 Meanwhile , imposing palaces were built in the main Mycenaean centers of the mainland . The earliest palace structures were megaron @-@ type buildings , such as the Menelaion in Sparta , Lakonia . Palaces proper are datable from c . 1400 BC , when Cyclopean fortifications were erected at Mycenae and nearby Tiryns . Additional palaces were built in Midea and Pylos in Peloponnese , Athens , Eleusis , Thebes and Orchomenos in Central Greece and Iolcos , in Thessaly , the latter being the northernmost Mycenaean center . Knossos in Crete became also a Mycenaean center , where the former Minoan complex intervened a number of adjustments , including the addition of a throne room . These centers were based on a rigid network of bureaucracy while administrative competences , were classified in various sections and offices , according to specialization of work and trades . At the head of this society was the king , known as wanax ( Linear B : wa @-@ na @-@ ka ) in Mycenaean Greek terms . All powers were centered on him , who was the main landlord , the spiritual and military leader . At the same time he was an entrepreneur and trader and was aided by a network of high officials . 
