Orchomenus or Orchomenos or Orkhomenos (Greek: Ὀρχομενός) was an ancient city of Arcadia, Greece, called by Thucydides (v. 61) the Arcadian Orchomenus (Ὀρχομενός ὁ Ἀρκαδικός), to distinguish it from the Boeotian town. Its ruins are near the modern town of Kalpaki. Arcadia or Arkadía (Greek Αρκαδία; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a region of Greece in the Peloponnesus. ... Bust of Thucydides residing in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto. ... Orchomenus is an ancient city of Boeotia in Greece, which was the setting for many early Greek Myths. ...

Situation

It was situated in a plain surrounded on every side by mountains. This plain was bounded on the south by a low range of hills, called Anchisia, which separated it from the territory of Mantineia; on the north by a lofty chain, called Oligyrtus, through which lie the passes into the territories of Pheneus and Stymphalus; and on the east and west by two parallel chains running from north to south, which bore no specific name in antiquity: the eastern range is in one part 5400 feet (1600 m) high, and the western about 4000 feet (1200 m). The plain is divided into two by hills projecting on either side from the eastern and western ranges, and which approach so close as to allow space for only a narrow ravine between them. The western hill, on account of its rough and rugged form, was called Trachy (Τραχύ) in antiquity; upon the summit of the western mountain stood the acropolis of Orchomenus. The northern plain is lower than the southern; the waters of the latter run through the ravine between Mount Trachy and that upon which Orchomenus stands into the northern plain, where, as there is no outlet for the waters, they form a considerable lake. (Paus. viii. 13. § 4.) The acropolis of Orchomenus, stood upon a lofty, steep, and insulated hill, nearly 3000 feet (900 m) high, resembling the strong fortress of the Messenian Ithome, and, like the latter, commanding two plains. Mantinea – Greek: Mαντινεία Mantineia, modern romanizations: Mantinia, Mandineia or Mandinia; and for a time Antigonia (Greek: Αντιγόνεια) also transliterated as Antigonea and Antigoneia – is a city in Arcadia in the central Peloponnese that was the site of two significant battles in Classical Greek history. ... The metre, or meter (symbol: m) is the SI base unit of length. ... Acropolis of Athens from the south-west with the Propylaea and the Temple of Nike (left centre) and the theatre of Herodes Atticus (below left) Acropolis (Gr. ...

History

From its situation and its legendary history, we may conclude that it was one of the most powerful cities of Arcadia in early times. Pausanias relates that Orchomenus was founded by an eponymous hero, the son of Lycaon (viii. 3. § 3); but there was a tradition that, on the death of Arcas, his dominions were divided among his three sons, of whom Elatus obtained Orchomenus as his portion. (Schol. ad. Dionys. Per. 415.) The kings of Orchomenus are said to have ruled over nearly all Arcadia. (Heraclid. Pont. ap. Diog. Laert. i. 94.) Pausanias also gives a list of the kings of Orchomenus, whom he represents at the same time as kings of Arcadia. One of these kings, Aristocrates, the son of Aechmis, was stoned to death by his people for violating the virgin priestess of Artemis Hymnia. Aristocrates was succeeded by his son Hicetas, and Hicetas by his son Aristocrates II, who, having abandoned the Messenians at the battle of the Trench in the second war against Sparta, experienced the fate of his grandfather, being stoned to death by the Arcadians. He appears to have been the last king of Orchomenus, who reigned over Arcadia, but his family was not deprived of the kingdom of Orchomenus, as is stated in some authorities, since we find his son Aristodemus represented as king of the city. (Paus. viii. 5; Polyb. iv. 3; Heracl. Pont. l. c.) It would appear, indeed, that royalty continued to exist at Orchomenus long after its abolition in most other Greek cities, since Theophilus related that Peisistratus, king of Orchomenus, was put to death by the aristocracy in the Peloponnesian War. (Plut. Parall. 32.) Pausanias is the name of several ancient people: Pausanias was a Spartan general of the 5th century BC. Pausanias of Sparta was King of Sparta from 409 BC-395 BC. Pausanias was the servant/lover who assassinated Philip II of Macedon in 336 BC Pausanias, Greek traveller and geographer of... Zeus turning Lycaon into a wolf, engraving by Hendrik Goltzius. ... In Greek mythology, Arcas (Αρκάς) was the son of Zeus and of the nymph Callisto, whom Hera turned into a bear. ... There were two figures named Elatus or Élatos in Greek mythology. ... The Diana of Versailles, a Roman copy of a sculpture by Leochares (Louvre Museum) Artemis (Greek: nominative , genitive ) in Greek mythology the daughter of Zeus and of Leto and the twin sister of Apollo was one of the most widely venerated of the gods and manifestly one of the oldest... Messenia (Greek: , in Modern Greek Messinia; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a prefecture in the Peloponnese, a region of Greece. ... Coordinates 37°4′ N 22°26′ E Country Greece Periphery Peloponnese Prefecture Laconia Population 18,184 source (2001) Area 84. ... Polybius (c. ... Combatants Delian League led by Athens Peloponnesian League led by Sparta Commanders Pericles, Cleon, Nicias, Alcibiades Archidamus II, Brasidas, Lysander The Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) was an Ancient Greek military conflict, fought between Athens and its empire and the Peloponnesian League, led by Sparta. ... Mestrius Plutarchus (Greek: Πλούταρχος; 46 - 127), better known in English as Plutarch, was an Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist. ...

