The culture of Ancient Greece has existed since the 28th century. BC. and until the middle of the II century. BC. It is also called ancient - to distinguish it from other ancient cultures, and Ancient Greece itself - Hellas, since the Greeks themselves called their country that. Ancient Greek culture reached its highest rise and flourishing in the 5th-4th centuries. BC, becoming an exceptional, unique and largely unsurpassed phenomenon in the history of world culture.
The heyday of the culture of Ancient Hellas turned out to be so amazing that it still causes deep admiration and gives reason to talk about the real mystery of the “Greek miracle”. The essence of this miracle consists primarily in the fact that only the Greek people, almost simultaneously and in almost all areas of culture, managed to reach unprecedented heights. No other nation, before or since, has been able to do anything like it.
Giving such a high assessment of the achievements of the Hellenes, it should be clarified that they borrowed a lot from the Egyptians and Babylonians, which was facilitated by the Greek cities of Asia Minor - Miletus, Ephesus, Halicarnassus, which served as a kind of windows open to the East. However, they used everything borrowed rather as source material, bringing it to classical forms and true perfection.
And if the Greeks were not the first, then they were the best, and to such an extent that in many respects they remain so today. The second clarification concerns the fact that in the field of economics and material production, the successes of the Hellenes may not have been so impressive. However, here, too, they were not only not inferior to some of their contemporaries, but also surpassed them, as evidenced by the victories in the Persian wars, where they acted not so much in numbers as in skill and intelligence. True, in military terms, Athens - the cradle of democracy - was inferior to Sparta, where the whole way of life was military. As for other areas of public life and especially spiritual culture, in all this the Greeks knew no equal.
Hellas has become the birthplace of all modern forms of state and government, and above all - the republic and democracy, the highest flowering of which fell on the years of the reign of Pericles (443-429 BC). For the first time in Greece Two distinct types of work stand out physical and mental, the first of which was considered unworthy of a person and was the lot of a forced slave, while the second was the only one worthy of a free person.
Although city-states also existed in other ancient civilizations, it was the Greeks who had this type of social organization, which adopted policy form, with the greatest force showed all its advantages. The Greeks successfully combined public and private ownership, collective and individual interest. Similarly, they connected the aristocracy with the republic by spreading the values of the aristocratic ethic - adversarial principle, the desire to be the first and the best, achieving this in an open and honest struggle - on all citizens of the policy.
Competitiveness was the basis of the whole way of life of the Hellenes, it permeated all its spheres, whether Olympic Games, a dispute, a battlefield or a theatrical stage, when several authors took part in the festive performances, bringing their plays to the audience, from which the best one was then chosen.
Polis democracy, excluding despotic power, allowed the Greeks to fully enjoy the spirit freedom which was the highest value for them. For her sake, they were ready to die. They viewed slavery with deep contempt. This is evidenced by the well-known myth of Prometheus, who did not want to be in the position of a slave even to Zeus himself, the main deity of the Hellenes, and paid for his freedom with martyrdom.
Lifestyle of the ancient Greeks cannot be imagined without an understanding of the place occupied by them a game. They loved the game. That is why they are called real children. However, the game for them was not just fun or a way to kill time. It permeated all activities, including the most serious ones. The game beginning helped the Greeks move away from the prose of life and rough pragmatism. The game led to the fact that they received pleasure and enjoyment from any business.
The way of life of the Hellenes was also determined by such values as truth, beauty and goodness that were in close association. The Greeks had a special concept of "kalokagatia", which meant "beautiful-kind". "Truth" in their understanding was approaching what the Russian word "truth-justice" means, i.e. it went beyond the boundaries of "truth-truth", correct knowledge, and acquired a moral value dimension.
Equally important to the Greeks measure, which was inextricably linked with proportionality, moderation, harmony and order. From Democritus, the well-known maxim has come down to us: "Adequate measure in everything is beautiful." The inscription above the entrance to the temple of Apollo at Delphi called for: "Nothing too much." Therefore, the Greeks, on the one hand, considered own an inalienable attribute of a person: along with the loss of property, the Hellenes lost all civil and political rights, ceasing to be a free person. At the same time, the pursuit of wealth was condemned. This feature was also observed in architecture, the Greeks did not create, like the Egyptians, gigantic structures, their buildings were commensurate with the possibilities of human perception, they did not suppress a person.
The ideal of the Greeks was a harmoniously developed, free person, beautiful in soul and body. The formation of such a person was provided by a thoughtful system of education and upbringing. which included two directions - "gymnastic" and "musical". The goal of the first was physical perfection. Its peak was participation in the Olympic Games, the winners of which were surrounded by glory and honor. At the time of the Olympic Games, all wars ceased. The musical, or humanitarian, direction involved teaching all kinds of arts, mastering scientific disciplines and philosophy, including rhetoric, i.e. the ability to speak beautifully, to conduct a dialogue and an argument. Pse types of education rested on the principle of competition.
All this has done Greek polis exceptional, unique phenomenon in the history of mankind. The Hellenes perceived the policy as the highest good, not imagining their life outside its framework, they were its true patriots.
True, pride in their polis and patriotism contributed to the formation of Greek cultural ethnocentrism, due to which the Hellenes called their neighboring peoples "barbarians", looked down on them. Nevertheless, it was precisely such a policy that gave the Greeks everything they needed to show unprecedented originality in all areas of culture, to create everything that constitutes the “Greek miracle”.
In almost all areas, the Greeks put forward the "founding fathers" who laid the foundation for their modern forms. First of all, it concerns philosophy. The Greeks were the first to create a modern form of philosophy, separating it from religion and mythology, starting to explain the world from itself, without resorting to the help of the gods, based on the primary elements, which for them were water, earth, air, fire.
The first Greek philosopher was Thales, for whom water was the basis of all things. The peaks of Greek philosophy were Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. The transition from a religious-mythological view of the world to a philosophical understanding of it meant a fundamental change in the development of the human mind. At the same time, philosophy became modern both in terms of the method - scientific and rational, and in the way of thinking, based on logic and proof. The Greek word "philosophy" has entered almost all languages.
The same can be said about other sciences and, first of all, about mathematics. Pythagoras, Euclid and Archimedes are the founders of both mathematics itself and the main mathematical disciplines - geometry, mechanics, optics, hydrostatics. IN astronomy Aristarchus of Samos was the first to express the idea of heliocentrism, according to which the Earth moves around the fixed Sun. Hippocrates became the founder of modern clinical medicine, Herodotus is rightfully considered the father stories like science. Aristotle's "Poetics" is the first fundamental work that no modern art theorist can bypass.
Approximately the same situation is observed in the field of art. Almost all types and genres of contemporary art were born in Ancient Hellas, and many of them reached the classical forms and the highest level. The latter applies primarily to sculpture, where the Greeks are rightly given the palm. It is represented by a whole galaxy of great masters, led by Phidias.
This equally applies to literature and its genres - epic, poetry. The Greek tragedy, which has reached the highest level, deserves special mention. Many Greek tragedies are still on stage today. Born in Greece order architecture, which has also reached a high level of development. It should be emphasized that art was of great importance in the life of the Greeks. They wanted not only to create, but also to live according to the laws of beauty. The Greeks were the first to feel the need to fill all spheres of human life with high art. They quite consciously strove for the aestheticization of life, for comprehending the "art of existence", in order to make a work of art out of their lives.
The ancient Greeks showed exceptional originality in religion. Outwardly, their religious and mythological ideas and cults are not too different from others. Initially, the growing array of Greek gods was quite chaotic and conflicted. Then, after a long struggle, the Olympian gods of the third generation are approved, between which a relatively stable hierarchy is established.
Zeus becomes the supreme deity - the lord of the sky, thunder and lightning. The second after him is Apollo - the patron of all arts, the god of healers and a bright, calm beginning in nature. Apollo's sister Artemis was the goddess of the hunt and the patroness of youth. An equally important place was occupied by Dionysus (Bacchus) - the god of the productive, violent forces of nature, viticulture and winemaking. Many rituals and merry festivities were associated with his cult - Dionysia and Bacchanalia. The god of the sun was Gelios (Helium).
The goddess of wisdom, Athena, who was born from the head of Zeus, enjoyed special reverence among the Hellenes. Her constant companion was the goddess of victory, Nike. The owl was the symbol of Athena's wisdom. No less attention was attracted by the goddess of love and beauty Aphrodite, who was born from sea foam. Demeter was the goddess of agriculture and fertility. Apparently, the greatest number of duties were within the competence of Hermes: he was the messenger of the Olympic gods, the god of trade, profit and material wealth, the patron of deceivers and thieves, shepherds and travelers, orators and athletes. He also escorted the souls of the dead to the underworld. into the domain of the god Hades (Hades, Pluto).
In addition to those named, the Greeks had many other gods. They liked to invent new gods, and they did it with passion. In Athens, they even set up an altar with a dedication: "to an unknown god." However, in inventing the gods, the Hellenes were not very original. This has been observed in other nations as well. Their real originality lay in the way they treated their gods.
At the heart of the religious ideas of the Greeks there was no idea of the omnipotence of the gods. They believed that the world is governed not so much by divine will as by natural laws. At the same time, over the whole world, all the gods and people soars irresistible rock whose prejudice even the gods cannot change. Fatal fate is not subject to anyone, so the Greek gods are closer to people than to supernatural forces.
Unlike the gods of other peoples, they are anthropomorphic, although in the distant past the Greeks also had zoomorphic deities. Some Greek philosophers claimed that people themselves invented gods in their own image, that if the animals would decide to do the same, their gods would be like themselves.
The smooth and most significant difference between gods and people was that they were immortal. The second difference was that they were also beautiful, although not all of them: Hephaestus, for example, was lame. However, their divine beauty was considered quite achievable for a person. In all other respects, the world of the gods was similar to the world of people. The gods suffered and rejoiced, loved and were jealous, quarreled among themselves, harmed and took revenge on each other, etc. The Greeks did not identify, but did not draw an insurmountable line between people and gods. mediators between them were heroes, who were born from the marriage of a god with an earthly woman and who, for their exploits, could be introduced to the world of the gods.
The proximity between man and God had a significant impact on the religious consciousness and practice of the Hellenes. They believed their gods, worshiped them, built temples for them and made sacrifices. But they did not have blind admiration, trepidation, and even less fanaticism. We can say that long before Christianity, the Greeks already adhered to the well-known Christian commandment: "Do not make yourself an idol." The Greeks could afford to be critical of the gods. Moreover, they often challenged them. A vivid example of this is the same myth about Prometheus, who daringly challenged the gods, stealing fire from them and giving it to people.
If other peoples deified their kings and rulers, then the Greeks excluded such a thing. The leader of the Athenian democracy, Pericles, under which it reached its highest point, had nothing else at its disposal to convince his fellow citizens of the correctness of his point of view, except for an outstanding mind, arguments, oratory and eloquence.
Has a special uniqueness Greek mythology. Everything that happens in it is as human as the gods themselves, which are described in Greek myths. Along with the gods, a significant place in the myths is occupied by the deeds and exploits of the "god-like heroes", who are often the main actors in the narrated events. In Greek mythology, mysticism is practically absent, mysterious, supernatural forces are not very important. The main thing in it is artistic imagery and poetry, the game principle. Greek mythology is much closer to art than to religion. That is why it formed the foundation of great Greek art. For the same reason, Hegel called the Greek religion "the religion of beauty."
