Ancient Greece: history of development. Holidays in Greece: when and where is the best time to go Greece history of the state
The origin of Greek architecture dates back to the end of the 2nd and beginning of the 1st millennium BC. e. This was the final stage of Greek “barbarism”, the end of the heroic era, poetically reflected in the Homeric epic, the final forms of which took shape, however, only at the turn of the 9th and in the 8th centuries. BC e., when elements of a slave society took shape in the depths of the primitive communal system.
Characterizing the social structure of the Greeks of the heroic (or Homeric) era, Engels writes: “In Homer’s poems we find Greek tribes in most cases already united into small nations, within which clans, phratries and tribes still fully retained their independence. They already lived in cities fortified by walls; the population increased along with the growth of herds, the expansion of agriculture and the emergence of crafts; at the same time, property differences grew, and with them the aristocratic element within the ancient primitive democracy”* (K. Marx and F. Engels. Works, vol. 21, p. 104).
The process of destruction was a consequence of the gradual progress of productive forces, crafts, and trade, with the development of which property inequality increased and slavery grew. Incessant wars and piracy, which limited the development of trade, themselves also contributed to the accumulation of wealth in the hands of the social elite. Communal ownership of land was gradually destroyed, the best plots of which began to pass into the private ownership of the clan nobility.
Already at the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. e. the primitive economic and social equality of the primitive communal system was irretrievably lost. By the end of the period under review, various social groups, gradually turning into classes. The clan system did not correspond to the more changed socio-economic relations, and from the end of the 8th century and throughout the 7th century. BC e. In the most developed Greek communities, a class slave state developed. This is typical for ancient Greece polis, or city-state with a republican form of government. The dominant position in the early polis belonged to the old family aristocracy(Eupatrides), in whose hands great wealth was concentrated (land, livestock, slaves). But the bulk of the population of the cities were free artisans, farmers, traders, sailors (in coastal cities), who made up the demos. The development of the Greek city in some communities was associated with the so-called synoikism, i.e., the unification of residents of a number of communities gravitating towards each other into settlements (for example, in Athens). Often the newly chosen economic center of the community was an ancient fortified ancestral village, which turned into a city.
Each, even the smallest polis, was a sovereign state, which occasionally entered into treaty alliances with its neighbors to wage wars or carry out economic and cultural tasks. There was often a struggle between large policies for influence in these associations. The small size of the state made the connection between the state and personal interests of citizens very close and contributed to their active participation in state affairs. Social life clearly dominated family life. The well-being of the native community was for the Hellene his personal well-being, its collapse was death: the defeated city was usually destroyed, the men were exterminated, women and children were sold into slavery.
The size of the ancient Greek states was so small that there were dozens of them on the Balkan Peninsula alone. The territory of the policy was often several tens of kilometers long and wide.
One of the most important sources for the study of culture ancient era and, in particular, architecture is the Homeric epic.
Homer's poems indicate that already by the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. e. complete anthropomorphic images have formed in the minds of the people Greek mythology, which subsequently served as the basis and main source for all Greek art, in particular for the development of the temple as the home of a humanoid god, and the heroon - a sanctuary dedicated to a godlike human hero.
Homeric poems speak of the high development of artistic crafts, especially metalworking techniques, which apparently developed the traditions of the Mycenaean era.
Greek art of that time is known mainly from vase paintings, in which, along with the remnants of Mycenaean ornament, new, purely Hellenic decorative motifs appeared, which formed the basis of Greek ornament. Along with the oldest examples of the strict “geometric” style, vase paintings of the so-called Orientalizing style appeared, reflecting the diverse oriental influences characteristic of the Ionic art of this era. Numerous centers of their production are known, which arose towards the end of the period under review in Greece (Corinth) and on the islands (Rhodes, Samos, etc.).
Chapter “Greece at the end of the 2nd and beginning of the 1st millennium BC” of the subsection “Architecture of Greece in the most ancient era (XII - mid-8th century BC)” section "Architecture Ancient Greece"from the book "General History of Architecture. Volume II. Architecture of the Ancient World (Greece and Rome)” edited by V.F. Marcusona.
