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On the edge of the Argolic gulf, located in a valley between Nauplion and Mycenae, the Acropolis of Tiryns rises on a rocky hill. Tiryns has been inhabited since the Neolithic period (about 5000 BC). It is the birthplace of legendary Hercules, descendant of Perseus.

Tiryns flourished as one of the most important centers of the Mycenaean world which reached its peak between 1400 and 1200 BC. The “mighty walled Tiryns” (Homer), features the Acropolis and its famous tunnels, narrow lanes communicating through small rooms fortified by massive, “cyclopean” walls of 750m total perimeter. In peacetime they were used as warehouses and in wartime as shelters. The citadel served as the king’s residence and as a place of refuge for the city's inhabitants in time of war. This Mycenaean palace, which kept archives in the first Greek script, Linear B, was the administrative, economic, artistic and military centre for the wider region.