A famine then broke out as the earth ceased to bear fruit, because of Helios' wrath; the soil grew fertile again only after the Apollonians consulted the Oracle of Delphi and compensated the blinded man with property, while the gods gave him the gift of prophecy. This little anecdote attest to the divine introduction of prophecy, rather than a real biographical event. Hellenistic period In Hellenistic times Apollonia experienced significant growth of its population, increase in urbanisation and in large-scale trade networks. It is estimated that at its peak the city had about 60,000 inhabitants. Apollonia was located on a strategic position as a river-port and dominated over a vast plain that stretches c. 10 km in length. Strabo in his Geographica describes Apollonia as a well-governed, self-governing polis presumably from its inception. Aristotle considers (Aristotle:4.3.8) the Apollonian government as a narrow oligarchy, and that the polis consisted of citizens descended from original Greek colonists with power and offices filled by the local elite. According to Aristotle, the original Greek colonists and their descendants were "few out of the many" who held a privileged status over a population largely composed of local Illyrians. Whether local Illyrians were integrated as serfs in the economy of the city or whether they were slaves remains unclear, although the former is more likely. As such only direct descendants of the first Corinthian settlers had access to the politeia and therefore the magistracy. Aristotle uses the term eleutheroi or freemen to refer to citizens who enjoyed such rights. Such a social system suggests a strict endogamy and it was preserved three centuries after the foundation of the city. The aristocratic society of Apollonia maintained its special links with its metropolis, Corinth, for a long time. As such epigraphic evidence points that the prytans maintained Greek names proof that the memories of the first colonists were preserved by the local aristocracy. Contrary to nearby Epidamnus, Apollonia pursued xenelasia, the expulsion of foreigners deemed injurious to the public welfare, similar to that used in Lacedaemonian law. During the 3rd century B.C the hinterland of Apollonia was inhabited by a population that used non-indigenous ceramics. This suggests that the material culture of the neighbouring Illyrians had become hellenized since at that time all products are classified as Greek ones. The city grew rich on the slave trade and local agriculture, as well as its large harbour, said to