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Ancient (or ancient) Greece - Greek civilization, statehood and culture of the 2nd–1st millennium BC. e. (from the emergence of the first Greek cities-states before the Roman conquest in the 2nd century. BC e.). The ancient Greeks inhabited the southern part Balkan Peninsula, the islands of the Aegean Sea and the western part of the Asia Minor peninsula. Having founded their colony cities here, they penetrated the Black Sea coast, the island of Sicily and Southern Italy ( South part Italy and Sicily began to be called " Magna Graecia"). After the conquest of the huge Persian power by the Greek-Macedonian troops (see Power of Alexander the Great), the ancient Greek state included regions of all of Western Asia. However, Ancient Greece in the narrow sense is considered to be the territory of the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula and the Aegean Basin.
Ancient Greece in the XII–VI centuries. BC.
Ancient Greece in the V–IV centuries. BC.
"Parisian". Fresco from the Palace of Knossos. OK. 1500 BC e. Heraklion (Crete).
Temple of Hera in Paestum. 2nd quarter of the 5th century. BC e.
Shooting Hercules. Statue of the eastern pediment of the Temple of Athena Aphraia on the island of Aegina. OK. 500 BC e.
Pelika with the image of a swallow.
Sculptor Alexander. Venus de Milo. OK. 120 BC e.
Sculptor Polykleitos. Doryphoros (spearman). OK. 440 BC e.
The great Greek playwright Sophocles.
The great Greek tragedian Euripides.
Kouros from Attica (archaic statue of an athlete or god) Early 6th century. BC e.
Dipylon amphora. Ceramics. Mid-8th century BC e. Athens.
Architects Iktin and Kallikrates. Parthenon. 447–438 BC e. Athens Acropolis.
Peloponnesian War 431–404 BC.
Balkan, or mainland, Greece was divided into Northern Greece (the regions of Thessaly, Epirus, Macedonia), Central Greece (the regions of Attica with the city of Athens, Boeotia with the city of Thebes, etc.), Southern Greece, or Peloponnese (the regions of Argolis, Achaia, Laconia with the center of Sparta, Messenia, Corinth, Elis with the city of Olympia, where the Olympic Games were held). In the western part of Asia Minor, Aeolis and Ionia with the city of Miletus played an important role. The largest islands of the Aegean Sea are Crete, Rhodes, Samos, Lesvos.
In ancient times, all these areas were inhabited by local non-Greek tribes. The ancient Greeks (they were called Achaeans) first came here at the turn of the 3rd–2nd millennium BC. e. from the Danube basin. At the end of the 2nd - beginning of the 1st millennium BC. e. new wave Greek tribes - the Dorians came from modern Epirus. From the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. e. The Greek people were divided into four large tribal groups: Achaeans, Dorians, Ionians and Aeolians. The Achaean tribes lived in the central and northwestern parts of the Peloponnese (the regions of Arcadia and Achaia), the Dorians inhabited the rest of the Peloponnese, southern islands Aegean Sea and southwestern Asia Minor. The Ionians occupied part of Central Greece (Attica), the island of Euboea, the islands of the middle Aegean Sea and the region of Ionia in Asia Minor. The Aeolians inhabited the region of Thessaly, the islands of the northern Aegean Sea and the region of Aeolus in Asia Minor. All these tribal groups spoke different dialects of Greek (Ionian, Dorian, Aeolian), which differed from each other, although all Greeks understood each other fluently. A single common Greek language arose quite late, in the 3rd–2nd centuries. BC e.
Until the end of the 3rd millennium BC. e. In ancient Greece, primitive tribal relations prevailed. The earliest the primitive system began to disintegrate was on the island of Crete. Here at the end of the 3rd millennium BC. e. Several small states arose in small mountain valleys. One of the most powerful is a state in the central part of northern Crete. The city of Knossos became the capital of the united Cretan state. The Cretan kings, who had a large fleet, captured many of the islands of the southern Aegean Sea, the coastal areas of the eastern Peloponnese and the southwestern part of Asia Minor. The legendary king Minos, who reigned approximately in the 16th–15th centuries. BC e., is considered the first legislator in Crete, the creator of a powerful maritime power.
In the middle of the 15th century. BC e. On the island of Santorini, located 100 km north of Crete, a powerful volcanic eruption occurred, destroying Knossos to the ground and turning Crete into ruins. The Achaeans took advantage of the difficult situation of Crete and captured it. In the XIV–XIII centuries. BC e. The Peloponnese with the large cities of Mycenae and Pylos began to play the most important role. Scientists have deciphered the complex writing used by the Achaeans in the 15th–13th centuries. BC e.
