engleski

Croatia at the crossroads of the early Greek seafarers

The earliest Greek seafarers that reached the coasts of the Adriatic are from the Late Bronze Age, and are better known as the Mycenaeans. They were skillful and adventurous tradesmen who knew no geographical limits in their search for raw materials around the Mediterranean basin. Indications of their presence have been discovered all over the eastern and central Mediterranean, with some hints even in the western portion of the basin. Numerous sites with Mycenaean material, primarily pottery, have likewise been identified along the western coast of the Adriatic, reaching all the way up to the Po Valley. Certainly, this leads us to believe that the Mycenaeans crossed the Adriatic on their travel north, and imposes expectations of finding their traces along the eastern Adriatic coast as well. However, once the present day border of Albania is crossed, such traces become scant. Only a limited number of sites along the Croatian part of the Adriatic coast show signs of the possible contact with the Mycenaeans. This paper presents those sites and the relevant artifacts, and seeks to explain why the early Greek involvement with the Croatian coast was – in contrast with the rest of eastern and central Mediterranean – of such a limited nature. A short introductory account is given on the connections of the eastern Adriatic coast and the Aegean during pre-Mycenaean times. Surprisingly, traces of such connections were more abundant at that time, especially within the realms of the Cetina Culture.

Croatia, Greece, Eastern Adriatic, Bronze Age, maritime connections

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