In all the diversity of its historical forms.

The territorial core is the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula (Balkan, or mainland, Greece), as well as the islands adjacent to it and the western coast of Asia Minor.

In the northwest it bordered on Illyria, in the northeast - on Macedonia, in the west it was washed by the Ionian (Sicilian), in the east - by the Aegean and Thracian seas. It included three regions - Northern Greece, Central Greece and the Peloponnese. Northern Greece was divided by the Pindus mountain range into western (Epirus) and eastern (Thessaly) parts. Central Greece was delimited from North by the Timfrest and Eta mountains and consisted of ten regions (from west to east): Acarnania, Aetolia, Locris Ozolskaya, Dorida, Phokis, Locris Epiknemidskaya, Locris Opuntskaya, Boeotia, Megaris and Attica. The Peloponnese was connected to the rest of Greece by a narrow (up to 6 km) Isthmus of Corinth.

The central region of the Peloponnese was Arcadia, which bordered on the west with Elis, on the south with Messenia and Laconia, on the north with Achaia, on the east with Argolis, Phliuntia and Sicyonia; Corinthia was located in the extreme northeast corner of the peninsula. Insular Greece consisted of several hundred islands (the largest being Crete and Euboea), which formed three large archipelagos - the Cyclades in the southwest of the Aegean Sea, the Sporades in its eastern and northern parts, and the Ionian Islands in the eastern part of the Ionian Sea.

Balkan Greece is basically a mountainous country (it is pierced from north to south by two branches of the Dinaric Alps) with an extremely indented coastline and numerous bays (the largest are Ambracian, Corinthian, Messenian, Laconian, Argolid, Saronic, Malian and Pagasean).

The largest of the Greek islands is Crete, southeast of the Peloponnese and Euboea, separated from Central Greece by a narrow strait. The numerous islands of the Aegean Sea form two large archipelagos - the Cyclades in the southwest and the Sporades in its eastern and northern parts. The most significant of the islands off the western coast of Greece are Corcyra, Lefkada, Kefallenia and Zakynthos.

In the future, the boundaries of the ancient world expanded along with the spread of Greek and later Roman civilizations. The ancient world expanded significantly as a result of the campaigns of Alexander the Great, when it included most of the former Persian Empire, primarily Asia Minor and Egypt, which for some time were even the largest centers of antiquity. The next center of expansion was in Rome, and by the time the Roman Empire was founded, almost all of the ancient world was within its borders.

In general, the general periodization of antiquity is as follows:

Early Antiquity (VIII century BC - II century BC)

Classical antiquity (1st century BC - 1st century AD), the golden age of the ancient world, the time of the unity of the Greco-Roman civilization.

Late Antiquity (II-V AD). The collapse of the Roman Empire.

The history of ancient Greece is usually divided into 5 periods, which are also cultural epochs:

Aegean or Crete-Mycenaean (III - II millennium BC), Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations. The emergence of the first state formations. The development of navigation. Establishment of trade and diplomatic contacts with the civilizations of the Ancient East.

The emergence of original writing. For Crete and mainland Greece, at this stage, different periods of development are distinguished, since on the island of Crete, where the non-Greek population lived at that time, statehood developed earlier than in Balkan Greece, which underwent at the end of the 3rd millennium BC. e. the conquest of the Achaean Greeks. In fact, the Cretan-Mycenaean period is the prehistory of antiquity.

Homeric (XI - IX centuries BC), This period is also known as the "Greek Dark Ages". The final destruction of the remnants of the Mycenaean (Achaean) civilization, the revival and domination of tribal relations, their transformation into early class relations, the formation of unique prepolis social structures.

Archaic (VIII - VI centuries BC), the first period of antiquity. Begins in parallel with the decline of the Bronze Age. The beginning of the period of antiquity is considered to be the date of the establishment of the ancient Olympic Games in 776 BC.

Formation of polis structures. Great Greek colonization. Early Greek tyrannies. Ethnic consolidation of the Hellenic society. The introduction of iron in all spheres of production, economic recovery. Creation of the foundations of commodity production, distribution of elements of private property.

Classical (V - IV centuries BC), V - IV centuries. BC e. - the period of the highest flowering of the polis device. As a result of the victory of the Greeks in the Greco-Persian Wars (500-449 BC), Athens rises, the Delian League is created (led by Athens). The time of the highest power of Athens, the greatest democratization of political life and the flowering of culture falls on the reign of Pericles (443-429 BC). The struggle between Athens and Sparta for hegemony in Greece and the contradictions between Athens and Corinth related to the struggle for trade routes led to the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC), which ended in the defeat of Athens.

Characterized. The flourishing of the economy and culture of the Greek city-states. Reflection of the aggression of the Persian world power, the rise of national consciousness. The growing conflict between trade and craft types of policies with democratic forms of government and backward agrarian policies with an aristocratic system, the Peloponnesian War, which undermined the economic and political potential of Hellas. The beginning of the crisis of the polis system and the loss of independence as a result of the Macedonian aggression.

Hellenistic (second half of the 4th - the middle of the 1st centuries BC). Short-term assertion of world power by Alexander the Great. The origin, flourishing and collapse of the Hellenistic Greek-Eastern statehood.

The culture of this region, in which most of the Hellenic metropolises were located, was closely connected with the culture of the peoples of Anatolia, in fact being peripheral in relation to the civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt. However, in the new policies on the colonized lands, their influence was significantly weakened. The most active population of the metropolises, who did not adapt to the conditions of clan subordination of life in their homeland, were evicted there. On the one hand, this made him more adaptable to changes (mutations) in social culture.

Hence, apparently, there is a flourishing of philosophy, science, lawmaking and political ideas in the West in Magna Graecia. On the other hand, this contributed to the active adaptation of the Hellenes to new living conditions, the development of crafts, trade, and navigation. The newly founded Greek cities were seaports, and this put forward navigation and trade as institutions that supported the population field. This distinguished the polis civilization from the traditional “land” civilizations, where political institutions and ideology served as tools for maintaining the population field.

The presence of colonies stimulated the development of metropolises and accelerated the development of Greek policies in general. The variety of conditions in the areas inhabited by the Greeks led to the development of trade, specialization and monetary relations. As a result, it becomes possible, having accumulated money, to secure an existence without the clan support of the clan. Among the Greek demos, rich people appear who are weighed down by the obligation to support the tribal aristocracy. They themselves can act as exploiters of a considerable number of people, but these people are not free, but slaves. Wealth and nobility lose their original connection.

Some of the wealthy Demotes live in their native city-states, whose communal mutual assistance is recognized by them as an important life value. Others, mostly artisans and merchants, flee from their aristocrats to other policies, becoming meteks there. The quantitative growth of the mass of these people created the prerequisite for a social revolution that overthrew the power of the tribal aristocracy. But it was only possible to defeat it when the demos was able to take over from the aristocracy the leading role in military affairs, when the aristocratic cavalry was replaced by a phalanx of heavily armed hoplite infantrymen.

Common to ancient states were the ways of social development and a special form of ownership - ancient slavery, as well as the form of production based on it. Their civilization was common with a common historical and cultural complex. Religion and mythology were the main, pivotal in ancient culture. Mythology was for the ancient Greeks the content and form of their worldview, their worldview, it was inseparable from the life of this society.

On the basis of ancient culture, the categories of scientific thinking first appeared and began to develop, the contribution of antiquity to the development of astronomy and theoretical mathematics is great. That is why ancient philosophy and science played such an important role in the emergence of modern science and the development of technology. In general, the culture of antiquity was the basis for the further development of world culture.

VIII-VI centuries. BC e. were in the history of ancient Greece a period of rapid economic growth. It was at this time that major shifts took place in all major industries. If in previous times metal casting was carried out using molds, and larger objects were riveted with a hammer on a wooden template, now the Commander-in-Chief of Chios (VII century) discovered a method for soldering iron, and Samos craftsmen introduced much more advanced methods of casting metals, apparently borrowing them in the East.

In the Homeric epic, nothing is reported about the development of iron and copper mines in Greece; the necessary pieces of metal were probably exchanged mainly with the Phoenicians. In the VIII-VI centuries. iron and copper ores began to be mined in Greece itself; so, copper, according to the Greek geographer Strabo, was mined, for example, in the mines near Chalkis, on Euboea. Iron mines, although small in size, were already known at that time in Laconica and a number of other places.

In the VIII-VI centuries. in Greece, further development of shipbuilding takes place, taking into account the achievements of the Phoenician shipbuilders. Warships (penteconters or "long" - with 50 rowers) had one or two rows of rowers, a deck and a room for soldiers, and in front at water level - a ram, upholstered in copper; merchant ships ("round") were built with a high rounded bow and stern and a capacious hold. By the end of the 8th century BC e., according to the ancient Greek historian Thucydides, the first trieres were built in Corinth - high-speed warships of a more complex design, with a crew of 200 rowers. However, trieres became widespread only in the 5th century BC. BC e.

Significant shifts are taking place in the period under consideration in the construction business. The relatively primitive buildings of Homer's time are replaced by much more extensive and architecturally more advanced buildings. Such grandiose works for that time as the construction of a water pipeline in Samos, the construction of roads, etc., are being undertaken.

In parallel with the development of technology, the social division of labor continues to progress. The work of urban artisans is beginning to become more and more isolated from agricultural labor. New specialties are emerging. So, by the end of this period, the previously inseparable specialties of a blacksmith and a foundry worker, a potter and a master artist who paints ceramics are differentiated. Slave labor begins to be used in craft workshops.

The development of trade is clearly evidenced by the widespread appearance and distribution of coins. There is also a trend towards the establishment of common weight systems. The technique of minting coins, apparently, was borrowed by the Greeks in the first half of the 7th century. among the Lydians; then it spread with extraordinary rapidity throughout Greece.

With the growth of crafts and trade, centers of all-Greek relations arose. In particular, the most revered sanctuaries in Greece are now beginning to play such a role. Common Greek festivities were not only religious in nature. Around the temples on the days of the festivities, a kind of fair arose. The temples themselves actively participated in them, accepting cash deposits for safekeeping and issuing loans at interest. Political negotiations were also held here, poets, musicians and artists competed, whose works became the property of the general population.