From the texts read, their economy, social groups and classes, and management became known. The Achaean kingdoms were early slaveholding, monarchical states with great remnants of tribal relations. In the 13th century. BC e. Most of the Achaean states united under the rule of the Mycenaean king Agamemnon and attacked the Asia Minor states led by Troy. The Trojan War, described in Homer's poems "Iliad" and "Odyssey", lasted, according to legend, 10 years and ended with the victory of the Greeks. However, it undermined the strength of the Greeks and the Achaean kingdoms began to weaken, which was taken advantage of by the Dorians, who were joined by Greek and non-Greek tribes. After the conquest of the Peloponnese by the Dorians, the primitive clan system re-established itself in Greece. In the XI–IX centuries. BC e. tribal relations began to disintegrate, social and property differentiation arose again, and government bodies began to form. In the 9th–8th centuries. BC e. The first city-states, or policies, arose on the territory of Greece. The polis was an association of private landowners, as well as citizens engaged in various trades and crafts. As full members, they had the right to property. In such a city the majority of the population lived, there were government institutions, temples, and craft workshops. All matters were decided at a general meeting of citizens of the policy (this did not include slaves, women and representatives of the free population who were obliged to pay taxes and taxes and were not citizens of the policy). Sparta, Athens, Corinth, Megara, Argos, Miletus, Smyrna and others stood out for their importance.
In the VIII–IV centuries. BC e. The Greeks began to settle (the so-called great colonization) from the Aegean region towards Sicily to the west and towards the Black Sea region to the northeast. During the colonization process, they founded several hundred different cities. The largest among them are Syracuse, Akragant, Gela, Messana, Sybaris, Tarentum, Cumae in Sicily and Southern Italy; in the Black Sea region - Byzantium (in the Bosphorus Strait), Heraclea and Sinope on south coast, Istria and Apollonia in the west, Olbia, Theodosia and Panticapaeum in the north, Dioscurias and Phasis in east coast Black Sea. The process of settlement of the Greeks, the founding of colonies, the establishment of relations between colonies and metropolises (polies that created the colony) played a huge role in the development of city-states, Greek society and culture (see Colonialism).
Ancient Greece reached its highest development in the classical period of its history - in the 5th–4th centuries. BC e. Its social and cultural development was greatly influenced by the Greco-Persian Wars. Their victorious end caused a great moral uplift in Greece.
Greece of this period is a country with a prosperous agriculture and crafts based on the labor of slaves. Commodity production is developing; The Greeks conduct active trade with all countries of the Mediterranean and Black Sea region. Especially lively shopping centers were Corinth, Miletus, Athens.
Ancient Greece is the birthplace of such an advanced form of state as democratic republic, or democracy. However, it was a democracy in which slaves, free people who were not members of this polis, and women did not have political rights. It received its most complete development in Athens. Here, free citizens, regardless of their property status, decided important state affairs at meetings: they issued laws, elected officials, heard their reports, made peace and declared war, etc. In Athens there was a special court - the helium, it consisted of 6 thousand. judges elected from ordinary citizens. Current affairs were decided by a council of 500 people (bule). Various officials (strategists, treasurers, city officials) were re-elected annually and were not allowed, with rare exceptions, to hold the same position twice.
It was during the classical period that a great culture was created in Ancient Greece, which influenced the development of the entire world culture. The tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, the witty comedies of Aristophanes, the philosophical treatises of Plato and Aristotle, wonderful architectural ensembles Athens Acropolis, the temples of Zeus in Olympia, Apollo in Delphi, Artemis in Ephesus still delight people. Masterpieces ancient greek sculpture inspired more than one generation of masters of all times and peoples (see Antiquity, Mythology, Renaissance (Renaissance), Renaissance).
In the middle of the 5th century. BC e. Most of the Greek city-states united into two large unions: the Peloponnesian, led by Sparta, and the Athenian Maritime Union, led by Athens. Acute contradictions between them led to the Peloponnesian War, which lasted intermittently for 27 years. Sparta won, but in the 4th century. BC e. Corinth, Thebes and other Greek policies opposed it. In the fight against them, Sparta was forced to dissolve the Peloponnesian League. All other associations of Greek city states (Boeotian League, 2nd Athenian Naval League) also collapsed (see map).
In the middle of the 4th century. BC e. In Greece, a crisis of policies began, caused by continuous internecine wars and the intense internal struggle of the aristocracy and the people. As a result, King Philip II of Macedonia gradually conquered one city after another and by 338 BC. e. seized power over virtually all of Greece. His son Alexander, nicknamed the Great, became the founder of a huge empire, which included the territory of Ancient Greece.
