§9.2.37Χαιρώνεια δʼ ἐστὶν Ὀρχομενοῦ πλησίον, ὅπου Φίλιππος ὁ Ἀμύντου μάχῃ μεγάλῃ νικήσας Ἀθηναίους τε καὶ Βοιωτοὺς καὶ Κορινθίους κατέστη τῆς Ἑλλάδος κύριος·
Chaeroneia is near Orchomenus, where Philip, the son of Amyntas, after defeating the Athenians, Boeotians, and Corinthians in a great battle, became master of Greece.
δείκνυται δὲ κἀνταῦθα ταφὴ τῶν πεσόντων ἐν τῇ μάχῃ δημοσία·
And there is shown here also the public tomb of those who fell in the battle.
περὶ δὲ τοὺς τόπους τοὺς αὐτοὺς καὶ Ῥωμαῖοι τὰς Μιθριδάτου δυνάμεις πολλῶν μυριάδων κατηγωνίσαντο, ὥστʼ ὀλίγους ἐπὶ θάλατταν σωθέντας φυγεῖν ἐν ταῖς ναυσί, τοὺς δʼ ἄλλους τοὺς μὲν ἀπολέσθαι τοὺς δὲ καὶ ἁλῶναι.
And in these same places the Romans also defeated the forces of Mithridates, consisting of many tens of thousands, so that only a few escaped to the sea and fled in their ships, while of the rest, some perished and others were captured.
§9.2.38Λεβάδεια δʼ ἐστίν, ὅπου Διὸς Τροφωνίου μαντεῖον ἵδρυται, χάσματος ὑπονόμου κατάβασιν ἔχον, καταβαίνει δʼ αὐτὸς ὁ χρηστηριαζόμενος·
Lebadeia is where the oracle of Zeus Trophonius is established, which has a descent into an underground chasm, and the consultant himself goes down into it.
κεῖται δὲ μεταξὺ τοῦ Ἑλικῶνος καὶ τῆς Χαιρωνείας, Κορωνείας πλησίον.
It lies between Helicon and Chaeroneia, near Coroneia.
§9.2.39τὰ δὲ Λεῦκτρά ἐστιν, ὅπου Λακεδαιμονίους μεγάλῃ μάχῃ νικήσας Ἐπαμεινώνδας ἀρχὴν εὕρετο τῆς καταλύσεως αὐτῶν·
Leuctra is where Epaminondas, after defeating the Lacedaemonians in a great battle, found the beginning of their downfall.
οὐκέτι γὰρ ἐξ ἐκείνου τὴν τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἡγεμονίαν ἀναλαβεῖν ἴσχυσαν ἣν εἶχον πρότερον, καὶ μάλιστʼ ἐπειδὴ καὶ τῇ δευτέρᾳ συμβολῇ τῇ περὶ Μαντίνειαν κακῶς ἔπραξαν.
For from that time on they were no longer able to regain the hegemony over the Greeks which they had previously held, and especially since they fared badly also in the second encounter, the one near Mantineia.
τὸ μέντοι μὴ ὑφʼ ἑτέροις εἶναι καίπερ οὕτως ἐπταικόσι συνέμεινε μέχρι τῆς Ῥωμαίων ἐπικρατείας·
However, the condition of not being subject to others remained with them, despite having stumbled so badly, until the Roman supremacy.
καὶ παρὰ τούτοις δὲ τιμώμενοι διατελοῦσι διὰ τὴν τῆς πολιτείας ἀρετήν.
And even under them they continue to be honored because of the virtue of their constitution.
δείκνυται δὲ ὁ τόπος οὗτος κατὰ τὴν ἐκ Πλαταιῶν εἰς Θεσπιὰς ὁδόν.
This place is shown along the road from Plataeae to Thespiae.
§9.2.40ἑξῆς δʼ ὁ ποιητὴς μέμνηται τοῦ τῶν Ὀρχομενίων καταλόγου, χωρίζων αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ τοῦ Βοιωτιακοῦ ἔθνους.
Next, the poet mentions the Catalogue of the Orchomenians, separating them from the Boeotian nation.
καλεῖ δὲ Μινύειον τὸν Ὀρχομενὸν ἀπὸ ἔθνους τοῦ Μινυῶν·
And he calls Orchomenus 'Minyeian' after the tribe of the Minyae.
ἐντεῦθεν δὲ ἀποικῆσαί τινας τῶν Μινυῶν εἰς Ἰωλκόν φασιν, ὅθεν τοὺς Ἀργοναύτας Μινύας λεχθῆναι.
And they say that from there some of the Minyae migrated to Iolcus, whence the Argonauts came to be called Minyae.
φαίνεται δὲ τὸ παλαιὸν καὶ πλουσία τις γεγονυῖα πόλις καὶ δυναμένη μέγα·
It seems that in ancient times this city was both rich and possessed great power.
τοῦ μὲν οὖν πλούτου μάρτυς καὶ Ὅμηρος· διαριθμούμενος γὰρ τοὺς τόπους τοὺς πολυχρηματήσαντάς φησιν
οὐδʼ ὅσʼ ἐς Ὀρχομενὸν ποτινίσσεται, οὐδʼ ὅσα Θήβας Αἰγυπτίας. τῆς δυνάμεως δέ, ὅτι Θηβαῖοι δασμὸν ἐτέλουν τοῖς Ὀρχομενίοις καὶ Ἐργίνῳ τῷ τυραννοῦντι αὐτῶν, ὃν ὑφʼ Ἡρακλέους καταλυθῆναί φασιν.