Greek mythology, like all Greek culture, contributed to the glorification and exaltation not so much of the gods as of man. It is in the face of the Hellenes that man first begins to realize his boundless powers and possibilities. Sophocles remarks on this: “There are many great forces in the world. But there is nothing stronger than man in nature.” Even more meaningful are the words of Archimedes: "Give me a point of support - and I will turn the whole world upside down." In all this, the future European, the transformer and conqueror of nature, is already quite visible.
The evolution of ancient Greek culture
Preclassic periods
In the evolution of the culture of ancient Greece, they usually distinguish five periods:
- Aegean culture (2800-1100 BC).
- Homeric period (XI-IX centuries BC).
- The period of archaic culture (VIII-VI centuries BC).
- Classical period (V-IV centuries BC).
- The era of Hellenism (323-146 BC).
Aegean culture
Aegean culture often called Crete-Mycenaean, while considering the island of Crete and Mycenae as its main centers. It is also called the Minoan culture, after the legendary king Minos, under whom the island of Crete, which occupied a leading position in the region, reached its highest power.
At the end of the III millennium BC. in the south of the Balkan Peninsula. In the Peloponnese and the island of Crete, early class societies were formed and the first centers of statehood arose. This process was somewhat faster on the island of Crete, where by the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. the first four states appeared with palace centers in Knossos, Phaistos, Mallia and Kato-Zakro. Given the special role of palaces, the resulting civilization is sometimes called "palace".
economic basis Cretan civilization was agriculture, which primarily grew bread, grapes and olives. Animal husbandry also played an important role. Crafts reached a high level, especially bronze smelting. Ceramic production also developed successfully.
The most famous monument of Cretan culture was the Palace of Knossos, which went down in history under the name "Labyrinth", of which only the first floor has survived. The palace was a grandiose multi-storey building, which included 300 rooms on a common platform, which occupied more than 1 hectare. It was provided with an excellent water supply and sewerage system and had terracotta baths. The palace was simultaneously a religious, administrative and commercial center, it housed craft workshops. The myth of Theseus and the Minotaur is associated with him.
reached a high level in Crete sculpture small forms. In the cache of the Palace of Knossos, statuettes of goddesses with snakes in their hands were found, which are full of grace, grace and femininity. The best achievement of Cretan art is painting, as evidenced by the surviving fragments of the murals of Knossos and other palaces. As an example, one can point to such bright, colorful and juicy drawings as "The Flower Picker", "The Cat Waiting for the Pheasant", "Playing with the Bull".
The highest flowering of Cretan civilization and culture falls on the XVI-XV centuries. BC, especially during the reign of King Minos. However, at the end of the XV century. BC. flourishing civilization and culture suddenly perish. The cause of the disaster, most likely, was a volcanic eruption.
Emerging in the south of the Balkans part of the Aegean culture and civilization was close to Cretan. She also rested on the centers-palaces that developed in Mycenae, Tiryns, Athens, Nilose, Thebes. However, these palaces differed markedly from the Cretan ones: they were powerful citadels-fortresses surrounded by high (more than 7 m) and thick (more than 4.5 m) walls. At the same time, this part of the Aegean culture can be considered more Greek, since it was here, to the south of the Balkans, in the 3rd millennium BC. came the actual Greek tribes - the Achaeans and the Danaans. Due to the special role of the Achaeans, this culture and civilization is often called Achaean. Each center-dvorep was an independent state; there were a variety of relationships between them, including contradictions and conflicts. Sometimes they united in an alliance - as was done for the march on Troy. Hegemony among them more often belonged to the Mycenae.
As in Crete, the basis economy Achaean civilization consisted of agriculture and cattle breeding. The owner of the land was the palace, and the whole economy had a palace character. It included all kinds of workshops in which agricultural products were processed, metals were melted, fabrics were woven and clothes were sewn, tools and military equipment were made.
The earliest monuments of the Achaean culture were of a cult, funeral nature. These include, first of all, the so-called "shaft tombs", hollowed out in the rocks, where many beautiful items made of gold, silver, ivory, as well as a huge amount of weapons, have been preserved. Golden funeral masks of Achaean rulers were also found here. Later (XV-XIIJ centuries BC), the Achaeans build more grandiose mortuary structures - "dome tombs", one of which - "Agamemnon's tomb" - included several rooms.
A magnificent monument to the secular architecture was the Mycenaean palace, decorated with columns and frescoes. Also reached a high level painting, as evidenced by the paintings of the surviving walls of Mycenaean and other palaces. Among the most striking examples of murals are the frescoes "Lady with a Necklace", "Fighting Boys", as well as images of hunting and battle scenes, stylized animals - monkeys, antelopes.
The apogee of the culture of Achaean Greece falls on the 15th-13th centuries. BC, but by the end of the XIII century. BC. it begins to decline, and during the XII century. BC. all palaces are destroyed. The most likely cause of death was the invasion of the northern peoples, among whom were the Dorian Greeks, but the exact causes of the disaster have not been established.
Homeric period
Period XI-IX centuries. BC. in the history of Greece it is customary to call Homeric. since the main sources of information about him are the famous poems " Iliad" And "Odyssey". It is also called "Dorian" - referring to the special role of the Dorian tribes in the conquest of Achaean Greece.
It should be noted that the information from the Homeric poems cannot be considered completely reliable and accurate, because they actually turned out to be mixed narratives about three different eras: the final stage of the Achaean era, when the campaign against Troy was made (XIII century BC); Dorian period (XI-IX centuries BC); early archaic, when Homer himself lived and worked (VIII century BC). To this we must add the fiction, hyperbolization and exaggeration, temporary and other confusions, which are characteristic of epic works, and so on.
Nevertheless, based on the content of the Homeric poems and the data of archaeological excavations, we can assume that from the point of view of civilization and material culture, the Dorian period meant a certain gap in continuity between eras and even a rollback, since some elements of the already achieved level of civilization were lost.
In particular, was lost statehood, as well as the urban, or palace way of life, writing. These elements of Greek civilization were actually born anew. At the same time, emerged and became widespread the use of iron contributed to the accelerated development of civilization. The main occupation of the Dorians was still agriculture and cattle breeding. Horticulture and winemaking developed successfully, and olives remained the leading crop. Trade retained its place, where cattle acted as a "general equivalent". Although the rural patriarchal community was the main form of organization of life, the future urban policy was already emerging in its depths.
Concerning spiritual culture, here the continuity was preserved. This is convincingly evidenced by the Homeric poems, from which it is clear that the mythology of the Achaeans, which forms the basis of spiritual life, remained the same. Judging by the poems, there was a further spread of the myth as a special form of consciousness and perception of the surrounding world. There was also an ordering of Greek mythology, which acquired more and more complete, perfect forms.
Period of archaic culture
Archaic period (VIII -VI centuries BC) became a time of rapid and intensive development of Ancient Greece, during which all the necessary conditions and prerequisites for the subsequent amazing take-off and flourishing were created. Profound changes are taking place in almost every area of life. For three centuries, ancient society made the transition from the village to the city, from tribal and patriarchal relations to relations of classical slavery.
The city-state, the Greek policy becomes the main form of socio-political organization of social life. Society, as it were, tries all possible forms of government and government - monarchy, tyranny, oligarchy, aristocratic and democratic republics.
The intensive development of agriculture leads to the release of people, which contributes to the growth of handicrafts. Since this does not solve the "employment problem", the colonization of near and far territories, which began in the Achaean period, is intensifying, as a result of which Greece is growing territorially to an impressive size. Economic progress contributes to the expansion of the market and trade, based on the emerging money circulation system. Started coinage speeds up these processes.
Even more impressive successes and achievements take place in spiritual culture. An exceptional role in its development was played by the creation alphabetic writing, which became the greatest achievement of the culture of archaic Greece. It was developed on the basis of the Phoenician script and is distinguished by its amazing simplicity and accessibility, which made it possible to create an extremely effective education system, thanks to which there were no illiterates in ancient Greece, which was also a huge achievement.
During the archaic period, the main ethics and values ancient society, in which the affirming sense of collectivism is combined with an agonistic (competitive) beginning, with the assertion of the rights of the individual and the individual, the spirit of freedom. A special place is occupied by patriotism and citizenship. Protecting one's policy is perceived as the highest virtue of a citizen. During this period, the ideal of a person is also born, in which the spirit and body are in harmony.
The embodiment of this ideal was facilitated by the appearance in 776 BC. Olympic Games. They were held every four years in the city of Olympia and lasted five days, during which the "sacred peace" was observed, stopping all hostilities. The winner of the games enjoyed great honor and had significant social privileges (tax exemption, life pension, permanent places in the theater and on holidays). The one who won the games three times ordered his statue from the famous sculptor and placed it in the sacred grove that surrounded the main shrine of the city of Olympia and all of Greece - the temple of Zeus.
In the archaic era, such phenomena of ancient culture arise as philosophy And spider. Their ancestor was Fal ee, in which they are not yet strictly separated from each other and are within the framework of a single natural philosophy. One of the founders of ancient philosophy and science is also the semi-legendary Pythagoras, in whom science, which takes the form mathematics, is a completely independent phenomenon.
Artistic culture reaches a high level in the archaic era. At this time it develops architecture, resting on two types of orders - Doric and Ionic. The leading type of construction is the sacred temple as the abode of God. The most famous and revered is the temple of Apollo at Delphi. There is also monumental sculpture - first wooden, and then stone. Two types are most widespread: a naked male statue, known as a “kouros” (figure of a young athlete), and a draped female statue, an example of which was a bark (upright girl).
Poetry is experiencing a real flowering in this era. The epic poems of Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey, already mentioned above, became the greatest monuments of ancient literature. A little later, Homer was created by another famous Greek poet - Hesiod. His poems "Theogony", i.e. the genealogy of the gods, and the "Catalogue of Women" supplemented and completed what Homer created, after which ancient mythology acquired a classic, perfect form.
Among other poets, the work of Archilochus, the founder of lyric poetry, deserves special mention, whose works are filled with personal suffering and feelings associated with the difficulties and hardships of life. The lyrics of Sappho, the great ancient poetess from the island of Lesvos, who experienced the feelings of a loving, jealous and suffering woman, deserve the same emphasis.
The work of Anacreon, who sang beauty, love, joy, fun and enjoyment of life, had a great influence on European and Russian poetry, in particular on A.S. Pushkin.
Classical period and Hellenism
The classical period (5th-4th centuries BC) was the time of the highest rise and flourishing of ancient Greek civilization and culture. It was this period that gave rise to everything that would later be called the "Greek miracle."
At this time, it is affirmed and fully reveals all its amazing possibilities. antique polis, in which lies the main explanation of the "Greek miracle". becomes one of the highest values for the Hellenes. Democracy also reaches its peak, which it owes primarily to Pericles, the outstanding politician of antiquity.
During the classical period, Greece experienced a rapid economic development, which was further intensified after the victory over the Persians. The basis of the economy was still agriculture. Along with it, handicrafts are intensively developing, especially metal smelting. Commodity production is growing rapidly, in particular grapes and olives, and as a result, there is a rapid expansion of exchange and trade. Athens is becoming a major trading center not only within Greece, but throughout the Mediterranean. Egypt, Carthage, Crete, Syria, and Phenicia are actively trading with Athens. Construction is underway on a large scale.