After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC. e. his vast empire broke up into a number of large states, headed by Alexander’s generals. The Ptolemaic dynasty established itself in Egypt, the Seleucids in Mesopotamia and Syria, the Attalids in Pergamum, and the Antigonids in Macedonia. A new stage in the history of Ancient Greece began - the Hellenistic stage, which lasted about 300 years, from the end of the 4th century. BC e. until the end of the 1st century. BC e. (see Hellenism). The Hellenistic states were large, but politically weak entities and became already from the end of the 3rd century. BC e. disintegrate. They were weakened by constant wars and made easy prey for their enemies. Originated in the middle of the 3rd century. BC e. in the east, the state of Parthia conquered most of the Seleucid possessions. And in the west, Rome took advantage of the weakening of the Hellenistic countries, capturing first the Macedonian kingdom, then Pergamon. In the 1st century BC e. he annexed the remnants of the Seleucid kingdom located in Syria and Hellenistic Egypt. The inclusion of Hellenistic countries into Parthia in the east and Rome in the west put an end to the independence of Ancient Greece.
Hellas and Hellenes. The country we call ancient Greece was located in the south of the Balkan Peninsula. Although in ancient times it was never a single state, its inhabitants recognized themselves as a single people and called their country Hellas and themselves Hellenes. They called all foreigners barbarians, and at first this word did not have a contemptuous connotation, as the Greeks designated all those who did not speak their language and muttered something, from their point of view, incomprehensible (from the onomatopoeic “bar-bar” the Greek comes from "barbara", i.e. barbarians).
Main parts of ancient Greece. Ancient Greece was divided into three parts: mainland, island and Asia Minor. Mainland Hellas consisted of Northern, Central and Southern Greece. Northern Greece consists of two regions: Thessaly in the east and Epirus in the west. To the north of Thessaly were Macedonia and Thrace (their population, although related to the Greeks in language and culture, was not Hellenic). On the border of Macedonia and Thessaly is Olympus - highest mountain Greece, at the top of which, as the Greeks believed, were the palaces of their gods, headed by Zeus, “the father of gods and men.” Illyrian tribes lived north of Epirus.
From Thessaly, through the narrow Thermopylae Gorge, the road led to Central Greece, which also consisted of several regions, the main of which were Attica (its center is Athens) and Boeotia, largest city which Thebes was. To the west of Boeotia lay Phokis, on whose territory, in Delphi, there was a temple of Apollo with the oracle of this god. Without the prophecies given by the priestess of Apollo, Pythia, the Greeks did not begin any important business. The rulers of the states neighboring Greece also listened to the oracle of Apollo.
The narrow Isthmus of Corinth (Isthmus) separated Central Greece from Southern or Peloponnese (Peloponnese - “the island of Pelops” - was named after the mythical hero, the grandson of Zeus himself). The most significant regions of the Peloponnese: Laconia, the center of which was the famous Sparta, Argolis with Argos and Elis, where in Olympia there was a temple of Zeus with a statue of this god, which was considered one of the wonders of the world, and the Olympic Games were held every four years in honor of the supreme god of the Hellenes .
Greek Islands and Asia Minor. The insular part of Greece consisted of many large and small islands, almost all of them were in the Aegean Sea. The largest of them is Crete, which seems to close the Aegean Sea from the south. A kind of bridge connecting two continents, Europe and Asia, is the Cyclades archipelago between the south of the Balkans and the west of Asia Minor. The islands of another archipelago, called the Sporades, are scattered along the coast of Asia Minor.
The western coast of Asia Minor was colonized by the Greeks at the end of the 2nd millennium BC, and they lived there until 1922, when after the Greco-Turkish War they were forced to move out of there. Greek Asia Minor was divided into Ionia and Aeolia, located to the north of it. The largest of the Greek cities of Asia Minor was Miletus.
Periods of Greek history. The history of ancient Greece is usually divided into five periods:
- Cretan-Mycenaean (Aegean) - late III-late II millennium BC;
- Homeric - XI-IX centuries. BC.;
- archaic - VIII-VI centuries. BC.;
- classic - 500-323 BC.;
- Hellenistic - 323-30 BC.
Achaean civilization. In the ancient Cretan-Mycenaean period, the first civilizations in Europe dating back to the Bronze Age arose: the Minoan on Crete and, under its influence, somewhat later in the Peloponnese and Central Greece - the Achaean or Mycenaean (after the name of its most famous center, the kingdom of the famous Agamemnon) . The Achaean civilization was the first, created by the Greeks, whom Homer calls the Achaeans or Danaans. She died at the end of the 12th and beginning of the 11th centuries. BC, and Greece found itself thrown back in its development a whole millennium ago.
