[1][2] Onchestos is mentioned in the famous "Catalogue of Ships" in Homer's Iliad where it is referred to as Poseidon’s "bright grove.

"[3][4] The town was a meeting place for the Boeotian League in the Macedonian period.

[5] The town was burned by the Persians under Xerxes I, and probably again by the Romans in 171 BC when nearby Haliartus was destroyed.

[5] In the early 1st century AD Strabo wrote that the temple was standing although Poseidon's sacred grove was "devoid of trees".

[3] In the 2nd century Pausanias wrote that he was still able to see Poseidon’s temple, cult image, and grove.