Nymphaion

Nymphaion (Greek: Νυμφαῖον or Νύμφαιον) can refer to:

Nymphaeum (Illyria)

Nymphaion or Nymphaeum (Greek: Νυμφαῖον or Νύμφαιον or Νυμφαίη) was an ancient Greek colony in Illyria. It was used as a harbour by the Syracusian colony of Lissus. It was located three miles away from Lissos. It was mentioned by Pliny the Elder (23 CE – 79), Lucanus (39 AD – 65 AD), Livy (59 BC – AD 17) and Julius Caesar (100 BC - 44 BC). It is now located at modern Shëngjin, Albania.

References

Nymphaion (Crimea)

Nýmphaion (Greek: Νύμφαιον, Latin: Nymphaeum, Russian: Нимфей) was a significant centre of the Bosporan Kingdom, situated on the Crimean shore of the Cimmerian Bosporus. Today it is located near the resort town Heroivske (Geroevka). It lies at a distance of about 14 kilometers south of Kerch, which was the site of ancient Panticapaeum.

Geography

The ruins of Nymphaion stand on a rocky cape approximately 200 meters west of the shoreline. Centuries of coastal erosion caused the shoreline to recede. The ancient shoreline would have been some 300 meters further east.

Today the ruins are bordered by the Čurubaš Lake to the north and the Tobečik Lake to the south. In ancient times both of these lakes were ravines with sea gulfs at their mouths in the east. These ravines were situated 7 kilometers apart. They enclosed a territory of more than 40 square kilometers further west, where a rocky ridge of steep hills bordered the area on the west.

These natural borders made the territory of Nymphaion more easily defendable. In addition, it is well suited to agriculture thanks to its fertile chernozem soil. It also receives 100 millimeters more rainfall than surrounding land.