The Greek alphabet, introduced in the 9th-8th centuries, became a powerful tool for cultural progress. BC e. and representing a modification of the Phoenician alphabet, but with an extremely significant addition: the Greeks for the first time introduced the designation not only of consonants, but of all vowels. This made writing more perfect and reading much easier.

Antique culture, especially ancient Greece and Rome, is the founder of Western European culture, its value system. Moreover, it is necessary to keep in mind the following important circumstance. The Neolithic revolution and the formation of early civilizations on the territory of Europe followed approximately the same scenario as the development of Eastern civilizations, up to the archaic period (from the 8th century BC). But then the development of ancient Greece took a fundamentally different path than in the East. It was then that the East-West dichotomy began to take shape.

The ancient version of development became an exception to the general rule, it is a kind of social mutation, and for reasons that are not entirely clear. In the entire history of mankind, this option was the only and unique in nature and results. The consequences of the “archaic revolution” that took place were truly world-historical, especially for the fate of Western European culture.

The transformation that took place was based on the promotion of private property relations, especially in combination with the dominance of private commodity production, oriented mainly to the market, with the exploitation of private slaves in the absence of a strong centralized authority and with the self-government of the community, the city-state (polis).

After the reform of Solon (6th century BC), a structure based on private property arose in ancient Greece, which was not the case anywhere else in the world. The domination of private property brought to life the political, legal and other institutions inherent in it and serving its needs: a system of democratic self-government with the right and duty of every full citizen, member of the policy, to take part in public affairs, in the management of the policy; a system of private law guarantees with the protection of the interests of every citizen, with the recognition of his personal dignity, rights and freedoms; as well as a system of socio-cultural principles that contributed to the flourishing of the individual, the development of the creative potential of the individual, his energy, initiative, and enterprise.

In the ancient world, the foundations of civil society were laid, which served as the ideological and institutional foundation for the rapid development of the ancient market-private property structure. With all this, ancient society began to differ fundamentally from all other societies, especially the eastern ones. The ancient structure took a different path of development than all the others, moreover, faster, more dynamic and more productive. Subsequently, these principles formed the basis for the flourishing of the cities of medieval Europe, the Renaissance arose on a similar structure and the bourgeois society of the New Age strengthened.

It was on this basis that capitalism rapidly developed, becoming the most powerful force influencing the development of the whole world.

Antique culture is characterized by the following features:

1) anthropocentrism: faith in the strength and destiny of man, the Greek philosopher Protagoras formulated the most important principle of antiquity that "man is the measure of all things";

2) rationalism: recognition of the special role of reason and knowledge;

3) aestheticism: the desire for harmony and admiration for beauty, and the person himself was the standard of beauty;

4) democracy: culture is not elitist, it is the result and property of the entire society of free citizens;

6) the desire to make culture a way of life worthy and desired by the people;

7) low religiosity: attitude towards religion rather as a civil ceremony, an external ritual, rather than an internal conviction;

8) appeal to art and philosophy as the most important dominants of life, the transition from mythology to an attempt at a philosophical explanation of the world.

Philosophy and science are the unconditional conquests of ancient culture. The cultural, ideological upheaval manifested itself most clearly in the history of ancient Greece during the classical period (5th-4th centuries BC). the concept of the value of the individual was entrenched;

9) glorification of human activity, encouragement of competitiveness (sports, politics, rhetoric, art);

10) the organic connection of the citizen and the policy on the basis of the formed civil society with the principle of the primacy of the citizen over the state;

11) understanding of freedom as the highest moral category.

The culture of antiquity received special development due to a number of factors:

Culture was created on the basis of advanced economic relations, on slavery of the classical type, on private property, on commodity-money relations. The economy has created sufficient material opportunities for cultural progress, for rapid social and economic development, and opportunities for professional mental activity have appeared. Moreover, sharp social stratification was limited, the middle strata dominated.

A vibrant urban culture has developed. The city is the center of ancient culture, where a variety of leisure activities appeared.

The ruling class of slave owners and the numerous middle strata adjacent to them, which made up civil society, were active in the socio-political sense and were a favorable environment for the creation and perception of cultural values.

Democratic forms of government favored the development of culture in breadth and depth. There was no closed layer of the ruling elite and a developed bureaucracy, there was no mercenary army, concentration of power was not allowed, the rule was the turnover and controllability of the administrative apparatus, citizens were close to state institutions, actively participated in public affairs. Democracy has created a need for a cultured, broad-minded individual.

There was no powerful priestly organization, which in the countries of the Ancient East monopolized, to a large extent, the process of spiritual production and directed it into the mainstream of religious ideology. The nature of the Greek religion, the simplicity of cult rites, and the holding of the main religious ceremonies by elected representatives of the citizens ruled out the possibility of forming an extensive and influential priestly corporation, its monopoly in cultural creativity. This predetermined the freer nature of education, the system of upbringing, worldview and the whole culture, its faster and more intensive development.

The widespread use of alphabet-based literacy, which made it possible to access the wonderful works of historians, philosophers, playwrights, writers, orators. It was the possibility of reading and competent judgment about what was read that became an important stimulus for the creativity of ancient thinkers.

Intensive information links with other countries and cultures, accumulation of knowledge of Ancient Eastern civilizations, openness of ancient culture.

Development of strict forms of thinking, rules of proof, that is, the formation of a new culture of thinking. Science demonstrates a new attitude towards the result of cognition, when truth is recognized as the most important value that arises on the basis of rational operations, objectivity, and verifiability. Although, of course, scientific knowledge has not yet played a decisive role next to the mythological-religious, traditional consciousness.

The system of education of antiquity put forward the ideal of kalokagatiya - as a harmonious, comprehensive development of the individual, and civic virtues, the social qualities of a person, where physical prowess was manifested in war, mental development - in state affairs, and moral qualities - in the rules of the hostel, were brought to the fore.

Recordings from seminars:

A citizen is a free, independent member of society, enjoying the fullness of civil and political rights in inseparable unity with his duties.

Polis - an urban civil community with adjacent properties, based on a dual form of ownership: private (the basis is civil initiative) and state (the goal is to achieve social stability and protect society).

Democracy is a political regime based on a method of complex decision-making with equal rights for everyone to the outcome of the process. Every citizen had the right and duty to participate in the political life of the policy, there is no separation of powers.

The idea of ​​citizenship is freedom

The highest civic value is personal labor on one's own land.

Antiquity has a special place in world history, since it was the starting point, the first experience, the foundation and spiritual support of European culture. The term "antiquity" (from Latin antiquus - ancient) denotes Greco-Roman antiquity. Antique culture is the largest civilization of the ancient world, occupying a geographical location close to each other. Common to ancient states were the ways of social development and a special form of ownership - ancient slavery, as well as the form of production based on it. Common was their civilization with a single historical and cultural complex. This does not, of course, deny the presence of peculiarities and differences in the life of ancient societies. Ancient Greek civilization is usually divided into 5 periods, which are also cultural epochs: Crete-Mycenaean or Aegean (III - II millennium BC); Homeric or "dark ages" (XI - IX centuries BC); archaic (VIII - VI centuries BC); classical (V - IV centuries BC); Hellenistic (second half of the 4th - the middle of the 1st centuries BC)

The civilization that arose on the islands of the Aegean Sea, on Crete, as well as on the territory of mainland Greece and Anatolia, received the general name of the Aegean civilization, which, in turn, is subdivided into the Crete-Mycenaean period (late III-II millennium BC) , which includes the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations. In III-II millennia BC. e. the first states emerge. These were states of a monarchical type, similar to ancient Eastern despotisms, with an extensive bureaucracy and strong communities. The disappearance of the Mycenaean culture in the XII century. BC e. is associated with the invasion of the Dorian tribes from the north of the Balkan Peninsula, among which the tribal system still dominated. The history of Greece after the Dorian invasion begins almost anew. Again there is a decomposition of primitive communal relations, the formation of statehood, the revival of material culture. This period lasted approximately from the 11th to the 9th centuries. and is called the "dark ages", as well as the Homeric period, since it is known primarily from Homer's poems "Iliad" and "Odyssey".

"Dark Ages" - the era of subsistence farming. In the archaic period, crafts were separated from agriculture, which marked the transition to exchange, production not only for their own needs, but also for the market, as a result of which cities were actively developing. During the period of the VIII-VI centuries. BC e. there is a formation of policies - scattered small sovereign city-states, united only by a common language, religion, cultural traditions, political and trade ties. It becomes economically necessary to create new colonies and increase the number of slaves as the main labor force. At the end of the archaic period, slavery spread in many policies, regardless of the form of organization of the policy, including democratic Athens.

The classical period is the time of the highest flowering of ancient Greek society and culture, which fell on the 5th-4th centuries BC. e. Ancient Athens became the most influential political and cultural center after the victory in the Greco-Persian wars. Athens reached its maximum power and cultural flourishing when the outstanding politician Pericles, who was elected strategist 15 times, became the head of state. This period is known in historiography as the "Golden Age of Pericles", although it was relatively short-lived. During the period of weakness of the Greek policies, Macedonia begins its rise.

A new stage in the history of the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean - Hellenism - begins with the campaigns of Alexander the Great (4th century BC) and ends with the conquest of the Hellenistic states by Ancient Rome in the 1st century. BC e. Macedonia, having conquered Greece, fully adopted its culture, therefore, after the victorious campaigns of Alexander the Great, ancient Greek culture spreads in the conquered eastern countries.