Orchomenus is mentioned by Homer, who gives it the epithet of πολύμηλος (Il. ii. 605); and it is also called "ferax" by Ovid (Met. vi. 416), and ἀφνεός by Apollonius Rhodius (iii. 512). In the Persian Wars Orchomenus sent 120 men to Thermopylae (Herod. viii. 102), and 600 to Plataea (ix. 28). In the Peloponnesian War, the Lacedaemonians deposited in Orchomenus the hostages they had taken from the Arcadians; but the walls of the city were then in a dilapidated state; and accordingly, when the Athenians and their Peloponnesian allies advanced against the city in 418 BCE, the Orchomenians dared not offer resistance, and surrendered the hostages. (Thuc. v. 61.) At the time of the foundation of Megalopolis, we find the Orchomenians exercising supremacy over Theisoa, Methydrium, and Teuthis; but the inhabitants of these cities were then transferred to Megalopolis, and their territories assigned to the latter. (Paus. viii.27. §4.) The Orchomenians, through their enmity to the Mantineians, refused to join the Arcadian confederacy, and made war upon the Mantineians. (Xen. Hell. vi. 5. 11, seq.; Diod. xv. 62.) Henceforth Orchomenus lost its political importance; but, from its commanding situation, its possession was frequently an object of the belligerent powers in later times. In the war between Cassander and Polyperchon, it fell into the power of the former, 313 BCE. (Diod. xix. 63.) It subsequently espoused the side of the Aetolians, was taken by Cleomenes (Polyb. ii. 46), and was afterwards retaken by Antigonus Doson, who placed there a Macedonian garrison. (Polyb. ii. 54, iv. 6; Plut. Arat. 5.) It was given back by Philip II to the Achaeans. (Liv. xxxii. 5.) The Iliad is, with The Odyssey, one of the two major Greek epic poems traditionally attributed to Homer, a blind Ionian poet. ... Engraved frontispiece of George Sandyss 1632 London edition of Publius Ovidius Naso (Sulmona, March 20, 43 BC â€“ Tomis, now Constanta AD 17) Roman poet known to the English-speaking world as Ovid, wrote on topics of love, abandoned women, and mythological transformations. ... Apollonius of Rhodes (Apollonius Rhodius), librarian at Alexandria, was a poet, the author of Argonautica, a literary epic retelling of ancient material concerning Jason and the Argonauts quest for the Golden Fleece in the mythic land of Colchis. ... The Greco-Persian Wars or Persian Wars were a series of conflicts between the Greek world and the Persian Empire that started about 500 BC and lasted until 448 BC. The term can also refer to the continual warfare of the Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire against the Parthians and... Combatants Greek-city states Persian Empire Commanders Leonidas I † Xerxes I of Persia Strength 300 Spartans 700 Thespians 6,000 other Greek allies2 200,000-2,000,000 (estimates vary)1 Casualties 300 Spartans and 700 Thespians; 1,500 Greek allies in total. ... Combatants Greek city-states Persia Commanders Pausanias Mardonius† Strength 100,000 (Pompeius) 110,000 (Herodotus) 120,000 (Ctesias) 300,000 (Herodotus, Plutarch). ... Nickname: City of Athena or Cradle of Democracy Location of the city of Athens (red dot) within the Prefecture of Athens and Periphery of Attica Coordinates: Country Greece Peripheries Attica Prefecture Athens Founded circa 2000 BC Mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis Area    - City 38. ... Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 460s BC 450s BC 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC - 410s BC - 400s BC 390s BC 380s BC 370s BC 360s BC Years: 423 BC 422 BC 421 BC 420 BC 419 BC - 418 BC - 417 BC 416 BC... Ancient Megalopolis, or now Megalópoli (Μεγαλοπολη) is a town in the western part of the prefecture of Arcadia. ... Cassander (c. ... Polyperchon (394 - 303 BC) was a Macedonian general who served under Philip II and Alexander the Great, accompanying Alexander throughout his long journeys. ... Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC Decades: 360s BC 350s BC 340s BC 330s BC 320s BC 310s BC 300s BC 290s BC 280s BC 270s BC 260s BC 318 BC 317 BC 316 BC 315 BC 314 BC 313 BC 312 BC 311 BC 310... The ancient Region of Aetolia, Greece Aetolia is a mountainous region of Greece on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, forming the eastern part of the modern prefecture of Aetolia-Acarnania. ... There have been three kings of Sparta by the name Cleomenes Cleomenes I (c. ... Antigonus III Doson (263 BC-221 BC), king of Macedonia 229 BC-221 BC. He belonged to the Antigonid dynasty. ... Philip II of Macedon: victory medal (niketerion) struck in Tarsus, 2nd c. ...

