Apollonia (Illyria)

Apollonia
Ἀπολλωνία
The "Monument to Agonothetes" was built in the 2nd century BC and functioned as Apollonia's municipal council meeting building in the Roman era
Apollonia (Illyria) is located in Albania
Apollonia (Illyria)
Location in Albania
LocationFier County, Albania
RegionIllyria
Coordinates40°43′19″N 19°28′21″E / 40.72194°N 19.47250°E / 40.72194; 19.47250
TypeSettlement

Apollonia (Ancient Greek, Koine Greek: Ἀπολλωνία, ἡ; city-ethnic: Ἀπολλωνιάτης, Apolloniates;[1] Latin: Apollonia) was an Ancient Greek trade colony which developed into an independent polis, and later a Roman city, in southern Illyria. It was located on the right bank of the Aoös/Vjosë river, approximately 10 km from the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea.[2] Its ruins are situated in the county of Fier, close to the village of Pojan, in Albania.

Apollonia was perhaps the most important of the several classical towns of the same name. It was founded around 600 BC by Greek colonists from Corinth and possibly Corcyra, who established a trading settlement on a largely abandoned coastal site by invitation of the local Illyrians.[3] Corinthian colonial policy seems to have been relatively liberal, focused on resource extraction for the support of their homeland, rather than exploitation or expulsion of the local Illyrian population.[4] Apollonia gradually gained political independence from Corinth and was organized as a polis under an oligarchic system. Aristotle describes Apollonia's oligarchy as a small Greek elite class, largely descended from the original colonists, ruling over a largely local Illyrian population.[5]

From the second century BC Apollonia allied itself with the Roman Republic, which maintained a military base there for a time. The city flourished in the Roman period, housing a renowned school of Greek philosophy, rhetoric, and military training which attracted students from across the empire. Augustus, the first Roman emperor, studied at Apollonia in his youth.[6][7][8] The city began to decline in the 3rd century AD when its harbor started silting up as a result of an earthquake. It was abandoned in the 4th century AD.[9]

The name of the city is mentioned among the modern bishoprics of the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania (Apollonia and Fier). Apollonia is also a titular see of the Latin Church. The ruins were designated as an archaeological park on 7 April 2003 by the government of Albania.[10]

  1. ^ Wilkes & Fischer-Hansen 2004, p. 328: "Apollonia (Apolloniates) Map 49. Lat. 40.45, long. 19.30. Size of territory: probably 5. Type: A:α. The toponym is Ἀπολλωνία, ἡ (Hdt. 9.92–93; I.Apoll. 303=CEG 309 (C5m)). The city-ethnic is Ἀπολλωνιάτης (Hdt. 9.92.2; CID II 4.I.18 (360)). Apollonia is called a polis both in the urban sense (Hdt. 9.93.1, 94.2; Ps.-Skylax 26) and in the political sense (Arist. Pol. 1290b11–12)."
  2. ^ Wilkes 1995, p. 96; Wilson 2006, p. 594; Chamoux 2003, p. 97; McIlvaine et al. 2013, p. 2; Kyle, Schepartz & Larsen 2016; Piccinini 2019, p. 224.
  3. ^ Wilkes 1995, p. 112; Picard 2013, p. 80; Stallo 2007, p. 19; McIlvaine et al. 2013, p. 2; Kyle, Schepartz & Larsen 2016.
  4. ^ Kyle, Schepartz & Larsen 2016
  5. ^ McIlvaine et al. 2013, p. 2; Wright 2016, p. 26
  6. ^ Piccinini 2019, p. 224.
  7. ^ Stocker, 2009, p. 5-6: "In the 2nd century B.C., Apollonia became an important military staging ground and by the end of the Roman Republican period the city had become a major center of Greek learning. Its reputation in this regard was such that the young Octavian was studying there when, in 44 B.C., he learned that Julius Caesar had died, naming him heir"
  8. ^ Bellone, Cinzia; Geropanta, Vasiliki; Kushi, Merita (2018). "Sustainable development and territorial regeneration in archaeological areas". FormaMente. XIII (1–2): 56. ISBN 9788849287301. ISSN 1970-7118.
  9. ^ Kyle, Schepartz & Larsen 2016, p. 1071
  10. ^ Tusa, Sebastiano. "Menaxhimi Fiskal dhe Struktura Drejtuese e Sistemit të Parqeve Arkeologjike në Shqipëri në vëmendje të veçantë: Parqet Arkeologjike: Apolloni dhe Antigone" (PDF) (in Albanian). United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 November 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2020.