The formation in Greece of city-states - policies, as a special type of community, brought to life a new, polis morality - collectivist in its essence, since the existence of an individual outside the framework of the policy was impossible. The Greek world has always consisted of many independent policies, sometimes entering into military, religious or some other unions, but usually independent and self-sufficient in administrative, economic and cultural terms. The process of gradual development of the policy, the early separation of craft from agriculture and trade, the rapid growth of commodity-money relations contributed to the transformation of the central settlement of a Greek tribe into a city. The citizens of the policy had the right to own land; were obliged to take part in public affairs, and in the event of war - to participate in the civil militia; had the right to publicly express their opinion on any issue, to file complaints about illegal actions. The supreme legislative body in the policy was the people's assembly; executive power was represented by elected (for a certain period of time) bodies and positions: the “Council of Five Hundred”, a jury trial, etc. Above the citizen in the policy was the collective of the policy (the idea of ​​the sovereignty of the people). Ancient democracy was limited: women did not have civil rights, personally free foreigners who lived on the territory of the policy, slaves. There were, in addition to democratic (Athens), and oligarchic policies (Sparta), where the remnants of the tribal system were strong, and the power belonged to the hereditary aristocracy. Nevertheless, the ancient Greek civilization as a whole most fully expressed the idea of ​​the sovereignty of the people and the ideal of a democratic form of government; and the polis organization of society became a unique phenomenon, previously unknown in the world of ancient civilizations, which made it possible to effectively solve economic, military and political problems, to achieve a high level of cultural development.

Ancient Roman civilization is interesting for its own system of spiritual values. The main spiritual guidelines of Roman society were: 1) patriotism; 2) the "special chosenness of God" of the Roman people; 3) the idea of ​​Rome as the highest value. Not only crafts were considered unworthy for a Roman citizen, but also artistic creativity (sculpture, painting, acting on stage, dramaturgy), and pedagogy. The originality of the Roman civilization was that it is represented by a variety of forms of socio-political structure known in antiquity. From an early class society headed by a “king” (seven legendary Roman kings were most likely the supreme leaders of tribal unions), to an early republic, then a developed republic, and, finally, to the emergence of a huge and stable state - the Roman Empire (a new type of monarchy , different from the eastern despotism), which swallowed up almost all other civilizations of antiquity. Roman civilization lasted 12 centuries, which are divided into three periods: the royal VIII-VI centuries. BC.; period of the Roman Republic VI-I centuries. BC.; period of the Roman Empire in the 1st century. BC - V century. n. e.

During the tsarist period, the primary social organization in ancient Rome takes shape. The population lived in clans ruled by elders. In 509 BC. e. The Romans expelled the last king, Tarvinius the Proud, and proclaimed a republic. The period of the Roman Republic is characterized by the beginning of the territorial expansion of Rome and the struggle with Carthage for dominance in the Mediterranean. As a result of wars and the growth of slavery, republican Rome is experiencing an internal crisis: slave uprisings and civil wars take place. As a result, in 82 BC. the commander Sulla establishes sole power, which meant the beginning of the decline of the republican system in Rome. The foundations of the empire that replaced the republic were laid by Gaius Julius Caesar, who was elected in 59 BC. consul, who became dictator for life and received the title of emperor. After the assassination of Caesar, his great-nephew Octavian Augustus, who became emperor, left behind a huge Roman Empire.

Only those who belonged to ancient families were considered full members of the Roman community. From them, a privileged part of Roman society was formed - the patricians, initially only they were considered the Roman people. In a different position was another large stratum of society - the plebeians. The plebeians were personally free, but did not belong to the clans, and therefore were not members of the community. Plebeians are settlers and residents of conquered areas. Initially, the plebeians had no rights: they were not allowed to attend public meetings, did not participate in religious rites, and could not marry patricians. Their struggle for the right to citizenship began. In the VI century. BC. plebeians were admitted to military service and to popular assemblies. And yet the plebeians remained incomplete, and in the future this will become the source of prolonged social battles in Rome.

Popular assemblies played an important role in the social life of Rome. The resolutions of the people's assemblies had the force of law. In addition, the tribunes had high powers: they had the right to impose a ban on the decisions of the court, the senate and senior officials if these decisions infringed on the interests of the plebeians. The most important governing body was the senate, which consisted of patricians and the top of the plebs. He was in charge of domestic policy and determined foreign policy. Under the control of the Senate were finances and a religious cult. The Senate was an aristocratic body. In fact, he led the state. In this respect Roman democracy differed from Athenian democracy. Having become a huge power, Rome could no longer remain a community. The first signs of the destruction of its traditional structure, the norms of communal life appeared in the 2nd century. BC e.

In general, in the ancient world, the foundations of a civil society were laid, providing for the right of every citizen to participate in government, recognition of his personal dignity, rights and freedoms. Roman law contained a system of rules governing private property relations. However, democracy in the ancient world was limited.

Literature

1. World history in dates and events. - M: Rainbow, 2002. - S. 34-101.

2. Samygin, P.S., Samygin, S.I., Shevelev, V.N., Sheveleva E.V. History for bachelors / P.S. Samygin, S.I. Samygin, V.N. Shevelev, E.V. Sheveleva.- Rostov-on-D.: Phoenix, 2012. - S. 56-66.

3. Chubaryan, A.O. The World History. In 6 volumes / A.O. Chubaryan. - M: Nauka, 2011.- V.1. - S. 439-479, 575-602.

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57. Le Goff, J. Civilization of the Medieval West / J. Le Goff. - Ekaterinburg: U-Factoria, 2005. - 560 p. 58. Lectures on cultural studies. URL: http://studentu-vuza.ru/kulturologiya/lektsii-po

Characteristic features of the culture of the ancient civilization of Greece

In Greece, religious innovations did not play a significant role - the mythological consciousness decomposed, faith in the Olympic gods weakened, Eastern cults were borrowed - Astarte, Cybele, but the ancient Greeks did not bother to create their original religion. This does not mean that they were not religious. Irreligion, asebaya, in the view of the Greeks was a crime. In 432 BC. e. the priest Dionif presented a draft of a new law, according to which those who do not believe in the existence of immortal gods and boldly talk about what is happening in heaven were brought to justice. And so they were. Already Homer does not have much respect for the Olympian gods, who in his poems do not appear in the best way, with their treachery, greed, and malice, reminiscent of mortal people. His gods are by no means the height of perfection. The law proposed by Dionyphos was directed directly against the "philosophers", in particular against Anaxagoras, who was forced to flee from Athens. Later, Socrates will be accused of godlessness and executed. And yet the very adoption of such laws is evidence of the underdevelopment of religious culture, its formal nature.

Thus, at this point, the development of ancient Greek culture took a different path than in the more ancient civilizations of the "first wave". There all the energy of the nation was absorbed by the religious ideology. In Greece, however, the myth, decomposing, nourishes the secular Logos, the word. The world religion, Christianity, comes belatedly, when the culture of antiquity is going through its last days. Moreover, Christianity is not actually a Greek discovery. It is borrowed by antiquity from the East.

Another, no less important, feature of the culture of antiquity, which ancient Greece demonstrates, was the more radical nature of the cultural shift. Philosophy, literature, theater, lyric poetry, the Olympic Games appear for the first time, they have no predecessors in previous forms of spirituality. In the culture of the ancient civilizations of the East, we will find mysteries - the forerunners of the theater, sports fights, poetry, prose, philosophy. But they do not acquire such a developed institutional character there as in Greece, they still nourish new religious and philosophical systems, sometimes without occupying an independent position. In ancient Greece, philosophy, literature, theater very quickly become independent types of culture, stand apart, turn into a specialized, professional activity.

Another, no less significant, feature of the culture of ancient Greece was the unusually high rate of cultural change: they spanned about 300 years, from the 6th century BC. BC e. up to the 3rd century. BC e., when stagnation and subsequent decline are detected.

The culture of ancient Greece is similar to a one-day butterfly. It comes on quickly, but just as quickly disappears. But subsequently, the neighboring culture of Ancient Rome, the civilizations of the East and Africa will feed on its fruits, and through them the cultural influence of Antiquity will also feed the culture of Europe.

Unlike the cultures of the civilizations of the Ancient East, which were characterized by the "Asian mode of production" with a centralized state performing productive functions, in ancient Greece the polis (city-state) plays a huge role. On the eve of the 8th century BC e. there is a disintegration of tribal society. The latter was characterized by settlements as a form of cohabitation of relatives or members of the tribe. The class stratification inherent in civilization leads to the emergence of neighborhood ties and a different type of residence - the city. The formation of cities takes place in the form of synoykism - a connection, a merger of several settlements into one, for example, Athens arises on the basis of the unification of 12 villages, Sparta unites 5, Tegea and Mantinea, 9 settlements each. Thus, the formation of the polis system is a dynamic process that spanned several decades. In such a short period of time, the old, ancestral, ties could not completely disappear, they remained for a long time, forming the spirit of the arche - the faceless beginning that underlies the urban collectivism, the polis community. The preservation of the arche is at the heart of many forms of urban life. Its center was the agora - the square where political meetings were held, court sessions were held. Later, the central square will turn into a trading square, where financial and commercial transactions will take place. Public spectacles will be arranged in the agora - tragedies, questions about the most outstanding works of art, etc. will be decided. Publicity, openness, openness of politics, art, city self-government are evidence that in this initial period of the formation of civilization, alienation has not yet captured the free population of the city , it retains in itself the consciousness of common interests, deeds, fate.

Ancient Greece has never been a single centralized state with a single policy, religion, normative art. It consisted of many city-states, completely independent, often at war with each other, sometimes concluding political alliances with each other. It was not typical for her to have one capital city - the center of administrative, political life, the legislator in the field of culture. Each city independently solved the issues of due and necessary, beautiful and perfect, what corresponded to its ideas about the culture of man and society.

Therefore, the ancient culture of Greece was characterized by a desire for diversity, and not for unity. Unity arose as a result, a product of collision, competition, competition of diverse products of culture. Therefore, culture was characterized by agon - the spirit of competition, rivalry, penetrating all aspects of life.

Cities competed, compiling lists of "7 wise men", including a representative of their policy in it. The dispute was about the "7 wonders of the world", covering all Greek settlements, and going beyond them. Every year the magistrate decided which tragedies, by which playwright, would be played in the town square. Last year's winner could be this year's loser. No civilization has discovered the Olympic Games - only the ancient Greeks did. Once every four years, wars, disputes, enmity ceased, and all cities sent to the foot of Mount Olympus, closer to the Olympian gods, their strongest, fastest, dexterous, enduring athletes. All-Greek lifetime glory awaited the winner, a solemn meeting in his native city, entry not through an ordinary gate, but through a hole in the wall, specially arranged for him by enthusiastic fans. And the city-polis received universal fame for being able to raise an Olympic winner. Disputes sometimes took on a strange character: seven cities argued for a long time among themselves where the tomb of Homer was located. But this dispute is evidence of changed values, it could arise when the epic poetry of Homer became a pan-Greek value, a single epic foundation that united all Greek cities, created the spiritual unity of civilization, the unity of its culture.