Strabo mentions it among the Arcadian cities, which had either disappeared, or of which there were scarcely any traces left (viii. p. 338); but this appears from Pausanias to have been an exaggeration. When 19th century classicist William Smith visited the place, in the mid-19th century, the old city upon the summit of the mountain was in ruins, and there were only some vestiges of the agora and the town walls; but at the foot of the mountain there was still an inhabited town. The upper town was probably deserted at a very early period; for such is the natural strength of its position, that it is unlikely that the Orchomenians were dwelling there in the Peloponnesian War, when they were unable to resist an invading force. Pausanias mentions, as the most remarkable objects in the place, a source of water, and temples of Poseidon and Aphrodite, with statues of stone. Close to the city was a wooden statue of Artemis, enclosed in a great cedar tree, and hence called Cedreatis. Below the city were several heaps of stones, said to have been erected to some persons slain in battle. (Paus. viii. 13.) The Greek geographer Strabo in a 16th century engraving. ... Pausanias is the name of several ancient people: Pausanias was a Spartan general of the 5th century BC. Pausanias of Sparta was King of Sparta from 409 BC-395 BC. Pausanias was the servant/lover who assassinated Philip II of Macedon in 336 BC Pausanias, Greek traveller and geographer of... Sir William Smith (1813 - 1893), English lexicographer, was born at Enfield in 1813 of Nonconformist parents. ... Neptune reigns in the city of Bristol. ... The Birth of Venus, (detail) by Sandro Botticelli, 1485 Aphrodite (Greek: Ἀφροδίτη, pronounced in English as and in Ancient Greek as ) was the Greek goddess of love, lust, beauty, and sexuality. ...

Ruins

The modern village of Kalpaki stands on the site of the lower Orchomenus. On approaching the place from the south the traveller sees, on his left, tumuli, chiefly composed of collections of stones, as described by Pausanias. Just above Kalpaki are several pieces of white marble columns, belonging to an ancient temple. There are also some remains of a temple at a ruined church below the village, near which is a copious fountain, which is evidently the one described by Pausanias. On the summit of the hill are some remains of the walls of the more ancient Orchomenus.

In the territory of Orchomenus, but adjoining that of Mantineia, consequently on the northern slope of Mt. Anchisia, was the temple of Artemis Hymnia, which was held in high veneration by all the Arcadians in the most ancient times. (Paus. viii. 5. § 11.) Its site is probably indicated by a chapel of the Virgin Mary, which stands east of Levidi. Levidi, Arcaidia, Greece is a small town located on the Peloponese about 25km north of Tripolis. ...

In the southern plain is an ancient canal, which conducts the waters from the surrounding mountains through the ravine into the lower or northern plain, which is the other Orchomnenian plain of Pausanias (viii. 13. § 4). After passing the ravine, at the distance of 3 stadia from Orchomenus, the road divides into two. One turns to the left along the northern side of the Orchomenian acropolis to Caphyae, the other crosses the torrent, and passes under Mount Trachy to the tomb of Aristocrates, beyond which are the fountains called Teneiae (Τενεῖαι). Seven stadia further is a place called Amilus (Ἄμιλος). Here, in ancient times, the road divided into two, one leading to Stymphalus and the other to Pheneus. (Paus. viii. 13. § 4, seq.) The above-mentioned fountains are visible just beyond Trachy, and a little further are some Hellenic ruins, which are those of Amilus. (Dodwell, Classical Tour, vol. ii. p. 425, seq.; Leake, Morea, vol. iii. p. 99, seq.; Boblaye, Récherches, p. 149; Curtius, Peloponnesos, vol. i. p. 219, seq.)

References

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography by William Smith (1857).