The Homeric period is so named because for a long time the main source for its study was Homer's poems "Iliad" and "Odyssey". Now the results have become equally important archaeological excavations, carried out from the second half of the 19th century. At this time, Greek society was slowly recovering from the catastrophe of the end of the 2nd millennium BC. and accumulated strength for a powerful leap forward - the creation of a completely different type of civilization, unlike either the Cretan or Mycenaean one. The Iron Age of Hellas begins in the Homeric period.
City-states of Greece. During the archaic period, the formation of polis civilization took place in Greece. A new form of state appeared - the polis, which is usually called the city-state. In total, there were several hundred such states in Hellas, the area of some of them was measured in tens of square kilometers, but, despite their small size, they were completely independent. Polis was a slave state: as you know, the ancient world was a world devoid of machines and full of slaves, the majority of whom were engaged in hard physical labor. At the expense of slaves, free citizens of the policy had free time for the development of physical and spiritual culture, military training, for holidays and entertainment.
The free population of the polis consisted of citizens and non-citizens, immigrants from other places and their descendants. Citizens, in turn, were divided into the aristocracy (nobility), which traced their origins to gods and heroes, and demos (farmers, artisans, merchants).
Types of power among the Greeks. Depending on the characteristics of their structure, Greek city policies were divided into democratic, aristocratic and oligarchic. In democratic ones, power belonged to the demos, in aristocratic ones - to the entire nobility, in oligarchic ones - to a narrow circle of people from among the same aristocracy. In any polis there was a people's assembly, a council and elected officials, but in a democratic one all important issues were decided by the people's assembly, in which all citizens participated, while in an aristocratic or oligarchic it existed only for show and met rarely, only to approve what it had already been decided by those who held power. An example of a democratic polis was Athens, an aristocratic one, which later degenerated into an oligarchic one - Sparta.
Greek warriors. The armed forces of the polis consisted of the militia of all citizens. They bought weapons with their own money, so the richest served in the cavalry (maintaining a horse was very expensive), the wealthy - in the heavily armed infantry, the poor made up the light infantry and ship crews (the ships themselves were built either at the expense of the state or on its instructions by the rich, whom were appointed captains of the ships they built).
Aristocrats and oligarchs did not trust their own fellow citizens, so they preferred to rely not on them, but on mercenary warriors who offered their services to the highest bidder. But it also happened that one of the aristocrats, planning to seize power, bribed mercenaries, with their help destroyed or expelled his opponents and became a tyrant - that’s what the Greeks called someone who established sole power illegally. There was a time when tyrants ruled in many greek cities, but by the end of the archaic period, tyranny is destroyed everywhere, only to be reborn in a different environment many decades later.
The fourth (classical) period begins with the clash of the Greek city-states with the powerful Persian power (Greco-Persian wars), and ends with the conquests of Alexander the Great, who destroyed this power.
Persian kingdom. It was ruled by the Achaemenid dynasty from the time of its emergence until its death, and the state itself extended from India to the Aegean Sea. King Darius divided it into regions - satrapies, each of which was headed by a satrap. The population of each satrapy had to pay taxes and, by order of the king, appear in the army. Thus, the Persian army was a huge number of warriors with different weapons, different styles of fighting, speaking different languages. It was very difficult to control such an army. The Persians did not have their own fleet; the Phoenicians, Egyptians and Ionian Greeks supplied them with ships.
Elinistic period. The last period of the history of ancient Greece is called Hellenistic, it lasted from the death of Alexander the Great until the Roman conquest of Egypt. At this time, both the Greek city-states and the former Achaemenid power became part of the new states founded by Alexander's generals, who, many years after his death, proclaimed themselves kings. One of the famous Hellenistic kings was Pyrrhus, whom the Romans had to meet on the battlefield.
How do we know about the wars and battles of the ancient Greeks? We know about the battles of the Greco-Persian wars mainly from Herodotus’s work “History”. The information reported by Herodotus is supplemented and enlivened by Plutarch, who lived many centuries later. His “Comparative Lives” represent several dozen biographies of famous Greeks and Romans and are therefore an important source on the history of not only ancient Greece, but also Rome.