The diversity of the culture of ancient Greece led to the strengthening of its unity, commonality, similarity, which allows us to speak of cultural integrity, despite the political and economic contradictions that tore apart the country. Antique civilization, having split society into opposite classes, political interests, competing policies, could not create a sufficiently strong unity by means of spiritual culture.

Let's look at the list of "seven wise men". Usually called: Thales from Miletus, Solon from Athens, Biant from Priene, Pittacus from Mitylene, Cleobulus from Lind, Periandra from Corinth, Chilo from Sparta. As you can see, the list includes representatives of the cities of Ancient Greece from the Peloponnese peninsula to the Asia Minor coast. By the time the list was compiled, it reflected only the common past and the desired future, but not the present. This list is a cultural building program, but not a harsh reality. And the reality showed sharp rivalry, enmity of cities, which eventually broke off cultural unity.

The development of the culture of Ancient Greece was greatly influenced by the natural conditions in which the proto-Greek tribes who seized this territory found themselves. Here, on the Peloponnese and the coast of Asia Minor, there are no large areas suitable for cultivating grain and obtaining bread - the main food product. Therefore, the Greeks had to create colonies outside Hellas: in the Apennines, in Sicily, in the Northern Black Sea region. Getting bread and grain from the colonies, it was necessary to offer them something in exchange. What could Greece, poor in natural resources, offer? Its lands were suitable for the cultivation of olives, olives - raw materials for the production of olive oil. Thus, Greece has taken an important place in world trade, supplying olive oil to international markets. Another product that made the culture flourish was grape wine. No wonder Odysseus in Homer "teaches" the Cyclops Polyphemus how to make wine. Olive oil and wine required the development of ceramic production, the manufacture of amphorae, which contained liquids and bulk products (grain, flour, salt). The manufacture of ceramics gave impetus to the development of handicraft production, intermediary world trade, the early formation of merchants, and financial capital. All this was connected with the sea - the main transport route of the ancient world. No people of that period created poems in which the sea was so often mentioned. The Greeks were a maritime people: the Argonauts make a trip to Colchis, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea; ten years the sea-ocean carries Odysseus on itself, not allowing him to reach the house, and later he will have to wander until he meets a person who does not distinguish between an oar and a shovel. The entire Trojan cycle is also associated with sea expeditions. The rapid development of handicraft production, and hence the development of cities, shipping, intermediary trade - this is the source of the development of Greek culture. Friedrich Goebbel in the tragedy "Gyges and his ring" correctly noticed a special feature of ancient Greek culture:

"You Greeks are a smart tribe: for you

Others spin, you yourself weave,

A network comes out, there is no single thread in it,

Twisted by you, yet your network."

The ancient Greeks realized very early that it was unprofitable to trade in raw materials during trade, that the one who sells finished products, the final, and not the intermediate product, gets the most profit. It is in the final product, ready for immediate consumption, that culture is concentrated. Culture is the result, the product of the concentrated efforts of society, the integrated labor of people. Sand prepared for construction, marble blocks, slaked lime - all these are products of intermediate efforts, partial labor, which do not constitute integrity in their fragmentation. And only a temple (or a palace, or a house) created from these materials, in a concentrated form, represents the culture of the society.

The culture of ancient Greece is the culture of civilization, that is, a society with a class composition of the population. Civilizations of "bronze", as a rule, create a special class of workers - "slaves". Civilizations of "iron" - lead to the emergence of a feudal-dependent population. In ancient Greece - the civilization of the "second" wave, that is, iron - slave labor persists for a long period of its existence and only during the period of Hellenism loses its productive significance. In this regard, the question arose about the existence of a "culture of slaves and slave owners." In particular, some researchers single out the "culture of slaves", but note that there is little information about it. Others believe that since the ancient Eastern sources are silent about the "culture of slaves", it means that it did not exist, since "the attitude of an individual individual does not have universal significance", especially since the slaves belonged to different ethnic communities, to different local cultures. In addition, culture is a relationship objectified in words, objects, etc. However, the slave was deprived of the opportunity to objectify his attitude, and was forced to reify "the attitude of his master." Slaves, mastering the language and customs of their masters, did not become the creators of some special culture of slaves. Such a statement is not entirely correct from a historical point of view. We can remember such a slave as Aesop with his cultural achievement - the "Aesopian language", which has been preserved for centuries, nourishing the artistic culture of peoples. Considering the culture of Ancient Rome, we note the contribution of Greek teachers, slaves by social status. And later, studying world culture, we note that many cultural values ​​were created by slaves - from jazz melodies to dances, from songs to proverbs, sayings, etc. Another thing is that this "culture of slaves" was suppressed by the dominant culture of slave owners, hushed up, only a few traces and references have come down to us from it. Moreover, the culture of the ruling class was forced to take into account the existence of other "opinions", to refute them and develop their own arguments. Thus, the dominant culture had to reckon with the existence of an opposing culture of slaves and take on appropriate forms. This is most clearly found in religion, political culture, and philosophy. Thus, the famous ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle writes: “Nature is arranged in such a way that the physical organization of free people is different from the physical organization of slaves, the latter have a powerful body, suitable for performing the necessary physical labor, while free people have a free posture and are not capable of performing this kind of work. but they are capable of political life. .. After all, a slave by nature is one who can belong to another, and who is involved in reason to the extent that he is able to understand his orders, but does not possess reason himself. The benefits brought by domestic animals are not much different from the benefits delivered by slaves: both of them, with their physical strength, help to satisfy our urgent needs ... It is obvious, in any case, that some people are by nature free, others are slaves, and this the last to be slaves is both useful and just.” Until slavery became widespread, this kind of reasoning reflected the widespread prejudice that a slave became a slave “by nature.” But how to explain the fact that subsequently all the inhabitants of the conquered cities became slaves? Why were the children of slaves slaves? Why slaves revolt from time to time? Particularly fierce disputes arose among thinkers when cases of the transformation of free Athenian citizens into slaves became more frequent - what, their nature has changed? No, their social status, position in society has changed. Slave - it is a social characteristic of a person, and any social phenomenon can appear in its cultural and non-cultural form.

An important role in characterizing the culture of ancient Greece is played by the dialectics of its development. We have singled out three periods in its existence, reflecting its three different states. The third period began with the stage of archaic culture, archaic. Consider the features of this stage on the example of sculpture. Typical sculptural forms of this period are images that have received the names "archaic Apollos and Aphrodites", they are also called "archaic kouros" (boys) and "koros" (girls). In fact, we do not know who these statues depict, what gods, therefore the names "Apollo", "Aphrodite" are given conditionally, conventionally. The statues depict young people, a boy or a girl, personifying the gods. In fact, this is a religious sculpture, that is, it performs ideological functions, expressing social interests, and not ideas about beauty in general. Sculptures of this period are characterized by a weak half-smile. It should express and convey the joy, contentment experienced by the deity, the patron of this community and its admirers. If God is happy, people are also happy. But there is also a feedback: the community is happy - and the sculptor depicts contentment, joy on the face of God. Sculptures are created in the full growth of a person. The weight is distributed evenly on both legs. One of them - slightly pushed forward - the deity rushes, goes to meet his admirers. It is calm. All parts of the body are depicted symmetrically about the axis. The chest line is carefully processed, the back is trimmed casually. The sculpture was not intended for visitors to walk around it and look at it from all sides. No, only face-to-face communication was envisaged by the sculptor. Thus, we can identify a number of features of this stage of culture, which reflects the process of its formation: it is a harmoniously developing society, with rationally arranged institutions, an atmosphere of contentment and prosperity in relationships, a leisurely life, supported by faith in the inviolability of established orders, authorities, and the continuing unity of civil society. and political, ideological principles of culture. This is the stage of formation of the culture of civilization, where social stratification does not lead to political, ideological, religious conflicts. And the sculptor, using the means available to him, tries to express what the majority of this society is experiencing. The next stage was called "classic". The very word "classic", "classical" was introduced in the II century. BC e. Greek critic Aristarchus, who singled out a group of the most famous ancient Greek poets according to the degree of artistic merit of their works. Since then, it has become customary to refer to the works attributed by Aristarchus to this group as "classical", capable of serving as a model for other poets and writers. Later, the best works of artistic creativity of all times and peoples began to be called classic. The classical stage in the development of the culture of ancient Greece reflects the peak of its development, its most developed forms, the period of perfection, in which the social content of culture in the most complete form corresponds to its forms of expression and representation.

The reason for the appearance of this stage in the development of culture, which lies most deeply in the basis of society, is hidden in the correspondence between the productive forces and production relations of a given society. This correspondence provides optimal conditions for the development of culture, contributes to its flourishing, harmony, and perfection. The classical period gives us the emergence of a new style of "severe" in sculpture. This style is most clearly manifested in the statues of Harmodius and Aristogeton, the creations of Critias and Nesiotom, 476 BC. e. Classical sculpture reaches fullness in the friezes of the Parthenon, in the creations of the sculptor Phidias, who created the statue of Athena Parthenos, Olympian Zeus. The work of Miron from Eleuthera belongs to the same period. World fame brought him "Discobolus". No less famous was Polykleitos of Argos.

In the classical period, as a rule, the concept of a norm (measure) arises. Thus, Poliklet established a canon (a set of rules) that dominated sculpture for more than 100 years: the length of the foot should be 1/6 of the length of the body, the height of the head should be 1/8. It is these proportions that are observed in "Dorifor". For the classics, the desire to depict not parts, as in the archaic period, but the whole is characteristic. But at the same time, people are depicted not as concrete, as they are by nature, but as they should be. Thus, the classics are guided by the ideal, which is formed on the basis of philosophical, aesthetic, moral norms. Thus, the unity of the rational and the sensual (irrational) is achieved in perception, in culture. Rational, reasonable feelings are formed. There is also a unity of the aesthetic ideal with the political one. From here, the sculpture acquires citizenship, political, ideological predestination. The unity of the political, philosophical, ideological content and artistic form is affirmed.

