Along the Via Egnatia: Apollonia in Illyria

The Via Egnatia, as mentioned earlier (see: Via Egnatia, a road to remember), was built by the Romans in the 2nd century AD and served as a major connection between Byzantium and Rome. As far as the Illyrian part is concerned, the road came from Ohrid (Republic of Macedonia), then ran through Elbasan, where it split in two, one arm connecting directly to Dyrrhachion (Dürres) and another one crossing Apollonia and Antipatrea (Berat) to end also in Dyrrhachion on the Adriatic coast where ships ferried people and goods to Brundisium (Brindisi) on the Italian side. 

To name a city after the sun god Apollo seems to have been very popular in Greek history as we find several cities by the name of Apollonia in Turkey (Lycia, Mysia, Pisidia, etc.); in Sicily, Italy; in Greece itself (Thessaloniki, Chalcidice, Kavalla, etc.) and in Crete; in Libya, where it was the harbor of wealthy Cyrene; and finally here in Illyria, modern Albania.

This time, I’ll be concentrating on Apollonia in Albania, located about 7 kilometers from Fier (see: Alexander’s psychological warfare in Pelium, Illyria). The city is well documented during Roman times, and the remains are obviously very Roman too. For Alexander, this was deep into the Illyrian country, just beyond the northern border of Epirus.

The original name was Gylakeia, after its founder Gylax who belonged to the Illyrian tribe of the Taulantii. It was the Greek colonists migrating from Corinth and Corfu in 588 BC who changed the name to Apollonia. They were the ones who controlled the city and ruled over the Illyrians. Money was made from the slave trade and agriculture, but maybe mostly through the supply of asphalt, which was a valuable material for the caulking of ships in antiquity. Located on a branch of the Via Egnatia, it is obvious that it was an important harbor along the Illyrian coastline to link up with Brindisi on the other side of the Adriatic Sea and a transit port for all kinds of goods traveling between Byzantium and Rome.

This is the area where King Pyrrhus (a great-nephew of Olympias and cousin of Alexander the Great) ruled roughly from 306 to 272 BC while mingling in Macedonian affairs in the wake of the Diadochi Wars. He tried to keep the Romans out of Illyria, but by 229 BC, they firmly established themselves. I find it rather strange that Apollonia, like so many other Illyrian cities, was so loyal to the Romans. Maybe that is because the city was rewarded with the booty taken from their defeated King Gentius of Illyria – not very patriotic, I would say. By 148 BC, Apollonia became part of the Roman province of Macedonia, Epirus Nova. About a century later, the city supported Julius Caesar in his war against Pompey but fell into the hands of Brutus in 48 BC. Apollonia could also boost to have contributed to the education of Emperor Augustus, who studied at its famous school of philosophy in 44 BC, where Athenodorus of Tarsus was his teacher. Together with other cities in the area, Apollonia flourished and was even mentioned by Cicero as “magna urbs et gravis”, meaning “a great and important city”. Strabo also mentions the city in his Geographica as “an exceedingly well-governed city”. Decline set in during the third century AD when its harbor started silting up after being hit by a severe earthquake which changed the course of the Aoos River. The inland turned into an ever-growing malaria-ridden swamp, and the inhabitants moved out to resettle at nearby Avlona (modern Vlore).  Only a small Christian community that moved in during the very early days of Christianity remained; they may have built the first church of Saint Mary. Today’s church dates from the 14th century and houses the local museum.

The visitor’s attention is immediately drawn toward a colonnaded façade that could be part of a temple. Still, it turns out to be the entrance to the Bouleuterion from the second century AD – quite unusual since generally, the tiers of such a city council survive but not the portal. The columns are definitely Corinthian, and in the architrave above them, we can still read the Greek dedication: “To the memory and in honor of Valentinus Villius Furius Proculus from his brother Quintus Villius Crispinus Furius Proculus, prefect of a cohort in Syria, tribune of the Legion Gemina in Pannonia, and president of the sacred games. A fight of 25 gladiators was held for the inauguration.” This Bouleuterion is surrounded on three sides by rooms, some kind of annexes to the Ionic Temple next to it. What is left are mainly low walls, and archaeologists suppose that these rooms were used for administration or for the priests’ duties. The outlines of the temple itself are easily located with a few columns sticking out from the grass.

