Amantinë

This name derives from the Ancient Greek “Amántia (Ἀμάντια) Abántia (Ἀβάντια),” which in turn derives from the Ancient Greek Ábas (Ἄβας). In Greek mythology, Abante or Ábas is Poseidon’s son and the nymph Arethusa, the divinity of a source close to Calci. The Southwest of Albanian region, in the Vlora region, has lived in antiquity, the Illyrian tribe of Amant (or Abantes). Amantia was an ancient Greek polis in Epirus. It occupied a crucial defensive position above the Vjosa river valley to the east, and on the road to the coast and the Bay of Vlorë, in Vlorë County in Albania. The term “Illyrians” last appears in the historical record in the 7th century, referring to a Byzantine garrison operating within the former Roman province of Illyricum. The modern Albanian language might have descended from a southern Illyrian dialect.