Antique culture of ancient Greece. Antique culture: its role in the development of world culture

The word antiquity comes from the Latin. antiguus - ancient. Antiquity is a sample, standard, model and classic for European culture. And also the childhood of mankind. In ancient society, culture was perceived as a combination of skills and abilities, as well as the results of human activity. Culture was singled out as a subject of reflection. Protagoras believed that the emergence material culture, as well as the orderly development of social life, people owe to the gods. According to Democritus, the creator of culture is man, he creates culture, obeying his needs and imitating nature, that is, the second nature. Ancient Greek thinkers distinguished between the natural and moral principles as two opposed to each other. The moral, that is, the cultural, was inherent only to people, in particular, only to the Greeks. ancient greek paideia(culture), having made man the measure of all things, avoided everything that was inconsistent with man and his concepts. Even the Greek gods are humanoid, not only in appearance, but also in behavior. Greek temples are also correlated with man. The focus on a person, inherent in Greek culture, allowed it to become a spiritual value in the full sense of the word, since it is Greek culture that underlies European culture. Greek culture opened human-citizen, proclaiming supremacy reason And freedom. Ancient Greek civilization endowed modern civilization with myths about Prometheus, Apollo and Dionysus, etc., which became symbols different cultural traditions, and also laid the foundation for the development of science and technology in Western European countries.

1. Periodization
Stages: Greece
1. Cretan-Mycenaean
2. Homeric
3. Archaic
4. Classic
5. Decline
6. Hellenism
4. Second Empire
5. Christianity

Stages: Rome
1. Etruscan
2. Early empire
3. Republics

Cretan-Mycenaean culture. (The island of Crete and the city of Mycenae - the turn of 111 - 11 thousand to 1200 BC) Cretan culture develops around palaces. Bull games. Worship of the Great Goddess, theocracy. The destruction occurs as a result of the eruption of the volcano Fera (Santorini), plus the invasion of the Achaeans should be added to this. After that, the center of civilization shifted to mainland Greece. The heyday of the Mycenaean culture falls on 1700. BC. The influence of Cretan culture is noticeable, but there are also own achievements (the construction of tombs, posthumous golden masks). The development takes place near the palaces. They adopted the Minoan script (letter A) and had their own script (letter B). Around 1300 BC. Dorian tribes came to Greece, bringing the discovery of iron.

Homeric period . (1200 BC - the first half of the 8th century BC) Non-literate era. We can judge him only by the poems of Homer.

Archaic. (8-6th century BC) The appearance of writing borrowed from the Phoenicians. Great colonization. Borrowing various knowledge from the surrounding peoples. From tribal communities, the formation of ancient policies : Athens, Sparta, Corinth, Argos, Thebes. Being city-states. However, the concepts of "Greeks" and "Hellas" appear, covering the entire Greek world as a whole. The emergence of common Greek sanctuaries - a single pantheon of gods. Polytheism. Olympic Games in Olympia since 776. BC. once every 4 years dedicated to Zeus. Pythean sports and music, in honor of Apollo at Delphi every 4 years. Isthmian in honor of Poseidon near Corinth every 2 years. Appearance philosophy . It originated in Ionia as natural philosophy. Think of the world as a whole. Thales is water, Anaximenes is air, Anaximander is boundless, that is, primordial matter with the opposite beginning - solid and liquid, warm and cold. Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans became the foundation of all number and numerical relationships. Art characterizes the search for a form that expresses the ideal of a beautiful citizen in body and spirit. A naked youth “kouros”, a draped girl “kora”, which are characterized by an “archaic smile. The emergence of architectural orders: Doric, Ionic. Ceramics.

classical period. Athens became the center of culture, especially during the reign of Pericles (444-429). The emergence of the sophists. Socrates. Democritus' doctrine of atoms. Appearance theater : comedy and tragedy. Aeschylus: "Prometheus Chained", "Oresteia", Sophocles "Oedipus", Euripides "Medea", "Phaedra". Aristophanes. Historiography Herodotus (father of history) wrote the history of the Greco-Persian wars. Thucydides "History of the Peloponnesian War". An attempt to uncover the connection of events. Art: the development of sculpture by Phidias, Myron, Polykleitos. The emergence of the Corinthian order. Ensemble of the Acropolis.

The era of crisis. (4th century BC) the crisis of the policy, which manifested itself in the era of the Peloponnesian war between Sparta and Athens, who were defeated. The crisis contributed to the fact that everyone focused exclusively on themselves. Cynic philosophy emerges. Antisthenes and Diogenes, Plato and Aristotle. The emergence of literature. Oratory of Isocrates and Demosthenes. Greek history of Xenophon. Sculptors Scopas, Lissip.

the era of Hellenism. This period is associated with the campaign of A. Macedon (356-323 BC). He created a power from the Danube to the Indus, from Egypt to modern Central Asia. Greek culture is spreading. The emergence of a number of Hellenistic states after the collapse of the empire. Activities of Archimedes, Euclid. The science. The emergence of libraries. Art is dominated by eclecticism. Epicureanism. Stoicism. Hellenistic culture is captured by the idea of ​​restoration: all the works of classical antiquity were copied, collected and republished, comments were compiled on them.

Literature:
1. Takho-Godi A.A., Losev A.F. Greek culture in myths, symbols and terms. - St. Petersburg: "Aletheya", 1999. - 716s.
2. Kinyar P. Sex and fear: Essay. M.: Text, 2000. - 189s.

At the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. a new cultural world came to the forefront of history, pushing the civilizations of the Ancient East. The cultural and historical community, which is now commonly called "ancient civilization", declared itself in full voice. Under antiquity understand the history and culture of Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, as well as countries included in the cultural and historical process during the Greco-Macedonian and Roman conquests. Chronologically, antiquity covers the period from the turn of the II-I millennium BC. (formation of the Greek city-states) in the 5th century. AD (fall of the Western Roman Empire).

The word "antiquity" (from lat. antiquitas) literally means antiquity, antiquity. Since the Renaissance, the adjective "antique" (from Latin antiquus) has been used. The term "antiquity", which has come into use since the beginning of the 17th century, is used to specifically designate Greco-Roman antiquity, as well as the cultural heritage of Ancient Greece and Rome, which had a huge impact on the culture of Europe and the entire modern world. Greece and Rome, two eternal companions, accompany European humanity along its entire path: “We see through the eyes of the Greeks and speak with their turns of speech,” wrote the cultural historian Jakob Burckhardt. It is impossible to comprehend the features of the European path of development without referring to the very sources of European civilization, rooted in ancient culture.

It is most convenient to begin the study of ancient culture within the framework of the historical and cultural approach, which implies familiarity with the main achievements of antiquity throughout its history. Therefore, the question of the periodization of the development of ancient culture is of paramount importance for us. It should be understood that any periodization is conditional. However, it is precisely this that often turns out to be an indispensable tool for systematizing the knowledge that underlies complex cultural generalizations. It is customary to consider the history of ancient culture within the framework of the existence of its two geographical poles - Greece (the self-name of Hellas) and Rome.

Ancient Greece. ancient greece- this is not the first civilization that arose in the Balkan region of the Mediterranean (the Balkan Peninsula, the islands of the Aegean Sea, Asia Minor). At the turn of the III-II millennium BC. here there were cultural centers that are considered the threshold of ancient culture - the civilization of the island of Crete, the civilization of Mycenae, the culture of the Cyclades archipelago, the Trojan kingdom. Excavations by Heinrich Schliemann in the last third of the 19th century. and A murmur Evans in the first third of the 20th century. were opened min Russian culture centered on the island of Crete in the Aegean Sea; cycle hellish culture on the islands of the archipelago located in the southern part of the Aegean Sea; ell hellish culture(including the culture of Mycenae) on the territory of the Balkan Greece; culture Tr oh and on the hill of Gissarly to (western coast of Asia Minor). All of them belong to the period preceding the history of ancient culture. Many facts of this period are known from myths, but archaeological work has allowed them to take on a specific historical form.

Culture of Minoan Crete ( min o eggs- the non-Greek population of the island), which dominated the region until the 15th century. BC, left behind the magnificent Palace of Knossos (the palace of Mi Nos, known in Greek myths as the labyrinth of the Minotaur) with rich wall paintings depicting animals, flowers, ornaments, scenes from the life of the inhabitants of the palace, images of deities. Also found in Crete are tablets with a linear syllabic script, bronze figurines, tools, jewelry, weapons, and ceramics. This culture was destroyed by a volcanic eruption on one of the neighboring islands and subsequently conquered by the warlike Achaean Greeks. The center of civilization moves to mainland Greece, to Mycenae (a city on the Peloponne peninsula c).

In the Balkans, a peculiar culture of the Greek Achaeans developed, which experienced the tangible influence of Crete (the names of some deities, water supply and sewerage, clothing styles, fresco painting were borrowed). The main centers of Mycenean culture were fortresses and palaces of Cyclopean masonry; they found frescoes and reliefs with scenes of war and hunting. Shaft and domed tombs with inventory made of bronze, as well as gold, silver and electron (an alloy of gold and silver) have survived: jewelry, vessels, weapons, death masks. The Achaeans adopted their writing from the Cretans and adapted it to their own language. It so happened linear syllabary B, deciphered in the middle of the 20th century. English scientists Michael Ventris and John Chadwick (Cretan linear syllabary A, created by the Minoans, has not been deciphered so far). The socio-economic structure of both Crete and Mycenae was largely determined by the function of the palace as the supreme economic mechanism; hence the name of these cultures - "palace". These were civilizations that experienced the influence of Egypt and Babylon, but determined their own path of development, their own unique attitude to the world. In many ways, the Cretan-Mycenaean era also affected the development of Greek antiquity, in the history of which the following periods can be distinguished.

gom e rovskiy (predp oh fox) period (XI-IX centuries BC), knowledge about which we obtain mainly from the poems of Homer's "Iliad" and "Odyssey" (VIII century BC), as well as due to poor archaeological material. The Homeric period is also called the Dark Ages, because at that time there was no written language, and we do not have the opportunity to get acquainted with how people thought. Migration in the XII-XI centuries. BC. Greek Dorians - wild and warlike tribes that were at the stage of decomposition of primitiveness - destroyed the highly developed Mycenaean civilization and led to the decline of the culture of the Achaeans.

After the invasion of the Dorians, a complete break with the cultural traditions of the Achaean past did not occur, and until late antiquity, the Mycenaean influence was felt (albeit weakly) in urban planning, mythology and cult rituals. Although the Dorians were inferior to the Achaeans in many areas, they owned the production of iron. With the advent of the Dorians, the Iron Age began in the Balkans, which contributed to the future prosperity of Hellas as the leader of the iron industry in the Aegean-Black Sea basin. This fact is regarded by many experts as one of the reasons for the further rise of Greece.

The Homeric period is marked by the decomposition of the tribal society. Few monuments have come down to us, because wood and raw brick (brick made of unbaked clay) were most often used as building materials. The most striking works of art of the Dark Ages are vases with geometric ornaments, terracotta and bronze figurines, objects of arts and crafts.

Archa and the Czech period(VIII-VI centuries BC) became the time of the most intensive development of Greek society, when the specific features of ancient civilization were determined. The foundations of classical slavery, the system of money circulation and the market were laid, P oh fox as the leading form of political organization, ancient democracy as a specific form of government, as well as the concept of popular sovereignty.

Due to lack of land in the Balkans, from the VIII century. BC. the “great Greek colonization” begins: in search of new lands, the Greeks establish colonies throughout the Mediterranean and Black Seas (from Spain and the southern coast of France to the Transcaucasus in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe modern city of Sukhumi). On the territory of Sicily and Southern Italy, an area inhabited by Greeks was formed - Magna Graecia. There is also an awareness by the Greeks of their belonging to the city-polis, along with their awareness of the unity of the entire Greek world (the word "hellin" replaces the old ethnonyms, and the category of hellenism becomes one of the most important concepts).

During the archaic period, the main ethical and aesthetic ideals of antiquity were developed, the leading phenomena of ancient culture gained life: philosophy (and science in its depths), literature, theater, architecture, sculpture, cult (and everyday ritual practices, and periodically held festivities-games). Archaic laid the foundations for the cultural flourishing of Greece in subsequent centuries.

Classical period (5-30s of the 4th century BC) originates from the Greco-Persian wars (500-449 BC). Greece reached the highest point of its economic, political and cultural development precisely after the victory over powerful Persia. The center of the political and cultural life of Hellas moves to the city of Athens, which acted as the organizer of the victory of the Greeks over the Persians. Athens is becoming the largest cultural center of Hellas, the center of everything valuable and beautiful, the legislator of leading cultural trends. Vibrant social life and the best conditions for free creativity attracted scientists and artists from all regions of Greece to Athens. “Our city is the school of all Hellas, and I believe that each of us can easily show our individuality in a variety of living conditions,” said the Athenian leader Peri class.

In the last third of the 5th c. BC. Athens went to war with Sparta and her allies, who did not want to put up with the strengthening of Athens. Sparta won the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC). Since the beginning of the 4th century, a political and economic crisis has been growing in Greece. Political instability undermined the polis basis - the union of equal citizens. The weakening of the Greek states took advantage of Macedonia, which defeated Greece in 338 BC. The Greek states lost their political independence. However, this did not mean the decline of culture. Rather, we can talk about the transition of Greek culture to a new stage of its development.

Hellenistic period (the last third of the 4th - the 2nd half of the 1st century BC). Hellenism is usually called a special stage in the development of material and spiritual culture, forms of political organization and social life of the peoples of the Mediterranean, Western Asia and adjacent regions. Some researchers tend to consider Hellenism a special civilization - "Hellenistic civilization". The Hellenistic era began with the eastern campaigns of Alexander the Great, who conquered the territory of the Persian Empire, including Egypt, Mesopotamia, Iran, Asia Minor and Central Asia. His plans included the conquest of India, and then Italy, but an untimely death in 323 BC. hindered their implementation. The huge power disintegrated, and several kingdoms arose in its place - the Ptolemies in Egypt, the Seleucids in Syria and Mesopotamia, the Antigonides in Macedonia and Greece, Lysimachus in Thrace and Asia Minor (which, in turn, broke up into a number of small kingdoms). All of them waged continuous wars with each other and, being weakened, could not resist the powerful Rome. Gradually, one by one, the Hellenistic kingdoms lost their independence and turned into Roman provinces (Egypt was the last to fall in 30 BC).