Now, as a witness of its wealth, Homer also stands, for in enumerating the places that had accumulated much wealth, he says: 'Not even all that comes into Orchomenus, nor all that comes into Egyptian Thebes.' And as for its power, there is the fact that the Thebans used to pay tribute to the Orchomenians and to Erginus, who was their tyrant, whom they say was overthrown by Heracles.
Ἐτεοκλῆς δέ, τῶν βασιλευσάντων ἐν Ὀρχομενῷ τις, Χαρίτων ἱερὸν ἱδρυσάμενος πρῶτος ἀμφότερα ἐμφαίνει, καὶ πλοῦτον καὶ δύναμιν, ὃς εἴτʼ ἐν τῷ λαμβάνειν χάριτας εἴτʼ ἐν τῷ διδόναι κατορθῶν εἴτε καὶ ἀμφότερα, τὰς θεὰς ἐτίμησε ταύτας.
And Eteocles, one of those who reigned in Orchomenus, by being the first to found a temple of the Graces, shows both, namely wealth and power; he, whether succeeding in receiving favors or in giving them, or indeed in both, honored these goddesses.
λέγουσι δὲ τὸ χωρίον, ὅπερ ἡ λίμνη κατέχει νῦν ἡ Κωπαΐς, ἀνεψῦχθαι πρότερον καὶ γεωργεῖσθαι παντοδαπῶς ὑπὸ τοῖς Ὀρχομενίοις ὂν πλησίον οἰκοῦσι· καὶ τοῦτʼ οὖν τεκμήριον τοῦ πλούτου τιθέασι.
And they say that the place which the Copais lake now occupies was formerly dry and was cultivated in all kinds of ways, being under the control of the Orchomenians who lived near it; and they therefore present this also as a proof of their wealth.
§9.2.41τὴν δʼ Ἀσπληδόνα χωρὶς τῆς πρώτης συλλαβῆς ἐκάλουν τινές·
As for Aspledon, some used to call it without the first syllable.
εἶτʼ Εὐδείελος μετωνομάσθη καὶ αὐτὴ καὶ ἡ χώρα, τάχα τι ἰδίωμα προσφερομένη ἐκ τοῦ δειλινοῦ κλίματος οἰκεῖον τοῖς κατοικοῦσι, καὶ μάλιστα τὸ εὐχείμερον.
Then both the town itself and the country were renamed Eudeielos, perhaps bringing in some characteristic proper to its inhabitants from the evening slope, and especially its being mild in winter.
διέχει δὲ τοῦ Ὀρχομενοῦ στάδια εἴκοσι· μεταξὺ δʼ ὁ Μέλας ποταμός.
It is twenty stadia distant from Orchomenus, and the river Melas is between them.
§9.2.42ὑπέρκειται δʼ Ὀρχομενίας ὁ Πανοπεύς, Φωκικὴ πόλις, καὶ Ὑάμπολις·
And Panopeus, a Phocian city, and Hyampolis lie above the Orchomenian territory.
τούτοις δʼ ὁμορεῖ Ὀποῦς, ἡ τῶν Λοκρῶν μητρόπολις τῶν Ἐπικνημιδίων.
And bordering on these is Opus, the metropolis of the Epicnemidian Locrians.
πρότερον μὲν οὖν οἰκεῖσθαι τὸν Ὀρχομενόν φασιν ἐπὶ πεδίῳ, ἐπιπολαζόντων δὲ τῶν ὑδάτων ἀνοικισθῆναι πρὸς τὸ Ἀκόντιον ὄρος, παρατεῖνον ἐπὶ ἑξήκοντα σταδίους μέχρι Παραποταμίων τῶν ἐν τῇ Φωκίδι.
Now they say that formerly Orchomenus was situated in a plain, but when the waters overflowed, the inhabitants moved up to Mount Acontium, which extends for sixty stadia as far as Parapotamii in Phocis.
ἱστοροῦσι δὲ τοὺς ἐν τῷ Πόντῳ καλουμένους Ἀχαιοὺς ἀποίκους Ὀρχομενίων εἶναι τῶν μετὰ Ἰαλμένου πλανηθέντων ἐκεῖσε μετὰ τὴν τῆς Τροίας ἅλωσιν.
And they relate that those who are called Achaians in Pontus are colonists of the Orchomenians who wandered there with Ialmenus after the capture of Troy.
καὶ περὶ Κάρυστον δʼ ἦν τις Ὀρχομενός.
And there was also a certain Orchomenus near Carystus.
εὖ γὰρ τὴν τοιαύτην ὕλην ὑποβεβλήκασιν ἡμῖν οἱ τὰ περὶ τῶν νεῶν συγγράψαντες, οἷς ἀκολουθοῦμεν ὅταν οἰκεῖα λέγωσι πρὸς τὴν ἡμετέραν ὑπόθεσιν.
For those who wrote on the Catalogue of Ships have handily supplied us with such material, and we follow them whenever they say things appropriate to our subject.