Antique culture of ancient Greece. List of used literature

The main stages in the development of ancient Greek culture. Polis structure of ancient Greek society and the system of polis values. The most important features of ancient Greek culture. Features of Greek religion and mythology. Formation of forms of theoretical thinking - philosophy and science. The specifics of Greek science. Features of Hellenic art. The plastic ideal of man. Hellenism: the meeting of East and West. Features of the culture of Hellenism. Polis foundations of Roman culture. Greek and Roman culture: similarities and differences. Roman system of values. Features of Roman religion and mythology. The place of science in the system of worldview. Peculiarities of Roman Science. The main types and specific features of Roman art. Changes in the system of values, religion, science, art during the period of the Empire.

Ancient culture (from Latin “antiquus” - “ancient”) - a set of ideals, norms, values, ideas and traditions - all areas of Greco-Roman antiquity in the field of literature, art, aesthetic, ethical, political consciousness, myth, religion, philosophy and science. The geographical framework of ancient culture - the territory of Ancient Greece and Rome, chronological - from the origins of the Cretan-Mycenaean culture (the turn of the III-II millennium BC) to the first centuries of our era. However, the impact of ancient culture on the world goes far beyond these limits. Antique culture is the cradle, the starting point in the development of European culture.
In the development of ancient Greek culture, the following stages are distinguished:
Crete-Mycenaean or Aegean (by the name of the Aegean Sea) - III millennium BC. e. - XII century. BC.;
Homeric period - XI-IX centuries. BC.;
Archaic period - VIII-VI centuries. BC.;
Classic period - from the end of the VI century. until the last third of the 4th c. BC.;
Hellenistic period - from the last third of the 4th century. - until the middle of the II century. BC.
Cretan culture itself cannot be called Greek, since it was created by the pre-Greek population of the island of Crete. Until now, scientists have not been able to determine to which language group the ancient inhabitants of Crete belong. The writing system of the Cretans, the so-called syllabic Linear A, has not yet been deciphered. However, it is impossible to remove this island from the cultural history of ancient Greek society. The Greeks themselves traced their history from Crete. The island of Crete repeatedly appears in Greek mythology, which glorified it with legends about gods and princesses in love, about heroes defeating evil forces, about the first flight of man (myths about Theseus and the Minotaur, about Icarus and Daedalus, about the abduction of Europe, etc.). The main Greek god Zeus himself was born on Crete.
The Cretan civilization is sometimes called the "palace" civilization. There were a number of city-states on the island. The palace was the center of every state. Remains of vast palaces have been found in Crete. These are complexes of buildings grouped around a large courtyard. They are located very bizarrely, on different levels, are interconnected by stairs, corridors, some go underground. total area the most famous Cretan palace - in Knossos - is large (24 thousand square meters). The building was two-, and possibly three-storied; the palace had an excellent water supply system, terracotta baths, thoughtful ventilation and lighting. The palace of Knossos made scientists remember the Greek myth of the Labyrinth. Excavations have shown that the artistic fantasy of the Greeks had a real basis.
The walls of the palace premises are covered with numerous frescoes. On them, as well as on stone and gold Cretan vessels, images of a bull are constantly found. Researchers believe that the image of a mighty and ferocious bull god personified the wild destructive forces of nature. In the excavations, there is also an image of another deity - the great Mother Goddess, which has different incarnations: either a formidable mistress of wild animals, or a benevolent patroness of plants. But nothing resembling temples has been found in Crete. Probably religious ceremonies were performed in sacred groves and caves.
Painting is the main decoration of Cretan palaces. The influence of the Egyptian artistic canon is clearly felt in it (for example, the type of construction of the figure). But behind the similarities lie deeper differences. Instead of the strict geometrism of forms, symmetry, and the harsh majestic simplicity of Egyptian art, in Cretan murals, ease, sophistication and whimsical forms, asymmetry come to the fore. These qualities characterize both wall painting (in which images of women - “court ladies” are very often found), and decorative and applied products. Many household items found in the premises of the Knossos Palace are made at a high artistic level. This is, first of all, ceramics - vessels of various shapes and for various purposes. Cretan ceramics is dominated by marine motifs.
At the end of the XV century BC. The island of Crete is in disaster. His cities were reduced to ruins. Opinions of researchers about the causes of the disaster differ. Many believe that the island was subjected to a devastating conquest of the Achaean Greeks from the territory of the Balkan Peninsula. Possibly joined here disaster- earthquake, volcanic eruption.
The Cretan culture was gone, but for about three centuries the Mycenaean culture close to it existed on the Greek mainland. The Mycenaean culture (by the name of one of the excavated cities - Mycenae) was created by the Greeks - Achaeans, but was significantly influenced by the Cretan culture. However, the Mycenaean culture was significantly different from the Cretan. The refined, refined culture of Crete was opposed by the harsh and courageous culture of mainland Greece.
In the Cretan settlements there were no fortress walls, military fortifications, while the city-states of Achaean Greece were protected by powerful walls made of huge boulders. The Greeks, unlike the Cretans, did not feel safe; their settlements were vulnerable from land. And the Achaean Greeks themselves were more militant than the Cretans. Life was harsh, filled with wars that lasted for years. One of the military conflicts, which lasted 10 years, is described in the famous Greek poem "Iliad". Here the myth is intertwined with reality. Archaeologists have found the remains of the real Troy on the coast of Asia Minor. It is possible that Homer exaggerated the scale of this military campaign (according to the poem, almost all Achaean states participated in it, and the king of Mycenae Agamemnon was elected leader of the entire army). But none of the researchers doubts the historical reality of this campaign.
The severity and masculinity of the Mycenaean culture were also reflected in the themes of the wall paintings: scenes of war and hunting were favorites. The lightness and grace of the Cretan fine arts disappear. Ceramics has a simpler and more uniform ornament. Gold was widely used in Mycenaean culture. In the tombs of the rulers, a variety of items made from this precious metal were found: crowns, goblets, jewelry and, most interestingly, the golden death masks of kings. Weapons - bronze swords, shields, daggers - were inlaid with gold and silver.
Until the 50s of the 20th century, the Mycenaean civilization spoke to us only in the language of majestic monuments of architecture and painting. But in 1953, scientists were able to read the clay tablets of the Mycenaean palaces. The writing of Achaean Greece was deciphered - the so-called syllabic linear letter B. But the decipherment could not answer all the questions of the researchers. The texts of the clay tablets contain mainly information of an economic nature. Much in the history of Mycenaean culture and civilization remains unclear.
Like the Cretan, the Mycenaean culture suffered a catastrophe. It was destroyed by the invasion from the north of the Balkan Peninsula of other Greek tribes - the Dorians. The Dorians were at a much lower level of development than the inhabitants of Mycenaean Greece. Therefore, the period following the Cretan-Mycenaean era was called the “Dark Ages”. Another name for this period is Homeric. It is to this time that researchers attribute the creation of the poems "Iliad" and "Odyssey", which are the most important source of information about the "dark ages". The campaign against Troy took place as early as the pre-Homer era (in the 13th or 12th century BC). But Homer tells about the events of the past against the background of contemporary reality. From these poems, scientists draw information about religious beliefs, family, economy, traditions and other aspects of the life of the Greeks in this period.
Evidence of the Homeric epic is significantly supplemented and expanded by archeology. The results of the excavations show that the so-called Dorian conquest set Greece back several centuries. Instead of a polis system (a polis is a city-state), tribal relations are reasserted. Writing was destroyed (not a single inscription of this period was found). Not a single major architectural monument has survived (obviously, they were built of wood or unbaked bricks). There are no monuments of sculpture and painting. In the painting of ceramics, the so-called geometric ornament reigns supreme, which is a sign of primitive art.
Thus, in many ways it was a time of cultural decline. But at the same time, according to most researchers, it was a period of accumulation of strength before a new rapid rise. Of great importance for the subsequent development of Greek society was the development by the Greeks of the smelting and processing of iron.
The archaic (from the Greek word "arhaios" - "ancient") period, according to some researchers, is the time of the most intensive development of ancient Greek society. This is the period of the emergence and strengthening of the polis system, the construction of cities, the development of crafts and trade, the formation of the intra-Greek market. The greatest achievement of the archaic era was the creation of alphabetic writing. The Greeks borrowed the Phoenician alphabet, adding signs to represent vowels. The creation of alphabetic writing contributed to the gradual democratization of the education system. This allowed, over time, to make almost all the free inhabitants of Greece literate.
It was during this period that the folding of the Greek culture proper took place. Three cultural factors had a significant influence on the process of its formation: the Aegean culture (still preserved in Asia Minor), the culture of the Greeks - Dorians, and the Eastern culture (Egypt and Mesopotamia). In the archaic era, the Greeks begin to realize themselves as a single people, different from other peoples, whom they began to call barbarians. The Greeks called themselves Hellenes, and their country - Hellas. The ethnic self-consciousness of the Greeks found expression in some social institutions. Starting from 776 BC. The Olympic Games began to take place, to which only Hellenes were allowed.
The archaic era is significant not only in the history of ancient, but also in the whole of European culture. This is a period of unprecedented spiritual uplift. According to the concept of the German philosopher Karl Jaspers, the archaic period coincides with the beginning of the “axial time”, when in different cultural areas there is a “ferment in the minds”, a firework of teachings, ideas, religious reforms. In India, Buddha preaches; in China, Lao Tzu and Confucius appear almost simultaneously. Philosophy is born in Greece - a fundamentally new approach to understanding the world.
In the archaic period, all the main areas of ancient Greek culture were formed: architecture, sculpture, literature (lyricism), theater, and painting. But all these spheres reached the highest rise, full flowering already in the classical era.
The classical era is the period of the great flourishing of the polis organization of ancient Greek society, which influenced all aspects of his life. The polis structure included the city and the territory adjacent to it. The policy was a civil community (different from the tribal, neighboring and other communities). It was based on the ancient form of ownership, which was both public (joint) and private. Every citizen had the right to a part of communal property (land). But the supreme right to land (the right to own, use, dispose of it) was possessed only by a collective of citizens. The interconnection and interdependence of land ownership and civil rights contributed to the recognition of all citizens as equal.
The polis structure of the state was embodied in the participation of citizens in public meetings, in courts, in making decisions on matters of national importance. Undoubtedly, under the conditions of slavery, such a system can be called democratic only with a certain degree of conventionality. But, nevertheless, the presence of democratic institutions distinguished the polis system from the eastern despotisms. Unlike Egypt, Persia and other eastern states, where the rulers were deified, the citizens of the Greek city-states had no trembling before the very concept of supreme power.
The most important feature of the policy was the coincidence of political and military organization. The citizen-owner was at the same time a warrior, ensuring the inviolability of the policy, and hence his property. The economy of the policy was based on agriculture and cattle breeding, viticulture and horticulture. The basic principle of his economy was the idea of ​​autarky (self-sufficiency). Surplus products were the subject of sale and were exchanged through the market. Thus, the policy carried out economic, military and political functions.
In accordance with the basic principles of the policy, the policy system of values ​​has developed. The most important of them is the belief that the policy is the highest good, that the existence of a person outside its framework is impossible, and the well-being of an individual depends on the well-being of the policy. A special role in the hierarchy of values ​​of the ancient Greeks is played by the veneration of ancestors, the history of the people and their own kind, respect for traditions. Hence the characteristic of the Greeks, especially those who lived in democratic city-states, the highest value of public affairs, which were recommended to be carried out in unity with private affairs, and in the event of a conflict between them, strongly prefer public affairs to private ones.
Such values ​​as equality, justice, freedom were closely connected with the democratic structure of policies. One should point to the typical Greek understanding of the value of freedom: freedom only for the freeborn and those born male. In reality, freedom, even for the formally free, was “released” to an unequal degree. For a considerable number of people, she was somehow infringed upon. But this only increased the value of freedom in the eyes of the Greek. The Greeks talked about freedom always and everywhere: at public meetings, at competitions famous poets, in the theater when discussing plays after their performances, etc. Some researchers of antiquity trace the main achievements of the Greeks to this unprecedented for ancient world measure of freedom.
Patriotism is closely connected with the value of freedom in the minds of the Greeks. Devotion to the city and Greece as a whole, readiness to give one's life, labor, and talent to one's homeland without hesitation is the most characteristic feature of the behavior, consciousness, and value world of the ancient Greeks. Greek patriotism was most clearly manifested in the heroic years Greco-Persian Wars, when the military detachments of the policies inflicted a defeat on the far superior Persian troops. The desire for freedom and patriotism turned out to be inextricably linked here.
The outstanding thinkers of Ancient Greece - Plato and Aristotle - included qualified, intelligent, responsible and proactive activities in the economic, political, and moral and ethical spheres among their values. Work among the Greeks was not yet considered a humiliating occupation, as later among the Romans. Along with slave labor, free labor of artisans and farmers was widespread. The citizens of classical Greece were not idlers: they themselves worked in their workshops, performed and public works for which they were paid.
The Greeks did not despise wealth, although they constantly emphasized the perniciousness of excessive wealth, the unrestrained pursuit of money and luxury. The richer policy imposed very significant monetary and all sorts of other duties in favor of the city. Greed was condemned by ordinary citizens, and politicians, and speakers, and philosophers. At the same time, impoverishment did not cause much sympathy: for the Greek, it most likely meant that hard work was not applied, skill, quick wits were not found, or that a person fell into such vices as the pursuit of pleasures, wastefulness. In property status, as in everything, the Greeks valued the “golden mean” and moderation.
Since ancient times, the ideal of the Greeks was "arete" - virtue, valor. The content of this concept has not remained unchanged. Initially, in the Homeric era, “arete” meant courage, strength, dexterity, and a number of other qualities. The concept of “arete” implied pragmatic behavior that brings benefit, success, fame to a person. In classical Greece, "arete" - valor, sometimes identified with glory, was still the ideal feature of the human personality. But the connection of this concept with the concept of one's own benefit, personal interests has weakened. A “good citizen”, who has “arete”, first of all, benefits others - his fellow citizens. Philosophers argued: is it possible to learn virtue or can it only be inherited (in the era of Homer, "arete" was considered as a hereditary affiliation of aristocratic families). The outstanding Athenian thinker Socrates and his students proceeded from the fact that virtue can be learned and should be learned all one's life. Another philosopher - Plato - for the first time divided the concept of "arete" into four components: wisdom, courage, prudence, justice. According to Aristotle, virtue is acquired not by teaching, not by persuasion, but by the habit of good deeds. Such a habit is laid in childhood and is reinforced by a favorable environment in which a person lives. The debate about whether virtue can be learned continued, and it fed the whole of Greek culture throughout its historical development.
The polis structure of ancient Greek society determined a number of the most important features of its culture. Each policy differed from the other in natural conditions, economic activity; had its own dialect, its own gods and heroes, as well as a calendar and a coin. Rivalry arose between the policies, sometimes strife. Nevertheless, the ancient Greeks had a consciousness of common interests, a sense of joint belonging to a certain unity - Hellas. This combination of diversity and community is the basis of such a unique quality of Greek culture as agonism.
Agon - a word that designates both the place of sports competitions and the competitions themselves - becomes in ancient Greek society a symbol of productive and civilized competition. Agonistics - the principle of competitiveness, noble competition and individuals, and groups, and policies in general with the aim of achieving best result, the reward for which was public recognition and honor. The Greeks successfully compete in craft and trade. They strive to outdo each other with the beauty and well-being of cities, the grandeur of temples and the glory of theaters, the skill of orators, playwrights, poets, and the wisdom of philosophers.
In an atmosphere of competition, all the numerous Greek holidays took place, during which readers, choirs, musicians, authors of tragedies and comedies, and, of course, athletes competed for superiority with each other. The spirit of competitiveness was especially vividly embodied in the Olympic Games, in which the reward for the winner was not money, not material well-being and the glory and respect of fellow citizens. The symbols of this were the wreath of the winner (made of olive tree branches) and a statue in his hometown.
The active political life of the citizens of the policy, which involved their participation in the development of laws, the election of senior officials, the constant competition for the elevation of their city, had a direct impact on the state of their minds, generating and strengthening confidence in their minds in the minds of citizens. The struggle of the leaders of various directions, who sought to enlist the support of the people's assembly, open trials, which attracted a lot of listeners, stimulated the development of oratory, the ability to convince, and hence logical thinking. The Greeks greatly appreciated the art of persuasion, proof. Judges, members of the people's assembly, the council, and strategists had to express their own opinions convincingly. The art of persuasion was also important for ordinary citizens, who could argue with speakers and even with each other. Thus, the turbulent and intense political life of the polis became fertile ground for the formation of such qualities of ancient Greek culture as evidence, dialogue and, in general, rationality.
Another essential characteristic of Greek culture is kalokagathia (balance, harmony). Kalokagathia is an ideal that every citizen of the Greek polis should strive for. A beautiful (kalos) and good, kind (agathos) person combines the beauty of an impeccable body and inner moral perfection. Indifferent to external conquests, very moderate in everyday needs, the Greeks directed all the strength of their energy to achieve kalokagatiya - beauty and goodness, merged in a person together. It was possible to achieve the ideal through exercises, upbringing, education. Achieving balance of body and spirit was ensured by the unity of intellectual, physical and musical education. Most clearly, such a program for the preparation of a “comprehensively developed personality” was embodied in Athens.
A remarkable phenomenon of Hellenic culture is mythology, which, in turn, is an essential, integral part of the Greek religion. In the culture of Ancient Greece, there are no monuments similar to the Indian Vedas, that is, texts that recorded Greek myths in their “original form”. But information about Greek mythology has come down to us in a huge number of monuments of written literature (artistic and philosophical works), however, being repeatedly revised and rethought. Therefore, we simply do not know much about the religious and mythological ideas of the ancient Greeks.
