Nymphæum or Nymphaion ( grc, Νυμφαῖον, Νύμφαιον or Νυμφαίη; lat, Nymphaeum) was an ancient harbour on the coast of

Illyria In classical antiquity, Illyria (; grc, Ἰλλυρία, ''Illyría'' or , ''Illyrís''; la, Illyria, ''Illyricum'') was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by numerous tribes of people collectively known as the Illyr ...

, three miles to the north of

Lissus Lissus or Lissos ( el, Λίσσος) could be: * Lissus (Crete), an ancient Greek city in Crete * Lissos (Illyria), an ancient city in Illyria, the present day city of Lezhë in Albania * Lissus, a river in Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη ...

. The site has been identified with the area of modern day

Shëngjin Shëngjin is a coastal town and a former municipality in Lezhë County, northwestern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality of Lezhë. The population at the 2011 census was 8,091.

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

. Perhaps emerged since the 5th century BC, Nymphaeum was one of the earliest

Greek colonies Greek colonization was an organised colonial expansion by the Archaic Greeks into the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea in the period of the 8th–6th centuries BC. This colonization differed from the migrations of the Greek Dark Ages in that it ...

on the Albanian coast. It was mentioned by

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...

(23 CE – 79),

Lucan Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (3 November 39 AD – 30 April 65 AD), better known in English as Lucan (), was a Roman poet, born in Corduba (modern-day Córdoba), in Hispania Baetica. He is regarded as one of the outstanding figures of the Imperial ...

us (39 AD – 65 AD),

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditiona ...

(59 BC – AD 17) and

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

''Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt''...
/ref> (100 BC - 44 BC). The harbour of Nymphaeum was used by

Marcus Antonius Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the autoc ...

and his fleet when they arrived in Illyricum during

Caesar's Civil War Caesar's civil war (49–45 BC) was one of the last politico-military conflicts of the Roman Republic before its reorganization into the Roman Empire. It began as a series of political and military confrontations between Gaius Julius Caesar and ...

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{Illyrians Archaeology of Illyria Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Albania Former populated places in the Balkans Greek colonies in Illyria Illyrian Albania Populated places in Lezhë Shëngjin