Reaches the highest level . It was during this period that such great minds of antiquity as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle created. Socrates was the first to focus not on questions of the knowledge of nature, but on the problems of human life, the problems of good, evil and justice, the problems of man's knowledge of himself. He also stood at the origins of one of the main directions of all subsequent philosophy - rationalism, the real creator of which was Plato. With the latter, rationalism fully becomes an abstract-theoretical way of thinking and extends to all spheres of being. Aristotle continued the line of Plato and at the same time became the founder of the second main direction of philosophy - empiricism. according to which the real source of knowledge is sensory experience, directly observable data.
Along with philosophy, other sciences are also successfully developing - mathematics, medicine, history.
An unprecedented flourishing in the era of the classics is experienced by artistic culture, and first of all - architecture And urban planning. A significant contribution to the development of urban planning was made by Hippodames, an architect from Miletus, who developed the concept of a regular city planning, according to which functional parts were distinguished in it: a public center, a residential area, as well as commercial, industrial and port areas. The main type of monumental building is still the temple.
The Acropolis of Athens has become a true triumph of ancient Greek architecture, one of the greatest masterpieces of world art. This ensemble included the front gates - the Propylaea, the temple of Nike Apteros (Wingless Victory), the Erechtheion and the main temple of Athens Parthenon - the temple of Athena Parthenos (Athena the Virgin). The Acropolis, built by the architects Iktin and Kalikrat, was located on a high hill and, as it were, hovered over the city, was far visible from the sea. Particularly admirable was the Parthenon, which was decorated with 46 columns and rich sculptural and relief decoration. Plutarch, writing about his impressions of the Acropolis, noted that it included buildings "grand in size and inimitable in beauty."
Among the famous architectural monuments there were also two buildings classified as one of the seven wonders of the world. The first was the temple of Artemis at Ephesus, built on the site of a beautiful predecessor temple of the same name, burnt by Herostratus, who decided to become famous in such a monstrous way. Like the previous one, the restored temple had 127 columns, inside it was decorated with magnificent statues by Praxiteles and Scopas, as well as beautiful picturesque pictures.
The second monument was the tomb of Mausolus, the ruler of Cariy, which later received the name "Mausoleum in Galikarnassus." The construction had two floors with a height of 20 m, the first of which was the tomb of Mausolus and his wife Artemisia. In the second floor, surrounded by a colonnade, sacrifices were kept. The roof of the mausoleum was a pyramid crowned with a marble quadriga, in the chariot of which stood sculptures of Mausolus and Artemisia. Around the tomb were statues of lions and galloping horsemen.
In the era of the classics, the highest perfection reaches the Greek sculpture. In this genre of art, Hellas is recognized as undeniable superiority. Antique sculpture is represented by a whole galaxy of brilliant masters. The greatest among them is Phidias. His statue of Zeus, which was 14 m high and adorned the temple of Zeus at Olympia, is also one of the seven wonders of the world. He also created a 12 m high statue of Athena Parthenos, which was located in the center of the Athenian Acropolis. Another of his statues - a statue of Athena Promachos (Athena the Warrior) 9m high - depicted a goddess in a helmet with a spear and embodied the military power of Athens. In addition to the named creations. Phidias also took part in the design of the Athenian Acropolis and in the creation of its plastic decoration.
Among other sculptors, the most famous are Pythagoras Regius, who created the statue "Boy taking out a splinter"; Miron - the author of the sculptures "Discobolus" and "Athena and Marsyas"; Polykleitos is a master of bronze sculpture who created the Doryphoros (Spearman) and the Wounded Amazon, and also wrote the first theoretical work on the proportions of the human body - Canon.
The late classics are represented by the sculptors Praxiteles, Skopas, Lysippus. The first of these was glorified primarily by the statue "Aphrodite of Cnidus", which became the first nude female figure in Greek sculpture. The art of Praxiteles is characterized by a wealth of feelings, exquisite and subtle beauty, and hedonism. These qualities were manifested in such works of his as “Satyr pouring wine”, “Eros”.
Skopas participated together with Praxiteles in the plastic design of the temple of Artemis in Ephesus and the mausoleum in Halicarnassus. His work is distinguished by passion and drama, elegance of lines, expressiveness of postures and movements. One of his famous creations is the statue "Bacchae in dance". Lysippus created a bust of Alexander the Great, at whose court he was an artist. From other works, one can point to the statues “Hermes Resting”, “Hermes tying a sandal”, “Eros”. In his art, he expressed the inner world of a person, his feelings and experiences.
In the era of the classics, the Greek literature. Poetry was represented primarily by Pindar. who did not accept Athenian democracy and expressed nostalgia for the aristocracy in his work. He also created iconic hymns, odes and songs in honor of the winners of the Olympic and Delphic Games.
The main literary event is the birth and flourishing of the Greek tragedy and theatre. The father of tragedy was Aeschylus, who, like Pindar, did not accept democracy. His main work is "Chained Prometheus", whose hero - Prometheus - became the embodiment of the courage and strength of man, his godliness and willingness to sacrifice his life for the sake of freedom and well-being of people.
In the work of Sophocles, who glorified democracy, Greek tragedy reaches a classical level. The heroes of his works are complex natures, they combine adherence to the ideals of freedom with the richness of the inner world, the depth of psychological and moral experiences, and spiritual subtlety. Oedipus Rex was his most famous tragedy.
The art of Euripides, the third great tragedian of Hellas, reflected the crisis of Greek democracy. His attitude towards her was ambivalent. On the one hand, she attracted him with the values of freedom and equality. At the same time, she frightened him by allowing an unreasonable crowd of citizens to decide too important issues according to their mood. In the tragedies of Euripides, people are shown not "as they should be", as was the case, in his opinion, in Sophocles, but "what they really were." The most famous of his creations was "Medea".
Along with the tragedy is successfully developing comedy, whose "father" is Aristophanes. His plays are written in a lively, close to spoken language. Their content was made up of topical and topical topics, among which one of the central ones was the theme of peace. The comedies of Aristophanes were accessible to the common people and were very popular.
Hellenism(323-146 BC) became the final stage of ancient Greek culture. During this period, the high level of Hellenic culture as a whole is preserved. Only in some areas, for example in philosophy, does it fall somewhat. At the same time, the expansion of Hellenic culture took place on the territory of many eastern states that arose after the collapse of the empire of Alexander the Great. where it connects with oriental cultures. It is this synthesis of Greek and Eastern cultures that forms that. what is called Hellenistic culture.
Her education was influenced primarily by the Greek way of life and the Greek education system. It is noteworthy that the process of spreading Greek culture continued after Greece became dependent on Rome (146 BC). Politically, Rome conquered Greece, but Greek culture conquered Rome.
Of the areas of spiritual culture, science and art developed most successfully in the Hellenistic era. In science the leading positions are still occupied mathematics, where such great minds as Euclid and Archimedes work. Through their efforts, mathematics not only progresses theoretically, but also finds wide applied and practical applications in mechanics, optics, statics, hydrostatics, and construction. Archimedes also owns the authorship of many technical inventions. Astronomy, medicine, and geography also have significant successes.
In art, the greatest success accompanies architecture and sculpture. IN architecture along with traditional sacral temples, civil public buildings are widely built - palaces, theaters, libraries, gymnasiums, etc. In particular, the famous library was built in Alexandria, where about 799 thousand scrolls were stored. Museyon was also built there, which became the largest center of science and art of antiquity. Of the other architectural structures, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, 120 meters high, is included among the seven wonders of the world. Its author was the architect Sostratus.
Sculpture also continues the classical traditions, although new features appear in it: internal tension, dynamics, drama and tragedy increase. Monumental sculpture sometimes takes on grandiose proportions. Such, in particular, was the statue of the sun god Helios, created by the sculptor Kheres and known as the Colossus of Rhodes. The statue is also one of the seven wonders of the world. She had a height of 36 m, stood on the shore of the harbor of the island of Rhodes, but crashed during an earthquake. This is where the expression "colossus with feet of clay" comes from. Famous masterpieces are Aphrodite (Venus) de Milo and Nike of Samothrace.
In 146 BC. Ancient Hellas ceased to exist, but the ancient Greek culture still exists today.
Ancient Greece had a huge impact on the entire world culture. Without it, there would be no modern Europe. The Eastern world without Hellenic culture would be very different.
It took a long period of formation before it was able to reach its full bloom, thanks to which its legacy is felt even today. Development began from the Aegean civilization, passed the turbulent stage of the classical period, after which the clear influence of Rome and neighboring countries began to be felt. Significant changes took place during the Ottoman domination, the culture acquired its modern form during the Greek War of Independence at the beginning of the 19th century.
Greek culture establishes the supremacy of man over nature, which is expressed in architecture, literature, poetry and other areas of life. It is impossible to consider Greek philosophy separately without the listed components - they have had and continue to have an impact on the life of modern man.
Fundamental principles of ancient Greek culture
In general, Greek and Hellenistic culture is based on the observance of four basic principles. The first of them is the active participation and interest of the majority of the citizens of the policy in the political structure and principles of governing the country. The birth and active development of democracy laid the foundations for equality between people and the rule of morality.
The second principle is that all culture and art are intended solely to glorify the achievements of man and compare him with the gods.
The third principle is to constantly emphasize the importance of human aspirations by expressing them through the prism of literature, theatrical drama and comedy. The daily activities of people are put on the same level with the work of the gods, and the gods, in turn, are depicted with the same features and shortcomings as ordinary citizens of the country.
The fourth principle is the comparison of all phenomena with the picture of the surrounding world. Due to some naivety of their views, the ancient Greeks assigned everything incomprehensible and unknown in nature to the actions of the gods, their disputes, civil strife and love relationships.
The combination of these factors led to the emergence of a unique culture, in the center of the philosophy of which was a person with all his shortcomings and weaknesses. The harmonious development of the human body, soul and mind - these are the main components of true happiness from the point of view of ancient philosophers. Such an idea had a constant and strong influence on all spheres of life - literature, architecture, theater, sports, science. Even today one can clearly feel the hand of antiquity on the pulse of events.
Impact on European culture
Greece, as a country that became a leader in the scientific, intellectual and philosophical development of the continent, had a significant impact not only on its own metropolises, but also on rather distant states.
The architectural style that was characteristic of Hellas found its continuation in the Roman and Byzantine empires. Under the impression of the ancient masters, monuments and monuments of Renaissance architecture were created. The Renaissance and Baroque grew out of the cradle of ancient Greece, the architectural elements of which personified the majesty of man, and made him equal before the gods. Throughout the Dark Ages, the Catholic Church fiercely fought against the slightest manifestations of such liberty and dissent. One cannot but admire the courage of people who at that time allowed themselves to put man and God on the same level.
It is difficult to overestimate or fail to notice the imprint of antiquity in the literary works of European masters - poets, writers, playwrights.
It is impossible to imagine modern Europe without another Greek invention - democracy. Although in its present manifestation it differs significantly from the political structure of antiquity, but the basic principles remain the same - the equality of people before power, the possibility of collective government of the state and the complete transparency of political decisions.
Politics is what the respected inhabitants of the ancient Greek policies devoted themselves entirely to. They not only lived it, but also introduced their own changes, which contributed to the rapid spread of reforms.
