Orchomenus

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Orchomenus, name of several Greek cities but especially of that in Boeotia on the north of the Copāic plain (known locally as Erchomenus). It became important in the Mycenaean period and was apparently the principal Boeotian city until it was eclipsed by Thebes. Orchomenus was proverbial for its wealth and associated in legend with the Minyans. It has been suggested that its wealth depended upon the fertility of the Copaic plain after the lake was drained, and that its decline is reflected in the story that Heracles, hero of the rival city of Thebes, broke down the drainage system and flooded the plain. Orchomenus was the site of an ancient and famous cult of the Graces. The city was destroyed by a confederacy of Boeotian towns in 364 BC.

Orchomenus (or Orchomenos, Orkhomenos, Greek: Ὀρχομενός) is a name attributed to the following:

Greek mythology

• A king, the father of Elara.
• A son of Lycaon.
• The father of Minyas and Kyparissos.
• A murdered son of Thyestes.
• A childless son of Minyas.
• The son of Athamas and Themisto.

Ancient Greek geography

• Orchomenus, also called the Minyean Orchomenus, a city of Boeotia.
• Orchomenus, also called the Arcadian Orchomenus, a city of Arcadia.
• Orchomenus, a city of Thessaly.
• Orchomenus, a city of Euboea.

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