Ancient Greece, which covers the VIII-VI centuries. BC e., served as the beginning milestone in the history of this state. For all three centuries - in a short, in general, period - Greece has moved far ahead in its development and has overtaken many countries and states ancient east which developed quite rapidly. Ancient Greece of the archaic period was a place of awakening of spiritual forces after four centuries of stagnation in development. This time was the heyday of creative activity.
Restoration of former greatness
During the archaic period in ancient Greece, such types of art as architecture, painting, and monumental sculpture are being revived. The most talented sculptors build the first Greek temples from marble and limestone, which have survived to this day. In the archaic period, sculpture in ancient Greece is experiencing an unprecedented rise. It is at this time that they appear timeless works art. Monumental statues of marble and bronze are created. It was during the archaic period in ancient Greece that famous works Homer and Hesiod, which amaze with their depth. It is also worth noting the amazing verses of Archilochus, Alcaeus and Saffo, written at this particular time. Literature of the archaic period of ancient Greece and in our time is published and translated in almost all countries. Famous to this day philosophers Thales, Anaximenes and Anaximander wrote their philosophical works, giving answers to questions about the origin of the universe and the world.
Art
The archaic period in the history of ancient Greece, in particular the unprecedented rise Greek culture in the VIII-VI centuries. BC e., was due to the Great Colonization taking place at that time. She brought Greece out of the state of isolation in which she had been after the Mycenaean culture ceased to exist. Another feature of the archaic period in the history of Ancient Greece is the interchange of cultures of Hellas and the Ancient East. The Phoenicians brought writing and the alphabet to ancient Greek culture, which was made even more convenient in Greece with the introduction of vowels. It was from this moment that the culture of writing and speech began to develop, alphabets began to appear, including Russian. The Syrians told and showed the Greeks a lot of new things, for example, how to process sand into glass, and also showed how to make paint from shells. The Greeks adopted the basics of astronomy and geometry from the Egyptians. During the archaic period of ancient Greece, the sculpture of the Egyptians had a strong influence on Greek art that was just beginning to appear. The Lydians also had a huge impact on Greece - it was thanks to them that the Greeks learned to mint coins.
Despite the fact that many elements of Greek culture were borrowed from other cultures, Greece still remained an original country.
Colonization
Colonization made numerous at that time Greek people more mobile and ready for change. Now every person could self-realize, regardless of tribal affiliation, respectively, society became more developed and progressive, many new phenomena appeared. In short, art in the archaic period of ancient Greece is not the only thing that has received an incredible degree of development. Now navigation and maritime trade come to the fore and move the country forward. Initially, most of the colonies that were on the periphery became largely dependent on their mother countries. But over time, this situation has changed.
Export
The inhabitants of many colonies experienced an acute shortage even in the most necessary things. For example, wine and olive oil, which the Greeks loved so much, did not enter the colony at all. Huge ships delivered tons of wine and oil to many countries. The metropolises exported to the colonies not only food - they supplied pottery and other household utensils, various fabrics, weapons, decorations and so on. Of course, these items are very popular with the locals, and they exchange them for grain, livestock, slaves and non-ferrous metals. Unpretentious crafts from Greece, of course, did not immediately compete with Phoenician souvenirs, which were hunted by merchants around the world. Despite this, there was a huge demand for them where the Phoenician ships did not reach - the Black Sea, Thrace, and the Adriatic.
Progress
Nevertheless, despite the fact that the crafts and art objects of the archaic period of Ancient Greece are significantly inferior in quality to goods of oriental origin, the Greeks managed to establish mass production and sell their goods even in the "promised land" for all merchants - Sicily.
The colonies are gradually becoming the most important centers of industry and trade between many developed countries antiquities. And in Greece itself, the so-called policies become the centers for the development of the economy and trade, with the help of which the management of the colonization movement becomes more convenient. The largest and most developed of them are Corinth and Megara in the Northern Peloponnese, Aegina, Samos and Rhodes in the Aegean archipelago, Miletus and Ephesus on the western coast of Asia Minor.
Changes in society and craft
Gradually, markets began to appear in the colonies, which served as a powerful impetus for the development and improvement of crafts, agriculture, art and architecture in ancient Greece of the archaic period, briefly described above. Craftsmen from Greece are progressing noticeably and equipping their workshops with the latest technology of the time. Analyzing the characteristics of the archaic period of ancient Greece, we can say that it was the most fruitful period in every sense for the country. What are innovations such as the invention of new ways of soldering iron or the improvement of bronze casting worth! Greek ceramics of the 7th-6th centuries. BC e. staggers the imagination with luxury and an abundance of forms, a variety of decoration. The most beautiful vessels made by the hands of talented Corinthian craftsmen, which are painted in oriental style. It can be distinguished by the colorfulness and incredible quirkiness of ornate patterns that resemble patterns on oriental carpets. Also worth noting are vases in the black-figure style, which were produced mainly in Athenian and Peloponnesian policies. Clay products of Greek potters and bronze casters show not only that in Greece of that time the division of labor was practiced, but also that responsibilities were divided even within a single industry. The culture of the archaic period of Ancient Greece experienced an incredible rise.
