Orchomenos Ορχομενός | |
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 The Acropolis of Orchomenus | |
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  Orchomenos | |
| Coordinates:38°29′N22°59′E / 38.483°N 22.983°E /38.483; 22.983 | |
| 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) |
| • Community | 43.431 km2 (16.769 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[1] | |
• Municipality | 9,381 |
| • Density | 22.56/km2 (58.42/sq mi) |
| • Municipal unit | 7,105 |
| • Municipal unit density | 30.88/km2 (79.97/sq mi) |
| • Community | 4,285 |
| • Community density | 98.66/km2 (255.5/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Orchomenus (Ancient Greek:Ὀρχομενός;Modern Greek:Ορχομενός,Orchomenos) is a town and a municipality inBoeotia,Greece. It is best known today for its rich archaeological site, that was inhabited from theNeolithic through theHellenistic periods and is the setting for many earlyGreek myths. It is often referred to as "Minyan Orchomenus", to distinguish it from a latercity of the same name inArcadia. It is located at the base of Akontion near snow-capped Mount Parnassos.[2]
According to thefounding myth of Orchomenos, its royal dynasty was established by theMinyans, who had followed theireponymous leaderMinyas from coastalThessaly to settle the site.
Round houses (two to six metres in diameter) from the Early Bronze Age (2800–2000 BC) were discovered.[3][4][5][6]
In theBronze Age, during the fourteenth and thirteenth centuries BC, Orchomenos became a rich and important centre of civilisation inMycenaean Greece and a rival toThebes. It had a trading port at Larymna.
Trojan War. Orchomenos is mentioned among theAchaean cities sending ships to engage in theTrojan War inHomer's "Catalogue of Ships" in theIliad: together withAspledon, they contributed thirty ships and their complement of men. The wealth brought in via the agricultural land under its control probably explains its Homeric epithet "rich in gold" (πολύχρυσος).[7]
Palace. The Mycenaean palace to the east of the Tholos tomb and lying partially underneath the church is only partially excavated and consists of three wings, some of which were the walls were decorated with frescoes. The palace was destroyed by fire c. 1200 BC.
Tholos Tomb. To the west of the palace was the greattholos tomb, known as the "Treasury of Minyas", is abeehive tomb that show the power of Orchomenos in Mycenaean Greece. It was most likely the royal burial site of the localwanax (king), and can be compared with the Treasury of Atreus at Mycenae.
Hydraulics. A massive hydraulic undertaking drained the marshes ofLake Kopaïs, making it a rich agricultural area.[8] Here "highly skilled engineers drained the greatest lake in Greece, creating a vast fertile plain ringed by sophisticated fortifications and cultivated by slaves."[9]
Many histories of Mycenaean Greece contend that Orchomenos was, likePylos, one of the cities destroyed during the turbulent period referred to as theBronze Age Collapse.[10][11][12] Ancient Greek legends attribute the destruction to a war with the neighboring power ofThebes.[13] However, Jesse Millek recently challenged this assumption, claiming it is based on misreading archeological evidence that the site was simply abandoned during the same time period.[14] Bryan Feuer commented that archeological information on Mycenaean Orchomenos is fragmentary in part because much of its remains "have been destroyed by erosion or subsequent rebuilding".[15]
Orchomenos seems to have been one of thecity-states that joined theCalaurian maritimeLeague in the seventh century BC.[16] Although their rivals Thebes confirmed their supremacy by the end of the century reflected by inscriptions, Orchomenos joined the Theban-ledBoeotian League in c. 600 BC.[17]
Orchomenos struck its coinage from the mid-sixth century.
Classical Orchomenos was known for its sanctuary of theCharites or Graces, the oldest in the city[18] (the 9th century Byzantine monastery church of Panagia Skripou probably occupies the same spot[19]). Here the Charites had their earliest veneration, in legend instituted byEteocles; musical and poetical agonistic games, the Charitesia,[20] were held in their honour, in the theatre that was discovered in 1972.[21][22] TheAgrionia, a festival of the godDionysus, involved the ritual pursuit of women by a man representing Dionysus.