The main sources for the study of Greek mythology are Homer's epic tales "Iliad" and "Odyssey", as well as Hesiod's poem "Theogony". That complex and extensive whole, which is usually called Greek mythology, along with myths, also includes historical legends and traditions, fairy tales, free variations on mythological themes. Among the real myths, a deeply archaic layer of totemic myths is found. Numerous stories about metamorphoses - the transformation of people into animals, plants or inanimate objects (for example, Hyacinth and Narcissus - into flowers, Arachne - into a spider, etc.) go back to the totemic basis. In Greek mythology, there are astral, solar and lunar myths, as well as agricultural myths associated with the personification of sowing and growing grain. Considerably developed appear cosmogonic myths, which are built on the scheme of evolution: the world process begins with Chaos - the primary, primordial, formless state of the Universe.
The anthropological motif is almost absent in Greek mythology, which does not give a clear answer to the question of the origin of people. According to one of the myths, the titan Prometheus was the creator of man. Characteristic of Greek mythology is that the gods do not act as creators of the world or man. But if the idea of ​​a god-creator was completely alien to the mythology of the Greeks, then the images of cultural heroes occupy an exceptional position in it. Gods, titans and other semi-divine beings act as cultural heroes. So, the goddess Athena was credited with the introduction of the culture of the olive tree, Dionysus - viticulture and winemaking, Hermes - the invention of weights and measures, numbers and letters, etc. There are other types of myths known to you in Greek mythology.
Greek mythology has another important feature - the high artistry of images, which still makes a deep impression on the listener and reader. This artistry is expressed primarily in deep humanism, or, in other words, in the anthropomorphism of mythological images, which manifested itself in giving the images of gods and heroes a purely human forms. These are exalted idealized people, with their virtues and vices. Nothing human is alien to them, immortality is the only quality that distinguishes gods from people in the eyes of a believing Greek.
Greek mythology had a significant impact on the entire culture of the ancient Hellenes. Myths accompanied the development of Greek literature (epics, tragedies, lyric poetry), providing it with the most important motives for many centuries of its existence. Illustrations of mythological motifs were the most important themes of painting and sculpture. At the same time, both art and literature deeply influenced mythology, ennobled, humanized, and elevated mythological images.
Continuing the conversation about the ancient Greek religion, it should be noted that for religious consciousness The Greeks are characterized by polytheism, which manifested itself in the veneration of the gods of the Olympic pantheon (the Greeks believed that the gods, led by Zeus the Thunderer, live on Mount Olympus). The distinctive features of the Greek religion are also the idea of ​​the universal animation of nature (every natural phenomenon, every river, mountain, grove had its own deity) and anthropomorphism. It is surprising how the Greeks portrayed their gods: they understood divinity - superhumanity - differently than other peoples. If the Egyptian gods were depicted with figures of people and animal heads, Indian gods (for example, Shiva) could have four or eight arms, three faces, then the Greek gods appear before us as beautiful men and women. Divinity is beauty, harmony.
The Greek religious consciousness is not characterized by the idea of ​​omnipotence, omniscience of the gods, although the latter surpass people in strength and insight. Gods, like people, are at the mercy of fate. The Greeks called this mysterious and merciless force differently: Moira, Ananka, etc. Everyone is equal before fate - and simple people, and heroes, and the immortal gods themselves.
Each policy had its gods - patrons. Thus, the goddess Athena was especially closely associated with the city of Athens, Apollo - with Delphi, Zeus - with Olympia, etc. In Greece, there was practically no priestly class. Each temple was served by one priest, who was elected by the popular assembly. The only duty of the priests was to perform rituals, the main of which was the sacrifice to the deity. In some cases, the priests were engaged in divination, divination (for example, the priests of the temple of Apollo in Delphi were well-known soothsayers throughout Greece), and healing. The position of the priest was honorary, but did not give any direct authority, especially since the official cult was often led not by priests at all, but by civil officials.
Of particular importance for ancient, and in general, for European culture was the development of theoretical thinking and the formation of philosophy in ancient Greek society. Philosophy is a rational comprehension of the world, a systematic theoretical presentation of ideas about the world and man in the form of concepts. The formulation of problems, an orientation towards the search for the causes of everything that happens in the world in itself, and not outside it, reliance on the human mind as a means of cognition - all this distinguishes philosophical approach to the world from religious and mythological views. Philosophy from the very beginning acted as an opposition to myth, criticism of custom, traditional values.
Philosophical judgments, thoughtful instructions are also found in the culture of the East. But if Eastern philosophy developed mainly in the bosom of religion, by rationalizing it, then Greek philosophy immediately took a separate position in relation to religion. If in the East a great philosopher acted as a herald of God himself, his name was fanned by sacred authority, revelations were memorized (for example, Confucius), then the ancient Greek philosopher, creating his own concept of the universe, asserted his principles in the most cruel polemic with previous authorities. The philosophical schools of ancient Greece often refuted and destroyed each other, taking directly opposite positions.
Thus, for the Greeks, there were no authorities, but it mattered only that each proposition was only true insofar as it was proved. What has been proven cannot be banned or revoked, it can only be refuted. The art of proof through disputes between interlocutors, putting forward opposing arguments, the ability to perceive a different point of view, the ability to dialogue are the most important qualities of Greek philosophy.
The formation of ancient philosophy is closely connected with the emergence and development of scientific knowledge. The early Greek philosopher is at the same time a mathematician, an astronomer, and a physicist. Let's consider this in the example of a thinker who is considered the first Greek philosopher. Thales from Miletus (640-562 BC) - merchant, traveler, navigator. Traveling, he collected all available information and knowledge. He is credited with serious astronomical works. It is known that Thales predicted an eclipse of the sun, which occurred on May 28, 585. BC. But he not only adopted knowledge, but also tried to streamline them into a certain system. Thales, and later other Greek thinkers, create knowledge that is different from the practical information of astronomy and from cosmogonic myths.
Scientists put forward paradoxical, unusual ideas, which, of course, cannot be considered scientific. So, Thales is credited with the idea of ​​likening the Earth to a piece of a wooden cylinder that floats in the ocean. This is a fantasy, but at the same time going beyond the limits of practically given knowledge, a flight of thought. Another vivid example is the assertion by the philosophers of the Pythagorean school of the idea that the Earth is spherical. But what was the evidence? Mainly aesthetic. The Pythagoreans believed that the spherical shape is the most perfect, so the Earth is best to be a ball.
As mathematicians, the first Greek philosophers took the path of abstract generalizations based on proofs. So, Thales is credited with proving a number of geometric theorems, in particular, the equality of angles at the base of an isosceles triangle. Later, Pythagoras proved his famous theorem, deploying a whole system of proofs. But, according to historians of science, both theorems were previously known in the East. It is significant here that the Greek thinkers did not take for granted the knowledge they borrowed from the East. And if it is debatable whether ancient astronomy was a science (and the majority is inclined to believe that it was not), then there are almost no disputes about the scientific nature of ancient Greek mathematics. At the same time, for several centuries, the ancient Greek philosophers were almost all mathematicians. As you know, Plato declared the main principle of the Academy he created was the slogan: “No geometer, let him not enter.”
Descriptive knowledge, biological and geographical, also developed in ancient Greece. At first, there was a lot of fantasy in the descriptions, but over time, the demand for more accurate, objective knowledge increased. By the time of Aristotle (384 - 322 BC), hundreds of different plants and animals had already been described. Having collected and systematized these descriptions, Aristotle raised questions about what is living, what is an organism. In the field of geography, countries, cities, seas were described, maps and plans were drawn up.
Concluding the conversation about the development of ancient Greek science, we note its most important features. Unlike the ancient cultures of the East (Egypt, Mesopotamia, India), where the accumulated reserves of astronomical, mathematical and other knowledge were of an applied, prescription nature (how to measure land, predict eclipses, river floods, keep a calendar), ancient Greek thinkers moved on to building a logical connected and coordinated systems of knowledge - theories. These theories were not narrowly practical. The main motive of the first scientists was the desire, far from practical needs, to understand the initial principles and principles of the universe. Theoretical knowledge in Ancient Greece was developed and stored not by priests (as in the East), but by secular people, so they did not give it a sacral (sacred) character, but taught it to all people who were willing and capable of science. Thanks to this, in a short historical period, the ancient Greeks created wonderful mathematical theories, laid the foundations for a number of sciences - physics, biology, sociology, psychology, etc.
In the art of ancient Hellas, all the main features and principles of Greek culture were most fully expressed. The glory of the art of ancient Greece is its architecture, sculpture, vase painting, theater. The features of Greek art that distinguish all its types and genres are a sense of proportion, naturalness, lively sensual immediacy, the desire for visibility, imagery, plastic expressiveness and, at the same time, rational constructiveness, the ability to match the ideal content with its embodiment in a specific image.
Greek architecture was primarily temple-based. But the Greek temples had from the very beginning completely special purpose. Prayers did not gather in them, since religious ceremonies were performed in front of the altar under open sky. The Greek temple served exclusively as a room for a statue of a deity. The statue was placed in a sanctuary (celle), in which twilight always reigned, creating a particularly solemn mood. Greek architects developed special system- order - a strictly established, mathematically accurate ratio of the bearing (supports - columns) and carried (flooring) parts of the building. The main orders in Greece are Doric, Ionic, Corinthian. On their basis, a type of Greek temple was created - a peripter - a rectangular room surrounded on all sides by a colonnade.
Greek architecture is inextricably linked with sculpture and sculpture. Temples were decorated with statues and reliefs. The free Hellenic, inspired by faith in his own power, his appearance, elevated to a beautiful standard, became the theme of Greek sculpture. Images of the environment, living conditions, the relationship of man to the surrounding nature were not significant in the eyes of the artists of Greek antiquity. In the artistic culture of Ancient Greece, it was sculpture that reached its peak, that is, that kind of art that expresses the entire set of ideas about life, about the place of a person in the life of his time in a plastically completed statuary image of a person.
The first examples of Greek sculpture appear in the archaic era. These are naked young men (kuros) - athletes, winners in competitions and girls (kors) in traditional clothes. These stone sculptures (most often made of marble) still clearly reflect the influence of Egyptian canons: the frontality of the figures, the stiffness of movements. The features of the faces of kouros and kors do not create the impression of a truly living human face, although they are illuminated by a mysterious “archaic smile”. Marble sculpture (as well as the architectural details of the temples) was brightly colored, but time did not preserve this multicolored Greek art.
In the era of the classics, Greek sculpture becomes more perfect in form. Bronze becomes a favorite material for sculptors - metal is more submissive than stone, it is easier to give a figure any shape, position in it. The basic principle of Greek classical art is the reproduction of nature, creatively corrected and supplemented by man. The highest achievements of Greek sculpture (5th century BC) are associated with the names of Phidias, Myron, Polykleitos. Phidias, who influenced the entire subsequent development of ancient art, is known as the creator of huge statues - a thirty-meter statue of Zeus (for the temple at Olympia) and an eight-meter statue of Athena in the Athenian Acropolis. Under the direction of Phidias and with his participation, magnificent sculptures of the pediments of the Parthenon (the main temple of the Acropolis) and its relief frieze were made.
The works of another great sculptor - Miron - were distinguished by their compositional thoughtfulness and completeness of movement, expressing the essence of the idea. In his famous statue"Discobolus" he managed to capture the moment of movement. Poliklet tried to substantiate and practically embody the law of ideal proportions, strove for the clearest possible proportionality of the parts of a harmoniously developed beautiful human body. In this regard, his statue “Dorifor” (a young man - a spear-bearer) acts as a canon.
Greek sculpture does not know the all-pervasive analysis of characters. The faces of Greek statues are not very individual. It is no coincidence that the portrait in Greece was relatively poorly developed. But the sculptors conveyed a rich range of spiritual movements, feelings, experiences through the movements of the body. Body and psyche were realized in their inseparability. The bodies of Greek statues are unusually spiritualized (even those that have survived only partially). After all, according to the ideal of kalokagatiya, the beauty of a person is inextricably linked with positive moral qualities, virtues. A beautiful body also assumed the harmony of the soul, and an ugly one meant a lack of reason, nobility, and a denial of positive moral qualities.
At the turn of the 4th century BC. the Greek policy is going through a crisis, this process is especially difficult in Athens due to an unsuccessful war with Sparta. Under these conditions, the classical ideal of man as a valiant and beautiful citizen of the city-state was shaken. Reflections arise, giving rise to anxiety or a tendency to serene enjoyment of life. Interest in the individual world of man is growing. The grandiosity of the worldview, calmness and majesty give way to the identification in art of complex experiences, passions and impulses. Sculptors of the 4th century BC for the first time they are attracted by the charm of childhood, the wisdom of old age, the eternal charm of femininity. These trends were most clearly reflected in the work of the great sculptures of the 4th century. BC. - Scopas, Praxiteles, Lissip.
Similar changes are taking place in the Greek theater. The tragedies of Aeschylus (526 - 456 BC) glorify the ideas of human achievement, patriotic duty. Sophocles (90s of the 5th century - 406 BC) praises a person, and he himself says that he depicts people as they should be. Euripides (446 - c. 385 BC) strives to depict people as they really are, with all their weaknesses and vices.
In the last third of the IV century BC. the end is coming classical culture Ancient Greece, the Hellenistic era is born. It began with the campaigns of Alexander the Great and the massive colonization flow of the inhabitants of Ancient Hellas to the newly conquered lands. Alexander created a huge empire that stretched to the Indus. The empire did not last long; after thirteen years of reign, Alexander died, his military leaders divided the territory of the empire among themselves. Several monarchies formed.
With the death of Alexander, the era of Hellenism begins. During this period, new forms of economic and social relations, new political structures, new phenomena in culture are taking shape. Their influence spread unusually widely - to Western and Eastern Europe, Western and Central Asia, North Africa. New forms of social life were a kind of synthesis of Greek and Eastern elements. In the socio-economic sphere, the changes consisted in a combination of polis and royal forms of ownership, a sharp stratification of society. In the era of Hellenism, a whole class of such rich people appeared, in comparison with which the wealthy citizens of past centuries seemed poor. In political life, the Hellenistic monarchy, which combines elements of eastern despotism and the polis system, becomes a new phenomenon.
The citizen of a free policy is replaced by a subject of an all-powerful monarch. The direct participation of the citizen in the life of society is replaced by the execution of the orders of the ruler. At the same time, as a result of military campaigns, trade and scientific expeditions, the horizons of the Hellenes are expanding. A previously unfamiliar consciousness of a “citizen of the world” is being formed, whose activity takes place in the universe (“ecumene”). The new vast world was devoid of harmony. There is a gradual extinction of the system of polis values ​​and the basic principles of classical culture. Sharp property stratification leads to stratification in education. The nature of the holidays is changing - the people are turning from a participant into a spectator.
The attitude of the Hellenes more and more characterizes a feeling of uncertainty about the future. The main attention of the Hellenistic person is directed to himself, there is a need to understand his inner world. Awakened individualism corresponds to an increased interest in psychology, philosophy, which now deals primarily with the problems of ethics and the happiness of the individual. Individualization, the desire for deep psychological characteristics are also reflected in literature and art.
During the Hellenistic period, Greek sculpture spread over a vast area. The desire of the nobles to decorate their lives, the abundance of orders to artists determined the massive flow of sculpture. But basically it was only replicating the beautiful originals of the classics. The newly created images were devoid of harmony, which was expressed in their congestion with details, pretentiousness, and excessive splendor.
At the same time, Hellenism is an era of cultural upsurge. There is a rapid development of architecture and fine arts. A significant step forward has been made in the field of science. During this period, Alexandria of Egypt arises - a real enlightened center of ancient culture. The largest library in the ancient world was created there, the "museion" - a scientific center, the great mathematician Euclid opened the school. In the Hellenistic period, there was a certain convergence of theory with practice: the achievements of mathematics began to be applied in mechanics, optics, and construction. It is with this period that the name of the outstanding Greek scientist and engineer Archimedes is associated. The achievements of the Hellenistic culture were accepted by the ancient Roman civilization, inherited by the Byzantine Empire, the Arabs, and entered the golden fund of universal culture.
In that historical period, when the culture of the archaic developed in Greece, in Italy, on the territory of the future Roman Empire, the Etruscans dominated - the ancient tribes who inhabited these lands in the first millennium BC and created a developed civilization that preceded the Roman one. Etruria was a strong maritime power. Skillful metallurgists, shipbuilders, merchants and pirates, the Etruscans sailed the Mediterranean Sea, assimilating the cultural traditions of many peoples inhabiting its coast, while creating a high and unique culture. It was from the Etruscans that the Romans subsequently borrowed the experience of urban planning, handicraft techniques, religious rites, the way of depicting numbers, the custom of celebrating victory with a triumph, and much more. Through the Etruscans, the Romans initially came into contact with elements of Greek culture.
The ancient population of Italy lived in clans in territorial communities, as a result of which cities arose as a result of their unification. The city of Rome arose in the middle part of the Tiber River valley, where the Latin tribe lived (hence the name of the Latin language spoken by the ancient Romans). At the head of archaic Rome was an elected king, combining the duties of high priest, military commander, legislator and judge; he had a senate. The most important matters were decided by the people's assembly. In 510-509. BC. the Roman Republic is formed. Republican rule persisted until 30-27 years. BC, after which the period of the empire began. Rome wages almost continuous victorious wars and turns from a small Italian city into the capital of a huge power. First, all of Italy, the islands of Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, and then other territories were subordinated. In 395, the Roman Empire split into Western and Eastern, and in 476 the Western Roman Empire fell under the blows of barbarian tribes.
The conquest of the Hellenistic states made a revolution in the life of Rome. The Romans were faced with a culture that surpassed their own in depth and variety. The famous Roman poet Horace remarked later: “Greece captive captivated her conquerors.” Greek culture had a significant impact on Roman religion, philosophy, science, and education. The Romans began to study the Greek language and literature. Wealthy families sent their sons to Athens and other Greek cities to listen to lectures by renowned orators and philosophers. As early as the era of the Republic, Roman culture became bilingual.
