of natural subterranean holes or 'katavothres' were used to d There was a legend that the lake came into being when the hero Heracles flooded the area by digging out a river, the Cephissus, which poured into the basin. Polyaenus explains that he did this because he was fighting the Minyans of Orchomenus: they were dangerous horseback fighters, and Heracles dug the lake in order to unhorse them. Another story has the lake overflow in the mythical time of Ogyges, resulting in the Ogygian deluge. The travel writer Pausanias and the 5th century BC comic playwright Aristophanes record that in antiquity Lake Copais was known for its fish, especially the eels. References External links see especially 9.2.16-27 (translated by H.L. Jones, 1924) (translated W.H.S. Jones and H.A. Ormerod, 1918) Google Earth air view of the Lake Copais plain Google Earth ground view across the Lake Copais plain from the south Google Earth ground view across the Lake Copais plain from the east Google Earth ground view in the middle of the Lake Copais plain Wikimedia Commons Landforms of Boeotia Ancient Greek geography Copais Plains of Greece