APOLLONIA, the name, derived from the god Apollo, of several cities of antiquity. The most important are— 1. An Illyrian city on the right bank of the Aous, which owed its foundation to the Corinthians and Corcyreans. It soon became a place of commercial prosperity, was at a later period regarded as of military importance, and towards the close of the Roman republic acquired fame as a seat of literature and philosophy. It seems to have sunk with the rise of Aulon, and few remains of its ruins are to be found. 2. A Thracian city (afterwards Sozopolis, and now Sizeboli), colonised by the Milesians, and famous for its colossal statue of Apollo, which Lucullus removed to Rome. 3. The port of Cyrene (afterwards Sozusa, now Marsa SousaJi), which at length outgrew the greatness of Cyrene itself, and has left ample evidence of its magnificence in the ruins of its public buildings. It was the birth-place of Eratosthenes, usually known as of Cyrene.