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42-568: Its site near the village Mili at the Argolic Gulf is most famous as the lair of the Lernaean Hydra , the chthonic many-headed water snake, a creature of great antiquity when Heracles killed it, as the second of his labors . The strong Karstic springs remained; the lake, diminished to a silt lagoon by the 19th century, has vanished. Lerna is notable for several archaeological sites, including an Early Bronze Age structure known as House of

84-521: A Temple of Athena Saitis by Pausanias in this location, the structures that remain date to the Frankish period and are attributed to Gautier de Brienne. The castle and surrounding structures are said to have been destroyed during the first Ottoman–Venetian War (1463–1479) . Today, a few standing structures remaining and a modern church can be found on the top of the hill. Orchomenus (Boeotia) Orchomenus ( Ancient Greek : Ὀρχομενός Orchomenos ),

126-402: A famous landmark until at least the second century AD, when Pausanias visited Orchomenos and described the tholos in detail. It had a dromos thirty metres long. Its entrance was built of dark grey Levadeia marble and had a wooden door. The lintel , 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

168-473: A fresh start, not as a fortified seat of central authority this time, but as a small town, with houses of two and three rooms with walls of crude brick set upon stone foundations; several had central circular hearths. Narrow lanes separated houses. A great profusion of unlined pits ( bothroi ) was characteristic of this phase: eventually they became filled with waste matter, bones, potsherds, even whole pots. The pottery, markedly discontinuous with Lerna III, shows

210-613: A lamb was cast into the waters as an offering for the "Keeper of the Gate." The keeper of the gate to the Underworld that lay in the waters of Lerna was the Hydra . Excavations at the site were initiated under John L. Caskey in 1952, whose efforts initiated the series of publications of Bronze Age Lerna, Lerna I-V, inspiring many other publications. Lerna was occupied in Neolithic times, as early as

252-517: A prehistoric cemetery, the theatre and other structures. The Tomb of Minyas is one of the greatest burial monuments of the Mycenaean period. 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

294-416: A proverb, 'A Lerna of ills.' Now writers agree that the county has plenty of water, and that, although the city itself lies in a waterless district, it has an abundance of wells. These wells they ascribe to the daughters of Danaus, believing that they discovered them ... but they add that four of the wells not only were designated as sacred but are especially revered, thus introducing the false notion that there

336-465: A range of new forms, and the first signs— regular spiral grooves in bases and parallel incised lines— marking the increasing use of the potter's wheel . Painted linear decoration in dark glaze on the pale body is characteristic of Lerna IV. Caskey identified early examples of the ware that in Middle Helladic contexts would be recognized as Minyan ware , and, among the few examples of imported pottery,

378-457: A winged jar characteristic of Troy , perhaps Troy IV. Lerna V is continuous with the preceding phase, distinguished largely by new styles in pottery with the sudden, peaceful introduction of matte-painted ware, the thick-slipped Argive version of gray Minyan ware, and a vigorous increase in the kinds of imported wares, coming from the Cyclades and Crete (Middle Minoan IA) . A new custom of burying

420-467: Is a lack of water where there is an abundance of it. Lerna was one of the entrances to the Underworld , and the ancient Lernaean Mysteries, sacred to Demeter , were celebrated there, along with a festival called the Lernaea , which was also held in her honor. Pausanias (2.37.1) says that the mysteries were initiated by Philammon, the twin "other" of Autolycus . Heroes could gain entry to the netherworld via

462-472: Is a village in the southwestern part of Argolis , Greece . Myloi was the seat of the former municipality of Lerna . It is 4 km southwest of Nea Kios , 9 km south of Argos and 8 km west of Nafplio . The Greek National Road 7 passes through the village. It had a train station on the Corinth–Kalamata railway , but passenger service on this line was halted in 2010. Situated on the northwestern coast of

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504-523: Is generally omitted. Shin sometimes curves inwards. Left flank is occasionally placed slightly forward. Minyan ware is a term that was coined to describe a certain type of pottery that was found here. Opposite the ancient theatre is the 9th-century Byzantine church of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary (Panagia) of Skripou. Well-preserved inscriptions date the church securely to 873/4, naming its sponsor as

546-547: Is sparse; stamped sealing form decorative patterns on some pieces, or rolled scribed cylinders have been used to make banded patterns. Remarkably, banded patterns made with the self-same seal have been found at Lerna, Tiryns and Zygouries . The burning of the House of Tiles brought the Third Period at Lerna to a decisive close; a low round tumulus marked its undisturbed, apparently sacrosanct site. Lerna IV (Early Helladic III) marked

588-724: The Aegean Sea , Orchomenos was burned and its palace destroyed in c. 1200 BC during the Bronze Age Collapse . 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. Orchomenos seems to have been one of the city-states that joined

