Orchomenus (Boeotia)
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Orchomenos Ορχομενός |
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The Theatre
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 Orchomenos
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Location within the region
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| Coordinates: 38°29′N 22°59′E / 38.483°N 22.983°ECoordinates: 38°29′N 22°59′E / 38.483°N 22.983°E | |
| Country | Greece |
| Administrative region | Central Greece |
| Regional unit | Boeotia |
| Area | |
| • Municipality | 415.9 km2 (160.6 sq mi) |
| • Municipal unit | 230.098 km2 (88.841 sq mi) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Municipality | 11,621 |
| • Municipality density | 28/km2 (72/sq mi) |
| • Municipal unit | 8,869 |
| • Municipal unit density | 39/km2 (100/sq mi) |
| Community | |
| • Population | 5,238 (2011) |
| • Area (km2) | 43.431 |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) |
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) |
Orchomenus (Ancient Greek: Ὀρχομενός Orchomenos), the setting for many early Greek myths, is best known as a rich archaeological site in Boeotia, Greece, that was inhabited from the Neolithic through the Hellenistic periods. Orchomenus is also referenced as the "Minyean Orchomenus" in order to distinguish the city from the "Arcadian Orchomenus".
According to the founding myth of Orchomenos, its royal dynasty had been established by the Minyans, who had followed their eponymous leader Minyas from coastal Thessaly to settle the site. In the Bronze Age, during the fourteenth and thirteenth centuries, Orchomenos became a rich and important centre of civilisation in Mycenaean Greece and a rival to Thebes. The palace with its frescoed walls and the great tholos tomb show the power of Orchomenos in Mycenaean times. A massive hydraulic undertaking drained the marshes of Lake Copaïs making it a rich agricultural area. Like many sites around the Aegean, Orchomenos was burned and its palace destroyed in ca. 1200 BC.
Orchomenos is mentioned among the Achaean cities sending ships to engage in the Trojan War in Homer's "Catalogue of Ships" in the Iliad: together with Aspledon, they contributed thirty ships and their complement of men.
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Wikipedia