Amantia

Coordinates: 40°22′37″N 19°41′59″E / 40.37694°N 19.69972°E / 40.37694; 19.69972 Amantia (Greek: Ἀμάντια) or Abantia (Greek: Ἀβάντια) was an ancient Greek polis in Epirus. It occupied an important defensive position above the Vjosa river valley to the east, and on the road to the coast and the Bay of Vlorë, in Vlorë County in Albania. A Greek temple, the Aphrodite temple, a theatre, and a stadium have also been found in the city. The name for an inhabitant was Amantieus (Greek: Ἀμάντιεύς).

History

According to Pausanias, the settlement was founded by Locrians from nearby Thronium and Abantes from Euboea.Stephanus Byzantius similarly attributes the foundation to Euboean Abantes "returning from the Trojan war".Hesychius states that it was an Epirote settlement.<r foundation legend had Elpenor, who actually dies at Troy, acting as a nostos and leading the colonists. Their political leaders had titles like prytanis (Greek: πρύτανις, "the one that presides") and grammateus (Greek: γραμματεύς, "secretary"). The town was surrounded with a walled enclosure roughly 2,100m long. A large fort was built with two gates and two defensive towers in the north.