Ancient Greek economics: mapping in modern times
The ancient Hellenes were distinguished not only by high moral values, but also by financial promptness. Their system of government, the distribution of income and expenses is difficult to comprehend, especially considering that the level of development of mathematics and economics was then at an early stage. A correct tax policy made it possible not only to keep a single policy in a prosperous state, but also to invest huge amounts of money in construction, the development of culture, the opening of libraries, theaters and other institutions to educate their own citizens. The army also played an important role, because the policies were in a state of permanent war with their neighbors, which often exhausted the resources of the state.
In relations between the Greek cities, there was a clear model of labor distribution - this contributed to a more efficient use of human resources, and brought trade relations to a qualitatively new level. Something similar, only on an enlarged scale, is now observed in European countries.
Antiquity became the period during which the formation of tribal unions took place, which soon became the basis for the creation of separate European nations. While the Latin language in a modified form spread throughout Western Europe, turning into English, French, Italian and other well-known scripts, the Greek language formed the basis of the alphabets of the Slavic group.
Greek culture, philosophy, politics, economics did not dissolve into non-existence over time, as was often the case with the heritage of earlier cultures. The influence of Hellas is felt even after more than two millennia, once again proving that the ancient Greeks were far ahead of their time.
Greek snacks (part two)
So, let's continue our guide to salads. In addition to salads made from fresh vegetables and cheese, Greeks are very fond of pasta salads, which go well with main dishes. Sometimes they are simply spread on bread or pieces of food are dipped in them. Even in many large supermarkets that are located in other countries, you can find Tzatziki salad. It is a mixture of yogurt, grated cucumbers, herbs and garlic. Yogurt should be of a special consistency. Such yogurt in Greece is called "Strangisto". Each region of Hellas prepares Tzatziki differently, and you can enjoy the unique taste of this pasta salad.
Aegi is the capital of ancient Macedonia. Archaeological sites in Greece
The most popular souvenirs from Greece
From every trip to a new place, any person always wants to bring some souvenirs for relatives and friends. The easiest way, of course, is to get rid of fridge magnets, which are sold in large quantities and in a wide range in all corners of the world, but in our article we will consider more significant souvenirs. And we will follow them to sunny Greece.
Mount Olympus in Greece. Where the destinies of people, and the gods themselves, were decided!
Pella - Macedonian capital
The sources do not contain the exact date of the transfer of the capital of Ancient Macedonia from Eg to Pella, nor is there the name of the person who did it. However, most likely, this happened in the 5th century. BC e. during the reign of King Archelaus. The name of the new Macedonian capital is traditionally derived from the word πέλλα (ancient Macedonian “stone”).
Antiquity had the greatest influence on the culture of subsequent generations - art of ancient greece and Ancient Rome from the 9th - 10th centuries BC. e. and 4th century AD. The cradle of ancient culture was Ancient Greece - a piece of land in the Mediterranean. Here the "Greek miracle" was born and flourished - a giant spiritual culture that has retained its influence and charm for millennia. Ancient Greek culture had a decisive influence on the development of the culture of Ancient Rome, which was its immediate successor. Roman culture became the next phase and a special version of a single ancient culture. The calm and majestic beauty of ancient art served as a model for later times in the history of art. There were three periods in the history of ancient Greek art: арха and ка (VII - VI centuries BC); to l a s and k a (V-IV century BC); e l l and n and z m - (III _ I century BC).
Temples were beautiful ancient Greek structures. The oldest ruins of temples date back to the archaic era, when they began to use yellowish limestone and white marble. Usually the temple stood on a stepped base. It consisted of a room without windows, where there was a statue of a deity, the building was surrounded by one or two rows of columns.
Columns were an integral part of buildings in Ancient Greece. In the era of the archaic, the columns were powerful, heavy, slightly expanded to the bottom - this style of columns was called Doric. In the era of the classics, the style of the columns Ionic- the columns are more elegant, slender, decorated with curls at the top - in o lyu t and m. In the Hellenistic era, architecture began to strive for pomp. formed Corinthian the style of the columns - they became graceful, slender, elegant, richly decorated with floral ornaments. The system of columns and ceilings in ancient Greece was called warrant. Each style has its own order, which has its own characteristics and is named, like the style - Doric, Ionic and Corinthian in the art of Ancient Greece.
The heyday of Greek architecture fell on the classical era (5th century BC), during the reign of Pericles. He began grandiose construction work in Athens. Before us, the ruins of the most important building of Ancient Greece -. Even from these ruins, one can imagine how beautiful the Acropolis was in its time. A wide marble staircase led up the hill.
The Acropolis was surrounded by numerous temples, the central one being the Parthenon surrounded by 46 columns. The columns are made of red and blue marble. The color of the columns, light gilding gave the temple a festive look. A sense of proportion, accuracy in calculations, beauty of decoration - all this makes the Parthenon an impeccable work of art. Even today, millennia later, destroyed, the Parthenon makes an indelible impression. The last building of the Acropolis was a temple dedicated to Athena, Poseidon and the mythical king Erechtheus, which was called the Erechtheion temple.
On one of the three porticos of the Erechtheion temple, instead of columns, the ceiling of the building is supported by female figures - caryatids. In general, many sculptures and sculptural compositions adorned the Acropolis. In the Hellenistic era, they began to pay less attention to temples, and built open squares for walking, open-air amphitheatres, palaces and sports facilities. Residential buildings became 2 and 3 storey, with large gardens, fountains. Luxury has become the goal.
Greek sculptors gave the world works that still arouse the admiration of people. In the archaic era, the sculptures were somewhat constrained, they depicted naked young men and dressed in flowing folds of clothes.
In the classical era, the main business of sculptors was to create statues of gods and heroes and decorate temples with reliefs. The gods were portrayed as ordinary people, but strong, physically developed, beautiful. Often depicted naked to show the beauty of the body. In ancient Greece, great attention was paid to physical development, sports, and an integral part of this culture was the beauty of the human body. In the era of the classics lived such remarkable sculptors as Miron, Fidius and Poliklet. The works of these sculptors were distinguished by more complex poses, expressive gestures and movements. The first master of complex bronze sculpture was Myron, the creator of the sculpture “D and s ko b o l”. However, it should be noted that the sculptures of this era look a little cold, the faces are indifferent, similar to each other. The sculptors did not try to express any feelings, emotions. Their goal was to show only the perfect beauty of the body. But in the IV century BC. e. sculptural images became softer and more delicate. The sculptors Praxitel and Lysipp, in their statues of the gods, gave warmth and awe to the smooth marble surface. And the sculptor Scopas conveyed strong feelings and experiences in sculptures.
Later, in the Hellenistic era, the sculpture becomes more magnificent, with exaggerated passions.
Athena is one of the supreme Olympian deities. She is sensible and thoughtful. She is the goddess of the sky, the mistress of clouds and lightning, the goddess of fertility. She is the embodiment of state wisdom, greatness and inexhaustible power. This is the statue of the virgin Athena, the most famous work of Phidias. Athena stands in full growth (the height of the statue is about 12m), on the head of the goddess there is a golden military helmet with a high crest, a golden aegis (a mythical shield that terrifies enemies) with the head of Medusa covers her shoulders and chest. The left hand rests on a shield, in the right Athena holds the figure of the goddess Nike. Strict draperies of long clothes emphasize the majesty and calmness of the figure.
Our country will not perish forever, for the guardian is such as the good Pallas Athena,
proud of her formidable father, she stretched out her hands over her.
(Elegy of Solon)
Zeus shared dominion over the world with his brothers: Poseidon was assigned the sky, Hades - the kingdom of the dead, and Zeus left the sky for himself. Zeus ruled all celestial phenomena and above all thunder and lightning.
Unfortunately, this is a reconstruction of the deceased sculpture of Zeus. The statue occupied almost the entire interior of the temple. Zeus sits on a throne, almost touching the ceiling with his head, his height was about 17 meters. One of the Greek poets, admiring the appearance of Phidius Zeus, wrote a couplet. known throughout Hellas:
"Did God come down to earth and show you, Phidias, his image
Or did you yourself ascend to heaven to see God?"
The statue of Zeus impressed not only with the grandeur that Phidias gave to the deity, but also with a sense of peace, majestic wisdom and infinite kindness. The "king of gods and men" sat on a magnificent, ornate throne. The upper part of his torso was naked, the lower part was draped in a luxurious cloak. In one hand, the god held a statue of Nike-victory, in the other - a rod topped with an image of an eagle - the sacred bird of Zeus. On his head was a wreath of olive branches.
The statue was made in the most complicated technique. The base was carved from wood, for those parts of the body. which remained naked, thin plates of polished ivory were superimposed, the cloak was covered with a thin layer of chased gold, as if woven with images of lilies, stars, animals.
Olympia was one of the main sanctuaries of Greece, according to legend, it was here that Zeus won a victory under Kronos, in memory of the great victory of Zeus, the Olympic Games were established, and, according to one of the legends, the hero Hercules did this in honor of his father.
Hercules is the son of Zeus, one of the most famous Greek gods. His 12 exploits are famous, which are told by many legends and which are often depicted in their works by artists and sculptors. Lysippus in this sculptural group depicts the decisive moment of the fight: Hercules squeezes the neck of the lion with his mighty hand, all the muscles of the hero are extremely tense, and the beast, panting, digs into his body. But, although the opponents are worthy of each other, the lion, whose head is clamped under Hercules' armpit, looks almost ridiculous. Legend claims that Hercules was Lysippus' favorite character, and Lysippus was the court master of Alexander the Great.
Poseidon is the main god of the sea and navigation. He lives in the halls in the depths of the sea, does not obey anyone, even the all-powerful brother Zeus. He causes earthquakes, raises and calms storms, He helps sailors by sending fast currents and moving ships from rocks and from shallows with a trident. Under the rule of Poseidon were all the islands, the coast, the harbor, where temples, altars, statues were erected to him.
Perseus, the son of Zeus and Danae, finds terrible monsters on the shore of the ocean - Gorgon. Instead of hair, snakes swirled around, instead of teeth, fangs stuck out like a boar, hands were made of bronze, and wings were made of gold. One of the Gorgons, Medusa, turned anyone into stone with her one look. Taught by the gods, Perseus fought Medusa, looking at her reflection in a copper shield. He cut off her head. Traditionally, the sculptor conveys the beauty of a naked body, the proud expression on the face of Perseus, who defeated the monster, and the despair on the face of the gorogon.
Hermes is the messenger of the gods, the patron of trickery, gymnastics, travelers and roads, the son of Zeus and Maya. Later, he became the patron saint of cattle breeders and shepherds. With his magic wand, he could put anyone to sleep or wake them up. Over time, Hermes is the messenger of the Olympic gods, the herald of Zeus, the patron of ambassadors, the god of trade and profit. On Olympus, Hermes enjoyed universal love, although he was very fond of inventing various pranks for the gods: he stole the sword from Ares, hid the trident of Poseidon, during the morning toilet Aphrodite did not fail to find her belt, and a pot of unleavened dough overturned on the head of the shining Apollo. But these pranks were atoned for by that useful than Hermes served the gods and people.
