Greek Apollonia (610 BC – 1st c. BC)
The town was founded in 610 BC by Ionian colonists from Miletus, originally under the name Antheia, and was soon renamed Apollonia Pontica — after the god Apollo, to whom its main temple was dedicated. Apollonia quickly became one of the wealthiest poleis on the western Black Sea — minting its own silver coins featuring an anchor (the city's symbol) and Apollo, and within its temple stood a 13-metre bronze statue of the god, the work of the Athenian sculptor Calamis from the 5th century BC.
Roman Sozopolis (1st c. BC – 4th c. AD)
In 72 BC the Roman general Marcus Lucullus captured and sacked Apollonia, and the colossal statue of Apollo was taken to Rome and placed on the Capitol. The town never fully regained its former prosperity. Thrace became a Roman province in AD 46 under Emperor Claudius, but Apollonia retained its commercial importance. The name Sozopolis — 'town of salvation' — appears in written sources as early as the 1st century AD. Stretches of fortress wall and finds in the Archaeological Museum survive from the Roman era.
Byzantium & mediaeval Bulgaria (5th–14th c.)
The town became an important Christian centre and bishopric. In the 9th century it was annexed to the First Bulgarian Empire by Khan Krum; later it repeatedly changed hands between Byzantium and Bulgaria. Early mediaeval churches, the monastery of St. John the Forerunner on St. Ivan Island and sections of fortress walls survive from this period.
Ottoman era and National Revival (1453–1878)
Under Ottoman rule, Sozopol retained a substantial Christian population and its status as a fishing and trading port. In the 18th–19th centuries the characteristic Revival-era houses were built — stone foundations with a wooden upper floor — which define the Old Town's character today. Many of these houses survive as museums, hotels, galleries and taverns.
Liberation and reserve (1878 — today)
After Bulgaria's Liberation (1878), Sozopol became a small Bulgarian fishing town. On 7 September 1974, by Decree No. 320 of the Council of Ministers, the Old Town was declared the architectural and archaeological reserve 'Ancient Sozopol', encompassing more than 180 Revival-era houses. Since 1984 the Apollonia Festival has been held here every September. Today Sozopol is one of the most visited destinations on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast.