Coordinates: 40°43′N 19°28′E / 40.717°N 19.467°E
Apollonia (Ancient Greek: Ἀπολλωνία κατ' Ἐπίδαμνον or Ἀπολλωνία πρὸς Ἐπιδάμνῳ, Apollonia kat' Epidamnon or Apollonia pros Epidamno) was an ancient Greek city in Illyria,[1] located on the right bank of the Aous river (modern-day Vjosë). Its ruins are situated in the Fier region, near the village of Pojani, in modern-day Albania. Apollonia was founded in 588 BCE by Greek colonists from Corfu and Corinth,[2] on a site initially occupied by Illyrian tribes[3] and was perhaps the most important of the several classical towns known as Apollonia. Apollonia flourished in the Roman period and was home to a renowned school of philosophy, but began to decline in the 3rd century AD when its harbor started silting up as a result of an earthquake. It was abandoned by the end of Late Antiquity.
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History [edit]
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The site of Apollonia lay on the territory of the Taulantii, a cluster of Illyrian tribes that remained closely involved with the settlement for centuries and lived alongside the Greek colonists.[4] The city was said to have originally been named Gylakeia after its founder, Gylax,[5] but the name was later changed to honor the god Apollo.
It is mentioned by Strabo in his Geographica as "an exceedingly well-governed city".[6] Aristotle considered Apollonia an important[5] example of an oligarchic system, as the descendants of the Greek colonists controlled the city and prevailed over a large serf population of mostly Illyrian origin. The city grew rich on the slave trade and local agriculture, as well as its large harbour, said to have been able to hold a hundred ships at a time. The city also benefited from the local supply of asphalt[7][8] which was a valuable commodity in ancient times, for example for caulking ships. The remains of a late sixth-century temple, located just outside the city, were reported in 2006; it is only the fifth known stone temple found in present-day Albania.[9]
Apollonia, like Dyrrachium further north, was an important port on the Illyrian coast as the most convenient link between Brundusium and northern Greece, and as one of the western starting points of the Via Egnatia leading east to Thessaloniki and Byzantium in Thrace. It had its own mint, stamping coins that have been found as far away as the basin of the Danube.
The city was for a time included among the dominions of Pyrrhus of Epirus. In 229 BC, it came under the control of the Roman Republic, to which it was firmly loyal; it was rewarded in 168 BC with booty seized from Gentius, the defeated king of Illyria. In 148 BC, Apollonia became part of the Roman province of Macedonia, specifically of Epirus Nova.[10] In the Roman Civil War between Pompey and Julius Caesar, it supported the latter, but fell to Marcus Iunius Brutus in 48 BC. The later Roman emperor Augustus studied in Apollonia in 44 BC under the tutelage of Athenodorus of Tarsus; it was there that he received news of Caesar's murder.
Apollonia flourished under Roman rule and was noted by Cicero in his Philippics as magna urbs et gravis, a great and important city. Christianity was established in the city at an early stage, and bishops from Apollonia were present during the First Council of Ephesus (431) and the Council of Chalcedon (451). Its decline, however, began in the 3rd century AD, when an earthquake changed the path of the Aoos, causing the harbour to silt up and the inland area to become a malaria-ridden swamp. The city became increasingly uninhabitable as the inland swamp expanded, and the nearby settlement of Avlona (modern-day Vlore) became dominant. By the end of antiquity, the city was largely depopulated, hosting only a small Christian community. This community (which probably is part of the site of the old city) built on a nearby hill the church of Saint Mary, (Albanian: Shën Mëri), part of the Ardenica Monastery.
Discovery and excavation results [edit]
The city seems to have sunk with the rise of Vlora. It was "rediscovered" by European classicists in the 18th century, though it was not until the Austrian occupation of 1916–1918 that the site was investigated by archaeologists. Their work was continued by a French team between 1924–1938. Parts of the site were damaged during the Second World War. After the war, an Albanian team undertook further work from 1948 onwards, although much of the site remains unexcavated to this day. Some of the team's archeological discoveries are on display within the monastery, known as the Museum of Apollonia (opened in 1958) and other artifacts from Apollonia are in the capital Tirana. Unfortunately, during the anarchy that followed the collapse of the communist regime in 1990, the archeological collection was plundered and the museum was temporarily closed. The ruins were also frequently dug up by plunderers for relics to be sold to collectors abroad.
In December 2011, a new museum opened, under the directorship of Marin Haxhimihali.[11] It replaced an older museum dating from 1985, and was funded by UNESCO's MDG-F Joint Programme ”Culture and Heritage for Social and Economic Development”.
In August 2010, a French-Albanian team of archaeologists unearthed a bust of a Roman soldier, 50 years after the discoveries of other full body statues in the 1958-1960 period expeditions, led by Albanian scholar Selim Islami and Russian Professor Blavatski.[12]
A German-Albanian team has been working on the Hellenistic theatre at Albania, throwing light on the development of Greek theatres and also local variants[13]
See also [edit]
Gallery [edit]
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Odeon Theater of Apollonia.
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Santa Maria Church in Apollonia.
References [edit]
Citations [edit]
- ^ Wilkes 1995, p. 96; Wilson 2006, p. 594; Chamoux 2003, p. 97.
- ^ Wilkes 1995, pp. 96–98.
- ^ Hammond 1976, p. 426; Larson 2001, p. 162.
- ^ Wilkes 1995, p. 98.
- ^ a b Hansen & Nielsen 2004, p. 328.
- ^ Strabo. Geographica, 7.8.316.
- ^ Strabo. Geographica. pp. VII.5.8.
- ^ Aristotle. De mirabilibus auscultationibus. pp. 842 b.27.
- ^ University of Cincinnati (6 January 2006). "Researchers Discover Greek Temple In Albania Dating Back To 6th Century B.C.". Science Daily. Retrieved 16 July 2008.
- ^ Bowden 2003, p. 14.
- ^ UNESCO Office in Venice: Apollonia Archaeological Museum reopens after 20 years of closure
- ^ Murati, Violeta (15 August 2010). "In Apollonia the bust of a Roman athlete is unearthed". Standard (in Albanian). Retrieved 19 August 2010.
- ^ "DAI Research Projects Apollonia".
Sources [edit]
- Bowden, William (2003). Epirus Vetus: The Archaeology of a Late Antique Province. London, United Kingdom: Duckworth. ISBN 0-7156-3116-0.
- Chamoux, François (2003). Hellenistic Civilization. Oxford, United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 0-631-22242-1.
- Hammond, Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière (1976). Migrations and Invasions in Greece and Adjacent Areas. Park Ridge, New Jersey: Noyes Press. ISBN 0-8155-5047-2.
- Hansen, Mogens Herman; Nielsen, Thomas Heine (2004). An Inventory of Archaic and Classical Poleis. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-814099-1.
- Larson, Jennifer Lynn (2001). Greek Nymphs: Myth, Cult, Lore. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-514465-1.
- Wilkes, John (1995). The Illyrians. Oxford, United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 0-631-19807-5.
- Wilson, Nigel Guy (2006). Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece. New York, New York and Oxford, United Kingdom: Routledge (Taylor & Francis). ISBN 978-0-415-87396-3.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
External links [edit]
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Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Apollonia. |
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