The City of Orik in the Writings of Ancient Authors and Archaeological Records

Aleks Trushaj; Gladiola Elezi

doi:10.18778/0208-6034.39.02

Authors

Aleks Trushaj University “Ismail Qemali” Vlore, Department of Education, Albania https://orcid.org/0009-0005-4251-4530
Gladiola Elezi University of Vlora "Ismail Qemali", Department of Language and Literature, Albania https://orcid.org/0009-0008-7973-7115

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/0208-6034.39.02

Keywords:

Illyria, Orik, ancient Greek colonies, Hellenization, defensive structures, port cities, Greco-Roman culture

Abstract

The ancient Illyrian port city of Orik, located in what is now Albania, was an important maritime and Cultural Centre in the Adriatic region. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of all available ancient textual evidence of Orik, tracing its evolution from the 5^th century BCE to late antiquity. The examination of these written sources is crucial for reconstructing the history and topography of Orik, which cannot be fully identified only by archaeological data. The main purpose of the study is to systematically identify, collect, and analyse every mention of Orik in ancient studies, including the studies of Herodotus, Pseudo-Skilax, Strabo, Titus Livius. To obtain precise and objective conclusions, a rigorous methodology was applied, which includes source criticism, comparative analysis, and correlation with archaeological data. The study provides valuable information about the evolution of Orik’s functions and status over time, its fortifications, economic activities, religious objects, and more. It allows for tracing how the knowledge of ancient geographers about this border town developed and how Greco-Roman authors portrayed it in their narratives. The most innovative contribution of the study is the first comprehensive investigation of the entire body of textual evidence about Orik. This holistic synthesis enables a deeper reconstruction of this influential Adriatic settlement. The results enhance understanding of ancient Illyria and the complex dynamics of its Hellenization. They are beneficial for related research and education. Overall, by systematically collecting and critically analysing all available ancient sources, this study offers a multi-layered portrait of Orik as a strategic Greek colony, Illyrian stronghold, maritime trade hub, and crossroads of cultural fusion in the Adriatic.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Abdale J.R. (2019), The Great Illyrian Revolt: Rome’s forgotten War in the Balkans, AD 6–9, Pen and Sword, Barnsley.

Aliyassova V.N., Akhmetov K.K., Aspanova I.R. (2014), Preservation and Prospects for the Musefication of the Natural Heritage Site “Gussinyi Perelet”, “Terra Sebus”, Special Issue, p. 491–503.

Arynov K.K., Duisebay E.K., Sadykova S.S., Zhakhsylykova L.A., Khvan E.N. (2023), Architectural and Historical Value – The Heritage of the People, [in:] Smart Geotechnics for Smart Societies, CRC Press, London, p. 2456–2642. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003299127-381 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003299127-381

Bashmanivskyi V. (2016), The Phenomenon of Cultural Dialogye in the Reception of M. Zerov. Society, “Document. Communication”, 1(2), p. 155–163, http://eprints.zu.edu.ua/23931 (access: 15 VI 2024).

Bowditch P.L. (2023), Elegiac Cartography and Roman Conceptions of Space, [in:] Roman Love Elegy and the Eros of Empire, Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, p. 69–112, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-14800-2_3 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-14800-2_3

Brancato R. (2022), Schematic: the City beyond form. For a New Definition of Urban Landscapes and their Functions. Urbanization and Society in the Preclassic Mediterranean. Archaic Age, Edizioni Quasar, Roma.

Çakaj O., Civici N., Schmidt G., Qoku E. (2023), Archeometallurgical Study of Bronze Artefacts (from III BC to VI AD) Excavated along Albanian Coastline, “Scientific Culture”, 9(2), p. 29–47, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7265753 DOI: https://doi.org/10.56801/MME929

D’Ercole M.C. (2020), Cults, Navigation and Maritime Practices in the Middle and Southern Adriatic (6th–2nd Century BC), [in:] 19th International Congress of Classical Archaeology, Heidelberg University Library, Heidelberg, p. 37–44, https://doi.org/10.11588/propylaeum.553

Egidio I. (2022), History of the Adriatic. A Sea and its Civilization, Wiley Blackwell, Hoboken.

