The Lion Gate (Greek: Πύλη των Λεόντων) is the popular modern name for the main entrance of the Bronze Age citadel of Mycenae in Southern Greece.

The greater part of the cyclopean wall in Mycenae, including the gate, was built during the second extension of the citadel that occurred in the Late Helladic period IIIB (thirteenth century BC).

[5] At that time, the extended fortifications also enclosed inside the city wall Grave Circle A, a burial place for royal families during the sixteenth century BC.

The term "Cyclopean" has been applied to the style to imply that the ancient structures had been built by the legendary race of giants whose culture was presumed to have preceded that of the Classical Greeks, as described in their myths.

This relieving triangle is a great limestone slab on which two confronted lionesses, carved in high relief, stand on either sides of a central pillar.

The imposing gate of the citadel with the representation of the lionesses was an emblem of the Mycenaean kings and a symbol of their power to both subjects and foreigners.

[9][11] Since the heads of the animals were of a different material from their bodies and originally were fashioned to look toward those approaching below,[12] a number of scholars have speculated that these might have been composite beasts, probably sphinxes, in the typical Middle Eastern tradition.

[13] The architectural design in the gate relief may reflect an entrance of a type characterized by a central support, commonly a single column.

More specifically, the gate relief may allude to the propylon (structure forming the entrance) that provides the main direct access to the palace.

[17][18][19] In 1840, the Greek Archaeological Society undertook the initial clearing of the site from debris and soil that had accumulated to bury it, and in 1876 Heinrich Schliemann, guided by Pausanias's accounts, excavated the area south of the gate.