In Aeschylus' tragic poem Agamemnon, Clytemnestra finds out about the victory of Agamemnon from the guard of the Acropolis who saw first the "phryctoria" (fires used as a means of communication). The guard of Mycenae saw the bright signals before the others: Troy had fallen; the Greeks were victorious.
At the mighty military fortress, domineering at the largest part of southern Greece, the guards walked to and fro on the fort to protect it, ready to push back any aspiring conquerors. Guarding the citadel was one more element that showcased the stronghold and power of the Mycenaeans. The guard's building was situated at the interior side of the fort, one floor above the Granary. The soldiers could easily keep watch of the acropolis on the Cyclopean masonry since there was a dry moat between an interior and exterior wall that rendered them unconquerable.
They also controlled the entrance and exit of the acropolis. They could spot and tackle attacks promptly and successfully pushed back enemies coming from all sides. Next to the two entrance gates stood two towers with a reinforced guard and storage rooms, full of military equipment. Mycenaean warriors had bronze armours, with a cuirass and greaves; their shields were shaped like the number eight and their helmets were either made of bronze or from boar's tusks. In Mycenae's heyday, at about 1350 BCE, the guard had to protect the acropolis, the palace and also the city that had developed outside and around the walls. At the time, Mycenae's population amounted to 30,000 inhabitants of a wealthy citadel that had expanded in an area of 32 hectares.
