Cyclopean masonry in the context of "Cyclops"

Tiryns (/ˈtɪrɪnz/ or /ˈtaɪrɪnz/; Ancient Greek: Τίρυνς; Modern Greek: Τίρυνθα) is a Mycenaean archaeological site in Argolis in the Peloponnese, and the location from which the mythical hero Heracles was said to have performed his Twelve Labours. It lies 20 km (12 mi) south of Mycenae.

Tiryns was a hill fort with occupation ranging back seven thousand years, from before the beginning of the Bronze Age. It reached its height of importance between 1400 and 1200 BC, when it became one of the most important centers of the Mycenaean world, and in particular in Argolis. Its most notable features were its palace, its Cyclopean tunnels and especially its walls, which gave the city its Homeric epithet of "mighty walled Tiryns". Tiryns became associated with the myths surrounding Heracles, as the city was the residence of the hero during his labors, and some sources cite it as his birthplace.

Pleuron (Ancient Greek: Πλευρών, gen.: Πλευρῶνος; Greek: Πλευρώνα, Plevrona or Ασφακοβούνι, Asfakovouni) was a city in ancient Aetolia, Greece. The name refers to two settlements, the older of which was at the foot of Mount Curium between the river Acheloos and the river Evenos, and was mentioned by Homer in the Catalogue of Ships in the Iliad. The territory of Pleuron was called Pleuronia. The ruins of this more ancient city are 1.5 km to the southeast of the newer one. The circuit wall exhibits "the large roughly shaped stones and small stones in the interstices which are the characteristics of Cyclopean masonry."

In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes (/saɪˈkloʊpiːz/ sy-KLOH-peez; Greek: Κύκλωπες, Kýklōpes, "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops /ˈsaɪklɒps/ SY-klops; Κύκλωψ, Kýklōps) are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguished. In Hesiod's Theogony, the Cyclopes are the three brothers, Brontes, Steropes, and Arges, who made Zeus's weapon, the thunderbolt. In Homer's Odyssey, they are an uncivilized group of shepherds, the brethren of Polyphemus encountered by Odysseus. A third group of Cyclopes reputedly built the Cyclopean walls of Mycenae and Tiryns.

In Cyclops, the fifth-century BC play by Euripides, a chorus of satyrs offers comic relief based on the encounter of Odysseus and Polyphemus. The third-century BC poet Callimachus makes the Hesiodic Cyclopes the assistants of smith-god Hephaestus, as does Virgil in the Latin epic Aeneid, where he seems to equate the Hesiodic and Homeric Cyclopes.

35°29′39″N 34°16′59″E / 35.49417°N 34.28306°E / 35.49417; 34.28306

Nitovikla is an archaeological site of a fortress located in the Karpas Peninsula. The Swedish Cyprus Expedition investigated the area in 1929, they discovered tombs dating to the Middle Cypriot III (1725-1600 BC) and excavated the fortress. The fortress was built on a hill that overlooked the plateau and it was made with Cyclopean masonry, it had a square shape with towers in three of the corners and flanking the entrance. It had an internal courtyard with a water cistern. The fort was used between the Middle Cypriot III and the Late Cypriot I (1725-1450 BC) periods. The excavation was published in 1935.