Among the most famous works of antiquity of the Hellenistic era was found in the early 20th century on the island of Melos a magnificent statue of the goddess Aphrodite (commonly called the Venus de Milo). This statue of the ancient goddess of love and beauty is much taller than a human, its height is 207 cm. It was found without hands, only a palm holding an apple was found among the wreckage. The beauty of Venus still fascinates, attracts as well as the unfading charm of the Mona Lisa. She is half naked, the cover tied around her hips, descending to her legs in powerful folds, makes her even more elegant and graceful. A woman wears her nakedness with such exquisite simplicity, with which a mortal woman wears a smart dress. Her face is majestically calm, serene. Scientists have found that the statue was created at the turn of the 2nd - 1st centuries BC.
The greatness captured in this marble statue reflects the thirst of the people of a troubled era for harmony and love. Venus aroused admiration among many poets and forced enthusiastic poems to be dedicated to her.
How much proud bliss spilled in the heavenly countenance!
So, all breathing with pathos passion, all smothering with sea foam
And all-conquering power, you look into eternity before you.
The sculpture was found at the end of the 15th century in the Belvedere Gardens. This is a marble copy of the original. Its height is 2.24 m. From the time this statue became known, and to this day, it has not ceased to arouse the delight and admiration of artists and art connoisseurs. Apollo is the god of harmony and the arts, he killed the dragon Python, and this is how the sculptor portrayed him. The height of the statue is higher than human height, and the whole pose expresses its overwhelming grandeur. Eternal spring cloaks his charming masculinity, combined with the beauty of youth. Heavenly spirituality fills all the outlines of the figure. He pursued Python, for the first time used his bow against him, overtook him with his mighty tread and struck him down. His gaze is directed, as it were, to infinity, contempt for the enemy on his lips. The statue is considered the highest ideal of art among all the works that have survived from antiquity. Apollo was considered a model of classical beauty; sculptors copied it for centuries, poets sang about it.
The concept of "antiquity" appeared in the Renaissance, when Italian humanists introduced the term "antique" (Latin antiguus - ancient) to define the Greco-Roman culture, the oldest known at that time. Without diminishing the importance of other ancient civilizations, it should be recognized that the Hellenistic states and Ancient Rome had a special influence on the history of the peoples of Europe.
In the evolution of the culture of Ancient Greece, five periods are usually distinguished:
- Aegean period (2800-1100 BC) - Cretan-Mycenaean culture.
- Homeric period (XI-IX centuries BC) - the collapse of a tribal society.
- The period of archaic culture (VIII-VI centuries BC) - the formation of slave-owning states - policies.
- The classical period (V-IV centuries BC) is the heyday of policies.
- The era of Hellenism (323-146 BC) - the decline of policies, the Macedonian empire, the Hellenistic states.
Cretan-Mycenaean culture
The island of Crete and the city of Mycenae were considered the centers of Crete-Mycenaean culture. All life in Crete was concentrated around the palaces, perceived as a single architectural ensemble. Of particular note are the wonderful wall paintings inside the rooms, corridors and porticos. Among the monuments of crafts and arts of the Cretan civilization that have come down to us are beautiful frescoes, wonderful bronze figurines, weapons and magnificent polychrome (multi-color) ceramics. Religion played an important role in the life of Crete; there developed a special form of royal power - theocracy, in which secular and spiritual power belonged to one person.
heyday Mycenaean(or Achaean) civilization falls on the XV-XIII centuries. BC. As in Crete, the main embodiment of culture is the palaces. The most significant of them were found in Mycenae, Tiryns, Pylos, Athens, Iolka.
The Aegean period is most clearly represented by two monuments - the Mycenaean and Knossos palaces. The latter is better known today as the Labyrinth from the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. After archaeological excavations, scientists have confirmed the veracity of this legend. Only the first floor has been preserved, but it has more than three hundred rooms! In addition to the palaces, the Cretan-Mycenaean period is known for the masks of the Achaean leaders and small Cretan sculptures. The figurines found in the secrets of the palace amaze with their filigree.
Thus, the culture of Ancient Greece originated from the symbiosis of the ancient island civilization of Crete and the arrived Achaean and Dorian tribes who settled on the Balkan Peninsula.
At the end of the XIII century. BC. a huge mass of north-Balkan barbarian tribes not affected by the Cretan-Mycenaean civilization rushed to the south. The leading role in this migration of peoples was played by the Greek tribe of the Dorians. They had a great advantage over the Achaeans - more effective than bronze, iron weapons. It was with the arrival of the Dorians in the XII-XI centuries. BC. the Iron Age begins in Greece, and it was at this time that the Cretan-Mycenaean civilization ceased to exist.
Culture of the Homeric period
The next period of Greek history is usually called Homeric - after the name of the great Homer. His beautiful poems "Iliad" and "Odyssey", created in the VIII century. BC. - the most important source of information about this time. During this period, there is a kind of accumulation of forces before a new rapid rise. Of great importance was the radical renewal of the technical base - the widespread use of iron and its introduction into production. This prepared the path of historical development, on which the Greeks were able to reach heights of cultural and social progress unprecedented in the history of mankind over the course of 3-4 centuries, leaving far behind their neighbors both in the East and in the West.
Culture of the archaic period
The archaic period of Greek history covers the VIII-VI centuries. BC. At this time, the Great Colonization took place - the development by the Greeks of the coasts of the Mediterranean, Black and Marmara Seas. As a result, the Greek world came out of the state of isolation in which it found itself after the collapse of the Cretan-Mycenaean culture. The Greeks learned a lot from other peoples: from the Lydians - minting coins, from the Phoenicians - alphabetic writing, which they improved. The achievements of Ancient Babylon and Egypt also influenced the development of science and art. These and other elements of foreign cultures organically entered Greek culture.
In the VIII-VI centuries. BC e. in Greece, socio-economic and political development reached a level that gave the ancient society a special specificity in comparison with other civilizations of antiquity. These phenomena include: classical slavery, the system of money circulation and the market, policy the main form of political organization, the ideas of the sovereignty of the people and the democratic form of government. The largest policies are Athens, Sparta, Corinth, Argos, Thebes. The important centers of economic, political, cultural ties between the policies are common Greek sanctuaries, the emergence of which was facilitated by the creation of a single pantheon of gods as a result of the merger of local cults.
An important component of the spiritual life was mythology, extremely rich and captivating. For more than two millennia, it has been a source of inspiration for many poets and artists. Remarkable is the work of Hesiod (VIII-VII centuries BC), who wrote the poems Theogony (on the origin of the gods) and Works and Days. In "Theogony" an attempt was made to systematize not only the genealogy of the gods, but also the history of the origin of the world.
In the era of archaism, the first philosophical system of antiquity arose - natural philosophy. Its representatives (Thales, Anaximenes, Anaximander) tried to comprehend nature and its laws, to identify the fundamental principle of all things, while they perceived the world as a single material whole. Pythagoras (VI century BC) and his followers followed the same line of research into the root cause of the world, they considered numbers and numerical relations to be the basis of all things, made a significant contribution to the development of mathematics, astronomy and music theory.
In the VIII-VI centuries. BC. is born Greek historiography. The origin also belongs to the same time.
Despite the fact that the archaic period, Greece was not a single country, regular trade relations between individual policies led to the formation of ethnic identity - the Greeks gradually began to realize themselves as a single people, different from others. One of the manifestations of this self-consciousness was the famous Olympic Games (the first - in 776 BC), to which only Hellenes were allowed.
Culture of the classical period
The classical period in the history of Ancient Greece lasted from the turn of the 6th-5th centuries. BC e. before 339 BC This is the heyday of the polis organization of society. Freedom in all spheres of public life is a special pride of the citizens of the Greek polis. Athens became the center of Greek culture. The Athenian state in just one century (5th century BC) gave humanity such names as Socrates and Plato, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides and Aristophanes, Phidias and Thucydides, Themistocles, Pericles, Xenophon.
The external manifestation of the internal freedom of the Greeks is their democracy. The formation of Greek democracy begins with the "military democracy" of Homeric times, then the reforms of Solon and Cleisthenes (VI century BC), and, finally, its development in the "golden age" of Pericles (reigned 490-429 BC). BC.). Citizens of the policy, imitating nature and the gods, served by slaves, fully enjoyed the benefits of life in well-organized, in their opinion, small states, feeling themselves truly independent and sovereign. A polis system of values was developed: a firm belief that the polis is the highest good, that a person's existence outside its framework is impossible, and the well-being of an individual depends on the well-being of the polis. His values included the recognition of the superiority of agricultural labor over all other activities (the only exception was Sparta) and the condemnation of the pursuit of profit.
A special distinguishing feature from other civilizations is the ancient anthropocentrism. It is in Athens that the philosopher Protagoras of Abdera (c. 490 - c. 420 BC) proclaims the famous saying "Man is the measure of all things." For the Greeks, man is the personification of everything that exists, the prototype of everything created and being created; it became not only the predominant, but almost the only theme of classical art. This well-being of the Greeks was reflected in the art of the archaic and classical periods, which does not know examples of not only spiritual, but also bodily suffering. Myron, Poliklet, Phidias - the greatest sculptors of this time - depicted gods and heroes. Their "Olympic" calm, majesty, state of mind, devoid of doubts and worries, express the perfection that a person, if not achieved, can and must achieve.
Only in the IV century. BC. — late classic,- when the Greeks discovered in life new facets that were beyond their control, the place of greatness gradually began to be occupied by human experiences, passions, impulses. These processes are manifested both in sculpture and in literature. tragedy Aeschylus(late archaic) express the ideas (ideal duty) of human achievement, patriotic duty in general. Sophocles(classic) already praises a person, and he himself says that he depicts people as they should be. Euripides(late classic) seeks to show people as they really are, with all their weaknesses and vices.
In the 5th century BC. actively developing Greek historiography."Father of history" was called by the ancients Herodotus(454-430 BC). He wrote a complete, beautifully presented work - "History", based on the plots of the Greco-Persian wars.
The main task of art in the 5th century. BC. its basis is a true image of a man, strong, energetic, full of dignity and balance of mental strength - the winner in the Persian wars, a free citizen of the policy. At this time, realistic sculpture in marble and bronze reaches its peak. Great work Phidias("Athena the Warrior", "Athena-Parthenos" for the Parthenon in Athens, "Zeus" for the temple in Olympia), Myron("Discus thrower"), Polykleitos(statue of Hera, made of gold and ivory, "Dorifor", "Wounded Amazon").
Harmony, proportionality, classical proportions - this is what fascinates us in ancient art and determined the European canons of beauty and perfection for centuries. Feelings of order and measure are the most important for antiquity: evil was understood as immensity, and good as moderation. “Respect the measure in everything!” taught by the ancient Greek poet Hesiod. "Nothing too much!" - read the inscription above the entrance to the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi.
Hellenistic culture
In the last decades of the 4th c. BC. the end of the classical culture of ancient Hellas came. This was started by the Eastern campaign of Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) and the massive colonization flow of the Hellenes to the newly conquered lands. This led to the destruction of polis democracy. As a result, a new stage in the development of material and spiritual culture, forms of political organization and social relations of the peoples of the Mediterranean, Western Asia and adjacent regions gradually took shape. The spread and influence of the Hellenistic civilization was extremely wide: Western and Eastern Europe, Western and Central Asia, North Africa. Has come Hellenistic era- a synthesis of Hellenic and Eastern cultures. Thanks to this synthesis, a common cultural language emerges, which laid the foundation for the entire subsequent history of European culture.
