The best preserved of all Mycenaean palaces lies 17km north of modern Pylos. It is described in Homer's Odyssey as the court of the mythical hero Nestor, who took part in the voyage of the Argonauts and sent 90 ships to fight in the Trojan War. Originally a two-storey building, the palace’s walls stand 1m high, giving a good idea of the layout of a Mycenaean palace complex.
At the time of writing, renovations of the palace were ongoing.
The main palace, in the middle, was a building of many rooms. The largest room, the throne room, was where the king dealt with state business. In its centre was a large, circular hearth surrounded by four ornate columns that supported a 1st-floor balcony. Surrounding the throne is the sentry box, pantry, waiting room, a vestibule and, most fascinating, a bathroom with a terracotta tub still in place where, according to legend, Polycaste, Nestor's youngest daughter, bathed the hero Telemachus.
Some of the palace frescoes and some of the Linear B script tablets – the first to be discovered on the mainland – are housed in the museum in the nearby village of Chora.
