Hellenes(" Έλληνες). - For the first time with the name of the Hellenes - a small tribe that lived in southern Thessaly in the valley of the Enipeus, Apidan and other tributaries of Peneus - we meet at Homer (Il. II, 683, 684): E., together with the Achaeans and the Myrmidons, are mentioned here as subjects of Achilles, inhabiting the Hellas. In addition, we find the name of Hellas as a southern Thessalian region in several later parts of both Homeric poems (Il. IX, 395, 447, XVI, 595; Od. 1,340, IV, 726, XI, 496). Herodotus, Thucydides, Parian Marble, Apollodorus use these data of epic poetry about the geographic location of E.; only Aristotle, based on Il. XVI, 234-235, where the "priests of Dodona Zeus" are mentioned Selly, not washing their feet and sleeping on bare ground "and identifying the names of the Sells (other Hells) and the Hellenes, transfers ancient Hellas to Epirus. Based on the fact that Epirus Dodona was the center of the most ancient cult of the original Greek gods - Zeus and Dione, Ed. Meyer ("Geschichte des Altertums", II vol., Stuttgart,) believes that in the prehistoric period the Greeks who occupied Epirus were driven out from there to Thessaly and transferred with them to new lands and former tribal and regional names; it is clear that the one mentioned in Hesiod Hellopia and the Homeric Sells (Gells) are repeated in the Thessalian Hellenes and Hellas.Later genealogical poetry (starting with Hesiod) created the eponym of the Hellenic tribe of Hellenes, making him the son of Deucalion and Pyrrha, who survived the great local flood and were considered the ancestors of the Greek people.The same genealogical poetry created in the person of her brother Hellen, Amphiktyon, the eponym of Thermopylae-Delphic Amphictyony... From this we can draw a conclusion (Holm "History of Greece", I, p. 225 next; see also Beloch, "History of Greece", vol. I, pp. 236-217, M.,), that the Greeks recognized the close connection between the union of the Amphictyons and the name of E., especially since in the center of the peoples that were originally part of union, the Phthiotian Achaeans, identical with the ancient Hellenes, were geographically located. Thus, the members of the Amphictyony, linking themselves by origin with the Phthiotians, gradually got used to calling themselves Hellenes and spread this name throughout Northern and Central Greece, and the Dorians transferred it to the Peloponnese. In the 7th century BC, mainly in the east, the correlative concepts of barbarians and panhellenes arose: this last name was supplanted by the name of the Hellenes, which had already come into use, which united all the tribes that spoke Greek. language, with the exception of the Macedonians, who lived an isolated life. As a national name, the name E., according to our information, is found for the first time in Archilochus and in the Hesiodian Catalog; in addition, it is known that the organizers of the Olympic festival bore the name Hellanodiki already before 580 BC. . Aristotle and some representatives of Alexandrian literature mention another, in their opinion, the most ancient common ethnic name for the people - Γραιχοί (= graeci = Greeks), under which in historical times the inhabitants of E. were known to the Romans and which then passed through the Romans to all European peoples. In general, the question of the origin of the ethnic names of the Greek people is one of the controversial and unresolved to date.

The World History. Volume 1. Ancient World Yeager Oscar

Origin of the Hellenes

Origin of the Hellenes

Migration from Asia.

The main and initial event in the history of that part of the world, which is called by the ancient Semitic name Europe(midnight country), there was an endlessly long migration of peoples from Asia to it. The previous migration is covered with complete darkness: if there was a native population anywhere before this migration, it was very rare, stood at the lowest stage of development, and therefore was driven out by the migrants, enslaved, exterminated. This process of resettlement and stable settlement in new settlements began to take the form of a historical and rational manifestation of people's life, first of all on the Balkan Peninsula, and moreover, in its southern part, to which a bridge, as it were, was drawn from the Asian coast, in the form of an almost continuous series of islands. . Really. Sporadic And Cycladic the islands lie so close to each other that they seem to lure the migrant, attract, hold, show him the way forward. The Romans named the inhabitants of the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula and the islands belonging to it Greeks(graeci); they themselves called themselves subsequently by one common name - Hellenes. But they adopted this common name already at a rather late epoch in their historical life, when they formed a whole people in their new homeland.