For the cultural development of Hellas, all these changes were of great importance. The loss of political independence in the process of creating the state of Alexander the Great meant the end of the existence of the polis form of state and social structure. The citizen of a sovereign policy gave way to a "citizen of the world" (cosmopolitan), whose life and activity was not outlined by the boundaries of the policy, but proceeded in the ecumene (universe), in a vast empire. Greek culture went beyond the limits of the policy, became more open, absorbing and combining with oriental cultural elements. She acted as a participant in the formation of a new cultural phenomenon - Hellenistic culture. Thus, the Hellenistic culture is characterized by a combination of the traditions of ancient Greek classics and elements of Eastern cultures. As a more developed, Greek culture exercised leadership and even after the collapse of the power of Alexander, it remained prevalent in all the conquered territories of the East.

The achievements of the Hellenistic culture are varied and high. Its centers were the large islands of the Aegean Sea (Rhodos, De los), Perga in Asia Minor, Antioch in Syria, but Alexandria of Egypt became a particularly significant center. Athens, famous for its philosophical schools (Epicureans, Platonists, Stoics, etc.), did not lose its significance. The sciences are bridging the gap between theory and practice. The names of Archimes and Euccles - the outstanding scientists of that time - are well known to this day. New types of poetry appear (for example, Theokrit became the founder of the idyllic), drama (thanks to Menandr, realistic everyday comedy supplanted political), history (Polybiy tried to present a holistic world history). This period includes the creation of "Venus de Milo", "Nika of Samothrace", as well as "Colossus of Rhodes" - one of the seven wonders of the world...

Ancient Rome. In the history of Roman culture, it is customary to single out periods corresponding to the main stages in the history of Ancient Rome. As with Greece, this division is arbitrary, but nevertheless it seeks to capture a picture of a change in the leading cultural trends.

Royal period (VIII-VI centuries BC) - early period history of Rome. The Apennine peninsula was inhabited by numerous tribes, including lat and us, who lived in the lower reaches of the Tiber River, where the region of Latium arose - the future center of the Roman world. In the 8th century BC. Latins were at the tribal stage of development. At the head of their territorial communities was an elected king who performed the duties of a priest, military commander, legislator and judge. There was a council of elders and a people's assembly. Over time, representatives of the "paternal" clans made up a layer patr and ciev- a privileged part of society; the other, larger (and unprivileged) part of the society, which consisted of representatives of "alien" clans, was called the plebeians. In the VI century. BC. Rome led the Latin Union, becoming the leader in Latium. In 509 BC Tarquinius the Proud, the last Roman king, was expelled, and a republican form of government was established in Rome.

The neighbors of the Latins were the inhabitants of the Greek and Phoenician colonies, as well as etr at the ski, at a higher level of development. The Etruscans had a decisive influence on the development of the culture of Rome in the royal period. It is known that the last three Roman kings were Etruscans. It was under the Etruscans that Rome began to change - the swamps were drained, sewers were built. It turned into a big city with powerful fortress walls, beautiful temples (in particular, the temple of Jupiter), as well as houses, shopping arcades, rhymes, necro fields.

Republican period (V-I centuries BC). After the expulsion of Tarquinius the Proud, Rome becomes an aristocratic slave-owning republic, which, at the time of its heyday, created a system of mutual control of governing bodies (the Senate, consuls, and the people's assembly). The Roman historian Polybius believed that this was one of the reasons for the rise of Rome. The position of the patricians at first increased. However, the plebeians, who made up the bulk of the army (and Rome waged continuous wars), began to fight for their rights. At the beginning of the 5th century BC. the plebeians won the right to have popular tribunes, and by the 3rd century. BC. they were finally equalized in political rights with the patricians.

Time from III to I century. BC. - heyday of the Roman Republic and its culture. In the III century. the Roman civil community finally took shape, where a balance was maintained between personal and public benefit. War booty, slaves and land became the property of the community. The behavior of every free Roman was determined by the idea of ​​"common good". By the middle of the III century. BC. the Romans conquered the entire Apennine Peninsula and began to wage wars beyond its borders. In II-I centuries. BC. Rome became a world power with numerous provinces that could no longer remain a community. The first signs of its destruction are observed already in the II century. BC. All attempts to resurrect the community and preserve the republic ended tragically, leading to civil wars. The last years of the republic were turbulent - unrest in the provinces, the “allied war” (the uprising of the Italian tribes against Rome at the beginning of the 1st century BC), the uprising of Spartacus, the struggle of political groups for power as a result of increased property stratification, the destruction of the norms of republican morality based on collectivism.

Against this background, the further development of Roman culture took place, in which the Roman system of values ​​was embodied, giving a central place to military exploits and glory. At the end of the III century. BC. in Rome, a tangible cultural upsurge begins, associated with the powerful influence of Greek culture, language and education. Greek slaves became the teachers of the Romans and the first writers. Greek literature and art were perceived as a model for Roman authors and masters. Under the influence of Greek literature, the Latin literary language is formed. The streets and squares of Rome are decorated with marble statues taken from Greece (or their copies).

imp e rsky period (I-V centuries AD). In 27 BC introduced in Rome principle a t- the state system, which secured the de facto sole power of Octavia on August, proclaimed etc and nceps, or the first senator to receive virtually unlimited power, and emperor, those. the person with the highest military authority. For some time, it was possible to restore stability in society, to streamline public administration. Two myths became the cornerstone of the official ideology: the "Roman myth" - the idea of ​​Rome's power over the world, destined for it by the gods; the myth of the "golden age of Augustus" - a peacemaker, a deliverer from wars and unrest, the restoration of half-forgotten legends about the valor of ancestors. Cultural creativity I-II centuries. AD developed mainly within the thematic framework of these myths. In the "age of Augustus" the synthesis of Greek and Roman cultures was completed, the ancient culture was finally formed as an integrity. A characteristic feature of the cultural life of Rome can be considered the participation in it of natives of all provinces, who acted as philosophers, orators, lawyers, poets, artists, architects, teachers and doctors. In the I-II centuries. Roman culture retained its splendor and splendor, and in some respects surpassed its former level.

In the III century, crisis phenomena appeared in the political life of Rome: the frequent change of emperors, civil wars, the onslaught of the Germanic tribes almost led the empire to death. At the end of III - beginning of IV century. The reforms of the emperors Diocletian and Constantine I brought the country out of the systemic crisis, prolonging its existence for more than 100 years. And yet, the collapse of the traditional way of life and worldview led to new internal contradictions and the strengthening of centrifugal forces, which ultimately contributed to the death of Rome. The fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 is considered the end of antiquity (and the ancient world in general). Crisis phenomena also affected culture: a low level of literacy, coarsening of morals, a decrease in the level of art (passion for external form), and a decline in technical skill. But the main thing is pessimism and a crisis of the spirit, which was associated with the crisis of the collectivist ideology and, according to researchers, with the crisis of the polis and pagan religion. In a huge power, the policy became an anachronism (Rome long ago lost the features of a civil community), and in fact it was the policy that was the basis of pagan religions.

So, the gradual loss of the collective goal that gave meaning to people's lives caused a crisis of the spirit: a feeling of alienation, disunity, meaninglessness of existence. If earlier the Romans, like no other people of antiquity, showed respect, interest in the individual, now this has been replaced by uncertainty in tomorrow, increased dependence on someone else's will, observed both among the privileged classes and among ordinary people. And although philosophy tries to find a way out, to answer the question of how to live, preserve the freedom of the spirit and overcome disunity, it gives way to various mystical cults and superstitions that came from the East (for example, the cults of Cybele, Adonis, Isis, Mitra), which the weakened ancient religion, which lost its ground, could not resist. Along with them, in the II-IV centuries. Christianity spreads, leaving its mark on the late Roman culture. Gradually, the ancient system of values ​​gives way and gives way to a new, Christian ideology, ethics and practice.

Ancient literature originates in the 8th century. BC. in Greece (Roman literature originates from the 3rd century BC). In total, the time of its existence takes more than 1200 years. With some reservations, the development of Greco-Roman literature can be considered within the framework of the general periodization of the history and culture of the ancient world.

Greek Literature. Ancient Greek literature grew out of myth. During the dominance of pre-Olympic mythology, closely associated with matriarchy, a person perceived everything around him as animated, driven by some incomprehensible forces. Images of sirens, centaurs are evidence of the time when man felt himself an integral part of nature. Classical (Olympic) mythology is associated with patriarchy. Nature no longer frightens and begins to be perceived poetically. Numerous cults from different regions of Hellas merged into one cult of the Olympian gods, who became related to each other, lined up in a hierarchical row headed by Zeus and received certain, sometimes new functions. The ancient gods act as personified laws of nature and absolutized people. Heroes appear, fighting monsters and competing with the gods. The era of the decomposition of heroic mythology is characterized by myths about ancestral curse leading to the death of several generations in a row. As independent creativity, mythology ends with primitiveness. Philosophy and science take the place of mythological consciousness, and mythological plots continue to live in literature.

The epic poems "Iliad" and "Odyssey" are considered the first monuments of Greek literature. Most likely, they were written down in the second half of the 8th century. BC, and before that existed in the oral tradition. It is assumed that there were several composers of poems, but they were brought to artistic unity by the blind singer Homer. "Ilia Da" tells about the time of the fall of Troy; the events of "Odyssey and" are the long adventures of the hero of the Trojan War, Odysseus, returning home after the capture of Troy. Both poems are works of heroic epic. The author has a negative attitude towards the war, but recognizes it if it is of a liberating nature. He honors the patriotism of the citizen of the policy. A special line is the relationship between gods and people: the gods interfere in people's lives, suggest decisions or predetermine their fate, but the heroes do not hesitate to object to the gods and sometimes act "contrary to fate."

Homer's poems have an independent aesthetic orientation. Tragedy elements are intertwined here with humor, irony and even satire (in the modern sense of the word). This gives the stories a special drama. The works of Homer in antiquity were considered an ideal literary language. They were staged in the theater, studied in schools. The philological study of poems was already begun by Aristotle (4th century BC). IN ancient Russian literature references to Homer date back to the 12th century. In the XVIII-XX centuries. among the Russian admirers and translators of Homer were A.D. Kantemi r, M.V. Lomonosov, G.R. Derzhavin, A.N. Radishchev, I.A. Krylov, N.I. Gnedich, V.A. Zhukovsky, V.V. Veresa ev, A.F. Losev.

Hesio d is considered the second major epic poet (there is no doubt in the real existence of this figure, in contrast to the semi-legendary Homer). In his works, mythology turned either into an object of edification (the poem "Works and Days" is an example of a didactic epic), or into an object of study and cataloging (the poem "Theogony" is a genealogical epic, where the author draws a picture of the formation of the world and the origin of the Olympic gods). Together with Homer, Hesiod is called the creator of the world of the Greek gods, and his works are called a treasury of moral teachings and useful advice. It is believed that ancient ethics begins with Hesiod: people differ from animals in their knowledge of good and evil, and this humanistic idea runs like a red thread through all his work. Ancient society was guided by the moral standards described by Hesiod for a long time.

The epic was transmitted in rhythmic form - it was easier to remember. This form was called "verse" (a word that originally meant a battle formation, where each warrior knew his place). Since the poems were accompanied by playing musical instruments (lyre, cithara, etc.), over time, a number of genres of ancient poetry began to be called l and rika. In the archaic period, lyrics were of a folklore nature and were associated with various forms of everyday life. During this period, choral lyrics dominated, retaining a connection with the tribal past: Ionian - cheerful, warm, mobile; dorian - solemn and gloomy; Lydian - sad; Phrygian - exciting to ecstasy. The lyrics of the classical period were divided into declamatory and song (melika). In the 5th century BC. there is a sunset of choral lyrics, individual lyrics begin to dominate. In various periods, certain motives prevailed in poetry: militant-patriotic, philosophical, political, everyday, love, etc.

The first dated work of Greek lyric poetry belongs to the second half of the 7th century BC. BC. Its author was Archilo H. Woman-lover and misogynist, reveler, philosopher and warrior, he wrote elegies, epitaphs, epigrams and hymns. He was equally close to the interests of the god of war and the muses, military achievements and the enjoyment of life. The lyrics of Archilochus were tense, passionate and witty. For all time he became famous for his iambs. The ancients put him on a par with Homer. During the struggle between the aristocracy and democracy on the island of Lesbos, the poet Alcaeus and the poetess Sappho (Sappho) became famous. The aristocrats, forced to emigrate and then returned to their homeland, reflected the vicissitudes of fate in their lyrics. Along with the motives of the political struggle, Alcaeus was attracted by the themes of nature, wine and women. IN lyrical theme Sappho's love is a whole symphony of feelings and sensations. Her love is bitter and sweet, and even nature is permeated with erotic moods. Sappho wrote hymns to Aphrodite, letters to her friends, and epithal while mi- wedding songs.

The singer of playful, graceful and cheerful eroticism was the poet Anacreon, who lived at the turn of the archaic and classic. His compositions consist mainly of love and drinking songs. The most famous of all the classical lyric poets is the Theban poet Pindar (late 6th - mid 5th century BC). He was quoted by many, starting with the historian Herodotus. In Pindar we find almost all types of Greek choral lyrics. He praises the winners of the all-Greek competitions - the Olympic, Pythian, Isthmian, Nemean games. The style of his works is solemn, magnificent, refined. The poetry of Pindar is the poetry of a great national order, the harmony of the public good with personal aspirations. In this sense, Pindar turned out to be the most striking exponent of the ancient classical ideal.

Poetry became completely different in the Hellenistic period, turning into art for the elite. Lush, refined, full of learning, a poetry that had departed from social problems flourished in the courts of certain rulers. So, under the Ptolemies there was a famous literary association, headed by the Alexandrian poet Kallima x (c. 310-240 BC). His creative fertility is striking - he wrote about 800 various compositions (only a small part of them has come down to us - mainly hymns and epigrams).

Hellenistic literature is extremely diverse in terms of genre. The most common were small literary forms (for example, epigr and mmm). Urban life reflected mimi and mb Heroes (first half of the 3rd century BC) - short everyday scenes from the life of the middle and lower strata of society. From the works of Theocritus (the first half of the 3rd century BC) a sentimental genre of world significance originates - id and lliya, which became a model for later pastoral poetry. These are poems about shepherds and shepherdesses in love, enthusiastic and beautiful, coquettish and cutesy, to which the poet treats with condescending irony. The real work of the peasants does not interest the author, he admires their feelings. The idylls of Theocritus are elegant love miniatures.

