Kingdom under
Agron and
Teuta.
Herodian (2nd century A.D.) mentions that
Rhizon takes its name from
Rizon, son of
Cadmus and brother of
Illyrius. The earliest mention of
Rhizon dates back to the 4th century BCE in the
Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax who mentions it as a settlement of the
Enchelei. It later developed as a settlement of another Illyrian tribe, the
Ardiaei. Rhizon had been the main fortress in the
Illyrian state under
Agron where
Queen Teuta took refuge during the
Illyrian Wars. Formerly the
Bay of Kotor was known as Sinus Rhizonicus and Rhizonic Gulf () after the (
Greek) name of
Rhizon, the leading town in anticity of the bay.
Rhizon had also its own protector, a deity called Medaurus, who was depicted as carrying a lance and riding on horseback. Prior to Roman control in the region, the degree of
Hellenistic acculturation at Rhizon was very high. In
Roman times,
Rhizinium is documented as an oppidum civium Romanorum. Two Roman routes led through the
Bay of Kotor. The most prosperous time for Roman
Rhizinium came during the 1st and 2nd centuries, when huge villas were made in the area and the city had 10,000 inhabitants. Five mosaics are the most valuable remains of that period - not only for Risan but also for
Montenegro. The best preserved one shows
Hypnos, the Greek deity of sleep. It is the only known image of this kind in the
Balkans. The famous
archeologist Sir
Arthur Evans led those initial
excavations in 1885. The protector-god of Rhizon/Risinium was the Illyrian war deity,
Medaurus. Medaurus is mentioned in a dedication carved in
Lambaesis (north Africa) by a Roman
legatus native of Risinium and more scarcely in two other inscriptions found in Risinium and
Santa Maria di Leuca (
Lecce). The Lambaesis dedication also indicates that an equestrian statue of Medaurus had been erected there, likely the replica of a monumental statue located in Risinium. Archeological research in Risinium in the 21st century suggests that the statue of Medaurus was set up on a base of at least 15x20m, and situated on the
acropolis where it dominated the city. The invasions of the
Avars and
Slavs left the city deserted. The last reference of a
bishop in Risan dates back to 595. ==Legacy==