Minyans
The Minyans (or Minyae) once occupied much of the territory of the Boeotians, but were reduced to two cities by the time of the Catalogue of Ships, reflecting changes following the fall of the Mycenaean world. The two cities were close to one another on the north-east shore of Lake Copais. Although the more numerous Boeotians had provided fifty ships, the Minyans managed to provide thirty (Iliad, 2.509-516). They were led by Ascalaphus and Ialmenus, sons of the god of war, Ares. Noted in the poem as warriors, they played no major role. Ascalaphus was killed in battle.
Aspledon
Aspledon (Iliad, 2.511) was near Orchomenus according to Strabo (9.2.41), and was abandoned for lack of water according to Pausanias (9.38.9). Archaeologists have settled on the most likely location as the hill on south-east edge of the village of Pyrgos, but it is by no means certain. No inscriptions have been found identifying the place as Aspledon (or Spledon). Sherds have been discovered on the hill ranging from the Early Bronze Age through the Mycenaean, Homeric times, and beyond, culminating in a medieval tower, the ruins of which still stand today. There are remnants of walling of different periods on the slopes, but most are covered in grass or bushes. The site has splendid views across the former Lake Copais.
Location: 38°30'47.4"N 23°02'06.8"E (medieval tower)
Orchomenus
The precise location of Orchomenus (Iliad, 2.511) shifted according to changes in the shore of Lake Copais and the city's fortunes. Before the Trojan war its territoy had extended over Lake Copais, which its ingenious engineers had drained. The richness of this agricultural land persists to the present day. The wealth of Orchomenus was legendary (Iliad, 9.381; Strabo, 9.2.40). Pausanias described the magnificent Mycenaean tholos tomb as "a wonder second to none either in Greece itself or elsewhere" (9.38.1). Today this structure is largely gone, its stones used for the construction of the nearby Holy Church of the Dormition of Theotokos - Panagia Skripou of the Monastery of the Koimesis Skripou. In a small side-tomb to the main "treasury of Minyas", as Pausanias called it, some magnificent decoration is preserved. The ancient spring of the Three Charites or the Three Graces (Akidalia Spring), which fed the town, lies about a kilometre away. The distant acropolis of Orchomenus contains walling that post-dates the Mycenaean and Homeric periods.
Locations: 38°29'35.1"N 22°58'30.9"E (Archaeological Site of Orchomenus), 38°29'38.0"N 22°58'33.3"E (Holy Church of the Dormition of Theotokos - Panagia Skripou), 38°29'52.8"N 22°57'53.3"E (Akidalia Spring), 38°29'42.4"N 22°57'34.0"E (Acropolis of Orchomenus)