How a small group of 200 colonists built an Illyrian powerhouse

History · Published 2 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Around 600 BC, a tiny group of Corinthian settlers arrived on a largely empty coastline. Instead of conquest, they chose cooperation, creating a thriving trade hub that would eventually educate Roman emperors and connect the Adriatic to the heart of the Balkans.

Founded around 600 BC, Apollonia began as a trading settlement established by Greek colonists from Corinth and possibly Corcyra. Unlike many colonial ventures of the era, the Corinthian approach was relatively liberal. Rather than expelling the local Illyrian population, the settlers focused on resource extraction to support their homeland, leading to a peaceful coexistence evidenced by low rates of skeletal trauma in archaeological remains.

The city's strategic location at the crossroads of prehistoric trade routes—linking the Adriatic coast to the interior and the northern Adriatic to the Aegean—ensured its prosperity. This importance only grew during the Roman period. Apollonia became a renowned center for Greek philosophy, rhetoric, and military training, attracting students from across the empire. Even the first Roman emperor, Augustus, was a former student of the city's schools.

The city's fate was ultimately tied to its geography. While it flourished as a vital link in the Roman Via Egnatia, the 3rd century AD brought a geological shift. An earthquake caused the harbor to silt up, choking the city's maritime lifeblood. By the 4th century AD, the once-vibrant polis was largely abandoned, leaving behind ruins that remain an archaeological park today.

While the city was a Greek-led polis, the population was far from monolithic. Archaeo-demographic studies suggest that about 90% of the population was phenotypically closer to the indigenous Illyrians than to the original Corinthian colonists, indicating significant cultural fusion and intermarriage.

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