Separation of craft from agriculture
Most of the ceramic products exported by Greece abroad were made in special workshops. experienced craftsmen and vase painters. Numerous artisans are no longer alone without rights and freedoms. The time has already passed when they did not even have a permanent place of residence. Now they are a very significant and influential class of the population. The quality of their products was getting higher, as well as the prices for the work of craftsmen. Entire neighborhoods appeared where artisans of a certain profession lived. In one of the large cities called Corinth from the 7th century. BC e. there was a so-called quarter of potters - Keramik. In the capital of Greece, Athens, a similar area, located in an impressive part of the city, appeared in the 6th century. BC e. These historical facts indicate that during the archaic period in Greece, a fundamentally new period in the development of the state began: the craft became separate view activity and completely separated from agriculture as a separate, completely abstracted part of production and activity. The fundamental changes did not bypass agriculture, which now had to take into account not only the needs of the community, but also the demand in the market. Now the market dictates the rules to all branches of production. The first beginnings of entrepreneurship also appeared among farmers - those who had boats brought their goods to the markets of nearby cities. They did not move along the road because there were much more robbers and robbers with the development of trade. Since grain crops in Greece took a bad turn, they cultivated mainly grapes and olives, because delicious Greek wine and high-quality olive oil were in incredible demand in the East. In the end, the Greeks realized that it was much cheaper to bring grain from abroad than to grow it at home.
State structure and political system of the archaic period of Ancient Greece
Most, excluding numerous colonies, emerged from the centralized settlements of the era of Homer - policies. However, the archaistic and Homeric policies are absolutely different concepts. They differed quite significantly: the policy of the era of Homer was at the same time a city and a village, since there were no other settlements that could compete with it. The archaic polis, on the contrary, was a kind of capital of a small state, which, in addition to itself, included small villages (Greek comas) located on the outskirts of the polis and dependent on it both politically and economically.
Architecture
Pay attention to the fact that the archaic policies became much larger than the policies built in the era of Homer. There were two reasons for this: natural population growth and the unification of several villages into one large city. This phenomenon is called synoykism, the unification took place in order to repulse the neighboring hostile villages and towns. Despite the unprecedented progress, there were no truly large cities in Greece yet. The largest policies were settlements with a population of several thousand people. On average, the population did not exceed a thousand people. A good example of a typical Greek archaic polis is ancient Smyrna, recently found by archaeologists. A significant part of it was located on the peninsula, which closed the entrance to a deep bay, where numerous ships were stationed. The central part of Smyrna was surrounded by a protective fence made of bricks on a stone plinth. Numerous gates and viewing platforms are arranged in the wall. All residential buildings were parallel to each other. Of course, several temples were built in the city. Residential buildings were very spacious and comfortable, in the homes of wealthy citizens there were even terracotta baths.
Agora
The heart of the archaic city was the so-called agora, where citizens gathered and lively trade was conducted. Basically, the inhabitants of the city spent all free time Here. It was possible to sell your goods and purchase the necessary products, learn important city news, take part in matters of national importance and just chat with the townspeople. Initially, the agora was an ordinary open area, on which there were no buildings. Later, wooden steps appeared there, on which people sat down during events. When the archaic period came to an end, fabric canopies were hung over the steps, designed to protect people from heat and sun. On weekends, idle people and merchants of various small goods liked to settle down on them. State institutions were built on the agora or not far from it: the bouleuterium - the city council (bule), the pritanei - the place where the members of the ruling college of the pritans met, the dicastery - the courthouse. It was on the agora that the city dwellers could get acquainted with the new laws and decrees that were put on public display.
sports
Athletic competitions have been a significant part of the life of the Greeks since ancient times. In ancient Greek cities, from time immemorial, grounds for strength exercises were built. They were called palestras and gymnasiums. Every self-respecting young man spent training most of his time. Sports disciplines include running, freestyle wrestling, fisticuffs, jumping, javelin and discus throwing. Every big celebration in the policy was accompanied by a sports competition called agon, in which all free-born citizens of the policy, as well as guests from other countries who received an invitation to the holiday, could take part.
Some agons earned special popularity among the people, gradually becoming interpolis pan-Greek festivals. It was from there that the tradition of organizing the Olympic Games began, for participation in which they came even from the most remote colonies. They prepared for participation in the Olympic Games as seriously as for military operations. Each policy considered it a matter of honor to win the event. Joyful fellow citizens presented the winner of the Olympic Games with truly royal privileges. In some cases, it was necessary to dismantle a huge city wall so that the triumphal column of the winner solemnly entered the city: the townspeople believed that a person of such rank could not pass through an ordinary gate.
It was from such moments that the life of an ordinary inhabitant of an ancient Greek polis of the archaic era developed: trade and purchases in the agora, solving issues of national importance at a national assembly, participation in religious ceremonies of various orders, exercises and trainings in gymnasiums and palestras and, of course, participation in the Olympic games.
The Greek Archaic Period (approximately 800-479 BCE) began with what might be termed limbo and ended with the Persians driven out of Greece forever after the battles of Plataea and Mycale in 479 BCE.
The archaic period is preceded by the Greek dark age(c.1200-800 BCE), a period about which little is known, followed by the Classical Period (c. 510-332 BCE), which is one of the best documented periods Greek history, with tragedies, comedies, stories, court cases and more surviving in the form of literary and epigraphic sources. Each of these periods had their own cultural identity, but despite this, there is a degree of flexibility with the dates given to the periods. This modern terms, who attempt to identify various aspects of changes in Greek culture that did not in any way take place either during one particular year, or all together in the same year.
The Archaic period saw tremendous changes in the Greek language, society, art, architecture, and politics. These changes were due to the growing population of Greece and its increasing volume of trade, which in turn led to colonization and new era intellectual ideas, the most important of which (at least for the modern Western world) was Democracy. Then it will be cooler to propagate cultural change.