If the archaic period most clearly expressed itself in the epic and lyrics, then the classical period - in others but me(main genres - trag e diya And com e diya). In primitive society, the drama accompanied almost all ritual actions, but in Greece it became an independent spectacular performance, standing out from the cult in the 6th century. BC. This was facilitated by the emergence of democracy and the spread throughout Greece of the cult of Dionysus - the god of fun, winemaking and fertility. Both phenomena gave rise to various personal conflicts and, as a result, a dramatic understanding of life. Aristotle speaks of the origin of the tragedy "from the singing of the dithyramb" - a choral song in honor of Dionysus, performed by the satyrs accompanying him - anthropoid demons with strongly pronounced goat-like features. The word "tragedy" literally means the song of the goats. Systematically tragedies were staged during the Great (city) Dioni this - festivities in honor of Dionysus in Athens. The basis of the tragic production was originally choir; moreover, was coryphe to her(sang), which subsequently transforms into actor. Gradually, the authors of the tragedies introduce other actors (first the second, and then the third); over time, there is a drop in the value of the chorus. One of the features of the archaic drama was a mixture of the sublime and the base, the serious and the comic. And therefore, from the same source (the Dionysian mysteries), along with tragedy, a cheerful sat and roving drama, from which comedy is further separated (from Greek - “village song”).

Thespi d (second half of the 6th century BC) is considered the first Athenian tragedian. In 534, his tragedy was staged, but not a single work of Thespides and other early playwrights has survived. The first tragedians were eclipsed by Aeschy l (c. 525-456 BC), who wrote 70 tragedies and 20 satyr dramas. 7 of his tragedies have come down to us, and among them are “Persians”, “Oreste I”, “Chained Prometheus”. He won the tragedian competition 13 times. Aeschylus belongs to the creation of the structure of the tragic genre. In his works, he defined the concepts of truth and justice within religious and ethical boundaries: there is an inevitable law of fair retribution, established by the gods and controlled by them. Aeschylus glorifies the human feat and links it with the polis organization of society.

The tragedian Sopho cl (c. 496-406 BC), who won competitions 20 times, wrote over 100 works (7 tragedies have survived). His work was reflected in the crisis of Athenian democracy. He poses the pressing problems of his time: the attitude to religion (“Elektra”), the conflict of divine and earthly laws (“Antigona”), the clash of the will of the gods with human will("Oedipus Rex"). He recognizes the dependence of man on the gods, but his heroes are adamant and try to make their choice. Sophocles depicts a person as he should be.

A contemporary of Sophocles was Euripios (c. 485-406 BC). Of the 92 works written by him, 17 tragedies have come down to us (the most famous are “Mede Ya”, “Troy nk”, “Elena”, “Electra”) and the satyr drama “Kiklo p”. The activity of Euripides proceeded during the years of the crisis of the Athenian policy, when the problems of duty and personal happiness, the role of the state and its laws were relevant. The ideas of humanism are visible in his works. The gods are cruel, but not omnipotent - says the playwright. If in Aeschylus and Sophocles the conflict was generated by a threat from outside, then Euripides considers the passions and impulses of his own soul to be the source of human suffering. He portrays a person as he is - with his weaknesses, loneliness, inner quest and torment. No wonder Aristotle considered Euripides the most tragic poet.

Comedy, which was born during the Lesser (Rural) Dionysius, early lost its ritual and religious meaning. The ancient comedy could be political in nature and was often the sharpest pamphlet directed against the rulers of democracy. Contrasting the village with the city, she sang the ancient agricultural ideals. The heyday of ancient Greek comedy is associated with the name of Aristophanes (c. 445 - c. 386 BC). Of his 44 comedies, 11 have survived, including Horsemen, Frogs, Lysistra and Women in the National Assembly. The collection of comedies by Aristophanes is a real encyclopedia of Greek life of that time. In the Hellenistic era, the authors of comedies move away from politics and turn to psychological and everyday realism (intrigue, comedy of manners, etc.). Of the comedians of that time, Mena ndr (342-291 BC) is known. He wrote more than 100 plays, of which only one is fully preserved - "Diskol" ("Hater"). Menander, not particularly appreciated by his contemporaries, ensured the further success of the comedy genre in Greece and Rome, abandoning conventional characters and creating types that survived their era.

Along with poetry, prose works were created in Greece from ancient times, which have not survived to this day. In the VII-VI centuries. BC. prose is represented by historical, geographical and philosophical works. In the 6th century, the ba snya was born. Collections of fables were known right up to Byzantine times under the name "Aesopian songs" (Ezop is a wise and insightful slave who criticized the untruth of life in an allegorical form, and hence the Aesopian language).

In the 5th century BC. the development of the historiographical genre is associated with Herodotus (c. 484 - c. 425 BC) - the "father of history", who left a presentation of the Greco-Persian wars along with descriptions of Egypt, Scythia, and the countries of Asia Minor. In addition to scientific observations and conclusions, Herodotus has many literary and mythological plots, folk tales giving his "History" a unique artistic specificity. Unlike Herodotus, the interests of Thucydis (c. 460-396 BC) lay in modernity; events in his "History" are set out in an accurate chronological system. He examines the Peloponnesian War in particular detail (Thucydides was a participant in it), striving for a critical analysis of the material. Modern historiography considers him the first research historian and founder of historical criticism. Thucydides' successor in history was Xenopho nt of Athens (c. 430-355 BC) - warrior, writer, philosopher. He became the author of notes about Socrates, the biography novel Kiropedia (Education of Cyrus), a number of philosophical and economic treatises, Greek History, as well as the adventure-historical novel Ana Basis (Cyrus' Campaign).

In the IV century. BC. the leading place in literature was occupied by historical and philosophical writings, as well as the speeches of orators, pushing drama and lyrics into the background. Oratory developed in Greece from early times, and with the intensification of the political struggle, it acquired particular importance - speakers had to influence listeners with the persuasiveness of their speeches. Eloquence was divided into political and judicial. The science of oratory was gradually created - rit oh rica; its founders were sofa and sta. Exploring phrases in order to achieve a more vivid expression of thought, the sophists achieved the periodicity and rhythm of speech. Speakers used artistic means to evoke sympathy for a particular character. The speeches of such speakers of the 5th-4th centuries. how Andokis, Gorgias, Demosthenes, Lysias, Isocrates had a noticeable influence on the development of Greek prose.

Hellenistic prose, which made a turn from social problems to personal, everyday topics, is characterized by a complicated language and the desire to express the inner world of personal experiences with sophisticated means. Hellenistic historiography is increasingly turning into fiction. Particular attention is paid to the entertaining presentation, the harmony of the composition, the perfection of style. At the end of II - beginning of I century. BC. took shape new genre Greek prose - rum a n. It was created during the crisis of the ancient worldview, when ideology broke with mythology and placed man at the center of the story. Most of the adventures of the novel were organized as a test of the feelings of the hero or heroine. Ancient novels have not come down to us, only fragments have survived. Several novels of the 1st-3rd centuries are known in their entirety. AD, the authors of which were Khariton, Long, Achilles Taty, Xenophon of Ephesus. In the Hellenistic period, literature becomes the subject scientific criticism, philological analysis. Alexandrian scholars were especially active in collecting and commenting on source materials. In this regard, Kallima x became famous, having compiled the bibliographic "Tables" in 120 books - the catalog of the Library of Alexandria, the historical and literary encyclopedia, the first bibliography in the history of literature, which became the basis for subsequent philologists-researchers.

In the Roman period of the development of Greek literature, Pluta rx (c. 46 - c. 127 AD) was an outstanding figure - an encyclopedically educated writer, philosopher and scientist who created more than 200 works (about half have survived). He wrote in various genres and is remarkable as a moralist who expressed his views on life and the place of man in it in numerous works under the general title "Moralia". The Comparative Lives of famous statesmen and generals of the Greco-Roman world brought him special fame. Lukian of Samos (c. 120 - c. 180 AD) gained worldwide fame, becoming famous for his merciless satire in depicting contemporary society. His laughter (up to sarcasm) was a tool for transforming life on the basis of reason and humanity.

Latin literature. The initial period of the development of Roman literature (until the 3rd century BC) is characterized by the dominance of oral folk literature. One can judge this era only by small quotations or references in later writings. A pronounced authorial beginning did not yet exist - the poet-singer did not separate from the listener. It is known that there were cult hymns and spells, as well as various songs - everyday, wedding, drinking and funeral. Works of a comic, parodic nature were widely circulated. The main type of drama was atell and we- ancient Roman folk performances, a special kind of farces. Later, at the turn of II-I centuries. BC, these improvisations turned into a comedy play that closed the presentation of tragedies. The emergence of Roman business literature also belongs to ancient times. At first it was inscriptions, contracts, then ann a ly(Chronicles), legal and prophetic texts. The first Roman writer known to us was a statesman at the end of the 4th century. BC. A ppius Claudius Tsek. He reformed the Latin alphabet and spelling, compiled a collection of poetry, and was the author of legal treatises and political speeches.

If at the initial stage of development, Roman literature did not experience Greek influence, then in the future this influence was so great that the literature of Rome can no longer be imagined without it. By the 3rd century BC. Greek literature has already passed the way of 400-500 years. Rome, however, took advantage of its results, learned the main achievements and created its own literature. This is one of the features of Roman literature. Another feature was that the time of the meeting of the two literatures was the Hellenistic period, and the young Roman literature reproduced Hellenism in an extremely intense, sharp and dramatic way. Finally, a specific feature of Roman literature was its development within the vast empire, in the context of countless wars and an unprecedented heat of socio-political life, when the grandiosity, sublimity, grandeur and dynamics of the image were combined with cold sobriety of assessments, efficiency and practicality without the fantasticness inherent in the Greeks and a penchant for philosophizing. The Roman pathos of the construction of life made Roman literature original and mature.

"The first Roman poet" Livy Andronik (c. 280-204 BC) was a Greek slave, then a freedman. He taught the children of a Roman senator. Translated Homer's Odyssey into Latin. This translation was later read in Roman schools. At the festive games in 240 BC. Livy staged everyday tragedy and comedy - alterations from Greek, which had great success. By analogy with Greek, Roman is created heroic epic- "Punic War" by Neviy and "Annals" by Ennius. Gnaeus Neviy (c. 270 - c. 210 BC) was engaged in the processing of Greek comedies, and Quintus Ennius (239-169 BC) - tragedies. Both of them brought events closer to Roman life. Initially, the theater in Rome was intended for visitors and the common people. However, the general public did not speak Greek, so the authors of the productions had to use Latin. The language of farmers and warriors was short and poor, and it had to be brought to a literary level. A whole cohort of writers of various genres participated in this case. And when in the 1st c. BC. the aristocracy descended to literary pursuits, it had already developed a rich Latin language capable of conveying subtle human feelings and thoughts.

Unlike the Greeks, the Romans preferred comedy to tragedy. The comedies of Titus Maccius Plautus (c. 250 - 184 BC) were considered exemplary. Of the 21 plays by Plautus that have come down to us, the most popular were Treasure, Boastful Warrior, and Prisoners. His heroes are ordinary people who are in conflict with each other, and the image of a clever servant helping out his master later passes through the work of playwrights of the New Age (Shakespeare, Moliere, Goldoni, Beaumarchais, etc.). They said about the language of Plautus: "The Muses themselves would use the language of Plautus if they wanted to speak Latin." Skillfully resorting to a play on words, he created new figurative expressions, and also parodied the clichés accepted in the official language and in court. The comedian Publius Terentius (c. 190-159 BC) in his plays (“Mother-in-Law”, “Self-Tormentor”, “Brothers”, etc.) touched upon issues of family, life, and upbringing. Like Plautus, he, imitating the Greek heroes, introduces them into Roman reality, ascribes to them a purely Roman field, which causes the comedy of the situation. Unlike Greek comedy, the characters of his heroes in the course of action receive psychological development. Philologists note the great merits of Terentius in the development of Latin - the language of Terentius was so pure and expressive that his works entered the system of Roman school education and survived even into the Middle Ages.

During civil wars(mid-II century - 30 BC) tragedies and comedies with a Roman plot appeared. And yet both genres developed under the significant influence of Greek models. The original Roman literary genre was sat hooray.(satire) - a small accusatory work. The merit in the literary processing of satura belongs to the poet Gaius Lucilius (c. 180-102 BC). It is known that he was the author of a huge number of poems (scattered fragments have come down to us). Unlike his predecessors, who wrote for the school or for the stage, Lucilius created for book readers - not for scientists and aristocrats, but for the middle, but educated classes. He drew his material from public life, noticing its negative aspects and sometimes denouncing prominent political figures.

In an atmosphere of acute socio-political struggle at the end of the 2nd - beginning of the 1st century. BC. Roman prose developed significantly: oratorical eloquence, historiography, memoirs and epistolary literature. In the preceding period, writings in prose remained rare. First prose work in Latin, the work of Mark Portsia Cato the Elder (234-149 BC) “On Agriculture” is considered. In addition, Cato published his speeches (about 150), wrote essays on medicine, Roman history ("Beginnings") and oratory. He is considered the first Roman prose writer.

From the middle of the II century. BC. The genre of history becomes the most important for Roman prose. In understanding the era of conquests, Rome became a starting point for historians. So, to promote the great mission of Rome, Polybius (c. 200-120 BC) did a lot - a Greek by nationality, who lived in Rome as a prisoner. He made the first attempt to write a coherent general history, and yet his work "General History" would be more correctly called the history of the wars and victories of the Romans. Before the eyes of Polybius, the Mediterranean world is rapidly changing, and he is trying to find out the reason for such a phenomenon as Roman domination in the military-political field and Greek dominance in the spiritual sphere. In the 1st century BC. The outstanding politician and general Gaius Julius Caesar (100-44 BC) became famous for his historical works “Notes on the Civil War” and “Notes on the Gallic War”. He described his own military and political deeds, accompanying them with artistic sketches of nature, stories about the life and customs of the barbarians. Caesar's works are characterized by a bright, thoughtful composition, a simple, laid-back story, and an ideally accurate, "exemplary" Latin language.

A significant place in the Roman literature of the republican period was occupied by scientific, philosophical and oratorical works. The greatest scientist-encyclopedist was Mark Terence Varro (116-27 BC). He wrote more than 70 works, including historical ones, describing the history of the Roman people, their customs, religion and customs. Varro was the author of works on law, art, Latin grammar (which testifies to the birth of Roman philology), as well as on the history of literature. He became the only Roman writer to be honored with a lifetime monument. Titus Lucretius Carus (c. 96-55 BC) lived during the transition period from republic to empire, when enlightenment spread, abandoning religious mythological ideas and turning to materialism as an opportunity to bring Rome from civil war to peace. Lucretius is the largest philosopher and poet who created the work "On the Nature of Things", in which the most complex philosophical ideas about the origin and development of the world and human society are presented in a fascinating poetic form. The poem of Lucretius, systematically expounding Epicurean philosophy, has undergone the test of time and remains unfading to this day.

