The peoples of Europe during the first millennium BC were in close contact with the Greek states, and from the 1st century BC became part of the Roman slave state. Roman European provinces played a crucial role in the life of the empire, and now it is impossible to correctly assess the culture and art of Ancient Rome, without taking into account the cultures of the provinces. The fates of Rome and its provinces were closely intertwined during history, which contributed to the spread of a significant part of Europe during the 1st - 4th centuries. AD great ancient civilization. In the popular science work offered to the reader, an attempt was made to give an essay on the artistic activities of a number of European regions before the Romans conquered them and the Roman European provinces of the 1st - 4th centuries AD. Summing up the great material of the art of ancient Europe, the author sets the task of showing the most typical monuments of this historical period and characterizing their artistic features.