Preko Ilirije do Evrope
Via Illyria to Europe

Summary/Abstract: Archaeology in Serbia was shaped as a discipline by the end of the 19th century. Its founders, mainly educated at the universities in the German-speaking lands, in the spirit of Altertumswissenschaft, have brought with them the corresponding attitude towards the Classical antiquity. In the process of transfer of the concepts a certain blurring occurred, but not absolute abandonment of the previous narratives about the ancient past, for example the one developed in the framework of Proto-Illyrism. From its inception in the humanistic histories of the 16th century, the ProtoIllyrian idea was the framework of political action, the pivotal point of identity construction, but as well the grounds for territorial aspirations. In these tendencies a major role was played by the Classical past. Through the usage of Classical ethnonyms and toponymes, political concepts and historical narratives, the advocates of Proto-Illyrism took part in the positioning of the Balkans in the temporal and spatial domain of the modern Europe. The paper points to the role of the Proto-Illyrian idea in the affirmation and/or legitimizing of various interests (individual, group), as well as in constructing various identities in the Western Balkans.

• Details
• Contents