The development of eloquence in Rome was largely facilitated by brilliant examples of Greek oratory, which from the 2nd century. BC. carefully studied in Roman schools. Oratory has influenced all types of literature, especially prose. Evidence of this are the works of Mark Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC), who in Rome became the personification of the highest stage of oratory, along with Demosthenes in Greece. Cicero delivered a huge number of speeches and wrote a number of works on the theory of eloquence. He was a lawyer, a major politician and did a lot to acquaint the Romans with Hellenic philosophy. In his philosophical treatises "On the Limits of Good and Evil", "On the Nature of the Gods", "Tuskulana Conversations", etc., he outlined the foundations of the teachings of the Platonists and Stoics. The Latin language in his works acquired a new sound, therefore it is impossible to imagine Roman literature without Cicero, as Russian literature without Pushkin.

The development of Roman literature in the middle of the 1st century. BC. was marked by the appearance literary school not from e ricov("new"). The poets who belonged to it were united by a common worldview, aesthetic norms and stylistic attitudes. They had a significant impact on the formation of Roman lyrics and left a noticeable mark on the artistic thought of antiquity. New in the works of neotherics was the aesthetics of personal experiences. The poetry of personal feelings introduced into Roman literature a new hero with his own ethical and aesthetic world, opposed to official society. The recognized theorist and head of the "new" ones is Publius Valery Cato, and the best of the lyricists is Gaius Valery Catull, who sang love and jealousy, friendship and affection for dear fatherly places with special refinement and sensuality. A reflection of the turbulent era of civil wars were his epigrams, discrediting political enemies. In world lyrics, the poetry of Catullus occupies a prominent place. He was read throughout antiquity, he was known in the Middle Ages, Peter Rka was interested in him, he influenced French poetry, was highly valued by Pushkin and Blok.

From the reign of Augustus, an internal peace was established in the Roman state for some time, which stimulated the flowering of art and literature. Augustus understood the extent of the impact of fiction on the masses and patronized the writers. This period is associated with the names of the most famous poets Rome - Virgil, Horace and Ovid. At the center of the official literary trend was the circle of Maecenas, which, among others, included Publius Virgilius Maro (70-19 BC), who gained worldwide fame. A special place among his works is occupied by "Aenei da" - an epic patriotic poem about the courage of the ancient Romans, substantiating the central idea of ​​the August reign, and then the whole empire - the idea of ​​​​the great mission of Rome in creating a perfect "Roman world" (Latin emphasis "> o rgyki"), idealizing rural labor in it. This was an expression of sympathy for the policy of Augustus, who tried to improve the small and medium economy of the village after civil wars. in the Aeneid, Augustus appears here as the spokesman for the entire Roman people.

Quintus Horace Flaccus (65-8 BC) shone in the same circle, distinguished by some free-thinking, however, not dangerous for Augustus. He took the themes of his works from reality. In general, supporting Augustus, the poet criticizes him, softening the criticism with a witty joke. He also acts as a moral philosopher - he preaches the rule of the golden mean, i.e. the ability to live without frills, opposes extravagance and greed, draws the reader's attention to the inner world, and not to external benefits. Horace's language is an example of classical precision, where there is always a minimum of expression and a maximum of expressiveness.

Another literary pole united prominent poets who expressed opposition to Caesarism. One of them was Publius Ovidius Nason (c. 43 BC - 18 AD), who reached the heights in love lyrics, imbued at first with humor and irony, and later with deep psychologism. He considers love as the most important manifestation of human relationships, uniting people with each other and with God - a new idea for ancient poetry, anticipating the concept of Christian love. Ovid owns the poems "The Science of Love", "The Cure for Love", etc. The greatest work of ancient literature was his "Metamorphoses" ("Transformations"), describing about 250 myths about transformations, arranged in chronological order. "Metamorphoses" were an artistic reflection of the deep sides of reality, because the Roman history of the times of Ovid was full of endless vicissitudes of fate. Ovid himself, who died in exile, became their victim, despite the fact that he was not in political, but in moral and aesthetic opposition to Augustus.

The "Roman Myth" found its final form in the monumental historical work of Titus Livius (59 BC - 17 AD) - the largest historian of the Augustan era, adjoining the official direction. The work of Livy "History of Rome from the founding of the city" in 142 books (35 have been fully preserved) is a heroic epic about the valor and morals of the ancestors of the Roman people. The presentation begins with mythical times (the arrival of Aeneas in Italy) and is brought to the present. Written in colorful language, the work of Livy entertained and taught, becoming a reference book for every educated Roman. "History" was not so much a study as "a poetic epic in prose." There is no serious analysis of events here, but vivid artistic characteristics are given.

In the I-II centuries. AD Roman culture retains its brilliance, and in a number of areas surpasses the previous level. Philosophers, poets, artists come to Rome from all over the empire. Moreover, Roman culture itself spread throughout the empire. Some features are characteristic of the literature of this period. It reflected the complex and controversial life of the Roman Mediterranean: material well-being and the decline of morals, universal human values ​​and primitive estate egoism. A number of writers placed their art at the service of the emperor, and the positions of official literature strengthened. Hence the mannered style, artificial pathos, literary cliches, a variety of genres. Another part of the writers, not striving for fundamental changes, but, occupying an oppositional position, raised general ethical questions and resolved them in the spirit of stoicism. The largest among them was Lucius Anna and Seneca the Younger (4 BC - 65 AD), who wrote a number of epigrams, satire, 10 tragedies and several philosophical works. Seneca invented an exquisite and figurative poetic style of speech - the language of witty metaphors, which replaced the "old" style of Cicero. However, between sermons moral principles stoicism (to live and die with dignity; to seek happiness not in material goods, but within oneself; not to strive for power, but to withdraw into private life; to submit to the divine power that manifests itself in all nature) and the way of life of Seneca himself was an obvious discrepancy: he accumulated enormous wealth, strove for power and became a consul, despised the people and treated slaves cruelly. Seneca was engaged in the education of Nero, and later, accused of conspiracy, committed suicide.

Historiography continued to develop in the early imperial period. Gaius Suetonius Tranquill (c. 70 - c. 150 AD) compiled biographies of the Roman Caesars (the work "The Life of the Twelve Caesars"), providing them with details from privacy and paying special attention to the vices and base passions of the first persons of the state. An outstanding historian of the ancient world was Cornelius Tacitus (c. 55 - c. 120 AD), highly valued even in modern times. An important source on the history, life, manners and customs of the Germanic tribes of the 1st century BC. AD is his monograph "Germany". Without idealizing the Germans, he believes that they do not have the vices of Roman society. The works "History" and "Annals" are the most mature and famous works of Tacitus. With deep psychologism, he described the tragedy of Roman society, gave apt descriptions of historical figures. The practical orientation of the activities of the Romans was reflected in the "Natural History" of Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD). Pliny, who served in various provinces of the empire, was an adviser to the central government, and the facts he collected were used by official political ideologues.

The genre of the novel becomes new for Roman literature. The novel "Metamorphoses, or the Golden Ass" by Lucius Apuleius (II century AD) is well-known. The plot in a nutshell is this. A man turned into a donkey experienced many humiliations, learned the life of various sections of Roman society. As a moralist writer, Apuleius brilliantly solved the problem of "teaching while entertaining." Possessing an encyclopedic knowledge, he was an orator, philosopher and lawyer. Apuleius experienced the influence of his time on himself - he was fond of Eastern cults, believed in miracles, was initiated into some mysteries. All this is reflected in his work. From the 1st century AD fable is included in Roman literature as an independent genre. The fabulist Phaedrus (1st century AD), starting with a poetic transcription of Aesop's heritage into Latin, introduces new content - all the fables allegorically and sharply tell about Roman reality. For his satire, Phaedrus was persecuted, but much later European literature enjoyed his achievements (La Fontaine in France, Krylov in Russia).

The works of Martial and Juvenal are filled with humor and satire. Mark Valerius Marcia l (c. 40 - c. 102 AD) brought the epigram genre to a classical form. With a few strokes, aptly and witty, his epigrams ridicule the vices of society. Over 1500 epigrams and inscriptions of Martial show the mores of Roman life - the lack of rights and poverty of some, the omnipotence and luxury of others. In front of us are dissolute, mediocre people. His epigrams were known in the Middle Ages, they influenced the epigram of the 16th-17th centuries, and later on Schiller, Goethe, Vyazemsky, Pushkin. Decim Junius Juvena l (c. 60 - c. 127 AD) left 5 books "Satire" as accusatory content, revealing the vices of high society, and on moral and philosophical topics. Juvenal opposed the passion for foreign (for example, Eastern) cults, denounced debauchery and social inequality. In the Middle Ages, he attracted the attention of readers as a moralist, and in the XVIII-XIX centuries. they became interested in him as a fighter against despotism and tyranny.

From the second half of the II century. Roman literature is in decline, poets are carried away by the pretentiousness of the form, the rhythm of the verse, they turn to old genres, they begin to collect various fragments from ancient Greek and Roman writers. The “age of crisis” in Roman literature, as in all culture, becomes the 3rd century: the systemic political and economic crisis of the empire also affected literature. The line between ancient and medieval literature is considered to be the 6th century, during which the work of the “last Roman” Severi on Boethius (480-524), who reflected Christian ethical and philosophical themes in his works, fell. The spread and establishment of Christianity led to the development of a new culture and literature, but "the fruit of the Hellenic-Roman life" (in the words of A.I. Herzen) did not perish for mankind.

Ancient art is usually called a classic, as, in fact, literature. For thousands of years they have been a model for the creators of artistic culture all over the world. In ancient Greece, art was dominant, the power and grandeur of which have not changed through the ages. The fine arts and architecture of Hellas developed under the influence of three different streams: the Aegean (Crete-Mycenaean), Dorian and Eastern. Nevertheless, they acquired their unique features associated with the fact that the Greeks found the basis of beauty and harmony in man and the nature around him. In its development, the art of Hellas went through the same stages as the entire Greek culture as a whole.

Architecture. Formation time ancient greek architecture became archaic. The dwellings of this time are simple and primitive, priority is given to public buildings, primarily temples. Initially, the sanctuary, the abode of the gods were buildings, which were basically m e garon- a rectangular house of the Mycenaean rulers of the II millennium BC, a building with a gable roof lying on columns. Such a purely technical solution was ingeniously translated by the Greeks into an artistic one. The facade of the building from the end formed P oh rtik. Subsequently, two porticos appeared on opposite sides, and then the building was surrounded by columns from all sides: lane and pter- with one row of columns, d and pter- with two rows; there was also a type of a round temple; appeared in the Hellenistic period, and became widely used in ancient Roman architecture ps e vdoperi pter, when the gaps between the columns were filled, turning the columns into semi-columns, which already played only a decorative role, and the main load was carried by the wall). The temple with a colonnade was perceived by the Greeks as a model and symbol of a closely knit civic community. The system of organization of architectural forms, which is characterized by a certain combination of the bearing (floor) and bearing (column) structural part is called about the order. The architectural orders of the Greeks include dor and Czech, Ionic And core and nph; the Romans created melancholy a nsky And composition and th orders. The use of orders is a feature of ancient architecture; they give severity and grandeur to Greco-Roman temples.

The heyday of ancient Greek architecture is considered to be the 5th century BC. BC. Its first half was marked by the creation of the most significant works of the Doric style (for example, the temple of Zeus at Olimpii in the Peloponnese). By the second half of the 5th c. the temple of Apollo in Bassae in the Peloponnese, where three orders were first applied at once: Doric, Ionic and Corinthian. But the most significant phenomenon was the creation of the Athenian Acropolis - an architectural ensemble that was supposed to approve the idea of ​​the military-political and cultural hegemony of Athens in the Greek world. This was the realization of the desire of Pericles to turn Athens into the most beautiful city in Hellas. On the Acropolis, which has long been a sanctuary and a fortress, various structures have been erected over the course of 50 years: the strict Partheno and the temple of Athena the Virgin; a miniature temple of Ni ki Apteros (“Wingless Victory”); whimsical Erechte yon, where they revered Athena, Poseidon and the mythical king of Athens Erechte I (in the form of a snake); Propyle and - the western main entrance to the Acropolis; severe-looking Pinakote ka - an art gallery. All buildings were built using different orders - Doric and Ionic. This had a symbolic meaning - the unity of the Greek policies. Outstanding architects took part in the construction: Iktin, Kallikra t, Mnesi kl. The work was supervised by a friend of Pericles, the outstanding sculptor Phidias.

In the IV century. BC. the center of construction moves to the Peloponnese and Asia Minor. Architecture develops the achievements of the 5th century, but acquires a slightly different character: a type of a round temple appears, special decorative effects are used. It was then that the Corinthian order, the most complex of all, began to be used more often. At that time, there were no conditions for the creation of large architectural forms. The exception was the remarkable Epida vr ensemble in Argoli de (Peloponnese), erected in honor of the popular cult of Asclepius, the god of healing. The ensemble included a temple, a stadium, this hymn, a house for visitors, a theater and a concert hall.

The theater was of great importance in the life of the Greeks. Initially, the choir performed on the site - orch e stre, - around which the audience gathered. As the performances became more complex, the orchestra began to be located at the foot of the hill, and the audience sat down on the slope. But already in the V century. BC. a type of theatrical structure was formed, characteristic of the entire era of antiquity. It included three main parts: orch e stra; te atron- places for spectators located in a semicircle; ck e on- rooms for dressing artists, as well as for storing scenery and props. This layout provided good audibility, although sometimes it was necessary to build in resonators. The Theater of Dionysus in Athens is the first monumental theater in Greece, located on the southern slope of the Acropolis. The ancient Greek theater had an unusual size for a modern understanding - it was believed that residents of the entire policy, as well as guests, should gather for performances. Thus, the theater in Epidaurus had over 12 thousand seats, the theater of Dionysus accommodated 17 thousand spectators, and the theater in Megalo field - 44 thousand people.

