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Orchomenus was an ancient city of Arcadia, Greece. Originating as a prehistoric settlement, Orchomenus became one of the powerful cities in West Arcadia along with Tegea and Mantineia. The heyday of the city was between 7th–6th century BC and it became a rich city which minted its own currency.
Many monuments were revealed during the excavations and can be admired today including the theatre, the remains of the ancient agora, the city walls and the temple of Artemis Mesopolitis. Other monuments identified during the excavations are a Bouleuterion, a prehistoric tomb and a bridge of the Archaic Period.
The most important monument is the theatre (4th–3rd BC) with a capacity of 4,000. At an altitude of 800 metres it offered a spectacular view during cultural events.
Approaching the town from the south one can see tumuli on the left, chiefly composed of collections of stones as described by Pausanias. Below the acropolis is the tomb of Aristocrates and beyond are the fountains called Teneiae which Pausanias mentions (writing in the 2nd c. AD) as one of the most remarkable objects in the place. A little further are the Hellenistic ruins of Amilus.
On the southern plain is an ancient canal which conducts the waters from the surrounding mountains through the ravine into the lower northern plain.
References:Doune Castle was originally built in the thirteenth century, then probably damaged in the Scottish Wars of Independence, before being rebuilt in its present form in the late 14th century by Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany (c. 1340–1420), the son of King Robert II of Scots, and Regent of Scotland from 1388 until his death. Duke Robert"s stronghold has survived relatively unchanged and complete, and the whole castle was traditionally thought of as the result of a single period of construction at this time. The castle passed to the crown in 1425, when Albany"s son was executed, and was used as a royal hunting lodge and dower house.
In the later 16th century, Doune became the property of the Earls of Moray. The castle saw military action during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms and Glencairn"s rising in the mid-17th century, and during the Jacobite risings of the late 17th century and 18th century.