The question of the relationship between Greek and Roman cultures is quite problematic in the scientific literature. Even Oswald Spengler attributed all the phenomena associated with Rome to the “epoch of civilization”, when the “soul of culture” loses its ability to create new spiritual values. Following Spengler, other researchers of antiquity denied the originality of Roman culture. But in the scientific literature there is another point of view, supported by convincing arguments, which insists on the originality, originality of the culture of Rome.
So, the domestic researcher of ancient culture E.M. Shtaerman believes that Roman culture is a certain unity that arose as a result of a combination of the original with borrowed phenomena. At the same time, the “meeting” of the two cultures was all the more significant due to their significant similarity. Both cultures were formed on the basis of the ancient civil community; its entire system predetermined the scale of basic values ​​that guided all the citizens of the policy in one way or another. These values ​​included: the idea of ​​the significance and original unity of the civil community with the inextricable connection between the good of the individual and the good of the whole team, to serve which is the duty of every citizen; the idea of ​​the supreme power of the people; the idea of ​​freedom and independence both for the city and for citizens (for all the difference in the interpretation of freedom, it has always been opposed to slavery); the idea of ​​the closest connection of the civil community with its gods and heroes, who care about its affairs, give signs of their will, but have never been perceived as the supreme formidable gods of other peoples.
Such a perception of the deity both in Greece and in Rome opened up scope for a free search in the field of philosophy, science, art and religion itself, a search not bound by dogmas and canons. The absence of a special priestly class also mattered. It is also important that the political life of both the Greek policies and Rome stimulated the development of oratory, the ability to convince, logical thinking, which largely determined the methods of philosophy and science.
But Rome differed in many ways from the Greek policy. Constant wars with neighbors to a large extent determined the organization, structure of life and the very history of Rome. If the Greeks created myths about gods and demigods, then for the Romans at the center of their mythology was Rome itself, its heroic and victorious people. The gods, according to the Romans, only helped them win, thereby showing their special disposition towards the Roman people. War, iron military discipline demanded military virtues - courage, fidelity, steadfastness, severe inflexibility, proud dignity. Such virtues were required not only for war, but also for peaceful life, to fulfill the duty of a good citizen. The absolute power of the head of the surname (family) from childhood taught young men to unquestioning obedience, to the absence of their own initiative, their own judgment. Under the guidance of their father, they studied the craft of a warrior and a farmer, the duties of a citizen, and spent a significant part of their lives on military campaigns.
Thus, there were significant differences in the system of values ​​between Rome and the Greek polis. In addition, when the Romans fully came into contact with Greek culture, it had already become Hellenistic. Nevertheless, the similarity of basic features made it easier for the citizens of Rome to master the spiritual heritage of the Greek policies. The gradually formed Greco-Roman, ancient culture, as the Roman power increased, spread one way or another through the Roman provinces, which, in turn, also influenced Rome. The most tangible was the influence of the eastern provinces with their millennial culture. But only those cultural phenomena were borrowed that did not contradict the worldview and value system of the Romans.
The value system of the civic community had a profound effect on the character and structure of Roman culture. In the era of the Republic, the main value for the Roman was Rome itself, the Roman people, destined to conquer other peoples and rule them for their own good. The main duty of the citizen was to carry out this mission. All spheres of culture were subordinated to the task of substantiating the superiority of the Roman political system, of educating good citizens from the Romans, proud of their belonging to the "people - master".
Religion was the connecting link of the civil community as a whole, the territorial units that were part of it, families (surnames). Religion determined the relations and obligations necessary for the rallying and functioning of these collectives: the duty of people in relation to the gods, the son - in relation to the father, the father - relative to the members of the family subject to him.
A characteristic feature of the ancient Roman religion is the lack of a clear idea of ​​the gods. According to the beliefs of the ancient Romans, the world is full of spirits, the presence of which is manifested in the action of indefinite forces. With the help of rites and rituals, the Romans sought to increase the beneficial and neutralize the harmful effects of such forces. Numerous spirits took care of almost all natural phenomena (including trees, grasses, rocks, etc.) and all kinds of work of the farmer and shepherd. The gods did not have an anthropomorphic image (they were not represented in human form).
The most ancient period of Roman religion causes the most controversial opinions of scientists. In particular, this concerns the issue of mythology - the Romans do not have any myths related to this period and, moreover, similar to the mythology of the peoples close to them (typical plots of myths). Some researchers believe that the Romans had a primitive mythology, subsequently forgotten; its echoes are preserved in rituals that have become incomprehensible. One of the oldest in Roman mythology and religion is the god Janus. Two-faced Janus (depicted with two faces) was the god of every beginning, entrances and exits, doors and gates. But, perhaps, initially he was the creator of the world and the first people.
Over time, the Roman gods begin to acquire individuality, certain functions. One of the first to establish the cults of Jupiter (the god of heaven, as well as the patron of the vine), Mars (the patron of vegetation, fertility, later the god of war), Quirinus (the patron of the national assembly). In the VI century BC. the first temple of Jupiter, Juno (patron of marriage, family and childbearing) and Minerva (patron of artisans) is being built on the Capitoline Hill. The Capitoline trinity pushed the trinity of Jupiter, Mars and Quirinus into the background, and the temple became the center of Rome, which finally took shape as a single city.
The Roman religion was formed as a result of the merging of the religious cults of the Etruscans, Romans and Italics (other tribes living on the Apennine Peninsula). As the Roman community expanded, more and more tribes and regions entered into it, the Roman pantheon of gods expanded. But at the same time there was a centralization of the cult, a kind of "natural selection" of the gods. With the strengthening of the power of Rome, the gods most closely associated with its rise came to the fore. These processes are associated with the formation of a specific Roman mythology, which differs in form from the mythology of other peoples, but in essence had the same task: to explain the past, justify the present and set goals for the future. This task was performed by the “Roman myth”, the main idea of ​​which is the exclusivity of the fate of Rome, destined by the gods.
As the Roman state grew, including territories outside of Italy, the Roman pantheon was replenished with new gods and goddesses. The influence of the Greeks was of particular importance in this sense. The penetration of Greek mythology into Rome was largely determined by the desire to connect the ancient history of Rome and Italy with Greek, since in the eyes of the Hellenes the Romans were still barbarians. The Roman gods were identified with the Greek ones (Juno - Hera, Minerva - Athena, Mars - Ares, Venus - Aphrodite, etc.). This identification is most clearly manifested in Roman art and literature. It is largely due to Greek influence that the Roman gods receive an anthropomorphic appearance. The Romans begin to erect statues to the gods. Roman playwrights write tragedy and comedy with Greek characters based on Greek models, calling the Greek gods the names of the Roman gods. Poets freely use the images and situations of Greek myths. But acquaintance with Greek religion and mythology could not significantly affect the deep foundations of Roman religion, the “Roman myth”.
A significant place in Roman culture belonged to law. Law and its most important component - the law were for the Romans a structure-forming element, both world and civil order. The law of the gods ordered the cosmos; the right, equal for all citizens, made the city a miniature reflection of the cosmos. In no other culture did the law hold such a high place. The study, commenting, development of law were considered a matter worthy of all respect. They were carried out by people of the highest position. A good legal education received in special schools could open the way to the upper classes for people who did not belong to them by origin. The most famous example here is Cicero.
Science occupied a special place in Roman culture. Feature Roman science consisted in the fact that it was ideological in nature. Science was based on a specific ancient idea of ​​the world (cosmos) as an eternal, living, indivisible, beautiful whole. In the worldview, man, as a particle of the whole cosmos, was an inseparable unity with nature; V socially this presupposed the inseparability of the ties between man and society. That is why scientific knowledge in antiquity did not imply active mastery of the objective world. Antique civilization with a high level of development of knowledge did not become a technical civilization. Despite the fact that natural scientific research occupied a significant place in the theoretical field of knowledge, the methods of experimental and experimental research were known, they were rather weakly connected with practical application.
The noted originality characterizes in general the whole of ancient science - both Greek and Roman. But Roman science had a number of differences from Greek. As already noted, the Romans, getting acquainted with the Greek and Hellenistic culture, selected for themselves only the most valuable, adapted the borrowed to the requirements of reality, their needs and worldviews. Roman society readily accepted philosophical teachings and scientific traditions of Hellenism. But the values ​​of the theoretical constructions of the Greeks remained external to the Romans, did not affect the deep foundations of their own culture. This explains the compilative and bookish nature of scientific knowledge in Rome. Collecting together the scientific theories of Hellenism, the Roman authors did not set themselves the task of writing an independent study. The main feature of science in Roman culture was systematization, encyclopedism in the assimilation, presentation and transmission of theoretical knowledge.
Roman authors distinguished between speculative (theoretical) and empirical (related to practice) sciences; this also included the arts (sciences) that satisfy the needs of luxury. Practical sciences are closer to reality and are dictated by necessity: these are medicine, agriculture, construction and military affairs, the art of navigation, law and other vital areas of knowledge. The pursuit of these sciences was traditionally considered worthy of a "noble" person and included knowledge of grammar, rhetoric, dialectics, arithmetic, astronomy, geometry and music. These items were included in the circle of Greek upbringing and education, and were also the basis of all practical knowledge throughout ancient history. The Romans made significant advances in practical knowledge. They knew no equal in the field of law and administration. The level of development of construction (one of the achievements was the invention of concrete), military and agricultural equipment of the Romans, the amount of knowledge in medicine, in particular, in sanitation and hygiene, were very high.
The speculative sciences are not directly connected with practice. The most important of them is philosophy, which is divided into physics, ethics and logic, which constitutes the method of philosophical presentation. Physics deals with the structure of the universe and the laws of nature; ethics considers the relationship of man with society and his place in the cosmic whole, his position in the world and social order. If in classical Greece all philosophical schools placed the main emphasis on physics, then in Rome (not without the influence of Hellenistic philosophy) ethics came to the fore. Philosophy acted as the main science, its main goal was to substantiate the duty of a person to obey the laws of the cosmos, society and develop ways to achieve happiness and perfection. Virtue itself was perceived as the result of knowledge, science. Science should lead man to virtue and happiness. This is another important feature of Roman science.
Art played an important role in ancient Roman society. Like other areas of culture, Roman art reinforced the "Roman myth" by means of artistic expression. Of all the arts, architecture was the most important for Rome. Roman buildings personified the strength and power of the Roman state. The pathos of utility in the name of the state was realized in the construction of cities, forums (squares), temples (to the patron gods of Rome), triumphal arches(for the solemn entry of the winners), term - public baths(places for secular communication), circuses and amphitheaters (for the entertainment of the public). The Romans built city and country houses, bridges and aqueducts (water pipes), roads, markets, warehouses. Throughout the ancient world, there is no equal to Roman architecture in terms of level. engineering, the variety of types of structures, the scale of construction.
In the development of Roman art, the influence of Etruscan, Greek and local Italic traditions on Rome is clearly visible. But the specific features and features of Roman art are gradually taking shape. In sculpture, this was expressed in the development of predominantly historical relief and portraiture. The Roman master, in contrast to the Greek, was more inclined to analyze, dismember the whole into parts, a detailed depiction of the phenomenon. The Romans created sculptural portraits with exceptionally accurate transmission of the individual features of the face and character, as well as reliefs that reliably recorded historical events. Such realism in sculptural images was largely based on the custom borrowed from the Etruscans to create tomb masks and portraits on the sarcophagi of the dead, to decorate urns with reliefs. Researchers of ancient art also believe that a certain influence on Roman sculpture was exerted by the tendency of the ancient artist, which developed in the Hellenistic era, to reproduce life images as adequately as possible.
Painting is a significant phenomenon of Roman culture. Such types of it as fresco, mosaic, easel painting, poorly common among the Greeks. Multi-figured narrative compositions were created on the walls of tombs and houses. Roman painting is distinguished by an illusory interpretation of volumes and forms. The artists sought to reflect the surrounding nature, to arrange the figures in space. They did not achieve a realistic reflection of reality (knowledge of perspective will appear only in the Renaissance), but created certain illusions of it (for example, by introducing falsely three-dimensional images of columns carrying beams).
The most important milestone in the development of Roman culture was the establishment of the Empire. Rome, having become the capital of the empire, lost the features of a civil community. Cosmopolitanism began to prevail in it, thinking on the scale of the whole world, of all mankind, which also implied a reorientation of values. The very concept of "Rome" increasingly turned into a function. The huge city with its diverse population belonging to different classes, estates, statuses, contrasts of luxury and poverty, power and subordination no longer resembled the community of more or less equal citizens in which the “Roman myth” arose. Roman citizens were now scattered throughout the empire, many of whom had never been to Rome itself.
Official propaganda proclaimed that the wars were over, an era of calm and prosperity had come, that Rome had fulfilled its destined mission, conquered all peoples and rightly rules them for their own good. There could be no more changes, all that remained was to serve the great and eternal whole - the empire and its head. But such a situation meant a crisis, the disappearance of large collective goals for which one could fight, which gave meaning to the life and activities of people. This crisis of goals manifested itself in conditions when reality did not correspond to the official version of the “golden age”. The growing economic and political dependence affected all social strata, all classes of society - from aristocrats who risked incurring the wrath of the emperor, losing their position, property, life, and ending with the “little man”, who depended on the owner of the estate on whose land he sat , employer, or just a higher-ranking person. This led to an increase in uncertainty about the future, a feeling of lack of freedom; these feelings were especially keenly experienced by the aristocrats, who were truly full-fledged in the period of the republic.
Different social strata reacted differently to the situation that had arisen, but they all tried to answer the questions: where does evil and injustice come from in the harmonious world; how to overcome the feeling of isolation from world harmony (this is how isolation from public interests was perceived); how relations of domination and subordination should be built; how to live in order to maintain at least moral independence, so as not to stoop to the level of a slave, forced to lie, dodge - behave in a way that is not proper for a free-born.
Philosophy, science, and religion dealt with these issues. At the same time, religion is gradually coming to the fore, pushing aside the “Roman myth” that has already lost its meaning and the values ​​and ideas associated with it. The establishment of an obligatory imperial cult contributed to the promotion of religion to the fore (the deification of emperors was at first posthumous, and then during lifetime). However, the classical Roman religion is increasingly ceasing to act on the minds and souls of people; religious searches become more and more intense. In search of new forms of communication with the deity, the immortality of the soul, the Romans turn to Eastern cults (there are cults of the Phrygian goddess of fertility Cybele, the Egyptian Isis, the Iranian god Mitra, etc.); all kinds of mysteries, magic, astrology are spreading.
With the partial decomposition of rural communities and the gradual dissolution of urban and civil communities in the empire, with the establishment of an obligatory imperial cult and the deepening of social inequality, various social strata in search of answers to the questions that confronted them in various ways come to the search for a single, supreme, common god for all mankind. And this god becomes the source of moral norms, the guarantor of the correct, and therefore happy life on earth and bliss beyond the grave. It was not yet monotheism (monotheism is monotheism), since a whole hierarchy of intermediaries, identified with traditional gods, was built between the supreme god and people. In these beliefs there was still no obligatory dogma and, accordingly, the concept of heresy. But still they prepared the victory of the world religion - Christianity, which most fully responded to the demands of various social strata of that time.
The educated part of Roman society, in search of answers to the main questions of the era, turned to philosophy. The most widespread in the first centuries of the empire was the philosophical school of Stoicism, which developed under the decisive influence of Hellenistic philosophical thinking. Seneca (c. 4 BC - 65 AD), one of the prominent Stoic philosophers of Rome, argued that everything in the world is subject to strict necessity, that to live happily means to live in accordance with natural necessity. Freedom, according to the philosopher, consists in voluntary obedience to the laws of nature, necessity, fate. Seneca saw the meaning of life in achieving the absolute peace of mind in overcoming the fear of death. If life becomes unbearable, a person can always leave it, finding freedom in death.
Roman philosophy was getting closer and closer to religion, moving further and further away from science, which had not coped with its task of making people good and happy, and therefore ceased to attract interest. Already the Stoics talked about God as the highest mind, the source of virtues, the guarantee of true (spiritual) freedom. Later, in the last centuries of the Roman Empire, the growing distrust of the rationality of the world order, the growth of mysticism lead philosophers to other ways of searching for answers to the answers that worried them. In the III-V centuries AD. the philosophy of Neoplatonism develops. Her most prominent representative Plotinus (205 - 270) proceeded from the fact that God is a single, truly existing supreme good, which cannot be known by the mind; that the human soul can approach God if it is cleansed of the bodily, since bodily desires are the source of evil. The philosophy of Plotinus had a significant impact on the ideology of Christianity, which was growing in that period.
General cultural changes were reflected in art. In the I - II centuries. AD there is a flourishing of Roman art. This is the time of the creation of grandiose architectural complexes embodying the power of imperial Rome. The sculptural portrait is being further developed; the psychologism and expressiveness of the portrait grew during the 2nd and 3rd centuries. IN artistic monuments late empire (from the end of the III century), the extinction of ancient ideas and principles is noticeable. In architecture, this was expressed in a trend towards simplification of forms and decor. In sculptural portraits, a frozen volume and form grew; the images lost their vitality and individual uniqueness, imbued with the idea of ​​the unearthly greatness of the emperors, who declared themselves divine governors at the end of the 3rd century. From the end of IV in Roman art, everything big role Christian ideas and principles begin to play.
Ancient Rome ceased to exist at the end of the 5th century, but its cultural heritage did not die and, as will be shown later, had a profound impact on education, science, art and other areas of Western European culture.

