There is a view that the ancient town Tegyra or Tegyrae should be located there, 5kms to the north of Orchomenus. Plutarch has reported a temple and an oracle of Apollo in Tegyra, as well as two springs that one can still see today (Ekd. Athinon, Pausaniou Periegissis, vol. 5, p. 244, note 1).
A rock situated N of Lake Copais and the Melas river, 5 km NE of Orchomenos
and W of Topolia. Ranging in height from 250 to 150 m, it is easily recognized
by the mediaeval tower rising in the middle of it (whence the popular name).
Pelopidas fought the Spartans here in 375 B.C. Two miraculous springs
gushed forth by the Temple of Apollo, no trace of which remains. It was the seat
of an Oracle of Apollo Tegyraios up to the Median wars (Plut. Ages. 286; De def.
or. 412 B).
It is unlikely that this small rocky island can be identified with
Delos, as has been claimed. Nearby is the Church of Haghios Nikolaos sta Kambia
(11th c.).
Y. Bequignon, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
Tegura: Eth. Tegureus. A village of Boeotia, near Orchomenus, and situated above the marshes of the river Melas. It was celebrated for its oracle and Temple of Apollo, who was even said to have been born there. In its neighbourhood was a mountain named Delos. Leake places Tegyra at Xeropyrgo, situated 3 miles ENE. of Skripu (Orchomenus), on the heights which bound the marshes.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Battle of Tegyra. First time Spartans defeated in pitched battle. Victory for both Pelopidas and Thebes
Oracle of Tegyra. This lay not far from Abae, but just within the Boeotian frontier. Plutarch tells us that it flourished chiefly in the Persian wars, when it had a high priest Echecrates (Pelopid. 16), and promised the Greeks the victory over the Persians (Defect. Orac. 5). Tegyra was on one occasion declared by the Pythia herself to have been the birthplace of Apollo (Plutarch, Pelopid. 16; Defect. Orac. 5; Steph. Byz. s. v. Tegura).
This text is from: A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (1890) (eds. William Smith, LLD, William Wayte, G. E. Marindin). Cited July 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
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