citadel, corresponded to the rule of the Atridae.[1]
A people very closely related to the Danaans were the Minyans, who were bearers of Mycenaean civilization and were the founders of Orchomenos, on Lake Copaïs. The influence of this race is seen not only in Boeotia, but also in Laconia, on the island of Thera, and at Thoricus in Attica. Heinrich suggests that the names Minyas and Minos show something more than an accidental similarity. In that case the remains of Mycenaean civilization which have been found, as we have seen, in such great abundance in Crete would bring that island into the circle of countries inhabited by the Minyans.[2]
The genuine Mycenaean citadel, Gha,[3] on Lake Copaïs, is quite similar in construction to Tiryns which was originally surrounded by swamps. It stands in closest relation to the draining of Lake Copaïs by the Minyans, who converted the whole region into a fruitful and cultivated soil. In this Cyclopean structure some archaeologists recognize the Homeric Arne, mentioned in the Catalogue of the Ships (Β, 507). Only quite recently has an English stock company completed the work, begun by the French, of draining the lake. The results show the great system of drainage of this Minyan citadel. These ancient people turned the water of the lake, by means of three great stone canals which are partly preserved, into the