In 480–479 BC, the Orchomenians joined their neighbouring rivals the Thebans to turn back the invading forces ofXerxes in theGreco-Persian Wars. In mid-century, Orchomenos sheltered the oligarchic exiles who freed Boeotia from Athenian control. In the fourth century the traditional rivalry with Thebes made Orchomenos an ally ofAgesilaus II andSparta against Thebes, in 395 and again in 394 BC. The Theban revenge after their defeat of Sparta in theBattle of Leuctra (371 BC) was delayed by the tolerant policies ofEpaminondas:[23] the Boeotian League sacked Orchomenos in 364 BC. Although thePhocians rebuilt the city in 355 BC, the Thebans destroyed it again in 349.
The broad plain between Orchomenos and the acropolis ofChaeronea witnessed two battles of major importance in Classical antiquity. In 338 BC, after a whirlwind march south into central Greece,Philip II of Macedon defeated Thebes and Athens on the plain of Chaironeia during the firstBattle of Chaeronea, establishing Macedonian supremacy over the city-states, and demonstrated the prowess of Philip's young sonAlexander the Great. During Alexander's campaign against Thebes in 335 BC, Orchomenos took the side of the Macedonians. In recompense, Philip and Alexander rebuilt Orchomenos, when the theatre and the fortification walls, visible today, were constructed.
The fortification walls of Orchomenos were built in the 2nd half of the 4th century BC under the Macedonians and crown the east end of mount Akontion. The theatre was built around the end of the 4th century BC. The cavea, with seats for the spectators, the orchestra and part of the scena are all preserved. It was in use until late Roman times (4th century AD).
The secondBattle of Chaeronea occurred whenRoman Republican forces under the laterDictatorSulla defeated those of KingMithridates VI of Pontus near Chaeronea, in 86 BC during theFirst Mithridatic War. This Second Battle of Chaeronea was followed by theBattle of Orchomenus, when Archelaus' forces were completely destroyed.
Orchomenos remained a small town until Late Roman times when the theatre was still in use, and continued afterwards.
Opposite the ancient theatre is the 9th-century Byzantine church of theDormition of the Virgin Mary (Panagia) of Skripou.[24] Well-preserved inscriptions date the church securely to 873/4, naming its sponsor as theProtospatharios Leon, who served as a senior official of the emperorBasil I during the period of his joint reign with his sons Constantine andLeo.[25]
The modern municipality of Orchomenos was formed in the local government reform of 2011 by the merger of the following two former municipalities, which became municipal units, each subdivided into local communities:[26]
The municipality has an area of 415.914 km2, the municipal unit Orchomenos 230.098 km2, the community Orchomenos 43.431 km2.[27] The seat of the municipality is in the town Orchomenos.[26]
Most excavations have focused on the early and Mycenean areas of the lower town, while the later Hellenistic city on the acropolis remains largely unexplored.
In 1880–86,Heinrich Schliemann's excavations revealed the tholos tomb he called the "Tomb ofMinyas", aMycenaean monument that equaled the "Tomb of Atreus" atMycenae itself.[29] In 1893, André de Ridder excavated the temple ofAsklepios and some burials in the Roman necropolis.[30] In 1903–05, a Bavarian archaeological mission underHeinrich Bulle andAdolf Furtwängler conducted successful excavations at the site.[31] Research continued in 1970–73 by the Archaeological Service underTheodore Spyropoulos, uncovering the Mycenaean palace, a prehistoric cemetery, the theatre and other structures.[32][33]
The Tomb of Minyas is one of the greatest burial monuments of the Mycenaean period.[34] The tomb was probably built for the members of the royal family of Orchomenos in 1250 BC and was plundered in antiquity. The monument was visible for many centuries after its original use and even became a place of worship in the Hellenistic period. It was probably a famous landmark until at least the second century AD, whenPausanias visited Orchomenos and described thetholos in detail.[35] It had adromos thirty metres long. Its entrance was built of dark greyLevadeia marble and had a wooden door. Thelintel, still in place today, is six metres long and weighs several tons. The entrance and the chamber were decorated with bronze rosettes as shown by the attachment holes on the walls and the ceiling of the side chamber is decorated with spirals and floral motifs in relief. In the centre of the Tholos, a rectangular burial monument dates to the Ηellenistic period (323–30 BC). It was partially restored by the architect-archaeologist A. Orlandos. In 1994, the Hellenic Ministry of Culture undertook restoration work consisting mainly of drainage and strengthening of the walls of the side chamber.
Administrative division of theCentral Greece Region | ||
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| Regional unit ofBoeotia |  | |
| Regional unit ofEuboea | ||
| Regional unit ofEvrytania | ||
| Regional unit ofPhocis | ||
| Regional unit ofPhthiotis | ||
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