The citadel of Mycenae, it is built on a 280 m. altitude, on a -very ideal for habitation- hill thanks to its natural fortification. On the north, there is a 805 m. hill, Agios Ilias, on the south the hill of Saras and in between, a canyon next to the citadel. On top of the hills, there were Mycenean outposts. The access to the city was from the west, through the Argolid plain. The first settlement was built around 2800 B.C.E but there was a tremendous increase of the population from 2000 to 1600 B.C.E. Amongst other reasons, such as the natural fortification thanks to the nearby hills, the presence of water and the clear view of the surrounding areas, the city of Mycenae was in a very strategic place thanks to its location. Therefore, Myceneans were able to control the roads of southern and central Greece, as well as the ports and the trade routes of the eastern greek mainland and the Aegean islands. The first "Cyclopean walls" were built in 1350 B.C.E and they were extended one hundred years later, when the "Lion's Gate'' and the "North Gate" were constructed. During the same era, the palace complex was enlarged, population reached 30.000 people and many houses and workshops were built outside the citadel. After its destruction around 1100 B.C.E, when the Mycenean empire was already long gone, the citadel was reinhabited and around 850 B.C.E a temple of Athena or Hera was constructed on top of the ruins.