During the period of decline, which is called Hellenism, the center of cultural innovation moves from Attica to Asia Minor, Egypt, to the islands. In the Hellenistic period are created: Colossus of Rhodes (sculptor Haret from Minda). Tohe (goddess of happiness) in Antioch, sculptor Eutychides. Nike of Samothrace (sculptor Pythocrates of Rhodes), Venus de Milo (sculptor unknown). Sculptural group "Laocoön" by Athenodorus, Polydorus, Agesander. This creation is attributed to the end of the Hellenistic period. We have a copy discovered in Rome in 1506.

What changed in the perception of a person during the Hellenistic period, with the help of what techniques the sculptor attracts attention - we will answer these questions by examining the sculpture "Laocoön". It depicts a priest from the city of Troy (Fig. 7.5) along with his two sons. In Homer's Iliad, Laocoön is the man who unraveled the trick of the Greeks and prevented the giant wooden horse from moving into the walls of the fortress. For this, the gods punished him by sending a sea monster. The group depicts three male figures entwined with snake rings. Sculpture is characterized by drawing not only parts, but also the whole - the composition. But the composition itself is asymmetric. Thus, the perception of "asymmetric" - the time of the decay period is achieved. All figures of the sculpture in motion, bent by deadly embraces of the body, convey horror, despair, the inevitable feeling of death, suffering. This impression is not transmitted rationally, it is perceived at the level of feelings, irrationally. Thus, culture, which initially affirmed a rational, harmonious, calm perception of society, and hence human behavior, at the end of its existence began to assert other qualities: irrationality, sensuality, disorder, pessimism, despair. And the point here is not that the sculptors did not see anything good in the future. Life itself testified to the collapse of culture, to its passing, and society no longer had the strength to stop this decay. Greek antiquity could not find its correct answer to the Challenge of Time.

CULTURE OF ANCIENT GREECE

General and special in the development of ancient Greek culture (in comparison with the culture of the peoples of the Ancient East). The value of the heritage of the Cretan-Mycenaean era. Features of ancient Greek mythology and religion. Chthonic and heroic periods of development of mythology. Traces of fetishism and animism. Myths about the origin of the world and the change of generations of gods, about the origin of mankind, about the deeds of heroes. The main deities of the Olympic pantheon. Temples, oracles, major religious festivals. Greek theater and its role in the public life of the policy. Greek tragedians and comedians: Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes. Epic, didactic and lyric poetry. The birth of a love story. The development of philosophical schools: Ionian natural philosophy, Orphic-Pythagorean teaching, Democritus, Plato, Aristotle, Stoicism and Cynicism. social utopias. Oratory. Development of scientific knowledge. Major Greek historians: Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon. Greek Architecture, Sculpture and Painting: Changes in Styles in Different Ages.

II semester

Historical Geography of Ancient Greece.

Written sources on the history of Ancient Greece.

Minoan civilization in Crete.

Mycenaean Greece.

Trojan War.

Dark Ages" in the history of Greece.

Greek mythology: the main plots.

Poems of Homer.

Great Greek colonization.

Sparta as a type of polis.

Formation of the policy in Athens (VIII-VI centuries BC).

Solon's reforms.

Tyranny of Pisistratus.

Reforms of Cleisthenes.

Greco-Persian Wars.

Athenian democracy in the 5th century. BC.

Athenian maritime power in the 5th century. BC.

Peloponnesian War.

The Crisis of the Polis in Greece, 4th c. BC.

Greek culture of the archaic period.

Greek culture of classical times.

Rise of Macedonia.

Campaigns of Alexander.

Hellenism and its manifestations in economics, politics, culture.

Major Hellenistic States.

Northern Black Sea region in the classical and Hellenistic era.

Periodization of the history of Rome.

Historical Geography of Rome, Italy and the Empire.

Written sources on Roman history.

Etruscans and their culture.

The royal period of the history of Rome.

Early Republic: the struggle of patricians and plebeians.

Roman conquest of Italy.

Second Punic War.

Roman conquest of the Mediterranean in the 2nd century BC. BC.

Reforms of the Gracchi brothers.

Struggle between the optimates and the popular. Marius and Sulla.

Political struggle in Rome in the 1st half. 1st century BC.

Caesar's conquest of Gaul.

Rise of Spartacus.

The struggle for power and the dictatorship of Caesar.

Struggle between Antony and Octavian.

Principate of Augustus.

Emperors from the dynasty of Tiberius-Juliev.

Roman provinces in the I-II centuries. AD and their romanization.

Golden Age" of the Roman Empire in the II century. AD

Roman culture during the civil wars.

Roman culture of the era of the principate.

The era of "soldier emperors".

Reforms of Diocletian-Constantine.

Ancient Christian church. The adoption of Christianity in the IV century.

The onslaught of the Germanic tribes on the borders of the empire in the IV-V centuries.

Eastern provinces in the IV-VI centuries. Birth of Byzantium.

Fall of the Western Roman Empire.

Culture of the Late Empire.

Antique traditions in the culture of subsequent eras.

The main features of ancient civilization, its differences from the civilizations of the Ancient East.

Ancient civilization is an exemplary, normative civilization. Events took place here, which then only repeated themselves, there is not a single event and reality that was not meaningful, did not occur in Ancient Greece and Ancient Greece. Rome.

Antiquity is clear to us today, because: 1. in antiquity they lived according to the principle of "here and now"; 2. religion was superficial; 3 the Greeks had no morals, conscience, they maneuvered through life; 4 private life was a person's private life, if not affect public morality.

Not similar: 1. There was no concept of ethics (good, bad). Religion was reduced to rituals. And not to assess good and bad.

1. In ancient civilization, man is the main subject of the historical process (more important than the state or religion), in contrast to the civilization of the ancient East.

2. Culture in Western civilization is a personal creative expression, in contrast to the Eastern, where the state and religion are glorified.

3. The ancient Greek hoped only for himself, not for God, nor for the state.

4. The pagan religion for antiquity did not have a moral standard.

5. Unlike the ancient Eastern religion, the Greeks believed that life on earth is better than in the other world.

6. For the Ancient civilization, the important criteria of life were: creativity, personality, culture, i.e. self-expression.

7. In ancient civilization there was basically a democracy (people's assemblies, a council of elders), in the Other East - monarchies.

Periodization of the history of Ancient Greece.

Period

1. Civilization of Minoan Crete - 2 thousand BC - XX - XII century BC

Old palaces 2000-1700 BC - appearance of several potential centers (Knossos, Festa, Mallia, Zagross)

The period of new palaces 1700-1400 BC - the palace at Knossos (Mitaur's Palace)

Earthquake XV - the conquest of Fr. Crete from the mainland by the Achaeans.

2. Mycenaean (Achaean) civilization - XVII-XII centuries BC (Greeks, but not yet ancient)

3. The Homeric period, or the Dark Ages, or the prepolis period (XI-IX centuries BC), - tribal relations in Greece.

Period. Antique civilization

1. Archaic period (archaic) (VIII-VI centuries BC) - the formation of a polis society and state. Settlement of the Greeks along the shores of the Mediterranean and Black Seas (Great Greek colonization).

2. The classical period (classics) (V-IV centuries BC) - the heyday of ancient Greek civilization, a rational economy, a polis system, Greek culture.

3. Hellenistic period (Helinism, postclassical period) - end. IV - I in BC (expansion of the Greek world, dwindling kul-ra, lightened historical period):

Eastern campaigns of Alexander the Great and the formation of a system of Hellenistic states (30s of the 4th century, BC - 80s of the 3rd century BC);

The functioning of Hellenistic societies and states (80s of the 3rd century BC, - the middle of the 2nd century BC);

The crisis of the Hellenistic system and the conquest of the Hellenistic states by Rome in the West and Parthia in the East (mid-2nd century - 1st century BC).

3. Historical geography of Ancient Greece.

The geographical boundaries of ancient Greek history were not constant, but changed and expanded as historical development progressed. The main territory of the ancient Greek civilization was the Aegean region, i.e. Balkan, Asia Minor, Thracian coast and numerous islands of the Aegean Sea. From the 8th-9th centuries. BC, after a powerful colonization movement from the Aeneid region, known as the Great Greek colonization, the Greeks mastered the territories of Sicily and South. Italy, which received the name Magna Graecia, as well as the Black Sea coast. After the campaigns of A. Macedon at the end of the 4th century. BC. and the conquest of the Persian state on its ruins in the Near and Middle East up to India, Hellenistic states were formed and these territories became part of the ancient Greek world. In the Hellenistic era, the Greek world covered a vast territory from Sicily in the west to India in the East, from the Northern Black Sea region in the north, to the first rapids of the Nile in the south. However, in all periods of ancient Greek history, the Aegean region was considered its central part, where Greek statehood and culture were born and reached their dawn.

The climate is Eastern Mediterranean, subtropical with mild winters (+10) and hot summers.

The relief is mountainous, the valleys are isolated from each other, which prevented the construction of communications and assumed the maintenance of nat-go agriculture in each valley.

There is an indented coastline. There was communication by sea. The Greeks, although they were afraid of the sea, mastered the Aegean Sea, did not go out to the Black Sea for a long time.

Greece is rich in minerals: marble, iron ore, copper, silver, wood, pottery clay of good quality, which provided the Greek craft with a sufficient amount of raw materials.

The soils of Greece are stony, moderately fertile and difficult to cultivate. However, the abundance of sun and the mild subtropical climate made them favorable for agricultural activities. There were also spacious valleys (in Boeotia, Laconica, Thessaly), suitable for agriculture. In agriculture, there was a triad: cereals (barley, wheat), olives (olives), from which oil was produced, and its pomace was the basis of lighting, and grapes (a universal drink that did not spoil in this climate, wine 4 -5%). Cheese was made from milk.

Cattle breeding: small cattle (sheep, bulls), poultry, because there was nowhere to turn around.

4. Written sources on the history of Ancient Greece.

In ancient Greece, history is born - special historical writings.

In the 6th century BC, logographs appeared - word writings, the first prose, and a description of memorable events. The most famous are the logographs of Hecatea (540-478 BC) and Hellanicus (480-400 BC).