630-628: The Argolic Gulf , Myloi is a popular fishing village and local tourist destination for its beaches and restaurants, hotels, market, and bakery open for most of the year. Lerna is a Bronze Age settlement site located in Myloi that was occupied from the Neolithic to the Mycenean period (6th - 1st century BC). Excavated by the American School of Classical Studies in Athens , several buildings were recovered with

672-737: The Battle of Leuctra (371 BC) was delayed by the tolerant policies of Epaminondas : the Boeotian League sacked Orchomenos in 364 BC. Although the Phocians rebuilt the city in 355 BC, the Thebans destroyed it again in 349. The broad plain between Orchomenos and the acropolis of Chaeronea 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

714-590: The Calaurian maritime League in the seventh century BC. Although their rivals Thebes confirmed their supremacy by the end of the century reflected by inscriptions, Orchomenos joined the Theban-led Boeotian League in c. 600 BC. Classical Orchomenos was known for its sanctuary of the Charites or Graces, the oldest in the city (the 9th century Byzantine monastery church of Panagia Skripou probably occupies

756-493: The Protospatharios Leon, who served as a senior official of the emperor Basil I during the period of his joint reign with his sons Constantine and Leo . 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: The municipality has an area of 415.914 km ,

798-622: The Ptoon sanctuary and Orchomenos (NAMA 9). The characteristics of this style are: the ear is still carved in one plane, but less stylised. Eyes are not so large as before and more rounded. Mouth is horizontal but no longer always in one plane. The slight protrusions of flanks are sometimes prolonged into a girdle-like ridge, the sculptor occasionally marks the anterior spine of the crest. Shoulder blades are now separate raised planes. The erector spinae sometimes indicated as raised planes. Arms are generally joined to body. The depression over great trochanter

840-518: The " Tomb of Atreus " at Mycenae itself. In 1893, A. de Ridder excavated the temple of Asklepios and some burials in the Roman necropolis. In 1903–05, a Bavarian archaeological mission under Heinrich Bulle and Adolf Furtwängler conducted successful excavations at the site. Research continued in 1970–73 by the Archaeological Service under Theodore Spyropoulos , uncovering the Mycenaean palace,

882-533: The Alcyonian Lake. Prosymnus aided Dionysus in his search for his mother Semele by guiding him to this entrance. For mortals the lake was perilous; Pausanias writes: There is no limit to the depth of the Alcyonian Lake, and I know of nobody who by any contrivance has been able to reach the bottom of it since not even Nero , who had ropes made several stades long and fastened them together, tying lead to them, and omitting nothing that might help his experiment,

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924-490: The Early Bronze Age (2800–1900 BC) were discovered (Kunze 1931; Treuil 1983). Most excavations have focussed 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 (H. Schliemann, Orchomenos , Leipzig 1881) revealed the tholos tomb he called the "Tomb of Minyas ", a Mycenaean monument that equalled

966-558: The Orchomenians joined their neighbouring rivals the Thebans to turn back the invading forces of Xerxes in the Greco-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 of Agesilaus II and Sparta against Thebes, in 395 and again in 394 BC. The Theban revenge after their defeat of Sparta in

1008-748: The Tiles , dating to the Early Helladic period II (2500–2300 BC). The secret of the Lernaean spring was the gift of Poseidon when he lay with the "blameless" daughter of Danaus , Amymone . The geographer Strabo attests that the Lernaean waters were considered healing: Lake Lerna, the scene of the story of the Hydra, lies in Argeia and the Mycenaean territory; and on account of the cleansings that take place in it there arose

1050-527: 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

1092-527: The dead in excavations within the houses or between them is universal at the period. Modern geological techniques such as core drilling have identified the site of the vanished sacred Lake Lerna , which was a freshwater lagoon, separated by barrier dunes from the Aegean. In the Early Bronze Age Lake Lerna had an estimated diameter of 4.7 km. Deforestation increased the rate of silt deposits and

1134-480: The end of Early Helladic III, corresponding to Lerna IV. The site of Lerna is one of the largest prehistoric tumuli in Greece (ca. 180 m by 160 m across), which accumulated during a long Neolithic occupation. The crest of the mound was levelled and extended in the Early Bronze Age (Early Helladic II period, ca. 2500–2200 BC), as at Eutresis and Orchomenus , for the construction of a new settlement, known as Lerna III in

1176-468: The fifth millennium BCE, then was abandoned for a time before the sequence of occupation from the Early to Late Bronze Age (Early Helladic through Late Helladic or Mycenaean period). On-site techniques of flint-knapping with imported obsidian and chert attest to cultural continuity over this long stretch of time, with reduction in the supply of obsidian from Melos testifying to reduced long-distance trade at