LITERATURE.

Bonnard G. Greek civilization: in 3 volumes. M., 1992.
Vinnichuk L. People, manners and customs in Ancient Greece and Rome. M., 1990.
Dmitrieva N.A. Short story arts. M., 1988. Part 1
History of World Culture: Heritage of the West: Antiquity. Middle Ages. Renaissance: A course of lectures. M., 1998.
Culture of ancient Rome in 2 vols. M., 1985.

SECTION III. HISTORICAL TYPES OF CULTURE.
CULTURE OF THE MIDDLE AGES AND
NEW TIME.

Term "antiquity" comes from the Latin word antiquus - ancient. It is customary to call them a special period in the development of ancient Greece and Rome, as well as those lands and peoples that were under their cultural influence. Chronological framework: from the XI-IX centuries. BC, the time of the formation of ancient society in Greece and before V AD. - the death of the Roman Empire under the blows of the barbarians.

The most ancient period is the Kritomecene culture (the island of Crete and the city of Meken). The main monuments were residential buildings and the palace of Knossos. The first archaeologist Arthur Evans.

Culture features:

The absence of a rigid canon, independence from religion, the pursuit of luxury and comfort

Art is distinguished by its dynamics, picturesque and lighting effects, and rich imagination.

Subject - Marine theme, flora and fauna, palace life, life

Lack of monumentality, symmetry and rigor

The palace occupied several blocks, hence the legend of the labyrinth and the minotaur due to the abundance of rooms. Frescoes adorned the walls of the palace, they trace the succession of cultures.

Mythology:

Information about Greek mythology has come down to us in a huge number of monuments of written literature (artistic and philosophical works. The main sources for studying Greek mythology are the epic tales of Homer "Iliad" and "Odyssey", as well as Hesiod's poem "Theogony". Plots about metamorphoses - the transformations of people into animals, plants or inanimate objects (for example, Hyacinth and Narcissus - into flowers, Arachne - into a spider, etc.) Cosmogonic myths that are built on the scheme of evolution appear to be significantly developed: the world process begins with Chaos - the primary, primordial, formless state Universe.

There is no clear answer to the question of the origin of humans. According to one of the myths, the titan Prometheus was the creator of man. The gods do not act as the creators of the world or man. Gods, titans and other semi-divine beings act as cultural heroes. So, the goddess Athena was credited with the introduction of the culture of the olive tree, Dionysus - viticulture and winemaking, Hermes - the invention of weights and measures, numbers and letters, etc. Nothing human is alien to them, immortality is the only quality that distinguishes gods from people in the eyes of a believing Greek.

The religious consciousness of the Greeks is characterized by polytheism, which manifested itself in the veneration of the gods of the Olympic pantheon (the Greeks believed that the gods, led by Zeus the Thunderer, live on Mount Olympus). The distinctive features of the Greek religion are also the idea of ​​the universal animation of nature (every natural phenomenon, every river, mountain, grove had its own deity) and anthropomorphism. Each temple was served by one priest, who was elected by the popular assembly. The only duty of the priests was to perform rituals, the main of which was the sacrifice to the deity.

Muses:(daughter of Zeus) Kalitope - epic poetry, Euterpe - lyric poetry and music, Melpomene - tragedy, Thalia - comedy, Erato - love poetry, Polyhymnia rhetoric, Terpsichore - dance, Clio - history, Urania - philosophy.

Arts:

Literary genres

Epic (Homer "Iliad", "Odyssey")

Lyrica (Sappho)

Tragedy(Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides)

Ancient Greek drama (action). Basic elements: action, dialogue, chorus. Origins - the cult of the earth. By the 6th century, the cult of the god Dionysus, winemaking. Dithyramb - a solemn chant of the choir and soloist. Tragedy came from it.

Aeschylus is a contemporary of the Greco-Persian wars, a tragedian. Depicted a person as he should be. "Persians", "Prometheus", "Seven Against Thebes" have survived to this day. Sophocles wrote more than 120 works, 7 have survived, written according to the mythology "King Edith", "Antigone", "Electra". Euripides "Medea", "Andromache", "Hercules".