Imankulov D., Jing T., Fei W., Filatova T., Orozonova А. (2023), The Architectural Complex of Shah Fazil in Legends and Writings about the Period of the Arab Conquest of Ferghana, “Architectural Studies”, 9(2), p. 72–80, https://doi.org/10.56318/as/2.2023.72 DOI: https://doi.org/10.56318/as/2.2023.72

Jaupaj L. (2019), Studies of Cultural Interactions in the Illyro-Epirote Area from the 7th to the 3rd Century BC, Instituti i arkeologjisë, Tirana, https://theses.hal.science/tel-02493973/document (access: 14 VI 2024).

Lepore G. (2022), Between Illyria and Epirus. Archeology of a border land, [in:] MARINOV ZBORNIK Papers in Honour of Professor Emilio Marin, Znanje doo, Zagreb, p. 439–452, https://cris.unibo.it/handle/11585/922991 (access: 14 VI 2024).

Linda S. (2022), Cultural Diffusion in the Architecture of the Ancient World (on the Example of the Cult of Isis in the 3rd Century BC – 2nd Century AD), “Architectural Studies”, 8(1), p. 51–62, https://doi.org/10.56318/as2022.01.051 DOI: https://doi.org/10.56318/as2022.01.051

Lippert A., Matzinger J. (2021), The Illyrians. History, Archaeology and Language, Kohlhammer Verlag, Stuttgart.

Luttenberger M. (2022), The Mediterranean Sea from Alexander to the Rise of Rome. The Hellenistic age, 360–133 BC, Page Publishing, Conneaut Lake.

Mauro C.M. (2022), The Periplus of Pseudo-Skylax and its Relationship with Earlier Nautical Knowledge, “The Mariner’s Mirror”, 108(1), p. 6–30, https://doi.org/10.1080/00253359.2022.2009241 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00253359.2022.2009241

Orikum Marina (2023), https://www.harbourmaps.com/en/harbour/orikum-marina (access: 14 VI 2024).

Orlyk V. (2022), The Hoard of the Small Coins of Panticapaeum and Hermonassa the End of the Sixth – Beginning of the Fifth Centuries bce from the Northern-Eastern Kirovohrad Region. Society, “Document. Communication”, 7(2), p. 106–121, https://doi.org/10.31470/2518-7600-2022-15-106-121 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31470/2518-7600-2022-15-106-121

Osgood J. (2019), Caesar, Civil War, and Civil War, [in:] The Historiography of Late Republican Civil War, Brill, Leiden, p. 137–159, https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004409521_008 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004409521_008

Roller D.W. (2021), Three Ancient Geographical Treatises in Translation: Hanno, the King Nikomedes Periodos, and Avienus, Routledge, Oxon, https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003030379 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003030379

Sampson G.C. (2021), Rome’s Great Eastern War: Lucullus, Pompey and the Conquest of the East, 74–62 BC, Pen and Sword, Barnsley, https://www.torrossa.com/it/resources/an/5084509 (access: 14 VI 2024).

Shipley G. (2020), Pseudo-Scylax’s Periplous. The Circumnavigation of the Inhabited World: Text, Translation and Commentary, Liverpool University Press, Liverpool, https://doi.org/10.3828/liverpool/9781789620917.001.0001 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3828/liverpool/9781789620917.001.0001

Shpuza S. (2021), Oricum 48 BC. Archaeology of the Caesar’s Civil War, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, https://www.academia.edu/71569591/Oricum_48_BC_Archaeology_of_the_Caesars_Civil_War (access: 14 VI 2024).

Shpuza S. (2022), From a Lime to a Polish. Orikos in the Archaic and Classical Periods, Università di Catania, Roma, https://www.academia.edu/80910042/Dun_limen_a_une_polis_Orikos_aux_p%C3%A9riodes_archaique_et_classique (access: 14 VI 2024).

Sindel C., Lippert A., Lahi B., Kiel M. (2018), Albania. An Archaeological and Artistic Guide from the Stone Age to the 19th Century, Böhlau Verlag, Wien.

Viegas C. (2020), Cretaceous Roman Supporters: Acta 46: The Thirtieth first Congress of the Cretaceous Roman Empire Was Held at Napoca MMXVIII, Archaeopress, Oxford.