The culture of the Hellenistic civilization combined local stable traditions with the traditions of the culture introduced by conquerors and settlers, Greeks and non-Greeks.
These changes determined the need of the Hellenes to understand their inner world. To meet this need, there were new philosophical trends: cynics, epicureanism, stoicism (philosophy in Greece has always been considered not so much a subject of study as the guide of life). The main question was: where do evil and injustice come from in the world and how to live in order to maintain at least moral, internal independence and freedom?
Even a cursory enumeration of the achievements of Hellenistic culture shows its enduring significance in the history of mankind. Hellenism enriched world civilization with new discoveries in the field of scientific knowledge and invention. It suffices to name in this connection Euclid(III century BC) and Archimedes(c. 287-212 BC)
Within the framework of philosophy, social utopias were born and developed, describing the ideal social structure.
The treasury of world art was replenished with such masterpieces as the altar of Zeus in Pergamon, the statues of Venus de Milo and Nike of Samothrace, the sculptural group of Laocoön. Public buildings of a new type appeared: a library, a museum, which served as a center for the work and application of scientific knowledge. These and other achievements of culture, later inherited by the Byzantine Empire, the Arabs, entered the golden fund of universal culture.
The virtue of Greek culture in the fact that it opened the human citizen, proclaiming the supremacy of his mind and freedom, the ideals of democracy and humanism. History knows no more outstanding discoveries, because for a person there is nothing more valuable than the person himself.
The culture of Ancient Greece has existed since the 28th century. BC. and until the middle of the II century. BC. It is also called ancient - ɥᴛᴏ to distinguish it from other ancient cultures, and Ancient Greece itself - Hellas, since the Greeks themselves called this country so. Ancient Greek culture reached its highest rise and flourishing in the 5th-4th centuries. BC, becoming an exceptional, unique and largely unsurpassed phenomenon in the history of world culture.
The heyday of the culture of Ancient Hellas turned out to be so amazing that it still causes deep admiration and gives reason to talk about the real mystery of the “Greek miracle”. The essence of the ϶ᴛᴏth miracle consists primarily in the fact that only the Greek people, almost simultaneously and in almost all areas of culture, managed to reach unprecedented heights. No other nation, before or since, has been able to do anything like it.
Giving such a high assessment of the achievements of the Hellenes, it should be clarified that they borrowed a lot from the Egyptians and Babylonians, which was facilitated by the Greek cities of Asia Minor - Miletus, Ephesus, Halicarnassus, which served as ϲʙᴏ-like windows open to the East. At the same time, they used everything borrowed rather as a source material, bringing it to classical forms and true perfection.
And if the Greeks were not the first, then they were the best, and to such an extent that in many respects they remain so today. The second clarification concerns the fact that in the field of economics and material production, the successes of the Hellenes may not have been so impressive. At the same time, here they were not only not inferior to some ϲʙᴏ contemporaries, but also surpassed them, as evidenced by the victories in the Persian wars, where they acted not so much in numbers as in skill and intelligence. True, in military terms, Athens - the cradle of democracy - was inferior to Sparta, where the whole way of life was military. As for other areas of public life and especially spiritual culture, the Greeks knew no equal in everything.
Hellas has become the birthplace of all modern forms of state and government, and above all - the republic and democracy, the highest flowering of which fell on the years of the reign of Pericles (443-429 BC) In Greece for the first time Two distinct types of work stand out physical and mental, the first of them was considered unworthy of a man and was the lot of a forced slave, while the second was the only worthy of a free man.
Although city-states also existed in other ancient civilizations, it was the Greeks who had this type of social organization, which adopted policy form, with the greatest force showed all ϲʙᴏ and advantages. The Greeks successfully combined public and private ownership, collective and individual interest. In the same way, they connected the aristocracy with the republic by spreading the values of the aristocratic adversarial principle, the desire to be the first and the best, achieving ϶ᴛᴏgo in an open and honest struggle - on all citizens of the policy.
Competitiveness was the basis of the whole way of life of the Hellenes, it permeated all its spheres, whether Olympic Games, a dispute, a battlefield or a theatrical stage, when several authors participated in festive performances, bringing ϲʙᴏ and plays to the audience, from which the best one was then chosen.
It is worth saying - polis democracy, excluding despotic power, allowed the Greeks to fully enjoy the spirit ϲʙᴏ bauds, which for them was the highest value. For her sake, they were ready to die. They viewed slavery with deep contempt. The well-known myth of Prometheus testifies to ϶ᴛᴏm, who did not want to be in the position of a slave even to Zeus himself, the main deity of the Hellenes, and paid for ϲʙᴏyu ϲʙᴏboda with martyrdom.
Lifestyle of the ancient Greeks cannot be imagined without understanding the place that occupied them a game. Needless to say, they loved the game. That is why they are called real children. At the same time, the game for them was not just fun or a way to kill time. It is worth noting that it permeated all types of activities, including the most serious ones. The game beginning helped the Greeks move away from the prose of life and rough pragmatism. The game led to the fact that they received pleasure and enjoyment from any business.
The way of life of the Hellenes was also determined by such values as truth, beauty and goodness, which were in close unity. The Greeks had a special concept of "kalokagatia", which meant "beautiful-kind". "Truth" in their understanding was approaching what the Russian word "truth-justice" means, i.e. it went beyond the boundaries of "truth-truth", correct knowledge, and acquired a moral value dimension.
Equally important to the Greeks measure, which was inextricably linked with proportionality, moderation, harmony and order. From Democritus, the well-known maxim has come down to us: "Adequate measure in everything is beautiful." The inscription above the entrance to the temple of Apollo at Delphi called for: "Nothing too much." Therefore, the Greeks, on the one hand, considered own an inalienable attribute of a person: along with the loss of property, the Hellenes lost all civil and political rights, ceasing to be a free person. With all this, the desire for wealth was condemned. This feature was also observed in architecture, the Greeks did not create, like the Egyptians, gigantic structures, their buildings were commensurate with the possibilities of human perception, they did not suppress a person.
The ideal of the Greeks was a harmoniously developed, well-bodied person, beautiful in soul and body. The formation of such a person was provided by a thoughtful system of education and upbringing. which included two directions - "gymnastic" and "musical". The goal of the first was physical perfection. Participation in the Olympic Games became its peak, the winners of which were surrounded by glory and honor. At the time of the Olympic Games, all wars ceased. The musical, or humanitarian, direction involved teaching all kinds of arts, learning scientific disciplines and philosophy, including rhetoric, i.e. the ability to speak beautifully, to conduct a dialogue and an argument. Pse types of education rested on the principle of competition.
Everything ϶ᴛᴏ has done Greek polis exceptional, unique phenomenon in the history of mankind. The Hellenes perceived the policy as the highest good, not imagining their life outside its framework, they were its true patriots.
True, pride in the ϲʙᴏth policy and patriotism contributed to the formation of Greek cultural ethnocentrism, due to which the Hellenes called their neighboring peoples "barbarians", looked down on them. It is important to note that, however, with all this, it was precisely such a policy that gave the Greeks everything they needed to show unprecedented originality in all areas of culture, to create everything that constitutes the “Greek miracle”.
Virtually all areas spiritual culture the Greeks put forward the "founding fathers" who laid the foundation for their modern forms. First of all, ϶ᴛᴏ concerns philosophy. The Greeks were the first to create a modern form of philosophy, separating it from religion and mythology, starting to explain the world from itself, without resorting to the help of the gods, based on the primary elements, which for them were water, earth, air, fire.
The first Greek philosopher was Thales, for whom water was the basis of all things. The peaks of Greek philosophy were Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. The transition from a religious-mythological view of the world to a philosophical understanding of it meant a fundamental change in the development of the human mind. Philosophy under ϶ᴛᴏm became modern both in method - scientific and rational, and in a way of thinking based on logic and proof. The Greek word "philosophy" has entered almost all languages.
The same can be said about other sciences and, first of all, about mathematics. Pythagoras, Euclid and Archimedes will be the founders of both mathematics itself and the main mathematical disciplines - geometry, mechanics, optics, hydrostatics. IN astronomy Aristarchus of Samos was the first to express the idea of heliocentrism, according to which the Earth moves around the fixed Sun. Hippocrates became the founder of modern clinical medicine, Herodotus is rightfully considered the father stories like science. "Subjects" of Aristotle will be the first fundamental work, which no modern art theorist can bypass.
Approximately the same situation is observed in the field of art. Almost all types and genres of contemporary art were born in Ancient Hellas, and many of them reached the classical forms and the highest level. The latter applies primarily to sculpture, where the Greeks are rightly given the palm. It is represented by a whole galaxy of great masters, led by Phidias.
Equally, ϶ᴛᴏ applies to literature and its genres - epic, poetry.
It is worth noting that the Greek tragedy, which has reached the highest level, deserves special mention. Many Greek tragedies are still on stage today. Born in Greece order architecture, which also reached a high level of development. It should be emphasized that art was of great importance in the life of the Greeks. It is worth noting that they wanted not only to create, but also to live according to the laws of beauty. The Greeks were the first to feel the need to fill all spheres of human life with high art. It is worth noting that they quite consciously strove for the aestheticization of life, for comprehending the “art of existence”, in order to make a work of art out of this life.
The ancient Greeks showed an exceptional transformation in religion. Outwardly, their religious and mythological ideas and cults are not too different from others. Initially, the growing array of Greek gods was quite chaotic and conflicted. Then, after a long struggle, the Olympic gods of the third generation are approved, and a relatively stable hierarchy is established between them.
Zeus becomes the supreme deity - the lord of the sky, thunder and lightning. The second after him is Apollo - the patron of all arts, the god of healers and a bright, calm beginning in nature. Apollo's sister Artemis was the goddess of the hunt and the patroness of youth. An equally important place was occupied by Dionysus (Do not forget that Bacchus) - the god of the productive, violent forces of nature, viticulture and winemaking. Many rituals and merry festivities were associated with his cult - Dionysius and Do not forget that Bacchanalia. The god of the sun was Gelios (Helium)
The goddess of wisdom, Athena, who was born from the head of Zeus, enjoyed special reverence among the Hellenes. Her constant companion was the goddess of victory, Nike. The owl was the symbol of Athena's wisdom. No less attention was attracted by the goddess of love and beauty Aphrodite, who was born from sea foam. Demeter was the goddess of agriculture and fertility. Apparently, the greatest number of duties were within the competence of Hermes: he was the messenger of the Olympic gods, the god of trade, profit and material wealth, the patron of deceivers and thieves, shepherds and travelers, orators and athletes. It is worth noting that he also accompanied the souls of the dead to the underworld. into the domain of the god Hades (Hades, Pluto)
In addition to those named, the Greeks had many other gods. They liked to invent new gods, and they made ϶ᴛᴏ with passion. In Athens, they even set up an altar with a dedication: "to an unknown god." At the same time, the Hellenes were not very original in inventing gods. This has been observed in other nations as well. Their real originality lay in the way they treated these gods.
At the heart of the religious ideas of the Greeks there was no idea of the omnipotence of the gods. It is worth noting that they believed that the world is governed not so much by divine will as by natural laws. With all this, over the whole world, all the gods and people soars irresistible rock, whose predecisions are not able to change even the gods. Fatal fate is not subject to anyone, so the Greek gods are closer to people than to supernatural forces.