In Rome, the theater did not originally have a permanent building. At the Forum, a temporary wooden platform, half the height of a man, was erected, on which the actors climbed the steps. Spectators either stood or sat. The scenery depicted the city landscape, and the action played out in front of it. Construction starts later stone theaters accommodating up to 40 thousand people. Specifically Roman spectacular buildings were amphitheater(ellipsoid theater) and circus . The largest amphitheater for gladiator fights - Colise to her(second half of the 1st century AD) - accommodated 50 thousand spectators. It had four tiers, on which the Romans were located along social position which Greece did not know. In the leisure of the Romans, a significant place was occupied by visiting the terms (baths), which, along with bath procedures, were a place of pleasant pastime. Gymnastic halls, libraries, rooms for music lessons, parks were also provided here. The most grandiose - the baths of Caracalla (III century AD) - occupied an area of ​​​​12 hectares and could simultaneously accommodate up to 1600 people.

Unlike the Greeks, the Romans paid great attention to the construction of residential buildings. A kind of innovation was the construction of multi-storey (up to 6 floors) tenement houses, which significantly changed the appearance of a millionth (by the 1st century BC) Rome. Know built luxurious mansions from marble - palaces and country villas. We have a good idea of ​​them from the excavations in Pompeii, Stabii and Hercula num - cities that died during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius (79 AD) and revived by archaeologists. In Rome, the subsequent development largely destroyed the ancient buildings. Nevertheless, it is known that the end of the 1st - the beginning of the 2nd century BC. AD was the time of the creation of grandiose architectural complexes. The Romans preferred closed forms: the squares were surrounded by buildings on all sides. A clearly defined center was created in the city (temples, basilicas, libraries, forums, porticos, thermae, circuses, etc.), gardens and parks, roads, water supply, and sewerage were laid. All this changed the face of the capital.

Construction proceeded dynamically throughout the empire. The capital dictated his style, and the conquered peoples were in the sphere of influence of Roman artistic principles. New cities were built according to the plan, taking into account the availability of drinking water, climatic conditions, and the proximity of transport routes. Residential quarters, centers with public buildings, theaters, circuses, stadiums, baths, aqueducts were envisaged. It was hard to imagine a huge state without beautiful roads with stone and concrete pavement. They were built for the transfer of troops to numerous fortresses, as well as for postal communications. IN best years empire, the length of roads was up to 90 thousand kilometers. Land communication was not inferior to sea. Even the Greeks, followed by the Romans, built seaports equipped with warehouses, shipyards and docks, protected by breakwaters and breakwaters. Lighthouses were also built. And one of them is a 120-meter lighthouse, built in 285-280. BC. Greek architect Sostratus of Cnidus on the island of Faros in the Alexandrian harbor - was considered one of the wonders of the world.

Art. antique art associated primarily with sculpture. Statues and details of reliefs that once adorned buildings are now exhibited in museums. Although the Greeks had pina cot e ki(repositories of paintings, unfortunately, have not come down to us), most of the works of art led a "non-museum" lifestyle: the statues were located either in temples or in the open air. Art created for a person a specific habitat in which he led a social life. This world was alive and bright: against the background of the blue sky or the sea, against the background of greenery, there were painted (not white, as it is now) temples and sculptures. Plutarch said that in Athens there were more statues than people.

The prelude to the art of Hellas was the Cretan-Mycenaean artistic creativity, which was separated from the Greek proper by the Dorian invasion and the Dark Ages. Among the murals of the Palace of Knossos in Crete are disturbing and tense paintings: for example, "playing with a bull" (apparently a religious ritual, attested to by the myth of Minotus). The movements of animals and people are perfectly conveyed. Among the paintings, images of plants, birds, sea inhabitants predominate. But there are many scenes secular life: graceful and elegant ladies, gallant men. There are similarities with art ancient egypt- the head is shown in profile, the shoulders are turned full face, as are the eyes. However, it is obvious that the attitude of the Cretans is different from the Egyptian: it is more joyful and spontaneous. Mycenaean artistic culture is more severe than Cretan. The paintings are drier and stricter. Apparently, the militarized life of the Achaeans left its mark on her. It was to this time that the Trojan War dates back - the confrontation between the Mycenaean king Agamemnon and the Trojan king Priam. It is no coincidence that powerful fortresses were built, the masonry of the walls of which is called cyclopean. A unique example of monumental sculpture is the Lion Gate in Mycenae.

Pottery with geometric ornaments is the oldest in Hellas. The highest point in the development of the geometric style is the so-called dipylon vases from Athens (IX-VIII centuries BC), which show geometric images of people and animals. In the 7th century BC ceramics appear bearing the imprint of eastern influence (Syria, Phoenicia, Egypt, with which the Greeks traded), images of lions and sphinxes, panthers and birds with a human head appear. The most harmonious forms of vases appear at the end of the 7th century. BC. Their drawing is at first black-figure, and from the end of the 6th century. and red-figure - emphasizes the shape of the vessel. Archaic art, in contrast to the Cretan-Mycenaean, leads active search mathematically verified proportions in everything, and above all in relation to the human body.

The creation of a generalized human image, elevated to a beautiful norm - the unity of its bodily and spiritual beauty - is the dominant theme of art and the main manifestation of Greek culture as a whole. This provided the Greek artistic culture with the rarest aesthetic power and key value for world culture in the future. In archaic sculpture, there are two types of depiction of a person: To u grew up- naked young man To oh ra- draped girl. Researchers pay attention to the fact that all the statues convey a person in mature youth, when the unity of internal and external perfection is clearly manifested. The winners of the Olympic Games were immortalized in marble, and since the athletes performed naked, from the very beginning the sculptures solved the problems of plasticity of the naked youthful body. Using the language of plasticity, ancient sculpture was able to tell about the transformation of a person’s attitude associated with changes in political situation- from tense and static poses of the archaic to the relaxed and dynamic features of the classics.

The coming 5th century - the century of the classics and the heyday of Greek culture - brought forward three great masters: Phidias, Myron and Polykleitos. One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World is the statue of Zeus in Olimpii by Phidias. It was about her that the ancient poet enthusiastically said: “God descended and showed you, Phidias, his image, or did you yourself ascend to heaven, to see God!” Another great work of the sculptor is the statue of Athena the Virgin in the Acropolis. The figure of Zeus (14 meters) sitting on a throne, like the statue of Athena (13 meters), is made of ivory, gold and precious stones. In both cases, Phidias gave the world new images of his heroes: Athena, the warrior goddess and goddess of wisdom, became the patroness and symbol of the greatness of Athens, and the formidable, unmerciful king of the gods Zeus is depicted as the embodiment of wisdom and philanthropy. Phidias and his students also completed over 500 relief figures on the frieze of the Parthenon. These reliefs, depicting various mythological subjects, are considered one of the pinnacles of plastic classical art.

In the classical period, the statue "comes to life", a smooth movement appears in it, while maintaining balance and stability. It was an expression of spiritual stamina and vigorous energy, which corresponded to the era of the cohesion of the civil collective of prosperous Athens. Myron became the first Greek sculptor who managed to show the dynamics of the human body (statue "Discobolus"). The language of the soul was the language of the body, and every movement of the body was conceived as the movement of the soul. The specificity of the plastic art of the Greeks is that they did not individualize the complex world of feelings and experiences, but conveyed it through generalization, and in a typical (ideal) version. This ideal, however, was not uniform; it was suitable for the embodiment of various types of ancient beauty.

The ideal of the perfect proportions of the human body was established by the sculptor Policlet, who wrote the theoretical treatise "Canon" (not preserved). This ideal was embodied by him in the sculpture "Dorifor" (the height of the head is 1/8 of the length of the body) and dominated Greek art for more than a century. In the IV century. BC. Lisi pp developed a new plastic canon (head size - 1/9 of the body). His figures become taller and slimmer. The canon of Lysippus is most fully embodied in "Apoxiom not" - a young athlete who wipes sand from his body with a scraper. Lysippus left behind about 1,500 bronze statues, some of which have come down to us in Roman copies. His athletes are shown not during the period of the competition, but at the moment of a decrease in tension, after the competition (for example, "Hermes Resting"). Lysippus owns a bust of Alexander the Great. He laid down the trends that were developed in the art of Hellenism. In general, in the sculpture of the classical period, we will not find "wrong" beauty, there is no place for the triumph of the spirit over bodily imperfection. Indeed, the charm of the uniquely individual would violate the principle of monism (unity) of spirit and body. Nevertheless, Greek art was gradually preparing within itself this new, "individualistic" stage.

In the late classics, the figure no longer balances itself, it requires support: for example, the works of Praxitel's "Resting Satyr" and "Apollo Saurokton" (killing a lizard). This is due to changes in the political situation of Athens. The instability of being, the weakening of civic cohesion and collectivism leads to the dramatic, frantic, dynamic-disturbed pathos of the works of Skopas or to the lyrical-contemplative, with a touch of melancholy mood of the statues of Praxiteles. The most famous statue of Praxiteles - "Aphrodite of Cnidus" - the prototype of the future goddesses of love. For the first time in the history of Greek sculpture, she appeared in the guise of a beautiful naked woman. Gradually, the sculptors move away from heroic themes into the light and graceful, playful and thoughtful world of Aphrodite and Eros. Gradually, all these tendencies will receive their full expression in the Hellenistic era.

In the great power of Alexander the Great and after its collapse, the artistic traditions of Greece everywhere prevailed over the eastern ones and had a huge impact on them. At the same time, new centers of sculptural creativity were emerging - Pergamon, Alexandria, Rhodes and Antioch. During the Hellenistic period, statues were created that glorified ancient sculpture - the Nika of Samothrace (c. 190 BC), the frieze of the altar of Zeus in Pergamum (first half of the 2nd century BC). They express dynamic pathos - both joyful ("Nika") and tragic (the altar of Zeus). The fine arts of Hellenism are characterized by sharp dynamism, tragedy and pessimism. All this is especially impressive in the Laocoon marble sculptural group (mid-1st century BC) - a kind of symbol of Hellas. Somewhat out of its time (the ideal of classics rather than Hellenism) stands "Venus de Milo" - a statue of Aphrodite created by Ages ndrom (mid-2nd century BC). Her austere beauty and sophistication are not at all like the cutesy and more sensual "Aphrodite", contemporary to her. This is an image of high moral strength.

Continuing the traditions of the late classics, the art of Hellenism reflected the unrest of this turbulent era and created its own artistic concept. It invested in classical forms other content. arose internal contradiction between content and form (for example, the image of a monarch in the guise of Greek hero). This could not have happened in a democracy, just as the division of art into private and public was then unthinkable - a division that occurred during the Hellenistic period. Court art was embodied in monumental allegorical statues, and appeal to the everyday life of "little people" - in "ethnographic" sketches of children, the elderly, servants, everyday episodes, and without deep penetration and figurative generalization. Naturally, the forms of the late classics, in which personal experiences are clothed, are reduced (thus, the great and powerful god of love, Erot, turns into a playful Cupid). Not spared the Hellenistic sculpture and passion for gigantomania. A striking example is the "Colossus of Rhodes" - a 32-meter statue of the sun god Helios on the island of Rhodes, one of the seven wonders of the world. Hellenistic art was inherited by the Romans.

The art of Rome is considered the completion of the artistic creation of the ancient world. However, for a long time (VIII-I centuries BC), Roman art was invisible, passing through the stage of formation. The highly artistic works of the Etruscans dominated the Apennine Peninsula. They were distinguished by a sharp perception of nature and character, which was inherited by the Romans. Following the Etruscans, the Greeks come to the fore. After the Roman conquest of Greece by Rome, the influence Greek art intensifies. Horace wrote: "Greece, having become a prisoner, captivated the rude conquerors." Hundreds of sculptures are exported to Rome, Greek masters replicate them in white marble and bronze. Nevertheless, the Romans introduced features of a more sober world outlook into portraiture. Using Greek technique, the Romans create a whole gallery of realistic sculptural portraits different from the Greeks, sometimes reaching peremptory characteristics, and this was the best that the Romans created in art. Roman sculptural portrait as an independent type of creativity dates back to the beginning of the 1st century. BC. He relies both on the Etruscan tradition (the image of the deceased on funeral urns) and on the Roman tradition itself (death masks of relatives). At this time, marble busts of Pompey, Caesar, Cicero and others were created. Full-length sculptural figures were also characteristic - a dignified image of a citizen of the republic, dressed in that gu.

At the end of the 1st century BC. - beginning of the 1st c. AD under the influence of the Greeks in Rome, a new trend arises - August classicism. The ideal becomes new type man - strict classical beauty. Official art sought to express the unity and power of the state. Reliefs are created that reliably record historical events and real people. The reliefs were decorated with sarcophagi, public buildings, arches, etc. In the paintings of rich houses, in addition to the reliefs, mosaics and frescoes are used, which were not very common among the Greeks. The prestige of power was supported in every possible way, and this was reflected in the idealization of portrait features. “If in Greece idealization reflected the tradition of combining external and internal perfection, then in Rome art early learned to flatter and pretend,” writes Russian art historian N.A. Dmitriev. Thus, by nature, the puny Augustus is depicted now as a Greek athlete, now as a powerful commander, which should have diverted attention from a realistically seized face. It is a paradoxical fact that an equestrian monument was erected to the most unheroic emperor, the Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius, the first equestrian monument in the history of art that has come down to us. During the period of crisis, and then the decline of the ancient worldview, refinement and fatigue are fixed in the portrait. The busts of the emperors Philip the Arab, Caracalla, Vespasian, Domitian are very expressive. But what unites them is that they are completely devoid of emotions.

In the late imperial period, the ethical and aesthetic ideal of antiquity was lost in life itself, and, consequently, in art. Arises new system thinking close to the Middle Ages. Plastic art III-V centuries. AD followed the aesthetics of Neoplatonism, according to which the artist should not reflect the real-external (as in the aesthetics of Cicero), but something internal, related to the soul. The statues of emperors embody inhuman greatness, they seem to be devoid of a body, life burns only in the eyes that reflect the soul (for example, a sculptural portrait of Constantine I). Having penetrated into the inner world of man, Roman culture prepared the public consciousness of antiquity for the perception of Christian ideology. Spreading Christianity and his assertion led in art to a compromise between biblical spiritualism and coarsened, schematized ancient forms. The traditional motifs of ancient mythology are now interpreted as symbols and mixed with new Christian symbols. So, in the paintings of Christian katak oh mb there are fish as a symbol of baptism, a dove as a symbol of peace, Orpheus, taming the animals with music, as a symbol of Christ, the “catcher of souls”. And the figure of a young man carrying a lamb on his shoulders is a motif that has long been known in ancient plastic art. But now it is an image of the good shepherd, a symbol of Christ. Symbolization in art leads to a break with the ancient worldview and the aesthetic ideal. So Roman art completed the era of ancient artistic culture.