Comedy(Aristophanes) originated from cheerful songs dedicated to the cult of the earth. In comedy, dialogue is an argument. Bright costumes, funny, they dressed not only the heroes, but also the choir. "Frogs", "Wasps", "Clouds", "Women in the People's Assembly". All performances were held in the form of competitions. They looked like political debates. Appointed choreg(sponsor). He had to pay for the production, the premises, the actors. Three actors, three poets and three choregos competed. The best ones were chosen from them.

History (Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon)

Philosophy (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle)

Rhetoric (Demosthenes, Lycurgus)

Philosophy- love of wisdom, a term from Pythagoras. Everyone aspired to wisdom. Philosophy is the cradle of many scientific disciplines. Directions:

Natuphilosophical- problems of nature, space, the origin of the world and man (Thales, Pythagoras, Heraclitus, Zeno)

Humanistic- the problem of man and his life in society (Socrates)

Theoretical– formulated the main problems and laws of philosophy (Plato, Aristotle)

Hellenistic- since the conquest of Alexander the Great, the synthesis of Greek and Eastern culture, the problem of morality

Religious- the time of coexistence of Christianity and philosophical schools (Plotinus)

Test

on the topic "Ancient culture"

Introduction

Stages of development and main directions of ancient Greek culture

Periodization and main stages of formation ancient rome

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

Ancient culture played a significant role in the history of European civilization. However, within itself, Antiquity is divided into two cultural and historical blocks: Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, which, nevertheless, allows us to speak of Antiquity as a certain integrity.

We will still pay the main attention to the ancient Greek culture, which went through a number of stages in its development:

Homeric (IX-VIII centuries BC);

Archaic - archios translated from Greek ancient (VII-VI centuries BC);

Classic, inside which they distinguish

early classics (end of VI - middle of V century BC),

high classics (until the last third of the 5th century BC),

late classic (until 320 BC).

Hellenism (late 4th century - mid-2nd century BC). The rise of Macedonia and its capture of vast expanses led to the fact that the Greek culture, which was considered the standard, spread far beyond the borders of Hellas. Therefore, the period that followed the classical was called Hellenistic, in other words Greek, which was by no means a decline that, it would seem, should have come after a bright take-off, but rather the transition of Greek culture to a different state.

At least in a few words, it is necessary to mention the predecessor of ancient Greece - the Cretan-Mycenaean, or Aegean, civilization. Its center was the island of Crete, where, as you know, the remains of the grandiose Palace of Knossos, familiar to us from the myth of the Minotaur, were preserved. Zeus was born on this island. Probably, after the devastating earthquake of the 16th century BC. and the flood that followed it, the center of this civilization moved to the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula, to the cities of Mycenae and Tiryns. The inhabitants of this part of Greece were the Achaeans, whose campaign against Troy is reported in Iliad Homer. The heroes who returned in small numbers after the Trojan War could not give a worthy rebuff to the wild tribes of the Dorians, who poured in from the south and destroyed the ancient culture. However, most ancient myths are deeply rooted in that era.

Stages of development and main directions of ancient Greek culture

The Homeric period occupies a special place in the history of ancient Greek culture. The main sources for studying this period (and essentially the entire life of the Hellenes from the second half of the 2nd to the first centuries of the beginning of the 1st millennium) are the Greek heroic epic, that is Iliad And Odyssey Homer and poems Works and days And Theogony Hesiod. Both poets narrate on behalf of the Muses, thereby making it clear that they rely on quite reliable authorities.

By the time of Homer and Hesiod, Greek mythology had basically taken shape. By Theogony Hesiod was first Chaos - shining emptiness . Then the first gods appear - Gaia (goddess of the earth) and Uranus (god of the sky). A little later, Gaia gives rise to Tartarus, light and darkness, as well as Eros - love. Having copulated with Uranus, Gaia produces terrible offspring - Titans and Cyclopes. Uranus is horrified by the sight of his children and forces them to stay in the womb of their mother Gaia. However, the youngest of the titans Kron (time) still manages to overthrow his father and establish the power of the titans.

Kron and the titanide Rhea will give birth to a new offspring of the gods. But Kron, in order not to share the fate of his father Uranus, immediately swallows them. Miraculously saved, Zeus begins the battle against Krona, in which he wins. He forces his brothers and sisters to be torn out of the womb of Kron, produces rich offspring from seven wives, and finally establishes his own kingdom. Thus, the final form of the Greek pantheon is formed.

It should be noted that already at the level of mythological consciousness, Greece chose a completely different path than the cultures we spoke about earlier. In the mythology and religions of the ancient East, the divine principle most often appeared as a kind of abstraction, very far from ordinary human life. In India, among the Brahmins, the speculative brahman-atman ; among the Jains, the unattainable Jain; Buddhists have a detached Buddha, who most often personifies not so much God as acts as a "prophet", a teacher. In China, Confucius heaven at all ; Taoists have the unknowable Tao. In Phoenicia, - the lord of the sky Baal. In Egypt, the most humanized god - Osiris - is very vague: he symbolizes the Nile, life and decay, he is also a judge in the Kingdom of the Dead.

The Greeks are different. The roles of the gods are distributed by profession:

Poseidon - god of the sea

Hades - god underworld

Apollo - god of the sun and music

Artemis - goddess of the hunt

Ares - god of war

Aphrodite - goddess of love

Hephaestus - god of fire

Hermes - god of trade

Dionysus - god of winemaking

Athena - goddess of wisdom and crafts, etc.)

Each of them has his own character, they live like people and nothing human is alien to them. Zeus lives on high Olympus. Here he gathers the gods for sumptuous feasts and advice. It is characteristic that even the location of the gods is not the sky and not the cosmos, but Olympus, something close and quite real, a mountain, on which, in which case, you can always just point your finger.

The categories and principles of ancient Greek culture reached their highest flowering during the classical period, so we will consider it in more detail.

Recall how the German philosopher Georg Hegel defined the term classical . He said that this is a harmonious unity of the public and the individual. Indeed, in many ways it was this combination that created the culture that was called exemplary, and the greatest works of art that were looked back on many centuries later. The culture of ancient Greece is significantly different from the previous ones: the Greek of the classical period felt very free internally and externally, although this feeling is painfully lost by the end of the classics. The main components of this freedom were the human-friendly nature of the Balkan Peninsula (natural factor) and man-made culture (artificial factor). The Greeks were perhaps the first civilization that consciously began to form a culture around and within itself. The Greeks for the first time, they believe, opposed themselves to a world without culture, to a barbarian world. A prime example this cultural identity can serve ancient city-state, or policy.

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (ur.<#"justify">antique culture ancient greek civilization

Periodization and main stages of the formation of Ancient Rome

Royal (VIII - VI centuries BC)

Legendary founding of Rome (753 BC). Formation of synthetic Roman mythology. First Greek colonies in southern Italy. Exile of kings.

Republican (VI - I centuries BC)

Unification of Italy. The conquest of Greece. Punic Wars. Formation and development of the Roman sculptural portrait. Roman epic (Virgil Aeneid ).

Early empire (1st century BC - 3rd century AD)

Formation of the architectural and construction concept in the works of Vitruvius. Construction of the Colosseum and Pantheon. Erection of the Emperor Trajan's Column. Equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius.

Late Empire (3rd - 5th centuries AD)

The reign of Constantine the Great. Recognition of Christianity (325 AD). The division of the empire into Eastern (Byzantium) and Western. The sack of Rome by the troops of Alaric. The sack of Rome by the Vandals. Occupation of Italy by the Ostrogoths.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it must be said that the role of Antiquity in the formation of European culture began to be realized largely thanks to research German philosophers XVIII - XIX centuries, in particular I.-G. Herder and W. Wölfflin; the figures of the Renaissance considered antiquity to be a model of the structure of the world; The new time, represented by the adherents of classicism, found its ethical and aesthetic ideal in Antiquity. The main areas of ancient Greek art were architecture, sculpture, vase painting and theater. The architecture was based on the order system, where a certain proportional and harmonious combination of the bearing and load-bearing parts of the building was called an order. There were three types of orders: Doric, Ionic and Corinthian. Sculptural art is represented by the names of Miron<#"justify">Bibliography

Ancient Greece. In 2 vols. - M., 2000

Asmus V.F. Plato: eidology, aesthetics, the doctrine of art. / Asmus V.F. Historical and philosophical studies. - M., 1999

Bonnard A. Greek civilization. - M., 2001

Vinnichuk L. People, manners and customs of Ancient Greece and Rome. - M., 2003

Vipper B.R. Art of Ancient Greece. - M., 1999

Kumanetsky K. History of culture of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. - M., 2004

Losev A.F. Olympic mythology in its socio-historical development. - M., 1999

Lyubimov L.D. Art of the Ancient World. - M., 2001

Shtaerman E.M. The crisis of ancient culture. - M., 1999

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ANCIENT CULTURE:

AT THE ORIGINS OF EUROPEAN CIVILIZATION

Antique culture is such a significant and fundamental phenomenon of world history that for its comprehensive detailed analysis it would be necessary to write several dozen volumes. This is beyond the power of even the most prominent researcher and expert on this issue. The author sets himself a modest goal: to outline in a thesis form some contours of Greco-Roman culture, to draw attention to its most important achievements.

1. The phenomenon of ancient culture

1.1. The concept of "ancient culture" and its periodization.

What is usually called Antiquity, ancient culture, is a far from unambiguous phenomenon. Despite the existing this issue a huge number of publications, there is a great disagreement in the interpretation of this phenomenon, the definition of its historical and geographical boundaries.

By the beginning of the twentieth century. in the scientific literature there is an opinion that under ancient culture one should understand the culture of the ancient Greeks and Romans. At the same time, the question of the historical framework of the Antiquity era remains open. Some researchers define this phenomenon as almost a three thousand year period, others - two thousand years, others - one and a half thousand years, etc. From our point of view, the historical framework of Greco-Roman culture is limited to an epoch of about 1300 years, starting from Homer (IX-VIII centuries BC) and until the fall of the Western Roman Empire (V century AD). Within this time, various stages of its development are distinguished.

For Greek culture:

1. Archaic period (IX-VIII - VI centuries BC).

2. Classics (V-IV centuries BC).

3. Early Hellenism (late 4th century BC - 1st century BC).

4. Late Hellenism (I century AD -V century AD).

For Roman culture:

1. Culture of the royal period (VIII - VI centuries BC).

2. Culture of the period of the republic (V - I centuries BC).

3. Culture of the period of the empire (I - V centuries AD).

1.2. Origin of the Greeks and Romans.

An interesting question is, “who are the Greeks and Romans, what is their ancient history?”. It is very difficult to answer it with a high degree of certainty. The Greeks and Romans (more precisely, the Italians) are peoples of Aryan origin, who at a very early stage broke away from other Aryans and went their own way. First together, then independently. Starting around the 20th century. BC. Greek tribes (Achaeans, Ionians, Aeolians, Dorians) moved from the north of the Balkan Peninsula to the south and nearby islands. Later than others, the Dorians, the most warlike Greek tribe, did this. Feeling constrained in the territory, the Greeks colonized almost the entire Mediterranean coast. They founded settlements even in the Crimea. What is called Ancient Greece is a conditional concept (rather cultural than political), because the Greeks did not represent a single whole. It was a conglomeration of a huge number of small city-states that lived by their own laws, often in conflict. The most significant of them were Athens, Sparta, Corinth, Miletus, Ephesus, Delphi, Thebes. It must be said that the Greeks never called themselves Greeks. The Romans gave them this name. The Greeks themselves called themselves at first the Danes, then Achaeans and from the ninth century. BC. Hellenes, and the territory they inhabited was generically called Hellas. Because of this, it is more fair to call the ancient Greek culture Hellenic.

The origins of the Romans are even more obscure than those of the Hellenes. The Roman people was formed from a large number of different tribes. It was based on the Latins, Umbers, Volsci, Guernica, Sabines, Etruscans, and Equs. The presence of Trojans is not excluded, as evidenced by myths and other sources. Rome since the 8th century BC, began to gradually grow and strengthen its position, first on the Apennine Peninsula, which it completely took over by the 3rd century. BC, then in neighboring territories. By the 2nd century AD a gigantic state in terms of scale, power and cultural development was formed, which subsequently failed to withstand the onslaught of the barbarians, and also split into two parts due to internal contradictions, and then the Germanic tribes conquered the Western Roman Empire.

1.3. The origins of ancient culture. Influence of other cultures.

Of course, the Hellenic and Roman cultures did not arise from scratch. Each of them had both its own internal resource and was influenced by other cultures. Researchers of Hellenic culture believe that it was strongly influenced by (or even had direct predecessors of) the so-called Aegean (Minoan, Cretan) and Mycenaean (Achaean) cultures.

Aegeanculture, the center of which was the island of Crete, was formed in the middle of the III millennium BC. Judging by archaeological finds, the Cretans skillfully built buildings, knew the secrets of painting, applied art, had writing, agriculture. In the Cretan state, the king ruled, there were legal regulations, the so-called laws of Minos. The Greek tribes knew the achievements of the Cretans and maintained contact with them.

Mycenaeanculture is a closer predecessor of ancient culture. Its heyday falls on the middle of the II millennium BC. Mycenaean culture is not only the culture of Mycenae, but also of other city-states. In the Mycenaean period, myths are composed, religions are formed, construction, craft, applied art. For various reasons, by the XII century. BC, the Mycenaean civilization exhausted itself, and the so-called “dark ages” (XI-IX centuries BC) began in Hellenic history.

Hellenic culture was influenced by Egyptian, Phoenician, Babylonian and other ancient cultures. The inquisitive Hellenes carefully studied everything significant from these peoples, borrowed the most valuable, worthy of imitation, processed it. However, the alien element did not prevail, but only gave additional energy to the originally developing Greek culture. The Greeks were the first to attempt to expand the horizon of one culture at the expense of others. As a peculiar phenomenon, it had already developed by the 8th century BC. If culture as such originates in the deepest antiquity, and evolves very slowly, then on the land of Hellas its rebirth takes place, as it were, deep substantive and structural changes are carried out, one might even say, the greatest cultural revolution ever experienced by humanity.