Unlike the gods of other peoples, they are anthropomorphic, although in the distant past the Greeks also had zoomorphic deities. Some Greek philosophers stated that people themselves invented gods for themselves in their likeness, that if the animals decided to do the same, their gods would be like themselves.
The smooth and most significant difference between gods and people was that they were immortal. The second difference was that they were also beautiful, although not all of them: Hephaestus, for example, was lame. At the same time, their divine beauty was considered quite achievable for a person. In all other respects, the world of the gods was similar to the world of people. The gods suffered and rejoiced, loved and were jealous, quarreled among themselves, harmed and took revenge on each other, etc. The Greeks did not identify, but did not draw an insurmountable line between people and gods. mediators between them were heroes, some were born from the marriage of a god with an earthly woman and those for ϲʙᴏ and feats could be attached to the world of the gods.
The proximity between man and God had a significant impact on the religious consciousness and practice of the Hellenes. It is worth noting that they believed in these gods, worshiped them, built temples for them and made sacrifices. But they did not have blind admiration, trepidation, and even less fanaticism. We can say that long before Christianity, the Greeks already adhered to the well-known Christian commandment: "Do not make yourself an idol." The Greeks could afford to be critical of the gods. Moreover, they often challenged them. A vivid example of this is the very same myth about Prometheus, who threw a daring challenge to the gods, stealing fire from them and giving it to people.
If other peoples deified their kings and rulers, then the Greeks excluded such a thing. The leader of the Athenian democracy, Pericles, under whom it reached its highest point, to convince their fellow citizens of the correctness of its position, had nothing at its disposal but an outstanding mind, arguments, oratory and eloquence.
A special ϲʙᴏ transformation has Greek mythology. Everything that happens in it will be as human as the gods themselves, about whom are told in Greek myths. Along with the gods, a significant place in the myths is occupied by the deeds and exploits of the "god-equal heroes", who will often be the main actors in the narrated events. In Greek mythology, mysticism is practically absent, mysterious, supernatural forces are not very important. The main thing in it is artistic imagery and presentation, the game principle. Greek mythology is much closer to art than to religion. That is why it formed the foundation of great Greek art. For the same reason, Hegel called the Greek religion "the religion of beauty."
Greek mythology, like all Greek culture, contributed to the glorification and exaltation not so much of the gods as of man. It is in the person of the Hellenes that a person first begins to realize ϲʙᴏ and boundless forces and possibilities. Sophocles remarks on this occasion: “There are many great forces in the world. But there is nothing stronger than man in nature.” Even more meaningful are the words of Archimedes: "Give me a point of support - and I will turn the whole world upside down." In all ϶ᴛᴏm, the future European, the transformer and conqueror of nature, is already quite visible.
The evolution of ancient Greek culture
Preclassic periods
In the evolution of the culture of ancient Greece, they usually distinguish five periods:
- Aegean culture (2800-1100 BC)
- Homeric period (XI-IX centuries BC)
- The period of archaic culture (VIII-VI centuries BC)
- Classic period (V-IV centuries BC)
- Hellenistic era (323-146 BC)
Aegean culture
Aegean culture often called Crete-Mycenaean, considering the island of Crete and Mycenae as its main centers at ϶ᴛᴏm. It is also called the Minoan culture - after the legendary king Minos, under whom the island of Crete, which occupied a leading position in the region, reached its highest power.
At the end of the III millennium BC. in the south of the Balkan Peninsula. In the Peloponnese and the island of Crete, early class societies were formed and the first centers of statehood arose. Somewhat faster ϶ᴛᴏt the process went on the island of Crete, where by the beginning of the II millennium BC. the first four states appeared with palace centers in Knossos, Phaistos, Mallia and Kato-Zakro. Given the special role of palaces, the resulting civilization is sometimes called "palace".
economic basis Cretan civilization was agriculture, in which bread, grapes and olives were grown primarily. It should not be forgotten that cattle breeding also played an important role. Crafts reached a high level, especially bronze smelting. Ceramic production also developed successfully.
The most famous monument of Cretan culture was the Palace of Knossos, which went down in history under the name "Labyrinth", from which only the first floor has been preserved. The palace was a grandiose multi-storey building, which included 300 rooms on a common platform, which occupied more than 1 hectare. It is worth noting that it was equipped with an excellent water supply and sewerage system, had terracotta baths. The palace was simultaneously a religious, administrative and commercial center, it housed craft workshops. The myth about Theseus and the Minotaur is associated with it.
reached a high level in Crete sculpture small forms. In the cache of the Palace of Knossos, statuettes of goddesses with snakes in their hands were found, which are full of grace, grace and femininity. The best achievement of Cretan art will be painting, as evidenced by the surviving fragments of the murals of Knossos and other palaces. As an example, one can point to such bright, colorful and juicy drawings as "The Flower Picker", "The Cat Waiting for the Pheasant", "Playing with the Bull".
The highest flowering of Cretan civilization and culture falls on the XVI-XV centuries. BC, especially during the reign of King Minos. However, at the end of the XV century. BC. flourishing civilization and culture suddenly perish. The cause of the disaster, most likely, was a volcanic eruption.
Emerging in the south of the Balkans part of the Aegean culture and civilization was close to Cretan. It is worth noting that it also rested on the centers-palaces, which were formed in Mycenae, Tiryns, Athens, Nilose, Thebes. At the same time, these palaces differed markedly from the Cretan ones: they were powerful citadels-fortresses surrounded by high (more than 7 m) and thick (more than 4.5 m) walls. At the same time, this part of the Aegean culture can be considered more Greek, since it was here, to the south of the Balkans, in the 3rd millennium BC. came the actual Greek tribes - the Achaeans and the Danaans. Due to the special role of the Achaeans, this culture and civilization is often called Achaean. It is worth saying that each center-dvorep was an independent state; there were a variety of relationships between them, including contradictions and conflicts. Sometimes they united in an alliance - as ϶ᴛᴏ was done to march on Troy. Hegemony among them more often belonged to the Mycenae.
As in Crete, the basis economy Achaean civilization consisted of agriculture and cattle breeding. The owner of the land was the palace, and the whole economy had a palace character. It is worth noting that it included all kinds of workshops, in which agricultural products were processed, metals were melted, fabrics were woven and clothes were sewn, tools and military equipment were made.
To the greatest extent, the early monuments of the Achaean culture were of a cult, funeral character. They include, first of all, the so-called "shaft tombs" carved into the rocks, where many beautiful items made of gold, silver, ivory, as well as a huge amount of weapons, have been preserved. Golden funeral masks of Achaean rulers were also found here. Later (XV-XIIJ centuries BC), the Achaeans build more grandiose mortuary structures - "dome tombs", one of them - "Agamemnon's tomb" - included several rooms.
A magnificent monument to the secular architecture was the Mycenaean palace, decorated with columns and frescoes. Also reached a high level painting, as evidenced by the paintings of the surviving walls of Mycenaean and other palaces. Among the most striking examples of murals are the frescoes "Lady with a Necklace", "Fighting Boys", as well as images of hunting and battle scenes, stylized animals - monkeys, antelopes.
The apogee of the culture of Achaean Greece falls on the 15th-13th centuries. BC, but by the end of the XIII century. BC. it begins to decline, and during the XII century. BC. all palaces are destroyed. The most likely cause of death was the invasion of the northern peoples, among whom were the Dorian Greeks, but the exact causes of the disaster have not been established.
Homeric period
Period XI-IX centuries. BC. in the history of Greece it is customary to call Homeric. since the main sources of information about him are the famous poems " Iliad" And "It is important to note that the Odyssey." It is also called "Dorian" - referring to the special role of the Dorian tribes in the conquest of Achaean Greece.
Do not forget that it will be important to say that the information from the Homeric poems cannot be considered completely reliable and accurate, since they actually turned out to be mixed narratives about three different eras: the final stage of the Achaean era, when the campaign against Troy was made (XIII century BC .e.); Dorian period (XI-IX centuries BC); early archaic, when Homer himself lived and worked (VIII century BC).
It is important to note that, however, with all this, based on the content of the Homeric poems and the data of archaeological excavations, we can assume that from the standpoint of civilization and material culture, the Dorian period meant a certain gap in continuity between eras and even a rollback, since some elements of the already achieved level of civilization were lost.
In particular, was lost statehood, as well as the urban, or palace way of life, writing. These elements of Greek civilization were actually born anew. With all this, arose and became a wide the use of iron contributed to the accelerated development of civilization.
It is worth noting that the main occupation of the Dorians was still agriculture and cattle breeding. Horticulture and winemaking developed successfully, and olives remained the leading crop. Trade kept the ϲʙᴏth place, where cattle acted as a "general equivalent". Although the rural patriarchal community was the main form of organization of life, the future urban policy was already emerging in its depths.
Concerning spiritual culture, here the continuity was preserved. The Homeric poems convincingly speak of ϶ᴛᴏm, from which it is clear that the mythology of the Achaeans, which forms the basis of spiritual life, remained the same. Judging by the poems, there was a further spread of the myth as a special form of consciousness and perception of the surrounding world. There was also an ordering of Greek mythology, which acquired more and more complete, perfect forms.
Period of archaic culture
Archaic period (VIII -VI centuries BC) became a time of rapid and intensive development of Ancient Greece, during which all the necessary conditions and prerequisites for the subsequent amazing rise and prosperity were created. Profound changes are taking place in almost every area of life. For three centuries, ancient society made the transition from the village to the city, from tribal and patriarchal relations to relations of classical slavery.
The city-state, the Greek policy becomes the main form of socio-political organization of social life. Society, as it were, tries all possible forms of government and government - monarchy, tyranny, oligarchy, aristocratic and democratic republics.
The intensive development of agriculture leads to the release of people, which contributes to the growth of crafts. Since ϶ᴛᴏ does not solve the “employment problem”, the colonization of near and far territories, which began in the Achaean period, is intensifying, as a result of which Greece is growing territorially to an impressive size. Economic progress contributes to the expansion of the market and trade, based on the emerging money circulation system. Started coinage speeds up these processes.
Even more impressive successes and achievements take place in spiritual culture. An exceptional role in its development was played by the creation alphabetic writing, which became the greatest achievement of the culture of archaic Greece. It is worth noting that it was developed on the basis of the Phoenician script and is distinguished by its amazing simplicity and accessibility, which made it possible to create an extremely effective education system, thanks to which there were no illiterates in ancient Greece, which was also a huge achievement.
During the archaic period, the main data norms and values ancient society, in which the affirming sense of collectivism is combined with an agonistic (competitive) beginning, with the assertion of the rights of the individual and the individual, the spirit of ϲʙᴏboda.
It is worth noting that patriotism and citizenship occupy a special place. The protection of the ϲʙᴏ of his policy is perceived as the highest virtue of a citizen. In this period, the ideal of a person is also born, in which spirit and body are in harmony.
The embodiment of this ideal was facilitated by the appearance in 776 BC. Olympic Games. It is worth noting that they were held every four years in the city of Olympia and lasted five days, during which the “sacred peace” was observed, stopping all hostilities. The winner of the games enjoyed great honor and had significant social privileges (tax exemption, life pension, permanent places in the theater and at holidays) Three times the winner of the games ordered a statue from the famous sculptor ϲʙᴏ and placed it in the sacred grove that surrounded the main shrine of the city of Olympia and throughout Greece is the temple of Zeus.