Drawing on an archaic Greek black-figure vessel from the 8th century. BC e. Oriental features are felt in the style of painting.

These inhabitants, who moved to the Balkan Peninsula, belonged to Aryan tribe, as is positively proved by comparative linguistics. The same science explains, in general terms, the extent of the culture they brought from their eastern ancestral home. The circle of their beliefs included the god of light - Zeus, or Diy, the god of the all-embracing vault of heaven - Uranus, the goddess of the earth Gaia, the ambassador of the gods - Hermes and several more naive religious personifications who embodied the forces of nature. In the field of everyday life, they knew the most necessary household utensils and agricultural tools, the most common domestic animals of the temperate zone - a bull, a horse, a sheep, a dog, a goose; they were characterized by the concept of settled life, a solid dwelling, a house, in contrast to the portable tent of a nomad; finally, they already possessed a highly developed language, indicating a fairly high degree of development. This is what these settlers came out with from the old places of settlement and what they brought with them to Europe.

Their resettlement was completely arbitrary, led by no one, having no definite purpose and plan. It was carried out, no doubt, like the European evictions to America that are taking place at the present time, that is, they were resettled by families, crowds, of which for the most part, after a long time, separate clans and tribes formed in the new fatherland. In this migration, as in the modern migration to America, it was not the rich and noble who took part, and not the lowest stratum of the population, the least mobile; the most energetic part of the poor was resettled, which, when evicted, is counting on an improvement in their lot.

country nature

The territory chosen for the settlement, they found not completely empty and deserted; they met there the primitive population, which they later called Pelasgians. Among the ancient names of various tracts of this territory, there are many bearing the imprint of Semitic origin, and it can be assumed that some parts of the territory were inhabited by Semitic tribes. Those settlers who had to enter the Balkan Peninsula from the north stumbled upon a different kind of population there, and things did not go off without a fight everywhere. But nothing is known about this, and one can only assume that the original Pelasgian population of the territory was not numerous. The new settlers, apparently, were looking not for pastures and not for markets, but for places where they could firmly settle down, and the area south of Olympus, although not particularly rich in large and fruitful plains, seemed to them especially attractive. From the northwest to the southeast, the Pindus mountain range stretches along the entire peninsula with peaks up to 2.5 thousand meters, with passages of 1600–1800 meters; he makes up the watershed between the Aegean and Adriatic seas. From its heights, facing south, on the left side to the east, a fruitful plain with a beautiful river is visible - a country that later received the name Thessaly; to the west - a country cut by mountain ranges parallel to Pindu - this Epirus with its wooded heights. Further, at 49 ° N. sh. extends the country, later called Hellas - Central Greece proper. This country, although it has mountainous and rather wild areas in it, and in the middle of it rises the two-peak Parnassus, towering 2460 meters, was nevertheless very attractive in appearance; clear sky, rarely raining, much variety in the general appearance of the area, a little further away - a vast plain with a lake in the middle, abounding in fish - this is the later Boeotia; the mountains were everywhere more abundantly covered with forest at that time than later; rivers are few and shallow; to the west everywhere to the sea - at hand; the southern part is a mountainous peninsula, almost completely separated by water from the rest of Greece - this Peloponnese. This whole country, mountainous, with sharp changes in climate, has something in itself that awakens energy and tempers strength, and most importantly, by the very structure of its surface, it favors the formation of separate small communities, completely closed, and thereby contributes to the development in them of an ardent love for native corner. In one respect, the country has really incomparable advantages: the entire eastern coast of the peninsula is extremely winding, it has at least five large bays and, moreover, with many branches - therefore, it is available everywhere, and the abundance of the purple mollusk, which was highly valued at that time, in some bays and straits ( for example, Euboean and Saronic), and in other areas, the abundance of ship timber and mineral wealth already very early began to attract foreigners here. But foreigners could never penetrate far into the interior of the country, because, by the very nature of the terrain, it was easy to defend everywhere from external invasion.