Concerning Roman culture, then at first it was dominated by Etruscan component and then she the strongest way Hellenized. Some researchers consider it secondary (daughter of the Hellenic culture). Of course, in mythology, religion, literature, philosophy, architecture, sculpture, painting, law and other elements of culture, the Greek influence is great. Nevertheless, borrowing a lot from the Greeks, following cultural conformity, the Romans gave everything their own flavor. Somewhat simplifying the spiritual principle, they strengthened the pragmatic, regulatory side of the borrowed. In everything, the Romans sought to see practical benefits. In some things - military affairs, state organization, law, construction, economics, culture of life - they, perhaps, managed to surpass the Greeks. Without hesitation, they learned from them, and became worthy students. It can be said that the Romans conquered the Hellenes politically, and those conquered them spiritually. Roman culture was also influenced to some extent by the cultures of other peoples they enslaved. Through colonization and then Macedonian and Roman expansion, Greco-Roman culture spread far beyond the Balkans and the Apennines. The vorbit of her influence was involved in a huge number of peoples.

1.4. Causes of cultural takeoff

Antiquity is a unique phenomenon in the history of world culture. The Hellenes and Romans managed to create a previously unprecedented, and in some respects even later, highly developed, harmonious culture, which became archetypal, classical for Europeans.

How can such a brilliant cultural rise be explained? It is impossible to answer unambiguously. One can only guess.

Firstly, Greece - seaside area, and the sea with its convenient communications contributes to the active development of the surrounding world, the study of the cultural experience of other peoples;

Secondly, shortage of land and the scarcity of natural resources (including water) prompted a variety of activities, the search for new sources, opportunities. At the same time, there was an abundance construction material(stone, marble), which contributed to the development of architecture, sculpture, etc.;

Thirdly,intensive nature of the economy, its diversified nature (horticulture, vegetable growing, cattle breeding, construction, craft, shipbuilding, weapons production, etc.), active trade relations, the important role of money, banking, the presence of institutionalized private property;

fourthly, widespread use of slave labor, thanks to which the Greeks were freed from hard physical work and were engaged in political and spiritual activities;

fifth, natural talent of the Hellenes, their passion for business, curiosity, creativity, competitiveness (agon), dialogue, rational mindset, love of knowledge, critical thinking, openness, striving for excellence, tolerance;

At sixth, pursuit understand human nature, the strengths and weaknesses of his soul, high human value, human life, his knowledge and skills, developed individualism;

seventh, striving for autarky(self-satisfaction) autonomy(life according to its own laws), self-construction, the polis nature of the state structure, the legal nature of the relationship between individuals, between the individual and the state;

eighth, lack of despotism, mainly democratic nature of government, its turnover and responsibility to the people, control over its activities, individual freedom, active participation in the cultural creation of the majority of the population;

ninth, the secular nature of ancient Greek religion; the absence of a professional priesthood as an inhibitory conservative force, free-thinking;

tenth, high level education and upbringing citizens, patriotism, a healthy lifestyle, an organic combination of personal and public interests, the highest intensity of spiritual life, the priority of the spiritual principle in relation to the rest;

and of course subjective (personal) factor, i.e. the genius of such prominent personalities as Homer, Hesiod, Solon, Cleisthenes, Pericles, Demosthenes, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Phidias, Scopas, Praxiteles, Chares, Apollodorus, Apelles, Thales, Pythagoras, Anaxagoras, Democritus, Socrates, Protagoras, Plato, Aristotle , Theophrastus, Aristarchus, Hipparchus, Euclid, Archimedes, Hippocrates.

Some of these features were inherent in varying degrees and the Romans, but, of course, with reservations. They were more restrained, prosaic, strict, pragmatic.

2. Myth and religion

2.1. Greek and Roman myths

One of the earliest and most essential elements of ancient culture is myth. Myth(from the Greek muthos - a word, a legend) can be defined as a story about the origin of the world, gods, heroes, various peoples, events of natural and social history that arose in ancient times and were orally passed down from generation to generation. The myth appeals to ancient times, to the origins, it is akin to a childish, illusory worldview. This is an exceptionally important step for a person in the cognition of the existent, in self-knowledge. It combines both real and fictional, both rational and emotional, both natural and cultural. Myth is a universal generalization of human life, the life-giving energy of culture, one might say, an integral property of all culture.

The ancient Greeks created a developed mythology that went from primitive phyto- and zoomorphic stages to Olympic mythology. Moreover, the origin of myths occurs in pre-antique times, but they find their completion and generalization in the Hellenic era - in Homer, Hesiod, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Apollodorus. Myths and religion are the most important binding material of ancient culture with its predecessors. Many Greek myths (as well as other peoples) have been lost, have come down to us in fragments or in a revised form. But even what has been preserved allows us to judge the universality, naturalness, materialism, dialecticity of myths, their aesthetic, moral, political, social orientation.

In the bowels of the ancient Greek mythical consciousness, very original ideas were formed. We note the most important:

1. The first generalized representations are given in myths about the origin of the world, its structure. The world originated from Chaos, a kind of gaping abyss, a prototype of space. Then there are three cosmic substances - Earth, Eros, Tartarus. The Earth (Gaia) gives birth to the Sky (Uranus) and the Sea (Pontus). The Earth resembles a disk and is washed by the Ocean. The world is limited by a solid celestial hemisphere. There is also an underground world, consisting of two floors - Hades and Tartarus. In general, the Universe is a vertical structure.

2. Set out genealogy of the gods. Here the picture looks like this. Gaia and Uranus give birth to the Titans, led by Kronos. From him and Rhea appear Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Demeter, overcoming the predatory Kronos, titans, giants. Zeus becomes the ruler of the Earth and the sky, Poseidon - the sea, Hades takes possession of the underworld. Zeus, along with Hera, Poseidon and his children, are proclaimed the gods of Olympus. There are many other divine and demonic forces, the origin of which is very different. Some of them (Orff, Kerberos, Chimera, Larnean Hydra, Sphinx) are descended from Echidna and Typhon.

3. Comprehended in myths genesis and fate of the human race. One of the most common versions is presented by Hesiod. According to her, people are created by gods. Their history spans five centuries - golden, silver, copper, the age of heroes and the iron age. The human race is constantly deteriorating, regressing. Several times it was destroyed by the gods (Zeus) and people themselves destroyed themselves. Humanity has suffered grave misfortunes, its fate is doomed. Society in the mythical representation is complex, contradictory, imperfect, highly dependent on external circumstances and forces.

4. In myths, there are also events true history. One can see the formation of matriarchy and patriarchy, the migration of peoples, the foundation of cities, wars, travels, the deeds of the leaders of clans and tribes. Fiction is often intertwined with reality.

5. Relevant to Greek mythology and everyday life issues. Carefully reading the meaning of myths, you see the desire of the ancients to understand what role a man and a woman play in life, what is the social hierarchy, the origin of agriculture, crafts, education, customs.

6. Exceptionally valuable is aesthetic side of myths. Myths abound in beauty, emotion, expressiveness, spiritual energy, stunningly vivid portraits. Titans, giants, gods, heroes, people are shown in all their variety of characters. Many mythological images have become archetypal. These include Prometheus, Zeus, Athena, Ares, Aphrodite, Hercules, Pandora, Odysseus, Paris, Procrustes, Sisyphus, Ariadne, Jason, Achilles, Daedalus, Tantalus, Icarus, Narcissus, Midas, Orpheus.

This is not a complete list of ideas that are generated by Hellenic myths. The myths about Prometheus, Deucalion, Hellenes, the Trojan cycle, the myths about the Argonauts, the exploits of Hercules, Tesseus, Perseus, Cecrops, etc. in all its fullness and inconsistency.

Roman mythsin their content and depth of ideas they are inferior to the Greek ones. Some researchers tend to consider them a compilation of the mythical genius of the Greeks. Undoubtedly, what has come down to us through Virgil, Ovid, Livy, Seneca bears the Hellenic stamp. However, this can be explained not only by borrowing from the Greeks, but also by the proximity of their origin and some common historical path. Nevertheless, the myths of the Romans are quite distinctive, in part they are a mixture of the myths of various Italic tribes. They tell about the ancient gods, about the emergence of Rome, about its history. Roman myths are closer to historical legend. Among the myths beloved by the Romans are stories about Jupiter, Janus, Mars, Vertumne and Pomona, penates, lares, manas. Myths about Aeneas, Romulus and Remus, Numitor, Rhea Silvinus, about the twelve centuries of Rome's existence, about the seven kings of Ancient Rome were deeply rooted in the Roman mind.

Greco-Roman myths and now continue to arouse tremendous interest, both among the general public and among researchers. Such well-known scientists as G. Stoll, K. Jung, J. Fraser, R. Graves, K. Huebner, A.F. Losev, F.F. Zelinsky, A.A. Takho-Godi, O.M. Freidenberg, S.A. Tokarev.

2.2. Religion.

Ancient religion is a continuation of myths. Finding a clear line where myth ends and religion begins is difficult. In the early stages of social development, myth also performed the function of religion. And only later does religion become an independent element of culture, separated from myth, but not getting rid of it. In essence, religion is the same mythology, but systematized, strict, ritualized, pragmatic. However, in the ancient Greek religion, myths did not constitute its essence. The main thing for the Greeks was not beliefs, not dogmas, but rituals, rituals in which all members of the community were obliged to participate. According to the Greeks themselves, their ideas about the gods were formed from innate sources (such a source was nature), received from poets (Homer was the highest religious authority), enshrined in laws, stemmed from artistic values ​​(temples, statues, paintings). Religion originates in pre-antique times, and in the Hellenic era it takes shape in its classical form.

The Greek religion is one of polytheistic, i.e. polytheistic religions. The number of gods is countless. This chthonic(Khton - Earth) deities - Gaia, Uranus, Kronos, Ocean, Rhea; olympic gods- Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Demeter, Ares, Hestia (somewhat later - Dionysus); deities personifying various natural elements- air, moisture, wind; gods of rivers, seas, mountains, forests, dungeons, fields; gods personifying the social aspects of life- justice, justice, persuasion, revenge, crafts, arts, military affairs, peace, love, birth, death, childhood, youth, old age. But, mainly, the ancient Greeks worshiped the gods of Olympus. The religion of the Greeks is the religion of labor, beauty, and life. Gods are like humans in many ways. They have parents, have a complex character, can be good and bad, merciful and cruel, smart and reckless, loving and hating, helping and avenging. They themselves are subject to fate (Ananke). Unlike many gods of Eastern religions, the Greek gods have a beautiful appearance have the highest merit.

The Hellenes not only revered, respected, but sincerely loved their gods. In their honor, they erected sanctuaries, altars, temples, sculpted statues, named villages, made sacrifices to them, made prayers, dedicated festivities. The most significant were Olympic Games dedicated to Zeus; Pythian- Apollo; Isthmian- Poseidon; Panathenaic- Athena; Dionysia- Dionysus. The Games were a complex of events during which sacrifices were made, sports, poetic, musical, and theatrical competitions were held. The winners were awarded with prizes, their names were immortalized.

An important feature of the ancient Greek religion was the absence of Holy Scripture, rigid dogma, and professional clergy. Priests were elected from among worthy citizens and performed this role for a fixed time. The sacred mission was carried out by oracles, which supposedly spoke through the mouth of the gods. The most famous oracle was at Delphi, where the Pythia prophesied on behalf of Apollo and gave surprising but ambiguous answers to a variety of questions.

Greek religion was characterized by a varied system of rites associated with birth, marriage, funerals, harvesting, political and military events, and so on. Of particular note is the absence of religious fanaticism: religion did not dominate the individual and the community, but performed a regulatory, aesthetic function and the function of communication. The Greeks also had something like sectarianism, which made itself felt, first of all, in the so-called Eleusinian and Samothracian mysteries. There were also sprouts of atheism (Anaxagoras, some sophists). The great philosopher Plato criticized Homer for his ideas about the gods and was in fact the founder of European monotheism.

Roman religionakin to Greek. They have a lot in common. The main gods are essentially Latinized Hellenic gods - Jupiter, Juno, Neptune, Minerva, Apollo, Diana, Mercury, Venus, Vulcan, Ceres, Vesta, Mars, Bacchus. The Romans had even more gods. The intercessors of the farmers were a good dozen gods. Children were no less patronized (goddesses of the bed, the first cry, the first word, the first step). The Romans deified everything that was in their lives. There were gods of reason, fidelity, provisions, silver money, civil society. Even emperors were deified, both during life and after death (apotheosis). Like the Greeks, the Romans erected altars, altars, temples, statues to the gods, celebrated holidays, made sacrifices, and made prayers. The main thing in the Roman religion was the observance of the rules of sacrifice, cleansing rites, prayers. The Romans had lists of officially approved prayer formulas, the so-called indiments, which prescribed in which cases one should pray to one or another god. Some difference from the Greeks was manifested in the organization of religious affairs. There were elected priestly colleges. The College of Pontiffs oversaw the calendar, holidays, historical documents, and the system of weights and measures. The college of fetials performed the functions of messengers and heralds, custodians of treaties. The college of augurs was in charge of divination and omens. The College of Flamines dealt with the issues of sacrifices. There were other colleges of priests. Unlike Greek, ancient Roman religion was practically not connected with myths.

Both the Greek and Roman religions bypassed such important issues for the individual as the structure of the world, the meaning of life, moral norms, the ideal of spiritual perfection, the causes of human suffering, immortality and the afterlife. The gods were devoid of mystery and halo of holiness, they were not absolute rulers. Due to deep internal contradictions, the inability to give answers to the fundamental questions of being, and also under the powerful pressure of Christianity, the ancient religion by the end of the 4th century. AD exhausted itself. This was the beginning of a radical break in the cultural foundations that had existed for many centuries. Religion, fading into oblivion, dragged almost the entire pagan culture with it.

Greco-Roman myths and religions had a tremendous impact on both ancient and European culture as a whole. In addition, they have become the most important subject of philosophical, scientific and artistic creativity.

3. Literature and theater

3.1. Literature

Literature is one of the most significant achievements of ancient Greek culture. The Greeks were the first to succeed with the help of poetic thinking, artistic means to explain nature and man, to show them in diversity and development. Particularly important achievements of ancient Greek literature include:

Creation of most literary genres;

Creating works that have become classics;

Creation of artistic images that have become archetypal for all subsequent European literature.