In ancient times, education was considered one of the indispensable qualities of the Hellenes. To be educated meant not only to possess a certain amount of knowledge, but also to show the ability for long-term, purposeful improvement, to have a predisposition to mental work. To do this, a person had to develop in himself internal organization, composure, the ability to control himself, moral virtues. Already in the prepolis period, the noble hero was considered the ideal of education, serving his mentor in word and deed, which was reflected in Homer's poems. This hero perfectly mastered all types of weapons, successfully participated in sports and gaming competitions, sang beautifully, played the lyre, danced and had the gift of eloquence.

The achievement of the ideal of education in Greece was carried out within the framework of two main education systems - Spartan and Athenian. In Sparta VII-V centuries. BC. children received unilateral military education. The main attention was paid to hardening the body and physical training, so even girls had to do gymnastics. However, the girls were also taught music, dancing and singing. But in general, musical education was reduced to a minimum. The consequence of such one-sidedness was the artistic impoverishment of the Spartans and their spiritual passivity. In Athens, VI-V centuries. BC. the Homeric ideal of education found its further development in the form of musical-gymnastic education. All the arts belonged to the musical: poetry, music, theater, fine arts, sculpture, as well as the art of counting, speech and philosophy. By the 5th century BC. there was not a single illiterate person in Athens.

Gradually, a coherent system of education was created in Greece, which retained its significance not only until the end of antiquity, but in its main features has reached our time. So, at the first stage - primary (elementary) education - children were taught to read, write and count; along with this, lessons in gymnastics and music were given. Then followed a higher level of education, when grammar and mathematics were studied in the gymnasium, and sports and music continued at a higher level. The culmination of the educational process was the study of rhetoric and philosophy.

In Rome, focused on military activities and the development of the conquered spaces, in addition to the ability to read, write and count, it was necessary to have knowledge in the field of agriculture, medicine, eloquence and military affairs. In the III-II centuries. BC. the Greek educational system gradually penetrates into Rome, the final approval of which took place here in the 1st century BC. BC. The harmonious combination of the Greek and Roman educational systems was carried out by Cicero. Mathematics receded into the background, and legal sciences came to the fore. The acquisition of languages ​​and acquaintance with literature took place simultaneously with the study of Roman history. Music lessons and gymnastics as such were absent, but at the same time, horse riding, fencing and swimming were taught. Rhetoric was studied at a higher level. From time to time, trips were arranged for young Romans from noble families to Greek cultural centers, where they were introduced to philosophy.

ancient science as specific form systematized knowledge about the world around us arose in Greece closer to the 4th century. BC. It was the Greeks who took the first step from mythological thinking to scientific. The first classification of sciences belongs to Aristotle (384-322 BC), the greatest philosopher and scientist of antiquity. In particular, he singled out logic (the theory of knowledge), ethics (the science of society), physics (the science of being) and metaphysics (philosophy). The Greeks, who, unlike the Eastern peoples, separated science from myth early on, were characterized by the following defining tendencies: an unpragmatic curiosity about life and customs various peoples; the desire to penetrate the essence of phenomena and explain the world based on itself; rational interpretation of nature and society; lack of admiration for authorities; search for truth; acquiring knowledge for the sake of knowledge, not practice; striving to surpass the teacher. In ancient times, science is undergoing a series of qualitative changes.

During the Mycenaean time and the Homeric period, knowledge was accumulated related to the main occupations and beliefs of the Greeks. Thus, the development of agriculture and animal husbandry led to the beginnings of geometry (“land surveying”) and botany (originally “search for fodder for livestock”). Zoology (more precisely, its first branch in time - ornithology) was developed in connection with the need to interpret the flight and voices of birds in the art of witchcraft. Navigation marked the beginning of astronomy and geography. Medicine and the pharmacopoeia (the art of making medicines) began to develop early.

In the archaic period, at the center of the scientific movement is nat philosophy- philosophy of nature. Three natural philosophers mil th school searched for the right substance from which all the rest arose - a kind of origin (primal foundation) of the world. Fale s (c. 625-547 BC) thought it was water. Anaxima ndr (c. 610-546 BC) named it up e iron(from the Greek “limitless”) - a single, eternal, indefinite (i.e., qualityless) primordial substance; he was the first to introduce the principle of the indestructibility of matter. Anaximenes (c. 585 - c. 525 BC) considered air to be the beginning of everything and established four states of matter: solid, liquid, gaseous and radiant. The Ionian philosopher Heraclius of Ephesus (second half of the 6th century BC) insisted on the origin of movement, and considered fire to be the fundamental principle. Thus, he laid the foundation for dialectics. The question of the form of the universe was also put forward by Ionian philosophy. Although the problem of the immobility and plane of the Earth was not resolved, Anaximander conjectured the infinity of the universe and the existence of many worlds. The greatest scientist was Pythago (c. 570-496 BC). He owns numerous discoveries in arithmetic, geometry, acoustics, as well as the theory musical intervals. He considered number to be the root of the universe. Pythagoras attributed sphericity to the Earth, and his students - Pythagoras e eggs- believed that both the Earth and the luminaries (including the Sun and stars) revolve around the "central fire of the universe."

In the classical period, the development of natural philosophy followed two paths - idealism and materialism. The first of them is associated with the name of Plato (428/427-348/347 BC), who claimed that the prototypes of objects are above all being - e idos, which are sensually perceived by man on earth. Eidos are a kind of ideas and principles that have a timeless character, and each object is an imperfect reflection of the corresponding eidos. The main representatives of ancient Greek materialism are Empedo cl, Anaxagos and Democritus (c. 460 - c. 370 BC). The most consistent Democritus, who became the founder atom and zma. He explained the origin of the world from two elements - atoms and emptiness. Aristotle completes the period of the classics. Assuming that the world is one and material, he recognized the existence of "ideas", but not outside of things, but in them. He considered the deity to be the root cause of movement and life. scientific system Aristotle embraces all material and spiritual nature. He devoted the books "Physics" and "Metaphysics" to the comprehension of the principles of the universe; the laws of motion are set forth by him in "Mechanics", the theory of celestial phenomena - in "Meteorology", the theory of human society - in "Politics". Other works of Aristotle are devoted to the categories of logic (the set of treatises "Organon"), aesthetics ("Rhetoric", "Poetics"), ethics ("Nicomachean ethics"), biology ("History of animals"). Scientific work this encyclopedic scientist was truly grandiose. Having passed through the Middle Ages, she moved into the New Age.

In the era of Hellenism, the development of science was extremely rapid and rapid. This was facilitated by the intensive interaction of scientists from the vast Hellenistic world and the creation of new scientific centers. To the Platonic Academy and the Aristotelian Lyceum at the end of the 4th century. BC. joined by the "Garden" of Epikura and the "Hundred I" of Zeno. In Alexandria of Egypt in 280 BC. was founded Mus e yon(Sanctuary of the Muses), which combined a temple, a university and a library. By the 1st century BC. his library became the largest in the ancient world (over 700 thousand years of books, which then had the form of scrolls). Following the example of Alexandria, large libraries were founded in Antioch and Pergamon (the latter had about 200,000 scrolls). Among the sciences, mathematics came to one of the first places, having found its first systematizer in the person of Euclid of Alexandria (c. 365-300 BC), whose axioms and theorems, as well as terminology and methods of proof, are still used today. Euclid founded a mathematical school in Alexandria, from which Archimes d (287-212 BC) came out - the creator of mathematical physics, an astronomer and mathematician, who determined the ratio of circle to diameter (accent number "\u003e a px and Hero n discovered spherical and flat trigonometry, respectively.

The advances in mathematics were not long in affecting the development of physical geography and astronomy. Particularly fruitful in this sense was the time from the 4th to the 2nd centuries. BC. Wars, expeditions and travels introduced the Greeks to the northern coast of Europe, the Caspian Sea, Asia Minor and its seas, which confirmed Anaximander's hypothesis about the "round-the-earth" ocean. In the IV century. BC. The Platonist scientist Heraclius de Pontus was the first to put forward a hypothesis about the heliocentric model of the world, and also discovered the rotation of the Earth around its axis. In the III century. BC. Eratosthenes invented a system of meridians and parallels, enclosing in them the world known to the Greeks. He also made a successful attempt to determine the circumference of the Earth. The astronomer Aristopherus of Samos (ca. 320-250 BC) made a discovery (which Nicolaus Copernicus repeated about 1800 years later and confirmed to Galilee about Galileo): The Earth revolves around the Sun. Like his associates of the Renaissance, Aristarchus was accused of godlessness, but unlike them, he continued to work at the Alexandrian Museion observatory. In the II century. BC. Hipparchus, mentioned above, calculated the distance from the Earth to the Moon and to the Sun, and compiled the first star atlas.

Physics and mechanics were borderline with mathematics. The founder of mechanics was Aristotle, but its heyday is associated with the name of Archimedes, who discovered the center of gravity, the system of levers, the mechanical significance of the inclined plane, hydraulics and specific gravity. These achievements later made it possible to invent a hydraulic organ, a water clock, a fire pump, a siphon, steam turbine, water mill, etc. During the Hellenistic era, important discoveries were made in acoustics, optics; magnetism and electricity have also been studied, albeit at the most superficial level. In addition, geology is developing (in particular, volcanic phenomena were explained by the action of compressed underground gases), zoology and botany. The Ptolemaic rulers of Alexandria established the first zoological garden, and Alexander the Great sent specimens of the flora of the countries he conquered to Aristotle's Lyceum.

The ancient Romans initially knew and developed only applied sciences. Their interest in “pure” knowledge was inspired by the Greeks. Nevertheless, the discoveries of the Hellenistic era in the field of mathematics and natural sciences did not find a response in Republican Rome. True, a number of significant mathematical discoveries were made during the imperial period. In particular, the Roman mathematician Diophantine of Alexandria (3rd century AD) is considered the "father of algebra" - he separated it from geometry and turned it from a spatial science into an abstract one. Diophantus introduced literal notation for algebraic functions and expressions. In the field of astronomy and geography, Claudius Ptolemy (2nd century AD) became famous, who developed the method of scientific mapping in the meridian grid of Eratosthenes, but returned to the geocentric model of Aristotle. For almost a millennium and a half, the Ptolemaic system was entrenched as the leading astronomical theory.

Theoretical disciplines remained the privilege of foreigners, and practical - the Romans. Moreover, such popularizers of scientific knowledge as the architect Vitruvius, the scientist-encyclopedist Aulus Cornelius Celsus, the publicist Frontin widely used foreign, in particular, Greek experience for the benefit of Rome. Many of them became famous in civil engineering, military-practical science, hygiene, etc. For example, in the II century. AD a prominent representative of the scientific medicine of Rome was the court physician Gale n. He compiled a commentary on the writings of the Greek healer Hippocrates (c. 460-377 BC) and tried to synthesize his heritage with the medical achievements of his time. The works of Galen served as the main source of medical knowledge in Byzantium. The Western world inherited them during the Renaissance.

The independent achievement of the Romans - the scientific and practical area in which they were innovators - was lawyer e ntion. The formation of the administrative system, coupled with the need to adapt it to the real needs of life, led to the active development of law in Rome. Studying, developing and commenting on legal norms was considered a worthy occupation. A good legal education was highly valued. As a result of a long evolution, Roman law became flexible, adequately responding to changing social conditions. Currently, Roman law underlies the so-called continental legal system that dominates Europe. Management in the Roman Catholic Church is built on the principles of the Roman administrative system.

Having become acquainted with the main achievements of the Greeks and Romans, one should think about issues related to the cultural characteristics of antiquity. These questions in one form or another have long been raised by researchers of the history and culture of the Greco-Roman civilization. Nevertheless, it is still hardly possible to assert that the culturology of antiquity took place. Rather, it makes sense to talk about a motley palette of opinions and judgments that claim one degree or another of cultural generalization.

The starting point in the development of European culture is the culture of Ancient Greece. Scholars have long characterized the rise of Greek civilization as an exceptional event in human history. Following Ernst Rehn, they rightly call him the "Greek miracle." Of course, Renan himself had in mind not the supernatural, but the unique character of this historical upheaval. Friedrich Engels also considered the achievements of the Greeks the greatest upheaval that mankind had experienced up to that moment, and called antiquity the foundation of the culture of modern Europe. Later, he expressed the idea that this revolution can only be compared with the European Renaissance.

Everyone who studied the ancient Greek civilization, one way or another, tried to explain the Hellenic cultural upheaval. Thus, Andre Bonnat, author of the two-volume work "Greek Civilization", believed that this epoch-making event had its own natural causes. Most scientists considered the "cultural explosion" in Ancient Greece to be extremely important, but still a particular manifestation of the general pattern of sharply uneven cultural development of mankind, from the Upper Paleolithic to the present. This unevenness was studied by I. Herder, G. Hegel, K. Marx, O. Spengler, A. Toynbee and others.

There are variants of a racist ("genetic") explanation of the special role of the Greeks. So, G.F.K. Günter, J.A. de Gobineau and others pointed to the special talent of the Greeks: in a relatively short time they put forward an unusual big number creatively gifted people, and the masses showed a rare receptivity to diverse cultural values. Another version of the “genetic” explanation insists that some hereditarily gifted tribe became part of the Greek people. However, both options are not very convincing and are easily refuted.

A number of researchers associate the "Greek miracle" with the role of the geographical environment that influenced the development of culture and civilization. They point to the intermediate position of the Greeks, who found themselves at the crossroads of cultural influences between East and West. It is characteristic that the Greeks themselves recognized the role of the geographical environment in the development of human societies. For example, Aristotle believed that the Greeks, living in a climate that occupies an intermediate position between the conditions of Northern Europe and Asia, experience its favorable influence, providing them with a leading position in the world. Of course, the geographical position played a positive role: Greece in the Bronze Age was located between Cyprus (a source of copper) and the current Czech Republic (tin). This stimulated trade with other countries. “But,” Marx and Engels noted, “such geographical constants as the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, etc. played an ambiguous role in various historical epochs.” This was also noted by G.V. Plekha is new.