POLITICS AND LAW
The politics of Athens went through a number of major changes during the archaic period, and the first change was, perhaps at worst, with the laws of Draco, around 622/621 BC. E. (The semi-legendary nature of these laws and its namesake should be noted, and secondly, the semi-legendary nature of most cases during the first two hundred years of the period). As Aristotle says of Draco, "there is nothing special about his laws worth mentioning, except for their severity in imposing severe punishments" (Policy 2.1274b).
The legacy of their infamy (credits can be made to protect one's own person) still exists in the modern word "dragons". However, the most severe were the death sentences; Plutarch says that "it is said that Draco himself, when asked why he instituted the death penalty for most offenses, replied that he thought these lesser crimes deserved it, and he no longer had punishment for the more important ones." Although Aristotle comments that there is nothing special about the laws, what is significant is that the laws, for the first time in Athens, were written down for everyone to see and read (for those who were literate).
Next major changes that occurred were caused by Solon (c. 594 BC), whose historical accuracy is more certain than that of Draco due to fragments of his poetry, which Plutarch believes to still exist in his own time. His changes to Athenian law were the first to give the lower classes a fairer chance, yet positions of power were still only open to wealth. These were the consequences of class inequality that Solon decided, and not their causes. Solon's most notable change was the seisachtheia, "burden tremor." This edict canceled debts, forbade the use of one's face as collateral for a loan, and reminded all those who were sold as slaves and those who fled to avoid such a fate.
There were also Solana's reforms regarding weights and measures, including in other developments the right to treat third parties was introduced. Lest he be pressured to change these laws, Solon left Athens for ten years (according to Herodotus) and traveled to Egypt, where he wrote political poetry.
It was only after Solon that a sense of self-consciousness of democracy emerged in Athens; development, which can be seen as a social phenomenon or a political and institutional phenomenon. Then the changes became thick and fast. The era of tyrants that began with Draco will soon end soon, but not if the Peisistratids had something to do with it.
The Peisistratids were a short line of Athenian tyrants who began with the Peisistratos, and it should be noted that the term "tyrant" during this period did not have the negative connotations it has today. In fact, Peisestratos was not a draconian ruler, but one who felt a certain sympathy for the poorest classes Athens. Aristotle gives a good account of subsequent events. After the death of Peshistratos, his sons Hippias and Hipparchus held tyranny until Harmodias and Aristogenes plotted against them.
Cleisthenes came to power in the political gap left by the Tyranicides and is famous for teaching isonomy (equal laws) in Athens. He achieved this through various reforms, which meant that less importance was placed on aristocratic experience. The biggest reform that Klistchen made was in the tribal system of Athens. Before his reform there were four tribes (based on family ties), Cleistens changed this to ten tribes, each formed by a slightly complex subsystem.
Tribes were formed by a collection of dem (like an English parish, small natives) who were themselves placed in one of thirty tritia, "thirds" (three per tribe); dem will be in any of three regions depending on its location: coast, city or inland. Thus the tritti were an amalgamation of ten desmenes from each of the three regions; therefore each tribe had three tritti, one of which consisted of demons from the city, one with desks from the coast, and one of demons from within. In addition to this, the Athenians will no longer take their "surname" from their father, but from their dem. All this meant that family bonds, the traditions and allegiances that had previously caused political friction (and somehow associated with the Peishistrid tyrants) were broken. In addition, during Cleistene's time, many Athenian official positions began to be chosen by lot. Aristotle and Herodotus describe these events quite well.
ART AND ARCHITECTURE
The art and architecture of the Archaic period also underwent various changes; earlier geometric style was replaced by an orientalizing style, which in turn was replaced by black figured ceramics. Black figured pottery first began to be used in Corinth c. 700s BCE, but the first signed example dates from c. 570 BC e., when attic black figured pottery was in its heyday (c. 630-480 B.C.) and sophilos. As this method was further developed and studied, it gave way to red pattern pottery, which began to develop. c. 530 BC
In addition, during this period, many changes and changes were made to the construction of the temple. The first phase of Gereon on Samos was built in the middle. 8th C. BC E., but his final, unfinished, reincarnation was not begun until c. 530 BC By this time, many changes had taken place. Heraion at Olympia, built c. 600 BC e., was the first temple to have a stone stylobate and a lower wall way, but was still built with wooden columns, one of which still survives to the day of Pausanias. Today, remnants of this development can be seen in the different sizes and styles of the temple's Doric stone columns, as they were created by different hands at different times to replace the wooden pillars as needed.
The archeology of Corcyra (ca. 580/70 BCE) was the first Greek temple to have a stone entablature, and the Temple of Apollo (ca. 580-550 BCE) at Syracuse is now known as the Cathedral of Syracuse being the most long-term constant the only building to remain consecrated ground, in this case, with its archaic origins. The era of tyrants can also be attested in one particular temple, in this case not referring to the tyrants of Athens, but to Samos, namely the Polycrates (c.540-520 BC), who ordered the fourth stage of Gerian to Samos. This is also evidenced by the evidence that testifies to the development of Greece in international relations, with King Croy dedicated to the column of the Temple of Artemis and Ephesus; and to this day it still has its mark.