The highest asset of Hellenic literary creativity was poetry. The Greeks (with the exception of Plato) tended to view poets as mediators between gods and men. Treated with special affection heroic poetry(Homer, Hesiod, Bacchilid, Tyrtaeus). Homer's works "Iliad", "Odyssey" knew by heart every educated person. Was very popular lyrics in which the main character was the poet himself. The lyrics were exceptionally vital; everything that agitated the human soul took place in it - love, suffering, joy, glory, social motives, the beauty of nature. The highest achievements of the Hellenic lyrics are the verses of Alcaeus, Archilochus, Sappho, Alkman, Anacreon, Tyrtheus, Callinus, Simonides, Theognis, Corinna, Pindar, Theocritus, Bion. Widespread elegy, epigram, iambic and satirical poetry.

Starting from the 5th century BC. gaining immense popularity drama(tragedy and comedy). The greatest Greek tragedians Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides wrote about 300 tragedies in total. Among them, we especially note “Prometheus chained”, “Seven against Thebes”, “Eumenides” Aeschylus; "Oedipus Rex", "Oedipus in Colon", "Antigone", "Electra" Sophocles; Medea, Andromache, Alkesta, Hecuba, Elektra, Orestes Euripides.

Athenian tragedians created a gallery of images, both monumental and deeply individual: strong in spirit Prometheus; tragic prophetess Cassandra; mother who survived the death of her children, Hecuba; the murderer of the mother, who avenges the death of the father, - Oresta; in love, but not shared love Phaedras; unfortunate captive Andromache; married to his own mother oedipus; infinitely loving her father electra; sacrificing themselves Iphigeneia And Alcestes; suffering exile Antigone; husband's killer Clytemnestra; jealous woman Medea; suffering over ruined happiness Niobe and etc.

Tragedy for the Greeks was more than just a literary genre. It embodied the deepest collisions of human existence: life and death, rightness and injustice, fatalism and heroism, valor and meanness, honor and dishonor, a clash between state and personal, personal and communal interests.

Less significant, but still popular, was comedy(translated into Russian - the song of a cheerful crowd). Aristophanes in his comedies Horsemen, Clouds, Wasps, Birds, Frogs and Menander(“Bruzga”, “Arbitration Tribunal”, “Severed Scythe”) ironically, and sometimes satirically, caricaturally and even in obscene witticisms (Aristophanes), denounced human vices, imperfect sides of public, state, family and personal life. The gods, and those got it from comedians.

The instructive genre was fable, in a symbolic form, denouncing the vices of human life. The greatest fabulist Aesop composed many fables and now have not lost their relevance. His plots formed the basis of the work of writers of subsequent times - Phaedra, Babri, La Fontaine, Krylov, Glebov.

Greek writers are the founders and prosaic genre. According to social significance and depth artistic ideas prose gave way to poetry and drama. But the first step taken in this direction is important. Such works of a prosaic nature have survived to our time: “Leucippe and Clitophon” Tatia, “Daphnis and Chloe” Longa, “Cherei and Kalliroya” Khariton, “Ephesian stories” Xenophon of Ephesus, “Ethiopian” Heliodora. Note that some researchers also refer to prose eloquence(oratory), historical and philosophical literature . However, this will be discussed separately.

The Greeks are the creators of such a popular genre as joke. There were whole collections of jokes. One of them "Filogelos" (laugher) and now delights readers. Pedantry, laziness, stupidity, negligence, drunkenness, gluttony, marital infidelity, etc. were denounced in jokes in a joking manner.

A significant place in literature was occupied by biographies famous people. Plutarch and Diogenes Laertes are known in this genre.

Roman Literature - a later phenomenon, which manifested itself in the 3rd century BC. To a large extent, it was an imitation of Hellenic literature. As noted by A.F. Losev, Roman literature was an expanded, in-depth Hellenism, in which universalism and individualism were organically combined; grandiosity, sublimity, dignity; the rhetoric and dynamics of the image were combined with a merciless sobriety of assessments, a businesslike approach to life, passionate feelings and naturalism. However, the Roman writers were not just epigones or adepts of the Greeks, their work was very original and mature.

Roman writers initially turned to dramatic genre, which, however, was as popular in Rimen as in Greece. Many authors wrote both tragedies and comedies. Some of the more famous playwrights include: Livy Andronicus(Greek by origin), who composed Achilles, Danae, Andromeda, Trojan Horse; Gnaeus Nevius, author of the tragedies "Lycurgus", "Andromache", "Trojan Horse", "Danae", Ifiginea, as well as comedies, the most famous of which is "Tarentinochka"; Quintus Ennius-author of the tragedies "Alexander", "Andromache the Captive". Venerable masters in the field comedy were Plautus and Terence, whose works “Treasure”, “Curculion”, “Boastful Warrior” ( Plautus), “Mother-in-law”, “Eunuch”, “Self-torturer” ( Terence), were a hit with the audience. A notable mark in the field of tragedy was left by the famous philosopher Seneca, who composed "Medea", "Octavia", "Mad Hercules", "Oedipus".

In the genre poetry many Roman writers showed themselves brilliantly. Among them Virgil, who composed the Aeneid, which the Romans compared with Homer's Iliad. Even with its theme, this poem, as it were, continued the events described by the Greek aed. He also composed "Georgics" and "Bukoliki", in which the work and life of man are glorified. Another poet Ovid, the author of Metamorphoses, Love Elegies, Science of Love, Medicines for Love, Sorrowful Elegies, showed remarkable talent in knowledge of mythology, human feelings, mores of his era.

Rome gave the world a magnificent galaxy lyricists- Cato, Catullus, Horace, Propertia, Tibulla; satirists- Menippe, Horace, Juvenal; masters epigrams - Martial; prose writers- Petronius (author of "Satyricon"), Apuleia who wrote The Golden Ass. In Rome, the genre was widespread historical prose(Julius Caesar, Cato the Elder, Sallust, Titus Livius).

The literary merits of the Romans include the creation epistolary genre. The letters of Cicero, Pliny the Younger, Seneca have come down to us, in which the description of ordinary everyday affairs was combined with political, philosophical and artistic material.

In the genre fables worked fruitfully Phaedrus. 135 of his fables have come down to us. IN biographical genre Suetonius, Atticus, Varro worked. Varro composed in verse and prose 700 biographies of famous Greeks and Romans who became famous in various fields of culture. All biographies were illustrated with portraits.

In conclusion, we note that Greco-Roman literature extended the life of mythology and religion, immortalized both artistic and real images, recorded historical events, captured the grandiose intensity of the spiritual life of the ancient era.

3.2. Theater

An integral part cultural life Antiquity was the theater. The Greeks did not just love him: there is a feeling that the whole of Hellas was a huge theater. There was not a single large settlement in which there would not be a theatrical structure, and there would be no theatrical performances. The theater buildings were truly grandiose, some of them accommodating 40,000 people. It can even be said that the theater was a component of state policy, as evidenced by the presence of magistrates responsible for theatrical life, as well as the allocation of funds for this matter from the state budget.

The Hellenic theater is a phenomenon more ancient than tragedy and comedy, with which theatrical performances are associated. It has its roots in ancient times and initially manifests itself in ritual and labor activities: funerals, hunting, harvesting, festivities dedicated to one or another god - Zeus, Apollo, Athena, Poseidon and especially Dionysus. True, Plato, who did not like the theater, considered theatrical performances "unworthy of the greatness and goodness of the gods." Some researchers tend to argue that cult of Dionysus decisively influenced the formation of an orderly theater. It is generally accepted that the first such theatrical production took place May 27, 534 BC in Athens; it was carried out by the Athenian tragedian Thespides. May 27 is still celebrated as World Theater Day.

Both organizationally and creatively, the Greek theater was a diverse system of events and actions. The organizational side consisted in determining the time of theatrical performances, worthy playwrights participating in theatrical competitions, performing actors, and finding financial resources. Responsible persons had to decide whether the state bears the costs, or whether this honorable duty (liturgy) is assigned to wealthy citizens. It was important to fairly allocate seats for the public, to appoint a panel of judges, to carry out ritual actions, to fairly determine the winners among authors, actors, choregos; reward them. The creative side of the theater consisted in the content of the works, their skillful staging, the play of actors and the choir, the use of costumes, masks, scenery.

The success of a theatrical production depended on all these factors, but the acting was decisive. Initially, the playwrights themselves were the actors, then Aeschylus introduced the second actor, Sophocles - the third, and later the same Aeschylus - the fourth. One actor played many roles, for which he used masks and costumes that corresponded to tragedy, comedy, drama of satyrs. He needed various talents - the ability to sing beautifully, speak loudly, dance, and play musical instruments. Many actors brilliantly got used to the role, which not only gave pleasure to the audience, but also brought them to ecstasy. The audience expressed their approval or disapproval of the performance of the actors with loud exclamations. Talented actors received huge fees, were exempted from taxes, military service, and were considered inviolable. Some were mentors to politicians. Actors were only men who played female roles.

The role of the choir was also important. As a rule, the choir symbolized the inhabitants of the area where the depicted events took place, and expressed their point of view. It was a kind of public opinion. The choir was led by a singer (luminary), who often spoke with the actors on behalf of the choir. The number of actors in the choir ranged from 12 to 24 people; the choristers lined up in rows in the theater orchestra. From the end of the 3rd century BC. the chorus has lost its former significance, has lost its connection with the actions depicted; his songs have become nothing more than an addition to the theatrical production.

Hellenic theatrical performances had a huge scope, they were held all day long - from sunrise to sunset. The tragic competitions during the Great Dionysius involved the participation of three authors, who were obliged to present three tragedies and one drama of satyrs. The competitions of comedians in the Great Dionysius and Lenney assumed one author's work each.

Hellenic drama was synthetic; acting was combined with singing and dancing. Parts of the text close to ordinary conversation were performed through ordinary reading (catalog), more lively places turned into recitative (paracatologist), and places colored with heightened feeling were performed by singing (melos). Recitative and singing were accompanied by playing the double clarinet (aulos). The structure of the production, for example, of a tragedy, looked like this in the most general terms. It began with the beginning of the action (prologue), then follows the song performed by the choir (parod), then there is an alternation of dialogic parts (pisodia) performed by the actors, and sometimes by the choir, as well as the songs of the choir itself (3-4 stasims). Stasims had stanzas and antistrophes. They formed the bulk of the production. When they were performed, the choir moved around the orchestra. The songs of the choir were accompanied by a dance (emmeley). The tragedy ended with a song (exode) performed by the choir, after which he left the orchestra.

Roman theaterdifferent from Greek. It was formed both under the influence of the latter and had its own origins. In a more significant form, it began to reveal itself, starting from the 3rd century. BC. and was associated with the staging of works by the aforementioned Gnaeus Nevius, Livius Andronicus, and later Plautus and Terentius. For a long time there were no permanent theatrical premises in Rome (until the 1st century BC), which was opposed by the Senate. Performances were carried out directly on the streets or at the Roman Forum, where stages and benches for spectators were installed. Only in 55 BC. Gnaeus Pompey built a theater building that could seat 40,000 people. A little later, the premises of the Balba and Marcellus theaters appeared.

At first, tragic and comic roles were played by amateur actors, mostly from among freedmen. Later, professionals (histrions) appeared, who united in troupes led by the owner - an entrepreneur. The performance of the Roman actors was not as impressive as the Greek ones. Their stage actions were accompanied by facial expressions, gestures, and, if necessary, fights. The main thing in the game was a sonorous voice. But at the same time, it was not necessary to convey the nuances of a tragic or comic situation, female, childish or senile voices. The images created on the stage were devoid of grandeur, depth, monumentality, and psychology. The purely eventful side, liveliness of actions, grotesque, witty jokes, reaching obscenities, came to the fore. The plot of many dramatic productions looked confusing, not entirely clear to the viewer. Cunning, deceit, gossip, ingenious tricks actually constituted the theatrical dominant. The actors were clearly fond of this side of the matter, replacing true skill. There was no competition between authors and actors in the Roman theater, which clearly reduced incentives for excellence. The social position and authority of the Roman actors were clearly lower than the Greek ones.

By the end of the 1st century BC. tragic performances have become very rare. Circus performances and gladiator fights came to the fore. In such a case, the Romans showed themselves to the fullest. For this, a giant Colosseum was specially built, which could accommodate 50 thousand spectators. Large-scale battles of gladiators, crews of ships, chariots, fights of wild animals were held on its stage. The authors of the film "Gladiator" managed to brilliantly recreate such plots. Theatrical and circus life in Rome reached its climax during the Patrician and Plebeian games, holidays in honor of Jupiter, Juno, Apollo, Minerva, on the occasion of the victories of the Roman army, and festivities in honor of the emperors.

It is important to emphasize that the ancient theater played an exceptional cultural-creative role. He contributed to the development of literature, architecture, painting, applied arts, music, dance, political and legal culture. Almost all varieties of modern theater have their roots in it: opera, operetta, miniature theater, stage, circus, puppet theater.

4. Architecture, sculpture, painting

4.1. Architecture

In the field of architecture, the Greeks realized their grandiose talent to the highest degree. They created classical architecture, introduced many innovations into it, embodied in it power, beauty, high spirituality, harmony with nature. Among the most important achievements in this area should be noted: 1) the creation of architectural orders; 2) the formation of architectural styles; 3) the construction of many outstanding structures.

Let's briefly analyze them. Starting from the 7th century BC. Greek architects create an order system. The order (from the Latin ordo - order, order) is a well-thought-out composition of the ratio and relationship between the bearing and carried parts of the building. In other words, the nature of the upper part of the building (attribute) and, in general, its whole appearance largely depend on what the column is.