In the archaic era, such phenomena of ancient culture arise as philosophy And spider. Their ancestor was Fal her, in whom they are not yet strictly separated from each other and are within the framework of a single natural philosophy. It is important to note that one of the founders of ancient philosophy and science will also be the semi-legendary Pythagoras, whose science takes the form mathematics, is a completely independent phenomenon.
Artistic culture reaches a high level in the archaic era. In ϶ᴛᴏ time adds up architecture, resting on two types of orders - Doric and Ionic. The leading type of construction is the sacred temple as the abode of God. The most famous and revered is the temple of Apollo at Delphi. There is also monumental sculpture - first wooden, and then stone. Two types are most widespread: a naked male statue, known as a “kouros” (figure of a young athlete), and a draped female one, an example of which was a bark (upright girl)
Poetry is experiencing a real flowering in this era. The greatest monuments of ancient literature were the epic poems of Homer already mentioned above "Iliad" and "It is important to note that the Odyssey." A little later, Homer was created by another famous Greek poet - Hesiod. His poems "Let's note that theogony", i.e. the genealogy of the gods, and the "Catalogue of Women" supplemented and completed what Homer created, after which ancient mythology acquired a classic, perfect form.
Among other reasons, the work of Archilochus, the founder of lyric poetry, deserves special mention, whose works are filled with personal suffering and experiences associated with the difficulties and hardships of life. The lyrics of Sappho, the great ancient poetess from the island of Lesvos, who experienced the feelings of a loving, jealous and suffering woman, deserve the same emphasis.
The work of Anacreon, who sang beauty, love, joy, fun and enjoyment of life, had a great influence on European and Russian poetry, in particular on A.S. Pushkin.
Classical period and Hellenism
The classical period (5th-4th centuries BC) was the time of the highest rise and flourishing of ancient Greek civilization and culture. It was the ϶ᴛᴏt period that gave rise to everything that would later be called the “Greek miracle”.
In ϶ᴛᴏ time is approved and fully reveals all ϲʙᴏ and amazing possibilities antique polis, in kᴏᴛᴏᴩom lies the main explanation of the “Greek miracle”. It is worth saying that the policy becomes one of the highest values for the Hellenes. Democracy also reaches its peak, which it owes primarily to Pericles, the outstanding politician of antiquity.
In the classical period, Greece is experiencing rapid economic development, which is even more intensified after the victory over the Persians.
It should be noted that the basis of the economy was still agriculture. Along with it, handicrafts are intensively developing, especially metal smelting. Commodity production is growing rapidly, in particular grapes and olives, and as a result, there is a rapid expansion of exchange and trade. Athens is becoming a major trading center not only within Greece, but throughout the Mediterranean. Egypt, Carthage, Crete, Syria, and Phenicia are actively trading with Athens. Construction is underway on a large scale.
Reaches the highest level philosophy. It was in this period that such great minds of antiquity as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle created. Socrates was the first to focus not on questions of the knowledge of nature, but on the problems of human life, the problems of good, evil and justice, the problems of man's knowledge of himself. It is worth noting that he also stood at the origins of one of the main directions of all subsequent philosophy - rationalism, whose real creator was Plato. With the latter, rationalism fully becomes an abstract-theoretical way of thinking and extends to all spheres of being. Aristotle continued the line of Plato and at the same time became the founder of the second main direction of philosophy - empiricism. according to which the real source of knowledge will be sensory experience, directly observable data.
Along with philosophy, other sciences are also successfully developing - mathematics, medicine, history.
An unprecedented flourishing in the era of the classics is experienced by artistic culture, and first of all - architecture And urban planning. A significant contribution to the development of urban planning was made by Hippodamus, an architect from Miletus, who developed the concept of a regular city planning, according to which functional parts were distinguished in it: a public center, a residential area, as well as a commercial, industrial and port area.
It should be noted that the main type of monumental building is still the temple.
The Acropolis of Athens has become a true triumph of ancient Greek architecture, one of the greatest masterpieces of world art. This ensemble included the front gates - the Propylaea, the temple of Nike Apteros (Wingless Victory), the Erechtheion and the main temple of Athens Parthenon - the temple of Athena Parthenos (Athena the Virgin). far visible from the sea.
It is worth noting that the Parthenon aroused particular admiration, which was decorated with 46 columns and rich sculptural and relief decoration. Plutarch, writing about his impressions of the Acropolis, noted that it included buildings "grand in size and inimitable in beauty."
Among the famous architectural monuments there were also two buildings classified as one of the seven wonders of the world. The first was the temple of Artemis at Ephesus, built on the site of a beautiful predecessor temple, bearing the same name and burned by Herostratus, who decided to become famous in such a monstrous way. Like the previous one, the restored temple had 127 columns, inside it was decorated with magnificent statues by Praxiteles and Scopas, as well as beautiful picturesque pictures.
The second monument was the tomb of Mausolus, the ruler of Cariy, which later received the name "Mausoleum in Galikarnassus." The building had two floors 20 m high, the first of which was the tomb of Mausolus and his wife Artemisia. In the second floor, surrounded by a colonnade, sacrifices were kept. The roof of the mausoleum was a pyramid topped with a marble quadriga, in the chariot of which stood sculptures of Mausolus and Artemisia. Around the tomb were statues of lions and galloping horsemen.
In the era of the classics, the highest perfection reaches the Greek sculpture. In the ϶ᴛᴏm genre of art, Hellas is recognized as undeniable superiority. Antique sculpture is represented by a whole galaxy of brilliant masters. The greatest among them will be Phidias. His statue of Zeus, which was 14 m high and adorned the temple of Zeus at Olympia, is also one of the seven wonders of the world. It is worth noting that he also created a 12 m high statue of Athena Parthenos, which was located in the center of the Athenian Acropolis. Another of his statues - a statue of Athena Promachos (Athena the Warrior) 9m high - depicted a goddess in a helmet with a spear and embodied the military power of Athens. In addition to the named creations. Phidias also took part in the design of the Athenian Acropolis and in the creation of its plastic decoration.
Among other sculptors, the most famous will be Pythagoras Regius, who created the statue "Boy taking out a splinter"; Miron - the author of the sculptures "Discobolus" and "Athena and Marsyas"; It is worth saying that Polikleitos is a master of bronze sculpture, who created the Doryphoros (Spearman) and the Wounded Amazon, and also wrote the first theoretical work on the proportions of the human body - Canon.
The late classics are represented by the sculptors Praxiteles, Skopas, Lysippus. The first of these was glorified primarily by the statue "Aphrodite of Cnidus", which became the first nude female figure in Greek sculpture. The art of Praxiteles is characterized by a wealth of feelings, exquisite and subtle beauty, and hedonism. These qualities were manifested in such works of his as “Satyr pouring wine”, “Eros”.
Skopas participated together with Praxiteles in the plastic design of the temple of Artemis in Ephesus and the mausoleum in Halicarnassus. His work is distinguished by passion and drama, elegance of lines, expressiveness of postures and movements. It is important to note that one of his famous creations will be the statue "Do not forget that the Bacchantes are dancing." Lysippus created a bust of Alexander the Great, at whose court he was an artist. From other works, one can point to the statues “Hermes Resting”, “Hermes tying a sandal”, “Eros”. In this art, he expressed the inner world of a person, his feelings and experiences.
In the era of the classics, the highest ϲʙᴏ point reaches the Greek literature. Poetry was represented primarily by Pindar. who did not accept Athenian democracy and expressed nostalgia for the aristocracy in his work. It is worth noting that he also created iconic hymns, odes and songs in honor of the winners of the Olympic and Delphic Games.
The main literary event is the birth and flourishing of the Greek tragedy and theatre. The father of tragedy was Aeschylus, who, like Pindar, did not accept democracy. His main work will be "Chained Prometheus", whose hero - Prometheus - became the embodiment of the courage and strength of man, his equalness to God and willingness to sacrifice his life for the sake of the body and well-being of people.
In the work of Sophocles, who glorified democracy, Greek tragedy reaches a classical level. The heroes of his works will be complex natures, they combine adherence to the ideals of ϲʙᴏboda with the richness of the inner world, the depth of psychological and moral experiences, and spiritual subtlety. Oedipus Rex was his most famous tragedy.
The art of Euripides, the third great tragedian of Hellas, reflected the crisis of Greek democracy. His attitude towards her was ambivalent.
From one point of view, she attracted him with the values of boda and equality. With all this, she frightened him by allowing an unreasonable crowd of citizens, according to his mood, to decide too important questions. In the tragedies of Euripides, people are shown not “as they should be,” as ϶ᴛᴏ took place, in his opinion, in Sophocles, but “what they really were.” The most famous of his creations was "Medea".
Along with the tragedy is successfully developing comedy, whose "father" will be Aristophanes. His plays are written in a lively, close to spoken language. Their content was made up of topical and topical topics, among which one of the central ones was the theme of the world. The comedies of Aristophanes were accessible to the common people and were very popular.
Hellenism(323-146 BC) became the final stage of ancient Greek culture. In the ϶ᴛᴏt period, the high level of Hellenic culture as a whole is preserved. Only in certain areas, for example in philosophy, does it fall somewhat. With all this, the expansion of the Hellenic culture takes place on the territory of many eastern states that arose after the collapse of the empire of Alexander the Great. where it connects with oriental cultures. It is the ϶ᴛᴏt synthesis of Greek and Eastern cultures that forms that. what is called Hellenistic culture.
Her education was influenced primarily by the Greek way of life and the Greek education system. It is noteworthy that the process of spreading Greek culture continued even after Greece became dependent on Rome (146 BC). It is worth saying that politically Rome conquered Greece, but Greek culture conquered Rome.
Of the areas of spiritual culture, science and art developed most successfully in the Hellenistic era. In science the leading positions are still occupied mathematics, where such great minds as Euclid and Archimedes work. Through their efforts, mathematics not only progresses theoretically, but also finds wide applied and practical applications in mechanics, optics, statics, hydrostatics, and construction. Archimedes also owns the authorship of many technical inventions. Astronomy, medicine, and geography also have significant successes.
In art, the greatest success accompanies architecture and sculpture. IN architecture along with traditional sacral temples, civil public buildings are widely built - palaces, theaters, libraries, gymnasiums, etc. In particular, the famous library was built in Alexandria, where about 799 thousand scrolls were stored.
It is interesting to note that the Museion was built there, which became the largest center of science and art of antiquity. Of the other architectural structures, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, 120 meters high, is included among the seven wonders of the world. Its author was the architect Sostratus.
Sculpture also continues the classical traditions, although it will have new features: internal tension, dynamics, drama and tragedy are intensified. Monumental sculpture sometimes takes on grandiose proportions. Such, in particular, was the statue of the sun god Helios, created by the sculptor Kheres and known as the Colossus of Rhodes. The statue is also one of the seven wonders of the world. It is worth noting that it had a height of 36 m, stood on the shore of the harbor of the island of Rhodes, but crashed during an earthquake. This is where the expression "colossus with feet of clay" comes from. Famous masterpieces will be Aphrodite (Venus) of Milos and Nike of Samothrace.
In 146 BC. Ancient Hellas ceased to exist, but the ancient Greek culture still exists today.
Ancient Greece had a huge impact on the entire world culture. Without it, there would be no modern Europe. The Eastern world without Hellenic culture would be very different.