Across from the Bouleuterion are two big stumps of stone indicating the site of a triumphal arch at the end of the street leading into Apollonia and dating from the 3rd century AD. To the right, but difficult to make out, are the remains of a Library from the 2nd-3rd century AD, proof of the city’s importance – if needed. On the other side of the street lies an Odeon that has been carefully restored and could hold as many as 650 spectators. Adjacent is a small Sacellum, an open sanctuary dedicated to an imperial cult. The niche was most probably flanked by two Ionic columns, and we still can see the rosettes and lion paws of their base.

It is followed by a portico, 78 meters long, punctuated by 17 niches that once held marble statues. This portico seems to date from the 4th century BC and was divided lengthwise in two by a row of Doric columns, whereas the outside columns were of Ionic style. I am told that this kind of structure is unique for Apollonia.

The portico ends at the Sacred Road, where we find a temple right around the corner, dating from the second half of the 2nd century BC but probably renovated four centuries later and possibly dedicated to Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva. The Sacred Road continues further uphill to the Acropolis, where little or no excavations have been done. With a width of nine meters, it is the widest street so far in Apollonia, paved with river pebbles laid directly on the clay surface.

On the other side of this Sacred Road are three vaulted shops, almost square in shape (3.45x3.40m), whose entrance could be closed by heavy double doors. The walls were very thick to keep out the moisture and guarantee a nearly constant temperature in order to preserve the goods stocked inside. They seem to be built during the second half of the second century AD. Against these shops, another construction deserves our attention, for this is a water cistern that was used from the 4th century BC all the way to the 2nd century BC and still has kept its impermeable inside coating.

Opposite this Sacred Road are the remains of a large villa, in fact, no more than a succession of mosaic floors. The house was divided into four parts: an entrance portico of 14x5.8 m right opposite the Sacred Road; the main room measuring 12x11.8m with a center of white mosaics surrounded on all four sides by a corridor 2.9 m wide paved with little brick squares of 5x5 cm; the back room overlooking the sea. It is thought that this house was used as a gathering place for the believers before starting their procession over the Sacred Road. The most precious mosaics have been covered, of course, but the remaining ones are quite interesting. The attentive visitor will also notice the clearly Roman sewage system running parallel to this building.

Like every single Greek city, the location of Apollonia was chosen with the greatest care, overlooking the Aoos River and its fertile valley with the Adriatic Sea at the far horizon.

My greatest surprise, however, was the local museum, housed in the 14th-century monastery attached to the church of St Mary, by itself worth a visit. Under the watchful eyes of the soaring Pantocrator, it is easy to discover all sorts of antique fragments: Corinthian capitals placed upside-down to serve as a base for some Christian relic or flowers; the marble wall of a well with deep gutters left by the ropes that pulled the water-buckets over the centuries and now on dry land; small lidless sarcophagi turned into mini-gardens; and other spolia spotted in the outside walls. In the upstairs portico leading to the very entrance of the museum, several grave steles and smaller altars have found refuge.

Since I have been walking through Roman Apollonia, I expect this museum to reflect that image. Well, not entirely so, for originally, the city was founded by Greeks who imported the art from their hometowns or created their own imitation. I walk among Attic vases and hydras from the 5th century BC, Apollonian bottles and pots, but also some Italic imports. The Hellenistic period is also very present with several marble steles, reliefs, busts, and statues, but the eye-catcher is this wonderful shield that I immediately recognize as Macedonian. But wait a moment … according to the label it seems to be Illyrian! How on earth is that possible? I take a closer look at this splendid piece with three concentric circles in its center around the frightening head of a Gorgon in Classical Greek style sticking out its tongue and staring at me with shiny inlaid eyes. The border of the shield also counts three concentric rows of circles framing six half circles around the edge. I fail to see what makes it Illyrian and inquire with the museum director, who tells me that the difference lies in the curving. Well, I suppose he knows, but I am not entirely convinced till I see other examples of Illyrian shields later on in Tirana and at the Skanderberg Museum. I’m totally baffled by this revelation! Ironically the Illyrian shield in Apollonia is presented next to a splendid Macedonian helmet that has been dated to 314-312 BC, a rather narrow timeline.

So, all in all, Apollonia was definitely worth a visit, including the local museum. Some artifacts, however, have been moved to the national museum at Tirana where I discover a hoard of silver drachmae from the 1st century BC, as well as a head of Demosthenes (1st century AD) – of all people, what is he doing here?

I’m not too far away from Alexander, after all!

[Click here to see my full album about Apollonia and its museum]