"Eurydice (1) of Hierapolis,
Made to the Muses this her offering,
When she had gained her soul's desire to learn.
Mother of young and lusty sons was she,
And by her diligence attained to learn
Letters, wherein lies buried all our lore."
- from Plutarch's Moralia
Sadly, the Illyrians left no 'letters' of their own, but archaeology, on the other hand, has uncovered some of the 'lore' that had been buried for millennia. Those discoveries reflected aspects of their character and culture.
The Greeks and Romans knew them well, particularly, in their warfares with them and ancient writers recorded much of those events along with some detailed descriptions of the Illyrians. They were classified as 'uncivilized barbarians.' Yet, the archaeological record painted a picture of a people not very different from their neighbors (see Casson, Macedonia, Thrace, and Illyria).
(1) The Eurydice of this inscription was the daughter of the Illyrian king, Sirras; wife of the Macedonian king, Amyntas III and mother of Philip II (see Kingdoms).