1218-422: The following period (Lerna IV = Early Helladic III) the site of the "House of the Tiles" was covered by an earthen tumulus and not built upon again, whether through respect or fear, until, at the end of the Middle Helladic period, shaft graves were cut into the tumulus, suggesting that the significance of the monument had been forgotten. Lerna was used as a cemetery during the Mycenaean age (Late Helladic period), but

1260-617: The lake became a malarial marsh, of which the last remnants were drained in the nineteenth century. The lake is called "the Lake of Darkness" in Shakespeare's King Lear ; see Nero in the arts and popular culture "The epithet άμύμων in Homer is applied to individual heroes, to a hero's tomb [ Odyssey xxiv.80], to magical, half-mythical peoples like the Phaeacians and Aethiopians [ Iliad x.423] who to

1302-499: The later Dictator Sulla defeated those of King Mithridates VI of Pontus near Chaeronea, in 86 BC during the First Mithridatic War . This Second Battle of Chaeronea was followed by the Battle 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. Round houses (two to six metres in diameter) from

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1344-602: The most famous being the House of the Tiles , a large monumental building names after the remains of baked roofing tiles. The site is managed by the Ephorate of Antiquities of Argolida and can be visited with the price of admission. Built during the 14th century AD, the remains of the Castle of Kiveri. are located on Pontinos Hill, overlooking the Argolic Gulf. While there are mentions of

1386-610: The plain of Chaironeia during the first Battle of Chaeronea , establishing Macedonian supremacy over the city-states, and demonstrated the prowess of Philip's young son Alexander 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 second Battle of Chaeronea occurred when Roman Republican forces under

1428-543: The popular imagination are half canonized, to the magic island [ Odyssey xii.261] of the god Helios , to the imaginary half-magical Good Old King [ Odyssey xix.109]. It is used also of the 'convoy' [ Iliad vi.171] sent by the gods, which of course is magical in character; it is never, I believe, an epithet of the Olympians themselves. There is about the word a touch of what is magical and demonic rather than actually divine." Myloi, Argolis Myloi ( Greek : Μύλοι ),

1470-526: The same spot ). Here the Charites had their earliest veneration, in legend instituted by Eteocles ; musical and poetical agonistic games, the Charitesia, were held in their honour, in the theatre that was discovered in 1972. The Agrionia , a festival of the god Dionysus , involved the ritual pursuit of women by a man representing Dionysus. Orchomenos struck its coinage from the mid-sixth century. In 480–479 BC,

1512-747: The setting for many early Greek myths , is best known today as a rich archaeological site in Boeotia , Greece , that was inhabited from the Neolithic through the Hellenistic periods. It is often referred to as " Minyan Orchomenus", to distinguish it from a later city of the same name in Arcadia . According to the founding myth of Orchomenos, its royal dynasty was established by the Minyans , who had followed their eponymous leader Minyas from coastal Thessaly to settle

1554-488: The site's stratigraphy. Lerna III lacks signs of continuity with the previous occupation. It was strongly fortified by a double ring of defensive walls with towers and was the site of a two-storey palace or administrative center known as House of the Tiles , for the terracotta tiles that sheathed its roof (an early example of tile roofing). This building was destroyed by fire at the end of the Early Helladic II period. In

1596-605: The site. In the Bronze Age , during the fourteenth and thirteenth centuries BC, 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 beehive tomb show the power of Orchomenos in Mycenaean Greece. A massive hydraulic undertaking drained the marshes of Lake Kopaïs , making it a rich agricultural area. Like many sites around

1638-431: The walls of the side chamber. 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 decorated with frescoes. The palace was destroyed c. 1200 BC. 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

1680-400: Was abandoned about 1250 BCE. Ceramics of Lerna III include the hallmark spouted vessels that archaeologists name "sauceboats", with rims that sweep upwards into a curved spout, as well as bowls with incurving rims, both flat-bottomed and with ring bases, and wide saucers, sometimes with glazed rims, more pleasant for the drinker's lips. Jars and hydria have swelling curves. Painted decoration

1722-464: Was able to discover any limit to its depth. This, too, I heard. The water of the lake is, to all appearance, calm and quiet but, although it is such to look at, every swimmer who ventures to cross it is dragged down, sucked into the depths, and swept away. At Lerna, Plutarch knew ( Isis and Osiris ), Dionysus was summoned as "Bugenes", "son of the Bull " with a strange archaic trumpet called a salpinx , while

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1764-572: 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). Orchomenos gives its name to a period of sculpture of archaic Kouroi , the Orchomenos-Thera group of 590–570 BC. This period witnessed a lull in Attica, but activity was more vigorous in Boeotia, especially from

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