PANEL GAMES
It was during the archaic period that the four main panlenetic games of Greece were founded. In 776 BC The Olympic Games traditionally began with Hercules and Pelops (and their influence can be seen in the sculptural decoration of the classical Temple of Zeus), while Delphi was held sports With. 586 BC, home of the Pythian games and Panhelian Isthmian games were founded in Corinth c. 581 BC The last of the "big four" was founded c. 573 BC, and these were the games of Nemeus.
However, in the usual archaic tradition, each of these games was surrounded by its own foundation myth, not just Olympic Games. The Pythian games, which were originally exclusively games in music and dance, were supposedly founded by Apollo himself (according to Pindar), the Ishmian games (according to Pausanias) by the legendary king of Corinth, Sisyphus and the Nemean games after Hercules killed the ice lion. But when we think of winning the games, there is one name that jumps out, and that is not the winner, but the poet, Pindar, who composed between c. 500-466 BC E., having written his Pythian odes and others in honor of various winners in the games.
ALPHABET AND LITERATURE
From Homer and Hesiod to Pindar and Aeschylus, the archaic period underwent an extensive development in Greek literature as well as language, with the development of the first Greek alphabet. The Greek alphabet, developed from the telephone alphabet, is itself a tribute to the increase in trade and exploration during the period that made this cultural exchange possible: the earliest Greek letter, dated c. 750 B.C.E. However, despite the development of the Greek alphabet, the oral tradition of poetic composition and transmission was still the method used by Hesiod and Homer; it was only up to c. 670 BC and Peisistratus' rule that a definitive version of the Iliad and Odyssey was attempted.
The end of the archaic period also had a literature equally influential, perhaps less well known, but it set the stage for the later classical tragedians and comedians. 535 BCE was the year of the first dramatic festival in Athens and in 485 BC. comedy was added, and a year later Aeschylus won his first drama competition in Athens, but not until 472 B.C. The Persians of Aeschylus were compiled.
PERSIAN WARS
The Persian Wars, perhaps the most influential set of events in the archaic period that could not be brought to justice here, began with the Ionian uprising of Greek colonies and settlements in Asia Minor from the Persian Empire, prompting Darius I's response to invade Greece, which failed in battle at Marathon in 490 BC. This was later avenged by a second Greek invasion of Xerxes, who was finally ruled out with the combined victories at Plataea and Mycale, though only after the equally famous battles of Thermopylae and Salamis. Salamis was won by a fleet that Themistocles persuaded the Athenians to build from the silver mines at Laurium, and this silver would remain vital into the classical period.
However, there were casualties in these wars; the sacking of the Athenian acropolis and Agora, the death of Leonidas, and eventually the freedom of the Ionic tributaries in Athens as the League of Delia soon became the Athenian League. The change was that in the archaic period in the Persian war, in the classical period, there was diplomacy.
Therefore, the archaic period is very important period time, but also very important in order to prevent events Classic Period into context. However, this definition covers only some of the many events and developments, and covers some of them only briefly: the archaic period is perhaps the richest and most complex in the history of Greece.
Archaic- early development of art. Translated from the Greek "archaikus" - ancient, ancient. art can be called any ancient art, starting from rock paintings, however, most often this term refers to the art of ancient Greece.
Archaic period of Greece from 650 to 480 BC e. - this is an unusual flowering of science, culture and art, which became the basis of all world art. Many, however, criticize the name of Greek culture as "archaic", since this term hides precisely a certain primitiveness, while the "archaic period" of Greece is high art and a developed culture that is quite comparable to modern.
The archaic period of Greece contributed to the emergence of many types of fine and applied arts. The cultural surge of this time is comparable to the Renaissance in Europe, which also contributed to the emergence of many genres, trends, turned the world around and made life much more interesting and richer. Archaic is the period of formation, the period of birth and the beginning of prosperity. There was a marked shift in the visual arts, ceramics, sculpture and architecture. Doric and Ionic appeared architectural styles. To decorate houses, palaces, temples, tombstones, sculptures from various materials are being created, which today are considered real masterpieces of archaic art. In addition, Ancient Greece became famous for its writers, poets, philosophers, whose work is also considered literary archaic, that is, the period of the origin of the foundations.
archaic, like early stage development of culture and art, plays essential role in the history of mankind. It is thanks to those figures who laid the foundations and proved their necessity to all people, today we have our world heritage - hundreds of styles and genres of painting, graphics, literature, sculpture, architecture, music, philosophy, creative types activities and much, much more.
Examples of archaic art
The history of mankind is divided into many periods. It is believed that this method allows you to better understand the past. The most ancient periods in which mankind existed are called archaic. What this concept means and where it is used can be found in the article.
Translation and general meaning
The word comes from and is translated into Russian as "ancient" or "ancient". What is the meaning of the word "archaic"? There are two in dictionaries.
The first means an early stage in the historical formation of a phenomenon. The second meaning is described in more detail, since this is the name of the period in That is, archaic is the period that preceded the classics.
Archaic period of ancient Greece
The period was introduced by historians in the eighteenth century. It dates back to 750-480 BC. Such time frames were not taken in vain. In 750 BC, there was a peak of a sharp increase in the Greek population and an improvement in its material well-being. The archaic period ended in 480 BC, when Xerxes invaded Hellas.
Archaic - this concept of It arose as a result of the study of Greek art, namely decorative and plastic.
Later, the concept spread throughout the history of art and public life Hellas. During the archaic period there was a significant development of philosophy, political theory, poetry, theater, as well as the rise of democracy and the revival of writing.
