Ancient times and the early Christian period

Thanks to trade routes and communications, the ancient peoples of the Bronze and Iron Ages living in the land which is present-day Croatia were in touch with the artistic output of the Greeks and Etruscans from as early as the 8th century BC, but it was only with the arrival of the Greek colonists in the 4th century BC that conditions were established for the wider spread of Classical civilisation on the eastern Adriatic coast. Through the Greek colonies, such as Issa (Vis) and Pharos (Stari Grad, on the island of Hvar), Greek influence spread, as evidenced in the script, coinage, trade, parcelisation of land and building of city walls.

Statue of the Emperor Augustus wearing armour (late 1st century BC), one of 17 marble statues of the emperor and empress found on the site of Roman Narona (Vid, near Metković). It is kept in the Narona Archaeological Museum in Vid.
Stari Grad Plain, on the island of Hvar, showing the still visible division of land dating back to the period of Greek colonisation. It was inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2008.
The amphitheatre in Pula, known as the Arena, built in the 1st century, the sixth largest in the Roman Empire, could host 25,000 spectators. Today it is used for large cultural and sporting spectacles.

From the 2nd century BC onwards, Rome gradually established power and created administrative regions – the provinces of Dalmatia and Pannonia. Cultural and economic development with the characteristics of Roman civilisation (urbanism, architecture, sculpture, cults, coinage and trade) first arose on the Adriatic coast, then further in the deep hinterland. Many settlements took on the characteristics of Roman towns (Parentium/Poreč, Salona/Solin, Iadera/Zadar, Narona/Vid, near Metković, Aenona/Nin, Varvaria/Bribir) and forum complexes were built with basilicas, curias, thermal spas, etc. There were also grand public buildings, particularly theatres (Pola/Pula, Salona/Solin) and amphitheatres (Pola, Salona, Burnum/Ivoševci, near Kistanje).

Diocletian's Palace in Split is a prime example of a well preserved Roman palace. It is a fortified palace (a combination of a town, military camp, elite residence and economic complex). It was built by the Emperor Diocletian in the early 4th century close to Salona (Solin). The Palace and the historical heart of the city of Split were inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979.
The central apse of the Euphrasian Basilica in Poreč. The cathedral was built in the 6th century by Bishop Euphrasius, and consists of an octagonal baptistery, a rectangular atrium, a triple-naved basilica, a memorial chapel and the bishop's residence. It is the only preserved early Christian episcopal complex in the world. It was inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1997.
The baptistery and baptismal font in the episcopal complex in Salona (Solin), built in the late 4th and early 5th century. It has been almost fully preserved, and includes a dual basilica and the bishop's palace, with outbuildings. Frane Bulić (1846–1934) made the greatest contribution to the recognition and preservation of Salona, and to early Croatian history in Dalmatia in general.

Thermal spa towns sprang up in the Pannonian area (Aquae Iasae/Varaždinske Toplice), as did important towns, only a little of whose architecture has been preserved (Siscia/Sisak, Marsonia/Slavonski Brod, Mursa/Osijek, Cibalae/Vinkovci). A special place among all these was held by Diocletian's Palace in Split. Marked achievements of Roman and Hellenistic building were the country estates of Brijuni and also Polače on the island of Mljet, roads (Salona-Sirmium, Emona-Sirmium), bridges and aqueducts (Diocletian's Aqueduct).

Bronze statue of Eros (2nd century), Museum of Slavonia, Osijek.
Footprint of Diocletian's Palace in Split
Alabaster urn (1st century), Archaeological Museum of Istria, Pula

After Constantine's edict on tolerance was issued in 313, early Christian art began to flourish in a natural symbiosis with Classical culture. The most important monuments of early Christian sacred architecture are found in Salona, and there are particularly important early Christian graveyards north of the town (Marusinac, Manastirine, Kapljuč). After the Byzantine Empire, the eastern heir of the Roman Empire, became the main political force in Italy and on the eastern Adriatic in the mid-6th century, a series of forts were built to defend and control the shipping route, of which the Byzantine castrum on Veli Brijun is a fine example. The Euphrasian Basilica complex in Poreč is another magnificent architectural monument from that period.

At the end of the 6th century, Classical civilisation began to wane in Croatia. The reason for this was the economic disintegration of the towns due to increasingly frequent raids by 'barbarian' tribes.

Apoxymenos, a bronze statue of an athlete, from the studio of Lysippos (2nd or 1st century BC), found in the sea around the island of Lošinj, is a superb example of an underwater archaeological find. It is kept in the Apoxyomenos Museum in Mali Lošinj.
The Lumbarda Psephisma, a fragment of Greek inscription (4th or 3rd century BC), found in Lumbarda on the island of Korčula, is one of the oldest written monuments in Croatia. It contains a conclusion of the assembly which defines the proprietary rights of the Greek colonists on Korčula and their relations with the Illyrian inhabitants. It is kept in the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb.
Bronze head of the goddess Artemis (4th century BC), an example of the high quality of Hellenistic art, and one of only a few original Greek works from that period. It is kept in the Issa Archaeological Collection in Vis.