ASPLE´DON
ASPLE´DON (
Ἀσπληδών: Eth.
Ἀσπληδόνιος), also called SPLEDON, an ancient city of Boeotia, mentioned by Homer (
Il. 2.510), distant 20 stadia from Orchomenus.
The river Melas flowed between the two cities. (
Strab. ix. p.416;
Plin. Nat. 4.7. s. 12;
Steph. B. sub voce Etym. M. s. v.) Strabo says (
l.c.) that it was subsequently called
EUDEIELUS (
Εὐδείελος), from its sunny situation; but Pausanias (
9.38.9) relates that it was abandoned in his time from a want of water.
The town is said to have derived its name from Aspledon, a son of Poseidon and the nymph Mideia.
The site of Aspledon is uncertain. Leake (
Northern Greece, vol. ii. p. 162) places it at
Tzamáli, but Forchhammer (
Hellenica, p. 177), with more probability, at
Avro-Kastro.