Apollonia Kirenskaya - Greek colony, based in North Africa, in Cyrenaica . It was one of the cities of the Pentapolis (Pyatigradya). It existed until the Arab conquest in the VII century. n e. On the territory of Apollonia is the modern city of Susa.
Historical and geographical information
Most likely, Apollonia was founded as one of the daughter colonies of Cyrene during the reign of the Battiad dynasty in it. Written evidence of the time the city was founded did not reach us. The oldest archaeological material found during excavations of this city dates back to the VI century. BC e.
According to Strabo , Apollonia of Cyrene was the harbor of Cyrene . It was located 80 stages from Cyrene itself (12 km southwest), 170 stages from Cape Fikunt and 1000 stages from the city of Berenice. At the time of Strabo, Apollonia was a thriving commercial city. Lubker in the "Real Dictionary of Classical Antiquities" calls Apollonia the birthplace of Eratosthenes. In Roman times, Apollonia entered the province of Crete and Cyrenaica . Since the VI century BC e. entered the province of Upper Libya.
History of study and main attractions
As a result of earthquakes, the antique part of the city went under water. 365 submarine earthquake also caused great damage to buildings. In 1958-1959, N. Fleming, as a student at Cambridge, organized several expeditions and made a map of the underwater part of the city. C. Beltramé compiled a photographic overview of a number of underwater structures.
The main attractions are the theater, located outside the city walls and designed for 27 rows of seats, the palace of the Byzantine governor and the ruins of three Byzantine churches. In addition, the local museum contains a large number of antique artifacts.
Literature
- Cambridge History of the Ancient World . - T. III, part 3: The expansion of the Greek world. VIII-VI centuries BC e. / Ed. J. Boardman and N.-J.-L. Hammond. Per. from English., text preparation, foreword and notes by A. V. Zaikov. - M .: Ladomir, 2007 .-- 653 p.
- Lubker F. The Real Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. In 3 vols. - M .: OLMA-Press, 2001 .-- T. 1.
- Strabo Geography. / per. G. A. Stratanovsky. - M .: Science, 1964.