ANCIENT GREEK AND ROMAN CITIES IN CROATIA

The remains of the ancient Greek and Roman cities in Croatia and their architectural characteristics are a subject of an ever-growing public interest. Croatia is not alone in this. In many other countries mat have inherited and preserved its ancient monuments, the respect and fascination with the achievements of Greek and Roman culture and civilisation is also in evidence. In this, the scientists, historians and, above ali, archaeologists take the lead, but the general public is also taking a more active role in bringing together the past and the present. New archaeological discoveries and finds regularly make the newspaper headlines and appear in other media. This makes the status of archaeology in society stronger, and the application for funds to the local and state budgets and sponsors easier. Every hištory book devotes a great deal of space to the fascinating period of the Roman Empire which two thousand years ago succeeded in ruling much of Europe, the Mediterranean and parts of Asia and Africa. Our awareness of the importance of preserving and studying our cultural heritage is not only a powerml agent in responsible stewardship of monuments from Antiquity, but it doubtlessly helps us in thinking, and preparing for the future, now that we štand poised on the threshold of a new millennium. Our present, on the Old Continent and worldwide, is so absolutely defined by the processes of intcgration and interaction betvveen cultures and peoples, that we can learn much from the ancient Greek and Roman plural othnic coexi-stence and their evolved judicial system and global trade. Western civilisation is so deeply rooted in ancient forms of state organisation, its art, culture, philosophy, town planning and judicial system that these can hardly be by-passed in the drafting of the new European Constitution. In the periods when Christianity assumed a dominant role in European history and civilisation, Antiquity retained its position as an essential reference point. The historic development of Christianity was, also, closely connected with the history of the Roman Empire. Christianity emerged and spread at the time when the power of Rome as a military superpower of Europe was at its peak.