Scholar Anthony Snodgrass criticizes the term "archaic" for the history of ancient Greece. For him, archaism is primitiveness, therefore it is unacceptable to apply such a concept in relation to Hellas of that time. He considers this period the most fruitful in world history. What is this historical phenomenon in outline?
archaic culture
This period in its historical development precedes civilized world. It is the earliest form of human collectivity with a corresponding culture and ideas about faith.
The archaic is a certain constant value that guarantees the constant and stable reproduction of a socio-cultural object. Time in this culture is an endless chain of returning to the origins. Thanks to this, the world never changes and remains at the stage of its appearance.
What is archaic for the spiritual world of man? It represents the absolute immutability of life. Its mechanisms protect a person from new models of behavior in the world. Sociocultural mechanisms prevent the emergence of new desires.
The existing myth of a constant return to the origins gave a person of this period the opportunity to overcome the transience of his being. The world in this culture was distinguished by its orderliness. He remained the same as at the time of his creation from chaos.
Archaic principles are the basis ethnic cultures human history. The archaic was finally introduced into the sphere of art in the period of the New Age.
IN archaic period(750-480 BC) the culture of Greece was updated. The center of the new value system was human personality new literary genres emerged. The epic has been replaced lyric poetry, which described joy, sorrow and feelings. Philosophy originated as a science as a result of the attempts of Greek thinkers to understand what place in this world is reserved for man.
In Greece of those times, painting developed, and best example- ceramics, which preserved the amazingly beautiful painting. In the archaic era, the main types of ancient Greek vases were widely developed: hydrias for carrying water, volumetric craters for mixing wine with water, oval amphorae with two handles and a narrow neck, in which grain, oil, wine and honey were stored. The shape of the vessels fully corresponded to their purpose, and the painting acquired flexible lines. Plot scenes and plant motifs were increasingly depicted on ceramics. Especially the development of painting on vases is noticeable in the late archaic period, when the black-figure style becomes widespread.
Architecture of ancient Greece in the archaic period
Greek architecture, rooted in antiquity, identified by Aeschylus with the era of the legendary fire thief, flourishes in the archaic era. The development of religious architecture in the 7th century BC. e. coincides with the formation of independent city-states (policies) and the transition from patriarchal life to the community. If in ancient times the images of the gods were placed under the trees, like the statue of Artemis in Ephesus, or in the hollows of large trees, like the statue of Artemis in Orchomenus, then by the 7th century there was a need for temples. The Greek temple was at that time the center of urban life, not only religious, but political and economic activity. Therefore, temples were built in the most prominent places, often on high hills, sometimes on the seashore.
Development Greek temple went from the simplest forms to complex ones, from wood to stone. Gradually, a peripter surrounded by columns appeared. The entrance was usually from the east. The main room - naos, or cella - was located behind the threshold - pronaos. Behind the cella, in the adyton or opisthodom, gifts were kept.
Greek architects understood that the ratio of the sizes of columns, beams, architrave and frieze played not only a constructive role, but also had one or another effect. artistic impression per person.
The change in these ratios gave rise to the order system
(order - order, system) - one of greatest achievements Hellenic architecture.
In the 7th century BC. the Doric order arose, almost simultaneously with it - the Ionic order, and only at the end of the 5th century BC. e. the Corinthian order appeared.
The Doric order is dominated by clear sharp lines, some heaviness of forms. Its buildings are strict in appearance, the feelings expressed in them are courageous.
The forms in the Ionic order are more elegant, the columns seem thinner and slimmer, the flexible lines of the volutes add whimsy to the contour of the architectural support. Column bases often have complex profiles. The Ionic column seems to be designed to carry less weight than the Doric one, it has more femininity.
The proportions of the Corinthian are the same as the Ionic ones. The difference between them is due to the fact that the height of the Corinthian capitals (the upper part of the column) is equal to the lower diameter, and therefore the columns seem to be slimmer, and the height of the Ionic capital is equal to a third of the lower diameter.
Archaic temples are better preserved on the Apennine Peninsula and in Sicily, where philosophy, crafts, and art flourished in the rich and lively cities of the Greek colony. In Paestum, Selinunte, Agrigentum, Syracuse, huge temples were erected. The principles of the Doric order found especially full expression here.
The temples at Selinunte stood side by side, and all were of the Doric order. Although it was difficult for architects to make them different, they succeeded. One temple was striking in height, the other was small. The third had a double colonnade on the facade, the fourth had a single one.
The idea of archaic architecture Greater Greece can give buildings in Paestum, where the temples of Hera and Athena have been preserved. The Temple of Hera (“Basilica”), built of squares of reddish tuff, has a peculiar plan, because due to the large width inside, along the central axis, a number of supports were placed, and an odd number of columns turned out to be at the end. Already in the VI century BC. e. builders recognized this system as inconvenient and subsequently rarely resorted to it.
The archaic buildings of the Balkan Peninsula are worse preserved than in Magna Graecia. The temple of Hera in Olympia and Apollo in Corinth are in ruins, only the remains of the foundations of temples on the Athenian Acropolis and huge Ionic dipters in Asia Minor and on the islands are visible.
In the archaic era, the main material for builders is stone - first limestone, then marble. Buildings not only become more durable than wooden ones, but also look grander. Sometimes elements that were constructive (frieze) turn into decorative ones. Masters love to decorate the roofs of temples with acroteria and antefixes. This is a time of especially wide production, first of picturesque, and then of relief multi-figured compositions on friezes, complex story groups on the fronts.