The image of the navy on the blade of a bronze sword.

The first Greek civilizations were famous for their militancy and knowledge of maritime affairs, for which in Egypt these tribes received the common name "peoples of the sea." 3rd century BC e.

Phoenician influence

However, at that distant time, the first settlements of the Aryan tribe on the Balkan Peninsula were only one the people could interfere with the natural growth and development of the Aryans, namely - Phoenicians; but they did not even think of colonization on a large scale. Their influence, however, was very significant and, generally speaking, even beneficent; according to legend, the founder of one of the Greek cities, the city of Thebes, was the Phoenician Cadmus, and this name really bears a Semitic imprint and means "man from the East." Therefore, it can be assumed that there was a time when the Phoenician element was predominant among the population. He delivered to the Aryan population a precious gift - the letters that this mobile and resourceful people, gradually developing from the Egyptian basis, turned into the present. sound letter with a separate sign for each individual sound - in alphabet. Of course, in this form, writing served as a powerful tool for the further success of the development of the Aryan tribe. Both the religious ideas and the rites of the Phoenicians also had some influence, which is not difficult to recognize in individual deities of a later time, for example, in Aphrodite, in Hercules; in them it is impossible not to see Astarte and Baal-Melkart of the Phoenician beliefs. But even in this area, the Phoenician influence did not penetrate deeply. It only excited, but did not completely master, and this was most clearly manifested in the language, which subsequently retained and adopted only a very small number of words of a Semitic nature, and then mainly in the form of trade terms. The Egyptian influence, about which legends have also been preserved, was, of course, even weaker than the Phoenician.

The formation of the Hellenic nation

These contacts with an alien element were important precisely because they revealed to the newcomer Aryan population its peculiar character, the features of its way of life, brought them to the awareness of these features and thereby contributed to their further independent development. The active spiritual life of the Aryan people, on the soil of their new homeland, is already evidenced by the endless multitude of myths about gods and heroes, in which creative fantasy is shown, restrained by reason, and not vague and unbridled according to the Eastern model. These myths are a distant echo of those great upheavals that gave the country its final form and are known as " wanderings of the Dorians.

Dorian wandering and its influence

This era of migrations is usually dated to 1104 BC. e., of course, completely arbitrary, because events of this kind can never be definitely indicated neither their beginning nor their end. The external course of these migrations of peoples in a small space is presented as follows: the Thessalian tribe, settled in Epirus between the Adriatic Sea and the ancient sanctuary of the Dodonic oracle, crossed the Pindus and took possession of a fertile country extending to the sea in the east of this ridge; this country the tribe gave its name. One of the tribes pressed by these Thessalians reached south and defeated the Minians at Orchomenus and the Cadmeans at Thebes. In connection with these movements, or even earlier, their third people, the Dorians, who had settled on the southern slope of Olympus, also moved south, conquered a small mountainous region between Pindus and Eta - Doridu, but he was not satisfied with it, because it seemed cramped to this numerous and warlike people, and therefore he settled the mountainous peninsula even further south Peloponnese(i.e. the island of Pelops). According to legend, this capture was justified by some rights of the Dorian princes to Argolis, a region in the Peloponnese, rights that had passed to them from their ancestor, Hercules. Under the command of three leaders, reinforced along the way by Aetolian crowds, they invaded the Peloponnese. The Aetolians settled in the northeast of the peninsula on the plains and hills of Elis; three separate crowds of Dorians, during a certain period of time, take possession of the rest of the peninsula, except for the mountainous country of Arcadia lying in the center of its mountainous country, and thus found three Dorian communities - Argolis, Laconia, Messinia, with some admixture of the Achaean tribe conquered by the Dorians, who originally lived here. Both the winners and the vanquished - two different tribes, not two different peoples - formed here some semblance of a small state. Part of the Achaeans in Laconia, who did not like their enslavement, rushed to the Ionian settlements on the northeastern coast of the Peloponnese near the Gulf of Corinth. The Ionians ousted from here settled on the eastern outskirts of Central Greece, in Attica. Shortly thereafter, the Dorians tried to move north and penetrate Attica, but this attempt failed, and they had to be content with the Peloponnese. But Attica, not particularly fertile, could not bear too much overcrowding. This led to new evictions across the Aegean Sea, into Asia Minor. The settlers occupied the middle strip of the coast there and founded a certain number of cities - Miletus, Miunt, Priene, Ephesus, Colophon, Lebedos, Erythra, Theos, Klazomena, and fellow tribesmen began to gather for annual festivities on one of the Cyclades islands, Delos, which the legends of the Hellenes indicate as the birthplace of the solar god Apollo. The shores to the south of those occupied by the Ionians, as well as the southern islands of Rhodes and Crete, were settled by settlers of the Dorian tribe; areas to the north - Achaeans and others. The name itself aeolis this area received precisely from the diversity and diversity of its population, for which the island of Lesbos was also a well-known collection point.

