Orchomenus, Boeotia

A major Bronze Age center in Boeotia near the now-drained Lake Copais, traditionally linked to the legendary Minyans from Thessaly. The site was inhabited from the Neolithic through Hellenistic periods, producing distinctive grey and yellow 'Minyan' pottery. Its Mycenaean tholos tomb, the Treasury of Minyas (c. 1250 BC), was described by Pausanias as 'a wonder second to none in Greece'. Orchomenus rivaled Thebes until its destruction in 364 BC. Excavations by Schliemann and later archaeologists revealed a palace with frescoes, destroyed c. 1200 BC.