Orkhomenos Attractions
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The little town of Orkhomenós, situated at the north end of a rocky ridge known in antiquity as Akontion and now called Dourdouvana, on the northwestern margin of the Kopais plain in Boeotia, is of interest for its ancient remains and for the ninth century church of Skrípou (a village now incorporated in the town).
6km/4mi northwest of Livadiá on the road to Lamía a side road branches off on the right to Orkhomenós, continuing to Kástro, on the Athens-Salonica expressway.
The site of ancient Orkhomenos was already occupied in Neolithic times. Later it became the capital of a Minyan principality which belonged to the Mycenaean cultural sphere. Homer refers to the wealth of the Minyans, and evidence of this is provided by a large tholos tomb dating from the heyday of the city (14th century B.C.). In the seventh century Orkhomenos was overshadowed and finally conquered by Thebes. The site was refortified during the Macedonian period and was occupied into Byzantine times, when it was abandoned.
6km/4mi northwest of Livadiá on the road to Lamía a side road branches off on the right to Orkhomenós, continuing to Kástro, on the Athens-Salonica expressway.
The site of ancient Orkhomenos was already occupied in Neolithic times. Later it became the capital of a Minyan principality which belonged to the Mycenaean cultural sphere. Homer refers to the wealth of the Minyans, and evidence of this is provided by a large tholos tomb dating from the heyday of the city (14th century B.C.). In the seventh century Orkhomenos was overshadowed and finally conquered by Thebes. The site was refortified during the Macedonian period and was occupied into Byzantine times, when it was abandoned.
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