First settled in the Prehistoric period at the site now known as Magoula Balomenou (Μαγούλα Μπαλωμένου), its older name was Arne, and it was originally on the shore of Lake Copais (later drained).

Chaeronea's importance lay in its strategic position near the head of the defile which presents the last serious obstacle to an invader in central Greece,[6] and it was the site of several historical battles.

According to Plutarch (but disputed by modern historians), during the battle the elite unit of Theban soldiers known as the Sacred Band of Thebes was wiped out completely.

In 1818, the so-called Lion of Chaeronea, a nearly 6 m (20 ft) tall funerary monument erected in honor of the Sacred Band, was rediscovered by English travellers.

[citation needed] The ancient biographer and essayist Plutarch was born in Chaeronea, and several times refers to these and other facts about his native place in his writings.