Contemporary specialist Samuel Huntington (1927-2008) explains the "explosion" as the influence of the turbulent phase of the secular climatic cycle that began from 800 BC. and especially manifested itself from 600 to 300 BC. However, many Greek policies at that time were in different climatic conditions from Miletus and Athens, and their culture nevertheless developed rapidly. A number of researchers expressed bewilderment about the fact that the explosion of intellectual energy and creativity, falling on the VI century. BC, synchronously occurred in India, China, Israel, Iran and Greece. Karl Jaspers proposed the name "Axial Time" for this era. But, if we operate with the concept of economic progress, we will inevitably note that the turn of the II-I millennium BC. - this is the time of intensive distribution of iron. Therefore, some Marxist scholars (for example, A.N. Chernyshev) correlate the "Greek miracle" with the beginning of the Iron Age.

A prominent Russian specialist in the culture of Ancient Greece Alexander Iosifovich Zaitsev (1926-2000) in his monograph "Cultural Revolution in Ancient Greece VIII-V centuries. BC." offers the following explanation. The condition for the victorious march of Greek culture through time and space is freedom. She is the supporting structure in the building of Greek culture. Firstly, political freedom - not so much the participation of citizens in political decisions, but the hitherto unheard of expansion of personal freedoms in a number of Greek policies. Second, economic freedom. Citizens served by slaves could enjoy life feeling independent in their small city-states. Finally, freedom of creation, activity, connected with the fact that in Ancient Greece knowledge was not monopolized by priests, as it was, for example, in Egypt. The polis system and the great colonization destroyed rigid traditions, norms of human behavior, norms in creativity. The Greek was distinguished by the desire for knowledge, not associated with momentary utility to society.

The condition of the cultural upheaval was the special worldview of the Greeks. Faith in a human citizen - free, active, capable of achieving changes for the better by his own efforts - was elevated to the highest artistic postulate, reflected in the principle kalokag a ti, those. unity of physical and moral perfection. It is obvious that in order to move forward successfully, it was not so much an optimistic view of the world as a whole that was needed, but a positive attitude towards everyday specific conditions (proximity of perspective). Such an attitude of the Greeks became not only a condition for their economic growth, it turned out to be an important stimulus for the flourishing of artistic culture.

It is well known that the spiritual life and evolution of the culture of any society is largely determined not so much by the degree of rigidity of social control over the behavior of an individual, but by the forms that this control takes in a given society. The saying of Cleobulus, one of the "seven wise men" is known: "The people behave most prudently where citizens are more afraid of censure than of the law." This was facilitated by the situation in the policy, where citizens knew each other well. Aristotle among the most important regulators public behavior people also calls praise and blame.

In Greek society, the attitude of the individual to surpass those around him in achieving his life goals played a big role. The Sophists considered the desire for fame to be one of the motives for the desire for wealth, and Horace would later associate the poetic achievements of the Greeks with the fact that they "aspired to nothing but glory." True, in some cases this prompted very dubious actions (for example, the Greek Herostra t in 356 BC burned down the temple of Artemis in Ephesus, which was considered one of the wonders of the world, for the sake of glory). The element of rivalry, competition, received independent significance in the culture of Greece. Yacob Burckhardt, absolutizing the features of the life of the Greeks, called the Hellenic "an agonal person." The Greeks perceived life as a continuous ag He, supporting competition in all areas - both in sports and in spiritual life. Not a single society known to us was oriented towards agonalism in the same way as ancient Greek.

So, all of the above determined the specifics of Greek culture - its cosmology, civil anthropocentrism and anthropomorphism. This culture proceeded from the principle of kalokagatiya and absorbed the aesthetic categories of beauty, measure, harmony. As Socrates said, the Greeks managed to make culture a way of life.

With the concept of the "Greek miracle", with the idea of ​​Greek classical culture as an unattainable standard, the idea of ​​Roman culture as a phenomenon dependent, imitative and based on Greek models is correlated. So, O. Spengler and A. Toynbee raise the question of whether it is possible to speak of Roman culture as an integral phenomenon.

Indeed, unlike Greek culture, which was united in its origin, Roman culture was a complex phenomenon, in the formation of which, in addition to the Romans, many ancient peoples took a significant part: the Etruscans, Greeks, inhabitants of Hellenistic Egypt, and in the imperial period - the tribes of the northern and eastern provinces. The heritage of these peoples was creatively processed and gradually "melted" into a single whole, just like streams merge into one stream. And yet, it was the Roman beginning that was the structure-forming component, the “core” of Roman culture. Coming to the fore, it, together with the Greek beginning, formed the phenomenon of Greco-Roman culture. The organic nature with which the Roman “core” absorbed everything new was explained by the fact that, on the one hand, at various stages of its history, Rome adapted the “alien” to its own system of values, found common ground, accepting what did not contradict its worldview. In addition, everything new was rethought from the point of view of the conqueror of the world.

Having studied the factual material on Greece and Rome, it is legitimate to raise the question of what was common and special in their cultures. The ground for the meeting of Roman and Greek cultures was "fertilized" by some common features. Thus, both cultures were formed and developed on the basis of the ancient (polis) civil community, based on the freedom of the city and citizens. Hence the inextricable link between the good of an individual and the good of the whole society, civil collectivism. The activities of the people's assembly as the highest legislative body, the struggle of political parties and groups stimulated the development of oratory, the logic of thinking, philosophy, science, legal norms and legal proceedings. The similarity of many basic features created favorable conditions for the interaction of cultures, but the similarity did not mean identity.

Two barriers stood in the way of the development of Greek culture by the Romans: differences in the system of values ​​associated with the active conquest of the Romans (the whole structure of their life was military) and with the clan cults that dominated them, and stage differences - the development of Greek culture by the Romans took place in stages, not immediately. Greece and Rome came into full contact only in the 3rd century BC, when Greek culture entered the Hellenistic period, and when the Greeks faced issues that were not yet relevant for Roman citizens. At this time, Rome reached its peak, and only after two or three centuries did the Romans understand their Hellenistic predecessors, when they turned from free citizens of the republic into imperial subjects.

Special literature

1. Ado I. Free arts and philosophy in ancient thought / I. Ado. - M.: GLK, 2002.
2. Antique culture: Literature, theater, art, philosophy, science: a dictionary-reference book / ed. V.N. Yarkho. - M.: Higher school, 1995.
3. Antiquity as a type of culture. - M.: Nauka, 1988.
4. Bonnard A. Greek civilization. In 2 volumes / A. Bonnard. - Rostov n / D .: Phoenix, 1994.
5. History of Ancient Rome: textbook / ed. IN AND. Kuzishchina. - M.: Higher school, 2005.
6. History of Europe: From ancient times to the present day. In 8 vols. T. 1: Ancient Europe / holes. ed. E.S. Golubtsov. - M.: Nauka, 1988.
7. Yeager W. Paideia: The Education of an Ancient Greek. T. 1 / V. Yeager. - M.: GLK, 2001; T. 2. - M.: GLK, 1997.
8. Zaitsev A.I. Cultural upheaval in ancient Greece VIII-V centuries. BC. 2nd ed. / A.I. Zaitsev. - St. Petersburg: Publishing house of St. Petersburg State University, 2001.
9. Knabe G.S. Materials for lectures on the general theory of culture and the culture of ancient Rome / G.S. Knabe. - M.: Indrik, 1994.
10. Lisovy I.A. The ancient world in terms, names and titles: a reference dictionary. 2nd ed. / I.A. Lisovy, K.A. Reviako. - Minsk: Belarus, 1997.
11. Osokin Yu.V. Antique type of culture // Him. Modern cultural studies in encyclopedic articles / Yu.V. Osokin. - M.: KomKniga, 2007. - S. 25-42.
12. Frolov E.D. Torch of Prometheus: Essays on ancient social thought. 2nd ed. / E.D. Frolov. - L .: Publishing house of Leningrad State University, 1991.
13. Man of Antiquity: Ideals and Reality / comp. IN AND. Isaeva, I.L. Lighthouse.- M.: Enlightenment, 1992.

It is customary to refer to the researchers of ancient culture the following researchers of antiquity and antiquity: philosopher A.F. Losev the history of ancient aesthetics, ancient space and modern science, essays on ancient symbolism and mythology. G.S. Knabe (section on the ancient polis, features of the polis consciousness, the influence of antiquity on Russian culture). Taho-Godi studied mythology. Andre Bonnard described the influence of the geographical factor on the characteristics of ancient culture.

Definition of the term "antiquity"

Antiquity- this is a term that comes from the words - anticus in translation - an ancient text, the term was introduced during the Renaissance by Italian humanists to refer to Greco-Roman culture.

Antiquity is usually understood as the totality of ancient Greek and ancient Roman culture. At the moment, the term antiquity is understood as a combination of ancient Greek and ancient Russian culture. Historians note that the basis for the unity of the ancient Greek, ancient Roman culture can be the polis consciousness (the result of similar state political forms - the polis).

The polis generates a special type of consciousness - the polis consciousness, the polis is made up of different groups landowners, a management apparatus, a court, an army are being formed, but all positions are elected, the patriotism of each person becomes the key to the survival of such a team, the highest duty is to remain faithful to understand the value of a polis society and, if necessary, to sacrifice oneself. A citizen of a polis is always a landowner.

Basic features of polis consciousness

1. Every citizen is aware of the importance of freedom and enjoys significant freedoms.

2. A person must put personal interests below the interests of the entire policy, only then can he be considered a useful member of society.

General characteristics of the concept of antiquity

Space is a concept of the world that arises in the era of antiquity. Space is not only the world, the universe, space is an order that opposes chaos. Due to beauty and orderliness.

As Losev notes, the cosmos for ancient man acts as a kind of absolute, the cosmos has nowhere to move, all space is occupied by itself, therefore, in ancient culture, absolute cosmologism develops. The ancient gods rule the cosmos, because they are the laws of nature, all the shortcomings and all the virtues that are in man are in nature, and therefore in the gods.

2. The idea of ​​fate, fate, Ananke (rock, fate, inevitability), since ananke rules over life, then even heroes cannot resist fate, the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bdestiny does not make a person passive, they are not inclined to passive fatalism

They are highly inclined to exercise freedom of choice, becoming a hero with this.

The feeling of fatal dependence gives rise to the tragedy of the worldview, it is the wrong side of the harmonious "Apollo" culture. The idea of ​​clarity, harmony, "appolonicity" was developed in the works of historians of the 18th and 19th centuries. Schiller, Goethe. The tragedy of the universe was first discovered by Friedrich Nietzsche "The Birth of Tragedy from the Spirit of Music"

3. Anthropocentrism- this is the understanding that a person is in the center of the world, he is a part of the universe, a part of the world. The most important aesthetic principle that forms the ideal of a person is kalokagatii (the cult of harmony of the perfect body and inner peace person)

The body must be strengthened with physical exercises, and the soul with poetry, dance, and music.

4. The idea of ​​competition or the principle of Agon.

Competitiveness permeates all spheres of human activity, competitiveness was not only in civil but also in artistic life. In culture, for example, the Olympic Games (L. Riefenstahl's film "Olympia 1938 first shots"). Demonstration of the birth of a new type of Aryan that is associated with antiquity (Greco-Roman man), theatrical competitions - two protagonists (main actors), the struggle of playwrights, philosophical disputes, perhaps dialectics today.

5. Festiveness and spectacle in ancient culture

Holidays dedicated to certain gods. For example, the Dionysian mysteries. The persecution of animals, gladiator fights, the theater of antiquity - everything is natural and natural in size ==> “bread and circuses”. Rome is rough, and Greece is sophisticated in terms of entertainment. Circles are moving in the theater, everything came from there. They dressed the peasant, and he was in the role, then he was eaten by a real beast - the audience hoots.

Periodization of ancient culture:

1. Crete-Mekken (Aegean) period - 3 thousand - 1 thousand years BC)

It existed on the islands of Crete, Ferra, the islands of the Kiklat archipelago. On the Balkan Peninsula.

Mainland Greece (Mycenae, Tiryns, Epilos) the city of Troy. The heyday falls on 2 thousand BC. moreover, its contribution, this culture becomes an important link between the culture of the Ancient East and the Greek culture itself, at the turn of 3-2 thousand on the island of Crete, for the first time in Europe, a state will form and the centers of Knoss Fest, Malia will arise

In the 16th century BC, it was destroyed by an earthquake.

2. Homeric period (11-8 centuries BC),

The name of the period comes from the name of Homer, because his poems The Odyssey and the Iliad are the main sources of our information about this period, they give an idea of ​​life, customs, clothing, people of that period.

The main population of Greece of that period is the peasant settlers, the settlements are communal in nature. Architecture is born, which has been preserved only in ruins. This architecture is a kind of processing of Mycenaean architecture.

An important place is occupied by the so-called "Homeric question". In the history of world culture, since the 18th century, there have been disputes about the existence of Homer. There are 2 points of view:

1) This character is fictional

2) This is a real person

But the most correct point of view is that Homer, which in translation means adjusting, attaching one to the other.

By the end of the 8th century BC. the prerequisites for a cultural revolution arose, which will explain the phenomenon of the "Greek miracle"

3. Archaic period (VII-VI century BC).

1) The stratification of the population. Landowners appear, but most of them are community peasants, in the future this will lead to the formation of 2 classes: slaves and slave owners. Slaves were captives and peasants who fell into dependence, slave owners were large artisans and merchants

2) City-states are formed with different forms of government: oligarchy (managed by several rich people), democracy and tyranny (power of one)

3) the growth of cities, hence the expansion of construction

During this period, maritime trade, shipbuilding, navigation,

1. Aegean or Crete-Mycenaean culture (3 - 2 thousand BC).

2. Ancient Greek culture:

a) the Homeric period (11th - 9th centuries BC);

b) archaic period (8th - 6th centuries BC);

c) the classical period (5th - 4th centuries BC);

d) the Hellenistic period (323 - 146 gᴦ. BC).

3. Ancient Roman Culture:

a) the royal period (8th - 6th centuries BC);

b) the republican period (6th - late 1st century BC);

c) the period of the empire (late 1st century BC - 476 ᴦ. AD).