Battles of the first half of the 4th century. BC. described by their contemporary, the Athenian writer and historian Xenophon and Plutarch, already known to us. On the history of the campaigns of Alexander the Great, in addition to the biographies of the great Macedonian and his contemporaries, ancient historians who already lived in Roman times, Arrian and Quintus Curtius Rufus, created special works that have survived to this day and were translated into Russian. Much interesting information about the Greek struggle for freedom against Macedonia is contained in the speeches of Demosthenes.
The modern world owes a lot ancient Greece. This relatively small state had a huge influence on the development of all areas of human life. Take, for example, myths, which are a reflection of human life, both in those times and today. Ideas about the world - about man, medicine, politics, art, literature - on a global scale originated in Greece. This state was located in the south of the Balkan Peninsula and on the islands of the Aegean Sea. Accordingly, such a relatively small territory accommodated a small number of population, but, as Alexander the Great said, “One Greek is worth a thousand barbarians.” Greece stood out among other states - Babylonia, Egypt and Persia - and not without reason.
Map of ancient Greece
Ancient times of Ancient Greece
Territory of Ancient Greece It is customary to roughly divide it into three parts: Southern, Middle and Northern. In the southern part was Laconia, better known as Sparta. Athens – main city Greece - was located in the middle part of the state, along with such areas as Attica, Aetolia and Phocis. This part was separated from the North by almost impassable mountains and separated Athens and Thessaly, which today is itself a major historical center.
About the population of Ancient Greece can be judged by numerous examples of art that have been preserved almost in their original form - these are sculptures, frescoes and elements of painting. In any museum in the world you will find a hall of ancient Greek art, where you will see many images of tall, slender people with an ideal physique, with fair skin and dark curly hair. Ancient historians call them Pelasgians - the people who inhabited the islands of the Aegean Sea in the 3rd millennium BC. Despite the fact that their occupations were no different from those of other ancient peoples and included cattle breeding and agriculture, it should be noted that their land was difficult to cultivate and required the use of special skills.
The peoples of Greece and their development
Those who inhabited Greece almost five thousand years ago were expelled from their lands exactly in the same millennium in which they appeared. The reason for this was the Achaeans who invaded from the north, whose state was also located on the island of the Peloponnese with its capital in Mycenae. This conquest was epochal in nature, as it marked the beginning of the Achaean civilization, which suffered the same sad fate - at the end of the 13th century BC, just as the Achaeans invaded the Greek lands, the Dorians came to this territory. Unfortunately, the conquerors destroyed almost all the cities and the entire Akhian population, although they themselves, at the same time, were at a lower stage of development of civilization. This fact could not but affect the culture of Ancient Greece. The ancient writing created by the Pelasgians was forgotten, not to mention the fact that the construction and development of tools stopped. This period, which is deservedly called “dark,” lasted neither more nor less from the 12th to the 9th centuries AD. Among the cities, Athens and Sparta still stood out, where two antagonistic societies were located.
So, in Lakonica (Sparta) the governors were two kings who ruled, passing on their power by inheritance. However, despite this, real power was in the hands of the elders, who made laws and were involved in judging. The love of luxury in Sparta was severely persecuted, and the main task of the elders was to prevent class stratification of society, for which each Greek family received from the state an allotment of land, which it had to cultivate without the right to receive additional territories. Soon the Spartans were forbidden to engage in trade, agriculture and crafts; the slogan was proclaimed that “the occupation of every Spartan is war,” which was supposed to fully provide the population of Laconia with everything necessary for life. The morals of the Spartans are eloquently evidenced by the fact that warriors could be expelled from their troops only because he did not fully eat his portion of food at a common meal, which indicated that he dined on the side. Moreover, a wounded Spartan had to die silently on the battlefield, without showing unbearable pain.
The main rival of Sparta was the current capital of Greece - Athens. This city was a center of the arts, and the people who inhabited it were the complete opposite of the rude and tough Spartans. Nevertheless, despite the ease and carefreeness of life, it was here that the word “tyrant” appeared. Initially it meant “ruler,” but when the authorities of Athens began to engage in outright robbery of the population, this word acquired the connotation that it has to this day. Peace was brought to the devastated city by King Solon, a wise and kind ruler who did a lot to improve the lives of the townspeople.
