Girardi Jurkić Vesna: Duhovna kultura antičke Istre

Vesna Girardi Jurkić: The Spiritual Culture of Ancient Istria

The book Cults in the Romanization Process of Ancient Istria Spiritual Culture of Ancient Istria Ph.D. Vesne Girardi Jurkić asserts himself as the foundation of any future research into Istria's ancient past. The author's long-term research resulted in a complete synthesis of the cult monuments of ancient Istria, their creation and presence in the spiritual past of the ancient Istrian inhabitants. The author deals with a number of important issues related to cults, cult communities, cult centers, comprehensively presenting the religious and spiritual influences on the lives of the inhabitants. The catalog of cults, cult and mythological monuments is a fundamental part of this monograph. Analyzing votive altars, votive tablets, epistles, statues, cult figurines, etc., the author introduces us to autochthonous, Roman, Greek, oriental and syncretistic deities of ancient Istria, introducing us to the fascinating Istrian pantheon. The spiritual culture of ancient Istria is a comprehensive look at the religious issues (cults) of ancient Histria and is the first major work after more than a century and a half of archaeological and historical research in Istria and its surroundings. (...) The author has been dealing with this issue for a long period of time and rules it sovereignly. The work presents a very complex material in a systematic and transparent way, and the way of presentation allows this work to become a starting point for further research - the work is a starting point for studying the spiritual culture of ancient Istria, regardless of what monuments will be discovered in the future. dr. sc. Vesna Girardi Jurkić successfully and skilfully goes beyond the usual approaches to the interpretation of epigraphs. Based on the material archaeological facts available to her, the author expands her views and knowledge about the epichorian deities and cults of Histra and Liburnus, the emergence of the imperial cult, the syncretism of autochthonous and Roman beliefs, as well as indications of the victorious appearance of Christianity. (...) With sober judgments of these phenomena, an analytical procedure, and above all a synthetic analysis of the problem, the author made a significant theoretical step forward in promoting the overall spiritual heritage of the ancient period of Istria, skilfully using sources and shaping the basis with deeper personal considerations.