1. Aegean culture.

Ancient Greek culture did not arise immediately; it was the successor and successor of the highly developed Aegean culture. Aegean culture - ϶ᴛᴏ culture, located in antiquity on the islands of the Aegean Sea and southern mainland Greece. The island of Crete (3000 - 1500 ᴦ. BC) and the city of Mycenae on the mainland (3000 ᴦ. BC - settlement, 1700 - 1200 - flourishing) became the centers of the Aegean culture. Conducted excavations in Crete at the beginning of the 20th century. Englishman Evans, and Mycenae at the end of the 19th century. researched by the German Schliemann, the discoverer of Troy. The center of Crete was the city of Knossos. About 1600 ᴦ. BC. A majestic palace complex was erected in Knrss, with the same labyrinth that we know about from the myths about the exploits of Theseus. The Minotaur is a man and the head of a bull. Thanks to Theseus, Athens stopped paying a terrible tribute to girls and boys. Cretan Minotaur. In the palace itself there was the throne room of the Double Ax, other halls adjoining it, verandas, and a pool. The palace of Knossos had a sewerage system, cold and hot water. The walls and ceilings of the palace were lined with granite and marble, decorated with magnificent frescoes. The frescoes depicted scenes of hunting, holidays, and everyday life. Scenes of games with bulls are very common. There was a bull cult in Crete. In Crete there was no cult of priests, grandiose religious temples, pyramids. Monumental, majestic sculpture was also not found. Examples of Cretan sculpture are small figurines made of gold and ivory. From the end of 3 thousand BC. the inhabitants of Crete used ceramics, faience figurines appeared. Ceramic dishes appeared in everyday life. It was covered with black paint to make it waterproof. From the 16th century BC. dishes were decorated with ornaments. There are various assumptions about the reasons for the death of the Cretan culture. Obviously, the main reason is the ϶ᴛᴏ global environmental catastrophe. In the 15th century BC. On one of the islands of Santorini, near Crete, a volcano erupted. This eruption caused in Crete either a tsunami (huge sea ​​waves), or an earthquake. Knossos was destroyed. The tribes of the Achaeans who moved (to the mainland?) were saved. Since that time (about 1450 ᴦ. BC), Mycenae became the center of Crete-Mycenaean culture. This city was famous for its fortress built of huge stone blocks. The Lion Gates of Mycenae are known: two colossal stones, a thick slab on top, on which a column slightly expanding upwards. On both sides of the column are two lionesses. In Mycenae, a mask of Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae, known for the events of the Trojan War, was found. The mask is intended for burial - it was put on the face of the deceased. She retained the individual features of Agamemnon.

In the 12th century BC. The Achaeans were conquered by the Dorian tribes who came from the north. The Dorians were more backward in terms of the general level of culture, but they were superior to the Achaeans in technical terms. Οʜᴎ knew how to make iron. Οʜᴎ destroyed the Aegean culture. The domination of the Dorians is the very beginning of ancient Greek culture, associated with the transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age.

2. Greek culture.

A) the Homeric period. This is the time of the decomposition of the tribal system and the transition to the slave system (11 - 9 centuries BC). During this period, cities are dying, palaces are not being built, fine arts are not developing. The cultural achievements of this time are Homer's poems "Iliad" and "Odyssey", which tell about the events of the distant past, about the Trojan War (13th century BC). These poems were passed down orally from generation to generation, as there was no writing. Recorded by Homer in the 8th century. BC.

B) Archaic period (8 - 6 centuries BC). The transition to the slave-owning system continues, city-polises are being formed.

The most important cultural achievement of this period was the adoption of the sound-letter Phoenician alphabet. Prior to this, the Aegeans in Crete had a written language, but it has not been preserved. The Phoenician alphabet consisted only of consonants, and vowels were selected according to the meaning when reading the text. The Greeks improved the Phoenician alphabet by adding vowels to it. This is how ancient Greek writing arose.

During the archaic period, different kinds sports games. The first were the Olympic Games dedicated to Zeus. Οʜᴎ appeared in 776 ᴦ. BC. are held once every 4 years. Then the Pythian games dedicated to Apollo (once every 4 years), and the Isthmian games in honor of the god Poseidon (once every 2 years). The Pythian games were both sports and musical at the same time. So sport entered the cultural life of Ancient Greece, and the Greek agon (struggle, competition) became a characteristic feature of a free Greek who could prove himself as a citizen of his policy and bring glory to the policy.

In the 6th c. BC. ancient philosophy appears, the first frontier of scientific knowledge. This is a major change in the way of thinking, not only of the Greeks themselves, but of all mankind as a whole. Prior to this, there was a concrete understanding of the phenomena of nature and the actions of people as a manifestation of the essence and will of the gods. Zeus is the ϶ᴛᴏ god of thunder and lightning, Hera is the goddess of marriage, Helios is the god of the sun, Hephaestus is the god of blacksmithing, Aphrodite is the goddess of love and beauty, etc. Philosophical thinking - ϶ᴛᴏ abstract thinking. The world is considered in such abstract categories as good and evil, life and death, existence and non-existence. A person learns to generalize, to synthesize. The first philosophers appear, known as the seven Greek sages: Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Heraclitus, Democritus, Pythagoras, Protagoras. The first of them is Thales. At the center of his teaching is the question of the unity of the world. Following him, other philosophers solve this problem. Thales considers water to be the basis of the world, Anaximenes - air, Heraclitus - fire. In this search for the unity of the world, philosophy opposes mythology, which affirms the opposite thesis of dividing the world into ordinary (the world of people) and mythological (the world of gods). Greek thinkers expressed ideas that would be proven many centuries later: Pythagoras was the first to declare that the Earth is a ϶ᴛᴏ ball. Heraclitus created the theory of the changeability of nature long before Hegel (18th - early 19th century). Heraclitus suggested that the human soul is an energy particle of the cosmos. Two centuries before Plato, the word "Atlantis" was uttered by Anaximander, who also compiled the first geographical map, where the Earth is a circle, washed by the ocean on all sides.

Architecture. The main type of architectural structure is the ϶ᴛᴏ temple, built on the principle of a peripter: a building rectangular in plan, framed on four sides by a column. This visually increased the area of ​​the temple. The archaic temple was built without windows; therefore, it was dark inside. It contained statues of the gods, sometimes even altars were placed. Temples could serve to store the city treasury, could be a refuge for criminals. Temples were distinguished by the type of columns or order. Two types of columns appear: Doric column (not very high, massive, without decorations).

Ionic column (higher than Doric, noticeably tapering upwards, capital - upper part - with volutes).

An example of archaic Doric temples: the temple of Hera at Olympia, founded earlier than the 7th century BC. BC.; the sanctuary of Zeus in Syracuse; temple of Demeter at Paestum; temples in Athens to the Parthenon. Both Doric and Ionic temples are descended from the Mycenaean megaron. Megaron in lane. from Greek a large hall, a type of ancient Greek dwelling (3 - 2 thousand BC). This is a rectangular hall, sometimes divided by 1-2 longitudinal rows of pillars, with a hearth and an entrance portico, usually in front of the entrance to the building. The portico ended with a pediment.

The sculpture is small. Figurines made of bronze, ivory. Two basic types of single sculpture emerge. These are kouros (naked youth) and bark (girl in draped clothes). In subsequent eras, these types will develop, become monumental.

Literature. Lyric poetry is born. The word "lyric" comes from the word "lyre" - musical instrument. Poets of the archaic period: Archilochus, Ivik, Alkey, Sappho (Sappho), Anacreon. Οʜᴎ sing not only the exploits of mythical heroes, but also simple human feelings: love, friendship. The theme of the poems is also nature.

C) Classical period (5th - 4th centuries BC). There is a flourishing, and then the collapse of city-states. The period reaches its highest development in the era of King Pericles, who ruled for 14 years (443 - 429 ᴦ. BC). At this time, Athens became the center of cultural life of the entire Greek world. Here the "father of history" Herodotus writes the first historical works that describe the Greco-Persian wars ("History"), the history of Egypt. It is here that Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides create their great tragedies, and theatrical art develops. Dozens of artists and sculptors work at the court of Pericles. Among them - the greatest architect, painter, sculptor Phidias. On the Athenian acropolis (an elevated part of the city, often located in the center), a grandiose complex of temple structures is being built, the ruins of which have survived to this day. The center of the complex is a temple dedicated to Athena Parthenos. The temple is usually called the Parthenon (about 448 or 447 ᴦ. BC). Architects Iktin and Kallikrat. The Parthenon is a pan-Greek monument to the victory of the Greeks over the Persians. The Parthenon was built in the Doric style and is flanked by 46 Doric columns. Basically, the Parthenon is made of marble, and only the roof of the temple is wooden. Fronton and cornices

decorated with reliefs. The reliefs depict festive processions of boys and girls in honor of the birth of the goddess Athena. Some of the reliefs are now in the British Museum in London. Inside the temple was a statue of Athena, the warrior goddess. It was made by Phidias of marble, ivory and gold. The height of the statue is 2 - 12 m., the body is closed, there is a helmet on the head. It is believed that it took more than 300 kᴦ. gold. The second grandiose work of Phidias is Olympian Zeus, one of the seven wonders of the world. The statue of Zeus was in Olympia, in a temple made in the Doric style. The temple is 64 meters long and 28 meters wide. The statue was made of gold and ivory. In one hand, Zeus held a statue of the goddess Nike, in the other a rod (a symbol of power), crowned with an image of an eagle. In the image of Zeus, Phidias managed to convey superhuman greatness. The height of the statue is 17 m.

Another of the seven wonders of the world belongs to the classical period - the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, this is the tomb of King Mausolus, who died about 353 ᴦ. BC. Sculptor - Scopas. In addition to Phidias, famous sculptors were Myron ("Discobolus" - the transfer of rapid movement), Poliklet ("Dorifor, or spearman" - the ideal of male beauty), Lysippus (portrait busts of Al. Macedonian, Socrates). In painting, Apollodorus is known. He was called the master of chiaroscuro, he was the first to convey the perspective (the farther, the less).

Philosophy: Socrates (470 - 399), Plato (427 - 347), Aristotle (384 - 322). Aristotle lived his entire adult life in Athens. The city was dedicated to this goddess and was under her protection. Athens is the birthplace of democracy. For the first time a democratic state was created on earth. Demos - people, kratos - power. During the time of Aristotle, 21,000 male Greeks lived in Athens. The creator of logic, Aristotle, enjoyed great respect. The greatest monarch of that time was Philip of Macedon, he conquered the Peloponnesian peninsula in southern Greece. He was happy that he lived at the same time as Aristotle, he gave him his son, Alexander, to train. Aristotle formulated the laws of thought, created logic. How did he do it? Astronomy - stars are visible, geometry - objects are visible. What about thought? I can not see anything. It turns out that Aristotle had a powerful help - mathematics. Logic is the child of geometry. From observations on the formation of geometric concepts, Aristotle deduced the main provisions of logic. The logic of Aristotle is studied to this day.

Hellenistic period (ser 4 - 146 ᴦ. BC).

At this time, the ancient Greek culture (the culture of the Hellenes, as the ancient Greeks called themselves) spread among the peoples who lived in the Mediterranean basin. At the same time, it connects with oriental cultures. The synthesis of Greek and Eastern culture is called the culture of Hellenism. The process of spreading Greek culture continued even after Greece became dependent on Rome (146 ᴦ. BC).

The development of the sciences: mathematics, whose representatives were Euclid and Archimedes. Thanks to their efforts, mathematics has found a wide practical value in mechanics, optics, hydrostatics, construction. In art, the greatest success accompanies architecture and sculpture.

Architecture. In architecture, along with religious temples, civil public buildings are being built: palaces, theaters, libraries. For example, a famous library was built in Alexandria, where about 799 thousand scrolls were stored (3rd century BC). Museyon was also built there, which became the largest center of science and art in antiquity. The largest architectural structure was the lighthouse of Alexandria, 120 meters high, included in the wonders of the world. Architect - Sostrat.

Sculpture. It continues the classic patterns, but new features also appear: internal tension and dynamics increase. famous masterpieces are Aphrodite (Venus) of Melos and Nike of Samothrace (2nd century BC). Grandiose in size is the statue of the sun god Helios, known as the Colossus of Rhodes (36 m. Height). It is one of the seven wonders of the world. The Colossus of Rhodes was located on the shore of the harbor of the island of Rhodes and crashed during an earthquake.

Antique culture is a widely used term for a long period in the history of culture centered in the Mediterranean area, primarily including the interconnected civilizations of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. It existed from the poetry of Homer (8-7 centuries BC) until the fifth century AD.

Looking chronologically at the monuments of ancient Greek culture and art, one can state the development of the most ancient ways of expressing thoughts with the help of images, but at the same time continuously improving them to the level of the highest artistic ideals.

The ancient culture of the Greeks and Romans, experiencing some influence of the Ancient East, prevailed everywhere as the basis of art, philosophy, social and educational institutions. Ideals were kept and imitated. This Greco-Roman cultural foundation has greatly influenced the language, politics, educational systems, philosophy, science, art and architecture of the modern world.

The classical heritage flourished in the Middle Ages in the Byzantine-Greek East, in the Latin West. The Byzantines, who called themselves Romans, retained many of the attributes of economic, legal, and administrative organizations that were characteristic of Ancient Rome. In northern Europe, the Frankish king Charlemagne and the Saxon ruler Otto I, who sought to restore the Western Roman Empire, were crowned "emperor and august" by the Pope. Antique culture was revived during the emergence of various neoclassical movements of the 18th and 19th centuries. Relics of Greco-Roman antiquity - coins, jewelry, vase painting, sculpture, architecture, literature - have fascinated thinking people in all eras.

Poetry in Latin continued to be written well into the 19th century. Famous poets include John Milton and Arthur Rimbaud who received their first poetic education in this language. In music, one can also recall his "Greek trilogy" for the ballets Apollo, Orpheus, and Agon.

Antique culture, with its mythological plots and symbols, left a deep mark on Western European literature and painting.

In philosophy, the work of St. Thomas Aquinas was mainly based on the ideas of Plato, but rethought in the light of the Christian religion.

Architecture is marked by several "renaissances", especially Roman architecture, suffice it to cite Washington in America as an example. The city is filled with large marble buildings that are very reminiscent of Roman temples with columns.

The era of antiquity became a particularly popular subject of interest in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when classical sculptural and architectural works were the motifs for engravings. Printed images from them served a very important cause. They made it possible for people interested in works of art and culture to study them. One of the clearest examples is "Bacchanalia" by Andrea Mantegna. It was created by the great artist after his visit to Rome (in 1488-1490). Characteristics the engravings are a frieze-like composition, the figures are copied from antique sarcophagi that Mantegna saw in private collections and Roman churches. The work strongly influenced the outstanding master Albrecht Dürer, for whom ancient culture also became the subject of inspiration and research. The fruits of this influence are clearly visible in Dürer's engraving "Adam and Eve". Adam has a pose whose sculptural image was discovered near Rome at the end of the fifteenth century.

Imitating the magnificent works of the ancients, at the same time trying to surpass them, artists, sculptors, writers in subsequent historical periods really revived the former greatness of the classical era.