The first historical study was the work "History" by Herodotus (485-425 BC), who was called "the father of history" by Cicero in ancient times. "History" - the main type of prose, has public and private significance, explains the whole history as a whole, broadcasts, transmits information to descendants. The work of Herodotus differs from the chronicles, chronicles in that there are causes of events. The purpose of the work is to present all the information brought to the author. The work of Herodotus is devoted to the history of the Greco-Persian wars and consists of 9 books, which in the III century. BC e. were named after 9 muses.

Another outstanding work of Greek historical thought was the work of the Athenian historian Thucydides (about 460-396 BC), dedicated to the events of the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC). The work of Thucydides consists of 8 books, they outline the events of the Peloponnesian War from 431 to 411 BC. e. (The work was left unfinished.) However, Thucydides does not confine himself to a thorough and detailed description of military operations. He also gives a description of the internal life of the warring parties, including the relationship between different groups of the population and their clashes, changes in the political system, while partially selecting information.

A diverse literary legacy was left by Thucydides' younger contemporary, historian and publicist Xenophon of Athens (430-355 BC). He left behind many different works: "Greek History", "Education of Cyrus", "Anabasis", "Domostroy".

The first Greek literary monuments - Homer's epic poems "Iliad" and "Odyssey" - are practically the only sources of information on the history of the dark ages of the XII - VI centuries. BC e., i.e.

Among the writings of Plato (427-347 BC), his extensive treatises "State" and "Laws", written in the last period of his life, are of the greatest importance. In them, Plato, starting from an analysis of the socio-political relations of the middle of the 6th century. BC e., offers his version of the reorganization of Greek society on new, fair, in his opinion, principles.

Aristotle owns treatises on logic and ethics, rhetoric and poetics, meteorology and astronomy, zoology and physics, which are informative sources. However, the most valuable works on the history of Greek society in the 4th c. BC e. are his writings on the essence and forms of the state - "Politics" and "The Athenian Poured".

Of the historical writings that give a coherent presentation of the events of Hellenistic history, the most important are the works of Polybius (the work details the history of the Greek and Roman world from 280 to 146 BC) and Diodorus' Historical Library.

A great contribution to the study of history Dr. Greece also has the works of Strabo, Plutarch, Pausanias, and others.

Mycenaean (Achaean) Greece.

Mycenaean civilization or Achaean Greece- a cultural period in the history of prehistoric Greece from the 18th to the 12th centuries BC. e., Bronze Age. It got its name from the city of Mycenae on the Peloponnese peninsula.

Internal sources are Linear B tablets deciphered after World War 2 by Michael Ventris. They contain documents on economic reporting: taxes, on the lease of land. Some information about the history of the Archean kings is contained in Homer's poems "Iliad" and "Odyssey", the works of Herodotus, Thucydides, Aristotle, which is confirmed by archeological data.

The creators of the Mycenaean culture were the Greeks - the Achaeans, who invaded the Balkan Peninsula at the turn of III-II millennium BC. e. from the north, from the region of the Danube lowland or from the steppes of the Northern Black Sea region, where they originally lived. The aliens partially destroyed and devastated the settlements of the conquered tribes. The remnants of the pre-Greek population gradually assimilated with the Achaeans.

In the early stages of its development, Mycenaean culture was strongly influenced by the more advanced Minoan civilization, for example, some cults and religious rites, fresco painting, plumbing and sewage, styles of men's and women's clothing, some types of weapons, and finally, a linear syllabary.

The heyday of the Mycenaean civilization can be considered the XV-XIII centuries. BC e. The most significant centers of the early class society were Mycenae, Tiryns, Pylos in the Peloponnese, in Central Greece Athens, Thebes, Orchomenos, in the northern part of Iolk - Thessaly, which never united into one state. All states were at war. Male warlike civilization.

Almost all Mycenaean palaces-fortresses were fortified with Cyclopean stone walls, which were built by free people, and were citadels (for example, the Tiryns citadel).

The bulk of the working population in the Mycenaean states, as in Crete, were free or semi-free peasants and artisans, who were economically dependent on the palace and were subject to labor and natural duties in its favor. Among the artisans who worked for the palace, blacksmiths occupied a special position. Usually they received from the palace the so-called talasiya, that is, a task or lesson. Craftsmen who were involved in public service were not deprived of personal freedom. They could own land and even slaves like all other members of the community.

At the head of the palace state was a "vanaka" (king), who occupied a special privileged position among the ruling nobility. The duties of Lavagete (commander) included the command of the armed forces of the Pylos kingdom. C ar and military leader concentrated in their hands the most important functions of both economic and political nature. Directly subordinate to the ruling elite of society were numerous officials who acted locally and in the center and together constituted a powerful apparatus for the oppression and exploitation of the working population of the Pylos kingdom: carters (governors), basilei (supervised production).

All land in the kingdom of Pylos was divided into two main categories: 1) land of the palace, or state, and 2) land belonging to individual territorial communities.

Mycenaean civilization survived two invasions from the north with an interval of 50 years. In the period between the invasions, the population of the Mycenaean civilization united with the goal of dying with glory in the Trojan War (not a single Trojan hero returned home alive).

Internal reasons for the death of the Mycenaean civilization: a fragile economy, an undeveloped simple society, which led to destruction after the loss of the top. The external cause of death is the invasion of the Dorians.

Civilizations of the Eastern type are not suitable for Europe. Crete and Mycenae are the parents of antiquity.

7. Trojan War.

The Trojan War, according to the ancient Greeks, was one of the most significant events in their history. Ancient historians believed that it occurred around the turn of the XIII-XII centuries. BC e., and began with it a new - "Trojan" era: the ascent of the tribes inhabiting Balkan Greece to a higher level of culture associated with life in cities. Numerous Greek myths were told about the campaign of the Greek Achaeans against the city of Troy, located in the northwestern part of the peninsula of Asia Minor - Troad, later combined into a cycle of legends - cyclic poems, among them the poem "Iliad", attributed to the Greek poet Homer. It tells about one of the episodes of the final, tenth year of the siege of Troy-Ilion.

The Trojan War, according to the myths, began at the will and fault of the gods. All the gods were invited to the wedding of the Thessalian hero Peleus and the sea goddess Thetis, except for Eris, the goddess of discord. The angry goddess decided to take revenge and threw a golden apple with the inscription "To the most beautiful" to the feasting gods. Three Olympian goddesses, Hera, Athena and Aphrodite, argued which of them it was meant for. Zeus ordered the young Paris, the son of the Trojan king Priam, to judge the goddesses. The goddesses appeared to Paris on Mount Ida, near Troy, where the prince was tending herds, and each tried to seduce him with gifts. Paris preferred the love offered to him by Aphrodite to Helen, the most beautiful of mortal women, and handed the golden apple to the goddess of love. Helena, daughter of Zeus and Leda, was the wife of the Spartan king Menelaus. Paris, who was a guest in the house of Menelaus, took advantage of his absence and, with the help of Aphrodite, convinced Helen to leave her husband and go with him to Troy.

Offended, Menelaus, with the help of his brother, the powerful king of Mycenae Agamemnon, gathered a large army to return his unfaithful wife and stolen treasures. All the suitors who once wooed Elena and swore an oath to defend her honor came to the call of the brothers: Odysseus, Diomedes, Protesilaus, Ajax Telamonides and Ajax Oilid, Philoctetes, the wise old man Nestor and others. Achilles, the son of Peleus and Thetis. Agamemnon was chosen as the leader of the entire army, as the ruler of the most powerful of the Achaean states.

The Greek fleet, numbering a thousand ships, assembled at Aulis, a harbor in Boeotia. To ensure the fleet's safe navigation to the shores of Asia Minor, Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia to the goddess Artemis. Having reached Troas, the Greeks tried to return Helen and the treasures by peaceful means. Odysseus and Menelaus went as messengers to Troy. The Trojans refused them, and a long and tragic war began for both sides. The gods also took part in it. Hera and Athena helped the Achaeans, Aphrodite and Apollo helped the Trojans.

The Greeks could not immediately take Troy, surrounded by powerful fortifications. They built a fortified camp on the seashore near their ships, began to devastate the outskirts of the city and attack the allies of the Trojans. In the tenth year, Agamemnon insulted Achilles by taking away the captive Briseis from him, and he, angry, refused to enter the battlefield. The Trojans took advantage of the inaction of the bravest and strongest of their enemies and went on the offensive, led by Hector. The Trojans were also helped by the general fatigue of the Achaean army, which had been unsuccessfully besieging Troy for ten years.

The Trojans broke into the Achaean camp and almost burned their ships. The closest friend of Achilles, Patroclus, stopped the onslaught of the Trojans, but he himself died at the hands of Hector. The death of a friend makes Achilles forget about the offense. Trojan hero Hector dies in a duel with Achilles. The Amazons come to the aid of the Trojans. Achilles kills their leader Penthesilea, but soon dies himself, as predicted, from the arrow of Paris, directed by the god Apollo.

A decisive turning point in the war occurs after the arrival of the hero Philoctetes from the island of Lemnos and the son of Achilles Neoptolemus to the camp of the Achaeans. Philoctetes kills Paris, and Neoptolemus kills an ally of the Trojans, the Mysian Eurynil. Left without leaders, the Trojans no longer dare to go out to battle in the open field. But the powerful walls of Troy reliably protect its inhabitants. Then, at the suggestion of Odysseus, the Achaeans decided to take the city by cunning. A huge wooden horse was built, inside which a select detachment of warriors hid. The rest of the army took refuge not far from the coast, near the island of Tenedos.

Surprised by the abandoned wooden monster, the Trojans gathered around him. Some began to offer to bring the horse into the city. Priest Laocoön, warning about the treachery of the enemy, exclaimed: "Beware of the Danaans (Greeks), who bring gifts!" But the speech of the priest did not convince his compatriots, and they brought a wooden horse into the city as a gift to the goddess Athena. At night, the warriors hidden in the belly of the horse come out and open the gate. The secretly returned Achaeans break into the city, and the beating of the inhabitants taken by surprise begins. Menelaus with a sword in his hands is looking for an unfaithful wife, but when he sees the beautiful Elena, he is unable to kill her. The entire male population of Troy perishes, with the exception of Aeneas, the son of Anchises and Aphrodite, who received an order from the gods to flee the captured city and revive its glory elsewhere. The women of Troy became captives and slaves of the victors. The city perished in a fire.