The 6th century brought new trials to the inhabitants of Greece - the danger came from the Persians, who quickly conquered Egypt, Media and Babylonia. In the face of the Persian power, the peoples of Greece united, forgetting about centuries-old strife. Of course, the center of the army was the Spartans, who devoted their lives to military affairs. The Athenians, in turn, began building a flotilla. Darius underestimated the power of the Greeks and lost the very first battle, which is immortalized in history by the fact that a joyful messenger ran from Marathon to Athens to convey the good news of victory, and, having covered 40 km, fell dead. It is with that event in mind that athletes run the “marathon distance.” Xerxes, the son of Darius, having enlisted the support and help of the conquered states, nevertheless lost a number of important battles and abandoned any attempts to conquer Greece. Thus, Greece became the most influential state, which gave it a number of privileges, especially to Athens, which became the capital of trade in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Sparta united with Athens the next time in the face of the Macedonian conqueror Philip II, who, unlike Darius, quickly broke the resistance of the Greeks, establishing power over all areas of the state except Sparta, which refused to submit. Thus, the Classical period of development of the Hellenic states ended and the rise of Greece as part of Macedonia began. Thanks to Alexander the Great, Greeks and Macedonians by 400 BC became the sovereign masters of all of Western Asia. The Hellenistic era ended in 168 BC, when large-scale conquests of the Roman Empire began.
The role of Greek civilization in the history of the development of the world
Historians agree that cultural world development would have been impossible without the heritage that Ancient Greece left us. It was here that the fundamental knowledge about the universe that modern science uses was laid. The first philosophical concepts were formulated here, defining the basis for the development of spiritual values of all humanity. The Greek philosopher Aristotle laid the foundations for ideas about the material and immaterial world, Greek athletes became the first champions of the first Olympic Games. Any science or field of art is somehow connected with this great Ancient state– be it theatre, literature, painting or sculpture. "The Iliad" - the main work that has survived to this day, very vividly and colorfully tells about the historical events of those times, about the way of life of the ancient Eleans, and, more importantly, is dedicated real events. The famous Greek thinker Herodotus contributed to the development of history, whose works were devoted to the Greco-Persian wars. The contribution of Pythagoras and Archimedes to the development of mathematics cannot be overestimated. Moreover, the ancient Greeks were the authors of numerous inventions, which were used primarily during military operations.
The Greek theater deserves special attention, which was an open area with a round structure for the choir and a stage for artists. This architecture meant the creation of excellent acoustics, and spectators sitting even in the far rows could hear all the cues. It is noteworthy that the actors hid their faces under masks, which were divided into comic and tragic. Reverently revering their gods, the Greeks created their statues and sculptures, which still amaze with their beauty and perfection.
Special place Ancient Greece in world ancient history makes it one of the most mysterious and amazing states in ancient world. The progenitor of science and art, Greece to this day attracts the attention of everyone who is interested in world history.
Periods of ancient Greece. History of development
Early period (1050-750 BC)
Following the final literate civilization, the last of the glorious civilizations of the Aegean Bronze Age, mainland Greece and the islands off its coast entered an era called by some historians "Dark Age". However, strictly speaking, this term rather characterizes a break in historical information that relates to the time interval that began around 1050 BC. e., rather than the lack of knowledge or historical experience among the then population of Hellas, although writing was lost. In fact, it was precisely at this time, the time of transition into the Iron Age, that the political, aesthetic and literary features that were then characteristic of classical Hellas began to appear. Local leaders, who called themselves pari, ruled small, closely connected communities - the forerunners of the ancient Greek city-states. The next stage in the development of painted ceramics is obvious, which has become simpler in shape, but at the same time stronger; her appearance, as evidenced by vessel shown on the right, acquired new grace, harmony and proportionality, which became distinctive features later Greek art.
Taking advantage vague memories, Trojans and others, wandering singers composed stories about gods and mere mortals, giving poetic imagery to Greek mythology. By the end of this period, Greek-speaking tribes borrowed the alphabet and adapted it to their language, which made it possible to record many tales that had long been preserved in oral tradition: the best among them that have come down to us are the Homeric epics " 776 BC e., is considered to be the beginning of the subsequent continuous rise of Greek culture.
Archaic (Archaic) period (750-500 BC)
In the 8th century, prompted population and wealth growth Emigrants from ancient Greece spread throughout the Mediterranean in search of new agricultural land and trade opportunities. Greek settlers in foreign countries, however, became more than just subjects cities that founded colonies, but separate, autonomous political entities. The spirit of independence that possessed the settlers, as well as the need for joint action to maintain each community, gave rise to such a political unit as the polis. Throughout the Greek world there were supposedly up to 700 similar city-states. The foreign cultures with which Hellas came into contact during this period of expansion affected the Greeks in a variety of ways.
