Читать книгу The Islands of Croatia. 30 walks on 14 Adriatic islands онлайн

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The Croatian Apoxyomenos – an intact life-sized bronze Roman statue, discovered in waters near Lošinj

Settlements grew during the Bronze Age and Iron Age, and from around 800BC the history of the eastern Adriatic becomes synonymous with the Illyrians, an Indo-European people, composed of numerous tribes scattered throughout the region from the Veneto to Albania. Among the most important of these tribes were the Liburni (famed pirates, who originally controlled the coast and islands from Istria to the River Krka), as well as the Delmatae, the Japodes and the Ardiaei. Traces of many of their hill forts still remain on the Adriatic islands, and a number of them have left their names in the region (‘Dalmatia’ from Delmatae; ‘Adriatic’ from Ardiaei).

Greek settlers arrived in the fourth century BC, establishing colonies on several of the islands including Korkyra meliana (Korčula), Issa (Vis) and Pharos (Hvar), as well as on the coast at Epidaurus (Cavtat), Tragurion (Trogir) and elsewhere.