After the death of Troy, strife begins in the Achaean camp. Ajax Oilid incurs the wrath of the goddess Athena on the Greek fleet, and she sends a terrible storm, during which many ships sink. Menelaus and Odysseus are carried by a storm to distant lands (described in Homer's poem "The Odyssey"). The leader of the Achaeans, Agamemnon, after returning home, was killed along with his companions by his wife Clytemnestra, who did not forgive her husband for the death of her daughter Iphigenia. So, not at all triumphant, the campaign against Troy ended for the Achaeans.

The ancient Greeks did not doubt the historical reality of the Trojan War. Thucydides was convinced that the ten-year siege of Troy described in the poem was a historical fact, only embellished by the poet. Separate parts of the poem, such as the "catalog of ships" or the list of the Achaean army under the walls of Troy, are written as a real chronicle.

Historians of the XVIII-XIX centuries. were convinced that there was no Greek campaign against Troy and that the heroes of the poem are mythical, not historical figures.

In 1871, Heinrich Schliemann began excavations of the Hissarlik hill in the northwestern part of Asia Minor, identifying it as the location of ancient Troy. Then, following the instructions of the poem, Heinrich Schliemann conducted archaeological excavations in the "gold-abundant" Mycenae. In one of the royal graves discovered there, there were - for Schliemann there was no doubt about this - the remains of Agamemnon and his companions, strewn with gold ornaments; Agamemnon's face was covered with a golden mask.

The discoveries of Heinrich Schliemann shocked the world community. There was no doubt that Homer's poem contains information about real events and their real heroes.

Later, A. Evans discovered the palace of the Minotaur on the island of Crete. In 1939, the American archaeologist Carl Blegen discovered the "sandy" Pylos, the habitat of the wise old man Nestor on the western coast of the Peloponnese. However, archeology has established that the city that Schliemann took for Troy existed for a thousand years before the Trojan War.

But it is impossible to deny the existence of the city of Troy somewhere in the northwestern region of Asia Minor. Documents from the archives of the Hittite kings testify that the Hittites knew both the city of Troy and the city of Ilion (in the Hittite version of "Truis" and "Vilus"), but, apparently, as two different cities located in the neighborhood, and not one under a double title, like in a poem.

Poems of Homer.

Homer is considered the author of two poems - the Iliad and the Odyssey, although the question of whether Homer actually lived or whether he is a legendary person has not yet been resolved in modern science. The totality of the problems associated with the authorship of the Iliad and the Odyssey, their origin and fate until the moment of recording, was called the "Homeric question".

In Italy, G. Vico (17th century) and in Germany, fr. Wolf (18) recognized the folk origin of the poems. In the 19th century, the “theory of small songs” was proposed, from which both poems subsequently arose mechanically. The Grain Theory assumes that the Iliad and the Odyssey are based on a small poem, which over time has acquired details and new episodes as a result of the work of new generations of poets. Unitarians denied the participation of folk art in the creation of Homeric poems, they considered them as a work of art created by one author. At the end of the 19th century, a theory of the folk origin of poems was proposed as a result of the gradual natural development of collective epic creativity. Synthetic theories arose in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, according to which the Iliad and the Odyssey appear to be an epic edited by one or two poets.

The plots of both poems date back to the Mycenaean time, which is confirmed by numerous archaeological materials. The poems reflect the Cretan-Mycenaean (the end of the 12th century - information about the Trojan War), Homeric (XI-IX - most of the information, because the information about the Mycenaean time did not reach oral form), early archaic (VIII-VII) era.

The content of the Iliad and the Odyssey was based on legends from the cycle myths about the Trojan War, that took place in the 13th-12th centuries. BC uh. The plot of the Iliad is the anger of the Thessalian hero Achilles at the leader of the Greek troops besieging Troy, Agamemnon, because he took away his beautiful captive. The oldest part of the Iliad is the 2nd song about the "Lists of ships". The plot of the Odyssey is the return of the island of Ithaca by Odysseus to his homeland after the Greeks destroyed Troy.

The poems were written down in Athens under the tyrant Peisistratus, who wanted to show that there was a sole power in Greece. The poems acquired their modern form in the 2nd century BC during the Alexandrian monsoon (the Hellenistic era).

Meaning of the poems: a book for learning to read and write, the "handbook" of the Greeks.

One of the most important compositional features of the Iliad is the "law of chronological incompatibility" formulated by Thaddeus Frantsevich Zelinsky. It consists in the fact that “In Homer the story never returns to the point of its departure. It follows from this that Homer's parallel actions cannot be depicted; Homer's poetic technique knows only a simple, linear dimension. Thus, sometimes parallel events are depicted as sequential, sometimes one of them is only mentioned or even hushed up. This explains some imaginary contradictions in the text of the poem.

A complete translation of the Iliad into Russian in the size of the original was made by N. I. Gnedich (1829), the Odyssey by V. A. Zhukovsky (1849).

Sparta as a type of polis.

The Spartan state was located in the south of the Peloponnese. The capital of this state was called Sparta, and the state itself was called Laconia. Polis could not be conquered, but only destroyed. All policies developed, but only Sparta in the 6th century. mothballed.

The main sources on the history of the Spartan state are the works of Thucydides, Xenophon, Aristotle and Plutarch, the poems of the Spartan poet Tyrtaeus. Archaeological materials acquire significance.

During the IX-VIII centuries BC, the Spartans waged a stubborn struggle with neighboring tribes for dominance over Laconia. As a result, they managed to subdue the area from the southern borders of the Arcadian Highlands to the Capes Tenar and Malea on the southern coast of the Peloponnese.

In the 7th century BC, an acute land hunger began to be felt in Sparta, and the Spartans undertook an aggressive campaign in Messenia, also inhabited by the Dorians. As a result of two Messenian warriors, the territory of Messenia was annexed to Sparta, and the bulk of the population, with the exception of the inhabitants of some coastal cities, was turned into helots.

The fertile lands in Laconia and Messenia were divided into 9,000 allotments and were distributed to the Spartans. Each allotment was processed by several families of helots, who were obliged to support the Spartan and his family with their labor. The Spartan could not dispose of his allotment, sell it or leave it as an inheritance to his son. Nor was he the master of the helots. He had no right to sell or release them. Both the land and the helots belonged to the state.

Three population groups formed in Sparta: the Spartans (the conquerors themselves were Dorians), the perieks (the inhabitants of small towns scattered at some distance from Sparta, along the borders, called periekami ("living around"). They were free, but did not have civil rights) and helots (dependent population).

ephors - in the highest control and administrative body of Sparta. Elected for a year in the number of 5 people. They monitor the behavior of citizens, being overseers in relation to the enslaved and dependent population. They declare war on the helots.

The constant threat of a helot rebellion, looming under the ruling class of Sparta, demanded from him maximum unity and organization. Therefore, simultaneously with the redistribution of land, the Spartan legislator Lycurgus carried out a whole series of important social reforms:

Only a strong and healthy person could become a real warrior. When a boy was born, his father brought him to the elders. The baby was examined. A weak child was thrown into the abyss. The law obliged each Spartiate to send their sons to special camps - agels (lit. Herd). Boys were taught to read and write only for practical purposes. Education was subordinated to three goals: to be able to obey, courageously endure suffering, win or die in battles. . The boys were engaged in gymnastic and military exercises, learned to wield weapons, live in a Spartan way. They walked all year round in one cloak (himation). They slept on hard cane, plucked with bare hands. They fed them starving. To be dexterous and cunning in war, teenagers learned to steal. The boys even competed to see which of them would endure the beatings longer and more worthily. The winner was praised, his name became known to everyone. But some died under the rods. The Spartans were excellent warriors - strong, skillful, brave. The laconic saying of one Spartan woman who accompanied her son to war was famous. She gave him a shield and said: "With a shield or on a shield!"

Sparta also paid great attention to the education of women, who were highly respected. To give birth to healthy children, you need to be healthy. Therefore, the girls did not do household chores, but gymnastics and sports, they knew how to read, write, and count.

According to the law of Lycurgus, special joint meals were introduced - sisstia.

The principle of equality was put at the heart of the "Lykurgov system", they tried to stop the growth of property inequality among the Spartans. In order to withdraw gold and silver from circulation, iron obols were put into circulation.

The Spartan state forbade all foreign trade. It was only internal and took place in local markets. The craft was poorly developed, it was carried out by the perieks, who made only the most necessary utensils for equipping the Spartan army.

All transformations contributed to the consolidation of society.

The most important elements of the political system of Sparta are the dual royal power, the council of elders (gerousia) and the popular assembly.

The people's assembly (apella), in which all full-fledged citizens of Sparta took part, approved the decisions taken by the kings and elders at their joint meeting.

Council of Elders - Gerousia consisted of 30 members: 28 geronts (elders) and two kings. Gerontes were elected from Spartans no younger than 60 years old. The kings received power by inheritance, but their rights in everyday life were very small: military leaders during military operations, judicial and religious functions in peacetime. Decisions were made at a joint meeting of the council of elders and kings.

The city of Sparta itself had a modest appearance. There were not even defensive walls. The Spartans said that the best defense of a city was not the walls, but the courage of its citizens.

By the middle of the 6th c. BC. Corinth, Sicyon and Megara were subordinated, as a result of which the Peloponnesian Union was formed, which became the most significant political association of Greece at that time.

Solon's reforms

Solon went down in history as an outstanding reformer, who largely changed the political face of Athens and thus made it possible for this policy to outstrip other Greek cities in its development.

The socio-economic and political situation in Attica continued to deteriorate for almost the entire 7th century. BC e. The social differentiation of the population led to the fact that already a significant part of all Athenians eked out a miserable existence. The poor peasants lived in debt, paid huge interest, mortgaged the land, gave their rich fellow citizens up to 5/6 of the harvest.

The failure in the war for the island of Salamis with Megara at the end of the 7th century added fuel to the fire.

