Mycenae is the largest and most important center of the civilization that was named 'Mycenaean' after this very citadel. It is the culture that dominated mainland Greece, the Aegean islands, and the shores of Asia Minor during the late Bronze Age era. The Mycenaean Era occupies the tail end of the Helladic Civilization, which flourished in mainland Greece since 3000 BCE. The Lion Gate is the sole surviving monumental piece of Mycenaean sculpture. Mycenae itself is stage upon which unfolds the great Greek dramas starting with Homer's Iliad. The founding of Mycenae is lost in prehistory, but according to Greek legends, it was founded by the legendary hero Perseus - son of Zeus and Danae, daughter of the king of Argos, Acricios - who left Argos for Tyrins and later employed Cyclopes to build the walls of Mycenae with giant stones that no human could move.