During this period of stubborn tribal struggle, which laid the foundation for the subsequent structure of individual states of Greece, the spirit of the Hellenes found expression in heroic songs - this is the first flower of Greek poetry, and this poetry is already very early, in the X-IX centuries. BC e., reached its highest degree of development in Homer, who managed to create two great epic works from separate songs. In one of them he sang the wrath of Achilles and its consequences, in the other - the return of Odysseus home from distant wanderings, and in both of these works he brilliantly embodied and expressed all the youthful freshness of the distant heroic period of Greek life.

Homer. Late antique bust.

The original is in the Capitoline Museum.

Nothing is known about his personal life; only his name is preserved reliably. Several significant cities of the Greek world disputed with each other the honor of being called the birthplace of Homer. Many can be confused by the often used expression “people's poet” in relation to Homer, and yet his poetic works were already created, apparently, for a select, noble public, for gentlemen, so to speak. He is perfectly familiar with all aspects of the life of this upper class, whether he describes hunting or martial arts, a helmet or any other part of the weapon, a subtle connoisseur of business is visible in everything. With amazing skill and knowledge, based on keen observation, he draws individual characters from this higher circle.

The throne room of the palace in Pylos, the capital of the legendary Homeric king Nestor.

Modern reconstruction

But this upper class, described by Homer, was not at all a closed caste; at the head of this estate was the king, who ruled a small area in which he was the main landowner. Below this class was a layer of free farmers or artisans, who for a time turned into warriors, and they all had their own common cause, common interests.

Mycenae, the legendary capital of King Agamemnon, reconstruction of the original view and plan of the fortress:

A. Lion Gate; V. barn; C. wall supporting the terrace; D. platform leading to the palace; E. circle of graves found by Schliemann; F. palace: 1 - entrance; 2 - room for guards; 3 - entrance to the propylaea; 4 - western portal; 5 - northern corridor: 6 - southern corridor; 7 - western passage; 8 - large yard; 9 - staircase; 10 - throne room; 11 - reception hall: 12–14 - portico, large reception hall, megaron: G. foundation of the Greek sanctuary; N. back entrance.

Lion Gate at Mycenae.

The courtyard of the palace at Mycenae. Modern reconstruction.

An important feature of life during this time is the absence of a closely knit class, there is no separate class of priests; different strata of the people were still in close contact with each other and understood each other, which is why these poetic works, even if they were originally intended for the upper class, soon became the property of the whole people as the true fruit of their self-consciousness. Homer learned from his people the ability to curb and artistically moderate his imagination, just as he inherited from him the tales of his gods and heroes; but, on the other hand, he managed to clothe these legends in such a vivid artistic form that he forever left the stamp of his personal genius on them.