In the archaic era, many issues of urban planning, the planning of residential areas, the allocation of the Kremlin-Acropolis, the market square - the agora and public buildings arose and were resolved. Residential buildings of the archaic era were nondescript, most often made of mud or wood, now disappeared without a trace.
For the needs of the state, various public premises were built: halls for meetings, cult ceremonies such as mysteries, hotels, theaters. They are worse preserved than temples. In Olympia and on the island of Phazos, in particular, pritanei are known - institutions where pritanes - officials - received ambassadors, where solemn meals were held and a sacred fire burned. Of great importance in the life of the Hellenic cities were the meetings of the councils of elders of the bouleuteria, one of which has been preserved in Olympia.
The main types of buildings that arose in the era of the archaic and the formed architectural principles received further development in the classics and in Hellenism.
The temples of the archaic era are decorated with sculptures of mythological heroes and gods. In them, the Greeks embodied their ideas about physical perfection. The so-called archaic smile was used as a means of expression - a limited facial expression, a playful and not entirely natural smile. Therefore, the sculptures began to resemble a living person. Artists of that period sought to spiritualize the image and fill it with content. Realism was enhanced by bright coloring - the archaic sculptures that have come down to us have retained only traces of paint.
Sculpture of Ancient Greece in the Archaic period
The main theme in the art of the Greeks is, first of all, a man, represented in the form of a god, a hero, an athlete. Already at the beginning of the archaic, there is a short-term outbreak of gigantism in the depiction of a person at the end of the 7th century BC. e. on Phazos, Naxos, Delos. In the monuments of sculpture of the archaic, plasticity is growing, replacing the schematism inherent in the images of geometry. This feature appears in the bronze figurine of Apollo from Thebes, where the roundness of the shoulders, hips, and restrained ornamentation of the hair are noticeable. Peculiar monuments of the 7th century BC. e. there were so-called xoanons - images of deities performed in wood, the rarest copies of which were recently found in the Greek cities of Sicily.
In the middle of the 7th century BC. e. sculptors turn to marble, the most suitable material for the image human body. One of the first marble statues, found in the large religious center of the Greeks Delos, the statue of Artemis, is full of great power of influence. The image is simple and at the same time monumental and solemn. Symmetry appears in everything: the hair is divided into four rows of curls on the left and right, tightly pressed to the body of the hand. With the utmost conciseness of forms, the master achieves the impression of the calm imperiousness of a deity.
The desire to show in sculpture a beautiful, perfect man - whether he won the competition, whether he valiantly fell in battle for hometown, or strength and beauty similar to a deity - led to the appearance at the end of the 7th century of marble statues of naked youths - kouros. Muscular and strong, self-confident are presented by Polymedes of Argos Cleobis and Biton. The sculptors begin to depict the figure in motion, and the young men step forward with their left foot. The desire to express feelings in sculpture led to the appearance of the so-called archaic smile. Such a naive archaic smile touches the features of Hera, whose large head carved from limestone was found in Olympia.
The originality of artistic forms, characteristic of the workshops of various centers of Greece - Ionic, Doric, Attic - already in early centuries its existence becomes especially noticeable in the archaic era. In the Ionic workshops of the Balkan Peninsula. Asia Minor and the islands of the Aegean create images full of deep poetic power; people are contemplative, gentle, as if the harsh problems of life are alien to them. Their faces are trusting, open, captivating with their clarity. Such is the female head from Miletus. Almond-shaped elongated eyes, the pattern of thin lips, folded into an archaic smile, enchant.
In the monuments of archaic Asia Minor, the east, which lay nearby, sounded in a new way: a bright understanding of the beauty of the world, a Hellenic understanding and embodiment of nature and human feelings were revealed. Asia Minor and island sculptors of the 6th century BC. e. whose names were preserved more than from the 7th century, they took on difficult tasks, sometimes trying to show a figure in rapid movement. In the statue of Nike, daughter of the titan Pallas and Styx, found on Delos, the goddess of victory is shown running by the sculptor Archermus.
The craftsman from Samos owns a marble statue of Hera, holding in her left hand, apparently, a pomegranate - a symbol of marriage with Zeus. The monumentality of the monument is due not to its size, but to the integrity, compactness of the image, reminiscent of the trunk of a beautiful tree, or a slender column of a majestic temple.
IN male images, often called Apollos, in particular in a statue from the island of Melos, lyricism comes out with particular force. The young man stands with his head slightly bowed, his lips touched by a slight smile. Wavy hairstyle lines, soft outlines of the eyes and eyebrows contribute to the impression of thoughtfulness and contemplation.
The creations of the masters of the Doric centers are different. In the statue of Apollo from the Shadows, masculinity, determination, strong-willed character are emphasized. The contour lines are not as smooth as in the statue from Melos. Not contemplation, but activity is the theme of the work. The sculptor focuses on physical strength, shows broad shoulders, a thin waist, strong muscular legs. Everything in the statue is emphasized sharply: bulging, as if surprised eyes, a mouth folded into a conditional “archaic” smile.
The monuments of Boeotia are also peculiar. A limestone head of Apollo of Ptoy was found here, the rigidity of the lines reminiscent of works of wood carving. The features of the god are simple and naive, the lips are tightly compressed, the lines of the eyelids are straight, the strands of hair are monotonous. The eyes radiate the utmost purity of spirit. The joy and amazement of the first vision of the world shines in the face.
