Copae

COPAE(Κῶπαι: Eth. Κωπαιεύς, Thuc.; Κωπτης, Steph. B.: Topolia), a town of Boeotia, and a member of the Boeotian confederacy, was situated upon the northern extremity of the lake Copais, which derived its name from this town. It is mentioned by Homer (Hom. Il. 2.502); but it was a small place, and its name rarely occurs in Grecian history. It was still in existence in the time of Pausanias, who mentions here the temples of Demeter, Dionysus and Sarapis. (Thuc. 4.93; Strab. ix. pp. 406, 410; Paus. 9.24.1, seq.; Plin. Nat. 4.7.12.) The modern village of Topóliaoccupies the site of Copae. It stands upon a promontory in the lake which is connected with the mainland by only a narrow causeway. (Dodwell, Classical Tour, vol. 2. p. 56; Leake, Northern Greece, vol. 2. p. 306; Ulrichs, Reisen in Griechenland, p. 216.)