidata facts

Mass: 168.5
Image: Athens — Mask of Agamemnon.jpg
Height: 0.025
Width: 0.017

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Commons category: Agamemnon Mask
described at URL: odysseus.culture.gr/h/4/eh430.jsp?obj_id=4503

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Article

The Mask of Agamemnon is a gold funerary mask which was discovered at the Bronze Age site of Mycenae in southern Greece. The mask, displayed in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, has been described by the historian Cathy Gere as the "Mona Lisa of prehistory".

German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, who discovered the artifact in 1876, believed that he had found the body of the Mycenaean king Agamemnon, leader of the Achaeans in the ancient Greek epic of the Trojan War, the Iliad. Modern archaeological research suggests that the mask dates to about the 16th century BC, pre-dating the period of the mythical Trojan War by 300–400 years.