The art of archaic Athens flourished under Peisistratus. The sculptors of Attica are more restrained in decoration than the Ionians. Their works also differ from the Doric monuments, which emphasized in man physical strength. Attic masters are more inherent in the desire to convey spiritual world a person, and not just his external qualities - beauty, strength or feelings. Attic art already in the 6th century began to express not local peculiar, but general Greek ideals.
Found in the ruins the Athenian Acropolis marble statues of girls - kor - struck the world with preserved coloring: colored pupils and lips, bright clothes. The girls are shown in an elevated, festive mood. They are calm and concentrated, their eyes are all fixed straight ahead, but in each master they emphasized something subtly unique and beautiful. To create such painted sculptures, paints, ivory, gems, gold.
Sculptors of the 6th century also made large clay statues, similar to the seated Zeus of Paestum.
During the late archaic period, sculptors turned to complex plastic tasks, trying to show a person in action - riding a horse or bringing an animal to the altar. For example, in marble statue Moskhophoros depicts a Greek with a calf dutifully lying on his shoulders. The face of the Athenian is illuminated with a radiance of joy.
In the VI century BC. e. reliefs were widespread. Masters decorated them with temples, treasuries, tombstones or dedicatory slabs, which were placed in honor of a significant event and brought as a gift to a deity. The theme of death deeply disturbed the Greeks. Philosophers thought about it, sculptors carved tombstones in marble, poets expressed their feelings in verse.
The proportions of tall and narrow tombstones were dictated by their location and the nature of the relief; some, with inscriptions and beautiful rosettes, were crowned with acroteria, others ended with pediments. On some, there were single-tiered reliefs, on others, two-tiered reliefs: at the top, the figure of the deceased was carved, and at the bottom, he was represented on a horse in battle or hunting with a dog. Most often, the depicted were placed in a certain recess, as if on the eve of the temple. The works of the Peloponnesian masters (the gravestone of Chrysapha) differed both from the works of the Ionic school (steles from Asia Minor and from the islands of the Aegean Sea) and from expressive Attic monuments. originality art schools archaic Greece appeared quite distinctly in this genre as well.
In archaic sculpture, that plastic perfection was formed, which will permeate classical art. Heroic images of courageous youths - athletes, captivating statues of charming girls, majestic faces of the gods arose under the incisors of the masters. Sculptors interested in the movement of plastic forms, surface modeling, expressiveness of faces, composition sculptural groups, boldly took on complex tasks, the solution of which would only be possible for sculptors of later centuries.
Painting and vase painting in the Archaic period
Artists of the 7th-6th centuries BC. e. used various materials. They created their compositions on clay metopes, wooden boards (sacrifice scene from Sikyon), small clay tablets dedicated to the gods (Athens), walls of painted clay sarcophagi (Klazomena), on limestone and marble tombstones (the Lysia stele, the Sounion stele). But very few such monuments have been found. Drawings on vases subjected to firing are better preserved.
In the drawings on vases, artists of the 7th century BC. e. began to abundantly introduce plant motifs and plot scenes. The proximity of the Asia Minor East was expressed in the decorativeness and brilliance of the compositions, which made us call the style of vase painting of the 7th century BC. e. orientalizing, or carpet. Artfully perfect vessels were made in Crete, the islands of Delos, Melos, Rhodes and in the cities of Asia Minor, in particular Miletus. A major center for the production of vases in the 7th and early 6th centuries was the city of Corinth, and in the 6th century - Athens.
In the 7th century, the forms of vases become more diverse, but there is a noticeable tendency towards rounded contours. A similar increase in the richness of volumes occurred in sculpture and architecture. Thin wooden supports gave way to plump stone columns with entasis. The technique of drawing drawings on vases of the 7th century became more complicated, the artist's palette became richer. In addition to black varnish, we used White paint, purple of different tones and scratching to indicate details.
Apollo with the Muses and Artemis depicted on the Melian vessel are not shown as schematically as in geometric compositions. In the paintings of this time, the admiration of the masters for the bright colors of the world is noticeable. The drawings are so decorative and saturated with ornaments, like the Homeric hymns of that time with expressive epithets. There is less masculinity in them than in geometric scenes, but the lyrical principle is stronger. The nature of the compositions on the vases of this time is consonant with the poetry of Sappho.
In the elegance of patterns of palmettes, circles, squares, meanders, spiral tendrils, the aroma of stylized nature emerges, passing through the feeling of a decorator - a vase painter. Ornamentation, which is a distinctive feature of the drawings of this period, permeates the figured images and absorbs them, dissolves them in the melodious rhythms of their motives. The contours of people and animals are ornamental, the gaps between figures and objects are painstakingly filled with patterns.
The painting on the island vessels lies like a motley carpet. The surface of a juicy and puffy Rhodian jar, an oinochoe, is divided into friezes, stripes with animals standing out at regular intervals on them (ill. 37). Rhodes vases especially often depict animals grazing or calmly walking one after another, birds, sometimes real, but often fantastic - sphinxes, sirens with beautiful dynamic lines of elastic contours.
Doric features, not drowned out by oriental influences, are especially pronounced in southern Greece - Laconia. The shapes of the clay vases are reminiscent of the outlines of metal vessels with their sophistication of silhouettes. The style of the paintings is linear and graphic, at the same time far from the conventions of geometry. The manner of painting is different, it does not have the flexibility of the lines of Rhodes drawings. Warriors or hunters are often depicted on the vessels, there is a lot of action in the compositions and less ornamentation, the images are devoid of the cloudless bliss inherent in the drawings of island vases.
