Ancient town, Boeotia , eastern central Greece.
It was the site of temples and festivals of the Muses and of Praxiteles' famous statue of Eros. It is important in Greek history chiefly as an enemy of nearby Thebes . Its citizens fought the Persians with Spartan forces under Leonidas at the battles of Thermopylae in 480 BC and Plataea in 479. It served Sparta as a base against Thebes 379372 BC. The Thebans destroyed it in 371 BC, but it was soon rebuilt. It was an important Boeotian town under the Roman empire.