Circa 395-364 BCE
AR Hemidrachm 13 mm, 2.49 g
Boeotian shield.
Rev. EPX in wreath of grain.
BCD Boiotia 220. HGC 4, 1239. McClean 5537. SNG Copenhagen 200
ex CNG 2022
Ex CNG 2012
Ex BCD Collection
Ex CNG 2006
Ex Burgan MBS 1983
Orchomenos was perhaps the second leading city (distantly) in Boeotia after Thebes. In mythology, the city was founded by Minyas, who was believed to be a son of Poseidon. He was also the father of the Minyans, the people who originally settled around Orchomenos.
The city exited during Mycenaean times, but was burned and destroyed like the rest of Greece at the end of that era.
In ancient times, Orchomenos was best known for its Sanctuary of the Charites and for its Agrionia festival. The Charites, also known as the Graces, were three or more goddesses that typically personified female attributes and were often depicted in sculptures and paintings. The Agrionia was a strange festival during which a man dressed as Dionysos chased a woman and actually killed her. It therefore practiced human sacrifice, but per Plutarch was eventually ceased.
The Battle of Chaeronea, where Philip II defeated Thebes and Athens and thus achieved supremacy over Greece, was fought near Orchomenos.