A major center for the production of vases in the 7th century was the trading city of Corinth, whose culture and art were strongly influenced by the East. Colorful paintings were created in his workshops, vessels of a bizarre shape in the form of a human head, an animal's muzzle, and an animal figurine were often made. Corinthian vases were often exported. A lot of pottery in the 7th century was supplied by Athens. The murals of Proto-Attic vases differ from those of Proto-Corinthian in their lesser decorativeness and greater development of the plot.
rare monuments pictorial art the end of the 7th century are clay metopes of the Temple of Apollo in Ferma. On one of them, the artist interpreted the flight of Perseus as a quick run, avoiding constraint, but here he also used many ornaments, framing the borders of the metope with rosettes and decorating the hero's tunic with them.
In the vase painting of the turn of the 7th-6th centuries, there are fewer images of ornaments, they are assigned only the role of framing. Interest in story scenes is growing. Accordingly, the color design is also simplified. The contour of the figure, which protrudes against the orange background of clay, is filled with black lacquer; purple and white paint are used less and less by the end of the 6th century.
In one of the early black-figure Corinthian paintings, which shows the scene of the departure of King Amphiaraus on his disastrous campaign against Thebes, a great graphic expressiveness is noticeable. The silhouettes of the figures reveal the drama of the situation and the nature of the characters: Amfiaray seems courageous, his wife Erifila is sinister, the sage sitting next to him is mourning. Placed between the main figures, small but careful images of birds, lizards, snakes, and a hedgehog make one recall the filling ornament of the vessels of the 7th century.
The vase paintings of Southern Greece differ from the Corinthian ones in their manner. Military themes sound harsher, tougher. In the scene where warriors are shown carrying fallen comrades from battle, the decorative effect is relegated to the background by the plot, the silhouette of the figures is not softened with white paint, the scratched lines denoting muscles are not flexible, as on Corinthian vases, but rigid. Hoplites are similar to kouros in archaic sculpture. They have the same broad shoulders and thick leg muscles, thin waist and narrow ankles.
Lyrical themes predominate in the drawings of the Ionian masters: there is more flexibility and grace in the character of the lines. At the bottom of the kilik, the artist depicted two large, widely spread branches of a tree and a bird-catcher. Smooth, melodious lines of branches and leaves seem to be swayed by the wind and are in good agreement with the spherical surface of the bottom and the circular design of the composition.
In the paintings of the Attic vase painters of the 6th century, attention is drawn primarily to the sublime harmony that permeates everything in the work - from the composition as a whole to the details of the image. Lyricism or heroism is invisibly present in the noble forms of ceramics and drawings. Whether the Athenian master Sophil depicts majestically marching gods or quickly and proudly racing horses in a competition, calm solemnity and harmony are embodied everywhere in his lines.
Exekius
In the third quarter of the 6th century BC. e. the largest master of black-figure vase painting, Ekzeky, created especially perfect and clear drawings, sometimes full of peace, sometimes tension. On one of the amphorae of Exekias or the master of his circle, Hercules defeating the Nemean lion and Athena and Iolaus helping him are depicted. On the beautiful hydria from the Hermitage close to Exekius, Hercules is shown fighting Triton, and standing side by side Nereus and Nereid. Exekius, however, is more skilled in compositions where the figures are calm. For him, not a colorful spot, as for the Corinthian masters, but the line is the main element of expressiveness. Subtle patterns scratched on black lacquer are of particular charm. The armor of warriors playing dice on the Vatican amphora is carefully decorated with ornaments, but the ornament no longer drowns out the action, it is assigned a subordinate role.
In the work of Exekias, themes appear where he refers to the mental suffering of a person. On an amphora from Bologna, the master depicts a hero Trojan War Ajax, who did not receive the armor of Patroclus and decided to commit suicide. Homer tells about his experiences through the mouth of Odysseus, who descended into the kingdom of Hades. Not only pathetic, but also terrible in the drawing of Exekias is the silhouette of a man diligently and busily preparing for death. Despair and sorrow are not expressed in the face of Ajax, they appear in the bends of the lines, in the outlines of the contours. The trunk of the palm tree is broken, its branches drooped, bent and the spear of the mighty hero with tragic fate. This is one of the most remarkable in terms of originality and complexity of the murals of the archaic period.
The crowning achievement of Exekias is the image on the bottom of the kylix of the god of wine, Dionysus, reclining in a boat. One of the ancient Homeric hymns tells about the transformation of Dionysus into dolphins by sea pirates who captured him:
“The middle wind blew the sail, the ropes stretched,
And miraculous things began to happen before them.
Sweet above all on a fast-moving ship everywhere
Suddenly fragrant wine murmured, and ambrosia
The smell has risen all around. The sailors looked on in amazement.
and avoiding cruel fate, hastily
The whole crowd from the ship galloped into the sacred sea
And they turned into dolphins. “.
Exekius shows around the ship the elastic bodies of flexible dolphins, a mast entwined with vines with heavy clusters of fruits, a white sail filled with wind. The sensation of the movement of the boat on the sea is created not only by the image of a huge sail - most of the dolphins are swimming in the same direction, and grape brushes, two of which are slightly deviated to the right, more on the side where the boat is sliding. The compositional mastery of Exekias reaches its peak here, when nothing can be taken away or added.
The craving for elegance led to the appearance in these years of master Tleson's kiliks, on the outer surface of which only one figure was depicted - a bird, some animal or a person. The paintings of Tleson are perceived as finely executed miniatures, in the laconicism of which lies a special sophistication.