It can be said that since the time of Homer, the Greek people began to more clearly and distinctly imagine their gods in the form of separate, isolated personalities, in the form of certain beings. The chambers of the gods on the impregnable peak of Olympus, the highest of the gods Zeus, the great deities closest to him - his wife Hera, proud, passionate, quarrelsome; the dark-haired god of the seas Poseidon, who wears the earth and shakes it; god of the underworld Hades; Hermes is the ambassador of the gods; Ares; Aphrodite; Demeter; Apollo; Artemis; Athena; god of fire Hephaestus; a motley crowd of gods and spirits of the depths of the sea and mountains, springs, rivers and trees - thanks to Homer, this whole world was embodied in living, individual forms that were easily assimilated by the people's imagination and easily clothed by poets and artists emerging from the people in tangible forms. And everything that has been said applies not only to religious ideas, to views on the world of the gods ... And Homer's poetry definitely characterizes people in the same way, and, opposing characters, draws poetic images - a noble youth, a royal husband, an experienced old man - moreover, in such a way that these human images: Achilles, Agamemnon, Nestor, Diomedes, Odysseus forever remained the property of the Hellenes, as well as their deities.

Warriors of the Mycenaean time. Reconstruction by M. V. Gorelik.

Something like this should have looked like the heroes of the Homeric epic. From left to right: a warrior in the armor of a charioteer (according to a find from Mycenae); infantryman (according to the drawing on the vase); cavalryman (according to the mural from the Pylos Palace)

The domed tomb in Mycenae, excavated by Schliemann and called by him "the tomb of the Atrids"

Such a literary heritage of the whole people, which the Iliad and the Odyssey became in a short time for the Greeks, before Homer, as far as we know, has never happened anywhere else. It should not be forgotten that these works, predominantly transmitted orally, were spoken and not read, which is why it seems that the freshness of living speech is still heard and felt in them.

position of the lower classes of society. Hesiod

It should not be forgotten that poetry is not reality, and that the reality of that distant era was very harsh for most of those who were neither kings nor nobles. Force then replaced law: little people lived poorly even where the kings treated their subjects with paternal gentleness, and the nobles stood up for their people. The common man endangered his life in a war that was fought because of a matter that did not directly and personally concern him. If he was kidnapped everywhere by a sea robber who lay in wait, he died a slave in a foreign land and he could not return to his homeland. This reality, in relation to the life of ordinary people, was described by another poet, Hesiod - the exact opposite of Homer. This poet lived in a Boeotian village at the foot of Helikon, and his Works and Days instructed the farmer how he should act when sowing and reaping, how he should cover his ears from the cold wind and harmful morning mists.

Vase with warriors. Mycenae XIV-XVI1I centuries. BC e.

Harvest Festival. Image from a black-figure vessel of the 7th century. BC e.

He passionately rebels against all noble people, complains about them, arguing that in that Iron Age no justice could be found against them, and very aptly compares them, in relation to the lower stratum of the population, with a kite that carries off a nightingale in its claws.

But no matter how grounded these complaints were, nevertheless, a great step forward was already made in the fact that as a result of all these movements and wars, certain states were formed everywhere with a small territory, urban centers, states with certain, albeit severe for the lower stratum, legal orders.

Greece in the 7th–6th centuries BC e.

Of these, in the European part of the Hellenic world, which was given the opportunity for quite a long time to develop freely, without any external, foreign influence, two states rose to the greatest importance: Sparta in the Peloponnese and Athens in Central Greece.

Depiction of plowing and sowing on a black-figure vase from Vulci. 7th century BC e.

The general picture of the life of the Hellenes around 500 BC. e Hellenic colonization Thus a new state was formed in central Greece, in a lively and convenient place for relations with neighboring countries, which grew out of a completely different foundation than Sparta, and quickly moved along the path

Book III HISTORY OF THE HELLENES AFTER THE VICTORY AT THE PLATES Zeus Otricolius. antique marble