Geometric pottery painting gave way to oriental-style animal and plant designs, as well as detailed mythological scenes of the new black-figure style of vase painting (see photo gallery below). Artists working with stone, clay, wood and bronze began to create monumental human sculptures. Typical of archaic statue of Kouros(photo left) bears clear traces of Egyptian influence, but at the same time demonstrates an emerging desire for symmetry, lightness and realism. In the seventh century The first truly Greek temples appear, decorated with extended friezes and columns of the Doric order (see photo gallery below). Lyrical and elegiac poetry, deeply personal and emotionally rich, is replacing the stilted verses of the past. The development of trade contributed to the widespread spread of coinage invented by the Lydians. On the mainland at the same time Sparta introduces a political system that emphasizes strict government and discipline, and as a result becomes the largest and most powerful city-state of the period. Athens On the contrary, they change and codify laws, caring for justice and equality, open access to governing bodies to an increasing number of citizens and lay the foundations of democracy.
Classical period (500-323 BC)
The classical period in ancient Greece, when it was incredibly fast blossomed arts, literature, philosophy and politics, limited by the time of wars with two foreign powers - Persia and Macedonia. Hellenic victory over the Persians gave rise to a new spirit of cooperation between the various city-states and Athens, whose fleet played a decisive role in ensuring a favorable turnaround in the fight against the so-called barbarians. The tribute from the allies to the Athenian treasury in exchange for military protection provided the Athenians with the opportunity to increase their already significant wealth and guaranteed the city political, cultural and economic supremacy throughout the Mediterranean. Almost all citizens of Athens, regardless of financial status, were provided with access to elected positions, and they received remuneration for the performance of relevant duties. At public expense, sculptors, architects and playwrights worked on works that still remain the highest creative achievement of mankind. Shown, for example, on the right is bronze Zeus statue 213 centimeters high gives a concentrated idea of the skill of the artists of classical Hellas (ancient Greece), who reproduced the human body in their works with extraordinary dynamism. Greek philosophers, historians, and natural scientists left examples of rational theoretical analysis.
In 431, the long-standing enmity between Athens and Sparta resulted in a war that lasted almost 30 years and ended in the defeat of the Athenians. Decades of continuous fighting led to a weakening of political influence in many city-states, where brutal infighting continued. Calculating and ambitious Macedonian king Philip II managed to benefit from such chaos and soon became the master of the entire territory of ancient Greece. Philip failed to complete the construction of the empire, he was killed, and his son ascended the throne Alexander. Just 12 years later, Alexander the Great (Macedonian) died, but left behind a power stretching from the Adriatic to Media (see photo gallery below).
Hellenistic period (323-31 BC)
From the ruins of Alexander's empire, after almost 50 years of fierce struggle for his inheritance, three major powers emerged: Macedonia, Ptolemaic Egypt and the Seleucid state, stretching from modern Turkey to Afghanistan. It's amazing, that from the Macedonian capital of Pella in the west to Ai-Khanum in the east, the language, literature, political institutions, fine arts, architecture and philosophy in the cities and settlements that arose as a result of Alexander's campaigns remained unambiguously Greek after his death. Subsequent kings emphasized their kinship with Hellas, especially with Alexander: the picture on the left shows Thracian silver coin, in which he is depicted with the ram horns of Zeus-Amun - a god with roots in both the East and the West. Possessing a common language, influenced by constant trade contacts, preserving written texts and attracting numerous travelers, the Hellenistic world became more and more cosmopolitan.
Education and enlightenment flourished, libraries were created - among them was Great Library of Alexandria, which contained about half a million volumes. But the Greek ruling classes refused to allow ordinary subjects into their ranks, and the vast new kingdoms were everywhere shaken by internal turmoil. Steadily weakening and impoverished Macedonia in 168 BC. e. came under domination. One after another, the provincial governors of the Seleucid Empire declared themselves independent, forming many small states with a dynastic form of government. Of the kingdoms into which Alexander's empire broke up, Ptolemaic Egypt still stood as a bastion. Cleopatra VII, the last of this line (and the only one who learned the language of the subject population), committed suicide when the Romans were victorious at Actium. However, although they managed to subjugate the entire Mediterranean, the dominance of the Latins did not yet mean the end of Greek influence: the Romans absorbed the culture of ancient Greece and perpetuated the Hellenic heritage in a way that the Greeks themselves could not.