Nymphaion (fire sanctuary)

[4] Around mid-5th century BCE, after conquering nearby Thronion, Apollonia consolidated its control over the site of the fire sanctuary and the area of the bitumen mines.

[6] The ancient site has been identified with the Selenica area, across from Byllis, a region rich in natural reserves of petroleum and gas, which were required to feed the eternal fire.

[8] The area had already been occupied by Illyrians before the founding of nearby Apollonia by a joint colony of Corinth and Kerkyra in the 7th–6th century BCE, and the site was likely already a place of worship because of its peculiar physical properties.

Pliny the Elder (1st century CE), in his description based on the accounts of historian Theopompus (4th century BCE), reports that even if the fire is located in the middle of a thick forest, it is very pleasant because it does not damage the greenery that surrounds it and the always lit crater of the nymphaion is located near a source of cold water.

It acts in this way with regard to all matters except death and marriage; concerning these, one is absolutely not permitted to inquire.”Dio also expressed in other accounts his wonder at the greenness and moistness of the site in spite of the presence of its fire.

[14] A similar scene is also represented on a 1st-century BCE silver coin of Apollonia that depicts three nymphs dancing around the fire of the nymphaion.

[16] The continuation of the cult of the nymphs in the Roman imperial period in Apollonia is testified in a 2nd-century CE Greek inscription reporting Illyrian names.