Solon. came from an ancient but impoverished noble family, was engaged in maritime trade and was thus connected both with the aristocracy and with the demos, whose members respected Solon for honesty. Pretending to be crazy, he publicly called on the Athenians for revenge in verse. His poems caused a great public outcry, which saved the poet from punishment. He was instructed to assemble and lead the fleet and army. In a new war, Athens defeated Megara, and Solon became the most popular man in the city. In 594 BC. e. he was elected the first archon (eponym) and was also instructed to perform the functions of aisimnet, that is, he was supposed to become an intermediary in settling social issues.

Solon resolutely undertook reforms. To begin with, he conducted the so-called sisachfia (literally "shaking off the burden"), according to which all debts were canceled. Mortgage debt stones were removed from the mortgaged land plots, for the future it was forbidden to borrow money against the mortgage of people. Many peasants got their plots back. The Athenians sold abroad were redeemed at public expense. These events in themselves improved the social situation, although the poor were unhappy that Solon did not carry out the promised redistribution of the land. On the other hand, the archon established the maximum maximum rate of land ownership and introduced freedom of will - from now on, if there were no direct heirs, it was possible to transfer property by will to any citizen, allowing land to be given to non-members of the clan. This undermined the power of the tribal nobility, and also gave a powerful impetus to the development of small and medium landownership.

Solon carried out a monetary reform, making the Athenian coin lighter (reducing the weight) and thereby increasing the monetary circulation in the country. He allowed olive oil to be exported abroad and wine was forbidden to export grain, thus contributing to the development of the most profitable sector of Athenian agriculture for foreign trade and preserving scarce bread for fellow citizens. A curious law was adopted to develop yet another progressive branch of the national economy. According to the law of Solon, sons could not provide for their parents in old age if they had not taught the children some trade in their time.

The most important changes took place in the political and social structure of the Athenian state. Instead of the former estates, Solon introduced new ones based on the property qualification he had carried out (census and income records). From now on, the Athenians, whose annual income was at least 500 medimns (about 52 liters) of bulk or liquid products, were called pentakosiamedimns and belonged to the first category, at least 300 medimns - horsemen (second rank), at least 200 medimns - zeugites (third rank) , less than 200 medimns - feta (fourth category).

From now on, the Areopagus, the bule and the People's Assembly were the highest state bodies. The bule was a new organ. It was the Council of Four Hundred, where each of the four Athenian phyla elected 100 people. All issues and laws were to be discussed in the bule before they were subject to consideration in the National Assembly. The National Assembly itself (ekklesia) under Solon began to gather much more often and acquired greater importance. The archon decreed that during the period of civil strife, every citizen should take an active political position under the threat of deprivation of civil rights.

Another cultural center that arose in the Mediterranean was called "ancient civilization". It is customary to attribute the history and culture of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome to ancient civilization. This civilization was based on qualitatively different foundations and was more dynamic economically, politically and socially than the ancient Eastern societies. The achievements of the ancient Greeks and Romans are impressively astonishing in all fields, and on them all European civilization is based. Greece and Rome, two eternal companions, accompany European humanity along its entire path. Ancient civilization, if calculated from Homeric Greece (XI-IX centuries BC) to late Rome (III-V centuries AD), owes many achievements to the even more ancient Crete-Mycenaean (Aegean) culture, which existed simultaneously with the ancient Eastern cultures in the eastern Mediterranean and some areas of mainland Greece in the III-II millennium BC. The centers of the Aegean civilization were the island of Crete and the city of Mycenae in southern Greece. The Aegean culture was distinguished by a high level of development and originality, however, the invasions of the Achaeans, and then the Dorians, influenced its further fate. In the historical development of Ancient Greece, it is customary to distinguish the following periods: Homeric (XI-IX centuries BC); archaic (VIII-VI centuries BC); classical (V-IV centuries BC); Hellenistic (end of IV-I centuries BC). The history of Ancient Rome is divided into only three main stages: early, or royal Rome (VIII-VI centuries BC); the Roman Republic (V-I centuries BC); Roman Empire (I-V centuries AD). Roman civilization is considered the era of the highest flowering of ancient culture. Rome was called the "eternal city", and the saying "All roads lead to Rome" has survived to this day. The Roman Empire was the largest state, covering all the territories adjacent to the Mediterranean. Its glory and greatness were measured not only by the vastness of the territory, but also by the cultural values ​​of the countries and peoples that were part of it. Many peoples who were subordinate to Roman power, including the population of the ancient Eastern states, in particular Egypt, took part in the formation of Roman culture. A special role in the formation of Roman statehood and culture belonged to the Greeks. As the Roman poet Horace wrote, “Greece, having become a prisoner, captivated the victors of the rude. Contributed to the art of Latiumselsky. From the Greeks, the Romans borrowed more advanced farming methods, the polis system of government, the alphabet, on the basis of which the Latin script was created, and, of course, the influence of Greek art was great: libraries, educated slaves, etc. were taken to Rome. It was the synthesis of Greek and Roman cultures that formed the ancient culture, which became the basis of European civilization, the European path of development. Despite the differences in the development of the two largest centers of ancient civilization - Greece and Rome, we can talk about some common features that determined the originality of the ancient type of culture. Since Greece entered the arena of world history before Rome, it was in Greece during the archaic period that the specific features of the civilization of the ancient type were formed. These features were associated with socio-economic and political changes, called the archaic revolution, the cultural upheaval. An important role in the archaic revolution was played by Greek colonization, which brought the Greek world out of its state of isolation and caused the rapid flourishing of Greek society, making it more mobile and receptive. It opened wide scope for the personal initiative and creative abilities of each person, helped to free the individual from the control of the community and accelerated the transition of society to a higher level of economic and cultural development. Antique countries were more developed in contrast to the countries of the Ancient East.

5. Eastern Slavs in the 6th - 9th centuries: resettlement, economy, social organization, beliefs.

The tribes of the Eastern Slavs occupied a vast territory from the Onega and Ladoga lakes in the north to the northern Black Sea region in the south, from the foothills of the Carpathians in the west to the interfluve of the Oka and Volga in the east. In the VIII-IX centuries. the Eastern Slavs formed about 15 of the largest unions of tribes. The picture of their settlement looked like this:

· clearing- along the middle course of the Dnieper;

· Drevlyans- in the north-west, in the basin of the Pripyat River and in the Middle Dnieper;

· Slavs (Ilmen Slavs)- along the banks of the Volkhov River and Lake Ilmen;

· Dregovichi- between the rivers Pripyat and Berezina;

· Vyatichi- in the upper reaches of the Oka, along the banks of the Klyazma and the Moscow River;

· krivichi- in the upper reaches of the Western Dvina, Dnieper and Volga;

· Polotsk- along the Western Dvina and its tributary, the Polota River;

· northerners- in the basins of the Desna, Seim, Sula and Northern Donets;

· radimichi- on Sozh and Desna;

· Volhynians, Buzhans and Dulebs- in Volyn, along the banks of the Bug;

· street, tivertsy- in the very south, in the interfluves of the Bug and the Dniester, the Dniester and the Prut;

· white croats- in the foothills of the Carpathians.

Next to the Eastern Slavs lived Finno-Ugric tribes: the whole, Karel, Chud, Muroma, Mordva, Mer, Cheremis. Their relations with the Slavs were built mostly peacefully. The basis of the economic life of the Eastern Slavs was agriculture. The Slavs, who lived in the forest-steppe and steppe zones, were engaged in arable farming with two-field and three-field crop rotation.

The main tools were a plow with an iron tip, a sickle, a hoe, but a plow with a plowshare was already used. The Slavs of the forest zone had slash-and-burn agriculture, in which forests were cut down and burned, ash mixed with the top layer of soil served as good fertilizer. For 4-5 years, a good harvest was taken, then this area was abandoned. They grew barley, rye, wheat, millet, oats, peas, buckwheat. Flax and hemp were important industrial crops. The economic activity of the Slavs was not limited to agriculture: they were also engaged in cattle breeding, raising cattle and pigs, as well as horses, sheep and poultry. Hunting and fishing were developed. Valuable furs paid tribute, they were the equivalent of money. The Slavs were also engaged in beekeeping - collecting honey from wild bees. Drinks were made from honey. An important branch of the economy was the production of iron. It was mined from iron ore, deposits of which were often found in swamps. From iron, iron tips for plows and plows, axes, hoes, sickles, and scythes were made. Pottery was also a traditional branch of the economy of the ancient Slavs. The main form of dishes among the Slavs throughout the Middle Ages were pots. They were used for cooking, food storage and as ritual utensils: in pre-Christian times, the dead were burned and the ashes were placed in a pot. Burial mounds were piled up at the place of burning. The low level of development of agricultural technology also determined the nature of the organization of economic life. The basic unit of economic life was the tribal community, whose members jointly owned tools, jointly cultivated the land and jointly consumed the resulting product. However, as the methods of iron processing and the manufacture of agricultural implements are improved, slash-and-burn agriculture is gradually being replaced by a plowed system. The consequence of this was that the family became the basic economic unit. The tribal community was replaced by a neighboring rural community, in which families settled not on the principle of kinship, but on the principle of neighborhood. In the neighboring community, communal ownership of forest and hay lands, pastures, and reservoirs was preserved. But the arable land was divided into allotments, which each family cultivated with their own tools and disposed of the harvest itself. Further improvement of tools and technology for growing various crops made it possible to obtain a surplus product and accumulate it. This led to property stratification within the agricultural community, the emergence of private ownership of tools and land. The main deities of the Slavs were: Svarog (god of heaven) and his son Svarozhich (god of fire). Rod (the god of fertility), Stribog (the god of the wind), Dazhdbog (the god of the sun), Veles (the god of cattle), Perun (the god of thunder). In honor of these gods, idols were erected, to which sacrifices were made. As the social organization of East Slavic society became more complex, changes took place in the pagan pantheon: Perun, who turned into the god of war, became the main deity of the military nobility. Instead of wooden idols, stone statues of deities appeared, pagan sanctuaries were built. The decomposition of tribal relations was accompanied by the complication of cult rites. So, the funeral of princes and nobility turned into a solemn ritual, during which huge hills were poured over the dead - barrows, one of his wives or a slave was burned along with the deceased, a feast was celebrated, that is, a commemoration, accompanied by military competitions.