What is "orchomenus"

Orchomenus (or Orchomenos, Orkhomenos) may refer to:

Orchomenus ( Orchomenos), the setting for many early Greek myths, is best known as a rich archaeological site in Boeotia, Greece, that was inhabited from the Neolithic through the Hellenistic periods. Orchomenus is also referenced as the "Minyean Orchomenus" in order to distinguish the city from the "Arcadian Orchomenus".

Orchomenus or Orchomenos ( Greek: ) was an ancient city of Arcadia, Greece, called by Thucydides (v. 61) the Arcadian Orchomenus , to distinguish it from the Boeotian town.

Orchomenos was a prehistoric settlement and became one of the powerful cities in West Arcadia along with Tegea and Mantineia. The heyday of the city was between 7th-6th century BC and it became a rich city which minted its own currency.

Its ruins are near the modern village of Orchomenos (before 1963: Καλπάκι - Kalpaki).

In Greek mythology, the name Orchomenus may refer to:

• Orchomenus, a king, the father of Elara.
• Orchomenus, one of the twenty sons of Lycaon, founder and eponym of Orchomenus (Arcadia), as well as founder of Methydrium. One account called him father of Arcas.
• Orchomenus, son of Zeus and Isonoe, husband of Hermippe and legal father of Minyas whose biological father was Poseidon.
• Orchomenus, a son of Minyas and Phanosyra, thus grandson of the above (note though that there were multiple versions of Minyas' parentage). He succeeded to Minyas' power and had his domain, the Boeotian Orchomenus, named after himself. He received Hyettus who had fled Argos over the murder of Molurus, and assigned to him a tract of land. According to one source, Orchomenus died without issue, and his kingdom was handed over to Presbon, a son of Phrixus; in an alternate version though, he was father of Aspledon, Amphidocus and Clymenus, of whom the latter was his successor. He may be the Orchomenus who is given as father of Chloris, the consort of Ampycus.
• Orchomenus, son of Eteocles and brother of Minyas, in a rare genealogy; essentially the same as the above.
• Orchomenus, a son of Athamas and Themisto and brother of Sphingius according to Hyginus.
• Orchomenus, one of the sons of Thyestes whose flesh was served to their own father by Atreus.