It is generally accepted that Hellenic architecture was characterized by three orders: Doric, Ionic, Corinthian. The personification of the Doric order is a massive column, located directly on the stone base (stylobate). The trunk (fus) of the column was decorated with grooves (flutes). Their number varied from 16 to 20. From the bottom up, the column became evenly thinner. The diameter of the lower part is equal to 1/6 of the height of the column. The upper part ended with a capital, consisting of a round stone cushion (echinus) and a square slab (abacus) placed on it. The upper part of the building consisted of a smooth beam (architrave), a frieze framed with metopes and triglyphs, as well as a cornice and a pediment. Metopes and pediments were decorated with sculpture. The Doric order, as it were, expressed the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe masculine principle, strength, power, rigor, severity, simplicity. The Ionic order was personified by a slender column of medium lightness, which had a base at the base. The diameter of the lower part was equal to 1/9 of its height. The number of flutes that adorned the column, as a rule, was 24. The capital was fundamentally different from the Doric. She had two graceful curls (volutes), a rich pillow, a beautiful ornament. The height of the capital was equal to 1/3 of the diameter of the lower part of the column. The architrave of the Ionic order consisted of three horizontal stripes. There were other differences as well. The Ionic order expressed the feminine principle of nobility, refinement, delicacy, grace, and intellectuality. Corinthian order, which appeared in the V century. BC. much like Ionic. True, his column is distinguished by lightness, more elongated proportions and a magnificent capital, decorated with floral ornaments. The height of the capital is equal to the diameter of the bottom of the column. The number of flutes is the same as the Ionic column. The base of the column, architrave, frieze, and cornice are somewhat different. The Corinthian order is ornate, full of painful fantasies, symbolizes the girlish beginning, tenderness, purity.

The Greeks created four architectural styles. The architectural style in Antiquity was determined by the arrangement of columns around the perimeter of the building. If the building had columns only from the front facade, then this style was called prostyle. If there was a colonnade from the front and rear facades, then this style was called amphiprostyle. The peripter looked more complex, in which the entire building was surrounded by columns. And if the columns were located along the entire perimeter of the structure in two rows, then it was a dipter. In the practice of architectural construction, the peripter was applied to the Doric order, and the dipter to the Ionic.

Through the efforts of Greek architects and builders, many masterpieces of architecture have been created - such as the temple of Artemis, Ephesus (architect Heirocrates), Parthenon (architects Iktin and Kallikrat), the Lighthouse of Alexandria (architect Sostratus), the temples of Apollo in Delphi, Didyma and Corinth, Zeus in Olympia, Hera on Samos, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus (architect Hermogenes), theaters in Athens and Epidaurus (architect Polykleitos the Younger); built an exemplary city of Antiquity - Alexandria (architect Deginocrates).

In architecture, significant results have been achieved and Romans. Actively cultivating Greek orders, they brought innovations to them, modernized them. So, the Doric order was somewhat modified, weighted, which allowed researchers to talk about the emergence of a new order - the Tuscan one. The same thing happened with the Corinthian order. Roman craftsmen added an Ionic echinus and a pillow with volutes over its capital, creating the so-called composite order. In architectural structures, the Romans actively used semi-columns and arches, preferred a three-sided colonnade, the so-called. pseudoperipter. Unlike Greek architecture, Roman architecture was more pragmatic. It is no coincidence that the famous Roman architect Vitruvius, who formulated the three basic requirements for architecture, put utility first, then strength and beauty. The Greeks, on the other hand, considered beauty to be the cornerstone. However, the Romans loved the rich decoration and lavish decoration of buildings. They paid great attention not only the construction of temples, theaters and buildings for social and political purposes. For them, residential buildings, villas, baths, bridges, aqueducts (water conduits), roads, and much more were important. The originality of the architecture of the Romans also lies in the fact that they preferred to build on the plain and in the lowlands, and not on the hills like the Greeks.

The best achievements of Roman architecture include the temples of Fortune and Saturn, the Roman Pantheon, the Baths of Caracalla, the Appian Way, the Arch of Constantine, the Roman aqueduct, the Forum of Trajan. The Romans were especially proud of the Colosseum, representing an ellipse (188 x 156 m) with a height of 48.5 m and a circumference of 524 m. It had four tiers. The first tier is framed by semi-columns of the Doric order, the second - Ionic, the third - Corinthian. The arches of the second and third tiers are decorated with statues of gods. The giant arena (86x54) was filled with water if necessary in order to arrange battles for the crews of ships. The architects Vitruvius and Apollodorus left a noticeable mark on Roman architecture.

Ancient architecture was a true embodiment of its time, “an era ingeniously captured in stone”, which significantly influenced the architecture of subsequent eras and the whole culture.

4.2. Sculpture

Perhaps the highest status in Greek culture was occupied by sculpture. The sculpture created by Greek masters can rightfully be called ideal. She embodied best achievements human hands and spirit, the idea of ​​harmonious unity of spiritual, material and social culture. Everything that was created by the Hellenes in this area was done with talent, with love, with a deep knowledge of the depicted objects. It is striking not only the perfection of forms, details, but also the variety and breadth of themes, their scale, the variety of materials used. The Greeks brilliantly showed themselves as in monumental sculpture, characterized by the significance of ideas, a high degree of generalization, spirituality, heroism, organic unity with environment and easel, which has a very in-depth, specific content, naturally reproducing objects. They had no equal in relief sculpture, where the image is located on the background plane (on the pediment, wall, slab).

Greek sculptures used a variety of materials in their work - wood, stone, clay, gypsum, bronze, iron, gold, ivory, marble, and used adequate methods of cultivating sculpture - carving, carving, modeling, chasing, casting, forging. The work of the sculptors was of fundamental social importance, although it was not devoid of an individual, private aspect. According to the images that they created, their contemporaries formed ideas about gods, heroes, outstanding personalities, mythical characters, animals. Statues of gods and heroes were consecrated, worshiped, they decorated temples, squares, places of public meetings and significant events, even specially built temples for them. Most of the statues are dedicated to Apollo, Zeus, Dionysus, Athena, Aphrodite, Asclepius, Hercules.

The highest achievements of Hellenic sculpture are associated with the names of Phidias, Myron, Polykleitos the Elder, Skopas, Praxiteles, Lysippus, Chares. Phidias carried out the amazing beauty and grandeur of the sculptural decoration of the Parthenon. His statues of Athena the warrior, Athena the maiden, Olympian Zeus are among the immortal creations of the human genius. It is no coincidence that Cicero said that the gods of Phidias are real celestials. The Athenian sculptor skillfully worked with any material. A contemporary of Phidias Myron created magnificent images of a discus thrower, running Ladas, Athena and Marsyas; Perseus killing Medusa; athletes Timanf Philip and Cheonid. His works express bodily harmony, rhythm, dynamic movements, power and beauty of the body, vitality. Myron preferred bronze as materials. Another representative of the high classics, Polikleitos, created Doryphoros, Diadumen, a huge statue of Hera made of gold and ivory, sitting on a throne and holding a scepter in one hand, and a pomegranate apple in the other. He is also credited with several more remarkable works - Zeus the Merciful and Zeus-Filius, Hecate, made of copper, several outstanding athletes. Polikleitos used marble, copper, bronze, and other raw materials in his work.

Scopas managed to convey the most subtle nuances of the soul - dreaminess, impetuosity, pathos, madness. His works embody the Dionysian beginning in culture. He was the first to dare to portray Aphrodite naked. Among other famous works of the sculptor are Maenad, Ares. Scopas participated in the sculptural frame of the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus and the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus.

Praxiteles has established himself as a deep connoisseur of proportion, harmony, relaxation, a master who knows how to subtly, in detail, convey the inner and outer appearance. He, undoubtedly, was the classical spokesman of the Apollonian principle. His most famous statues are Aphrodite of Knidos, Satyr, Hermes with a child - Dionysus. Lysippus was distinguished by fruitful work. He is the creator and Great master portrait in sculpture, able to depict the finest strokes of the appearance of heroes. There is evidence that Lysippos sculpted 1500 statues. Among his works are 25 riders-companions of A. Macedon who died in the Battle of Granik, statues of Poseidon and Zeus, Hercules sitting on a rock. One of the most significant sculptural works belongs to the student of Lysippus Chares. He cast the famous Colossus of Rhodes, 34 meters high, from bronze. Leohar, Demetrius, Paeonius, Alexander were talented sculptors.

Roman sculpture does not have such outstanding creations and talented sculptors as the Greek one. But the Roman masters (however, many of them were Greek by origin) not only tried to create a beautiful, absolutely perfect image, but to make it close to reality, to convey in it a diverse range of qualities, properties of the character of its real carrier. Suffice it to say that the statues of many emperors, consuls, generals, noble Romans do not at all shine with beauty. But these people themselves did not possess it. They did not differ and powerful physique. In terms of the realism of the works, their historicity, the Roman sculptors were closer to the truth.

Significant works of Roman sculpture are the busts of Brutus, Pompey, a Roman woman, statues of Augustus, Claudius, Nerva, Marcus Aurelius.

Copying of the outstanding creations of the Greek masters was widespread in Rome. Mostly copies, not originals, have survived to our time, for which the Romans should be given credit.

4.3. Painting

Ancient masters showed their talent in the field of painting. It was they who created her perfect appearance. Unfortunately, due to the vulnerability of paintings, there are very few of them left. But even for those “miserable crumbs” that have survived, as well as for the studies of Pliny and Pausanias, it is appropriate to speak of the significant significance of this element of culture in ancient life.

Greek painting is characterized by an extraordinary breadth of genres and ideas. The artists were interested in mythological and historical subjects, the beauty of nature and still life, miniature and portrait. They created both monumental and easel works, as well as works of a purely applied nature.

The most famous artist of the preclassical period was Polygiot. His brush belongs to a large number of paintings. Polygiot became especially famous for painting a public building in Delphi, where he reproduced Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. He created delightful images, sublime characters. Plato and Aristotle considered him the best painter.

Prominent artists of the classical and Hellenistic periods were Apollodorus of Athens (who is credited with the invention of painting on the play of light and shadow and the active use of perspective), Mycon, Zeuxis, Parrhasius, Philoxenus Timanthus, Nicias, Protogenes, Melantius, Asklepiodorus, Apelles. Zeuxis painted the paintings “Bound Marsyas”, “Family of Centaurs”, “Child with grapes”. His work "Elena" laid the foundation for exhibitions of paintings. Parrasius specialized in depicting everyday scenes, curtains, and painted the famous painting “Theseus”. He introduced symmetry, expressiveness and beauty in the face, grace in the hair into painting. Perhaps the most famous artist of Antiquity, who is considered the creator of the portrait genre, was Apelles. The work “Alexander with lightning in his hand” painted by him shocked the imagination of his contemporaries. According to Pliny, for her he received the largest fee that any of the painters received. The names of several more of his remarkable works are known: “Gabron”, “Antey”, “Hercules”, “Hero”, “Aphrodite” and “Slander”. “Not a day without perfection!” - such was the slogan of the creative life of Apelles. His works were famous for their amazing charm and charm, beauty and expressiveness. Apelles often exhibited his unfinished creations to passers-by, listened to their criticisms, and then finalized the paintings, taking into account public opinion. In addition, the artist was one of the first theorists of painting, composed several books in which he outlined his own teaching about it. The artist Philoxenus painted the painting “Battle of Alexander the Great with Darius”. Its mosaic copy has survived to this day; it was discovered during the excavations of Pompeii.

The Greeks had art galleries(Pinakothek), where the works of the best artists were kept. The most famous were the Athenian and Heraion Pinakotheks.

Story Roman painting did not know such outstanding masters and such significant works as Greek. Gaius Fabius Pictor is considered the ancestor of Roman painting; the names of such painters as Pacuvius, Labeo, Turpilius are also known. In Rome, decorative wall paintings, funeral portraits, wall paintings, mosaic compositions, historical battles, and landscapes were widespread. The Romans loved to make copies of the works of prominent Greek painters. They, like the Greeks, created art galleries, mostly private ones. True, the famous politician and commander Marcus Agrippa insisted that all paintings and statues should become public property, and not be in exile in villas. Pictures of talented artists were highly valued. Many wealthy Romans sought to acquire them for fabulous money. Sometimes they even sued because of it.

Both Greek and Roman artists painted on canvas, wood, marble, clay tablets, walls, crypts, ivory, parchment and papyrus. Painting was widely used for painting shields, amphorae, vases, kiliks, ornaments, and many other items.

Antique architectural, sculptural, and pictorial creations largely remained inaccessible to the masters of subsequent eras. They are still the ideal of perfection, beauty, harmony, deep understanding and refined image of man and nature. Five masterpieces of ancient masters - the temple of Artemis of Ephesus, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes, the lighthouse of Alexandria, the statue of Olympian Zeus (along with the Egyptian pyramids and the hanging gardens of Babylon) are ranked among the most amazing creations of human culture, the so-called. seven wonders of the world.

5. Philosophy and scientific knowledge

5.1. Philosophy

The Greeks are rightfully considered the founders of philosophy - essential element culture that changed people's lives in a radical way. The "discovery" of philosophy is akin to the formation of language, the taming of fire, the creation of the wheel, the emergence of agriculture. Philosophers created a new language of culture, discovered and explained the meaning of human existence, tamed the spontaneity of thinking, separated it from feelings and made it abstract, began to cultivate the human mind, liberated it and forced it to “move” with extraordinary audacity and speed both into the depths and outwards of the Universe. . Thanks to philosophy, man has become an active subject of knowledge. Ancient thinkers persistently searched for truth and also passionately defended it, they brilliantly mastered the word. But if the word did not help, then it came to assault. Philosophy for them was not only the love of wisdom, the theory of being, the science of being, but also the art of personal life. Philosophy appeared in Greece at the turn of the 7th - 6th centuries. BC.

The early stage of philosophizing is characterized by the desire to find a non-mythological explanation of the world, the real foundations of things. Solon, Pittacus, Periander, Cleobulus, Bias, Chilo, Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes distinguish nature, society and man as objects of study, raise the question of the essence of the world, the origin and root cause, order and law, study the problem of values, strive to understand essence of the state and man. Thus, the sacredness of the world was overcome. The first philosophers were looking for meaning in everything, exploring reality from the standpoint of nature, and reworking the previous culture in a meaningful way.

The next step in the philosophical movement is made by representatives of the Eleatic (Xenophanes, Parmenides, Zeno, Melissus) and Pythagorean (Pythagoras, Alcmenes, Archytas, Polykleitos) schools. They reflect on the issues of being, knowledge, movement, variability and inconsistency of the existent, the infinity of space. Mathematical principles and dialectics are being developed; philosophy becomes the subject of education. Pythagoras introduces the term "philosophy" into circulation. Approximately this time is the active philosophical search for Heraclitus, Empedocles, Anaxagoras, Democritus. They explore the relationship between the spiritual and material principles, the problem of the origin of the world, its structure, uncreability, regularity and chance, materiality, causality, fluidity, variability, inconsistency of knowledge, the difficulty of finding truth, the problem of the Logos. Culture begins to be seen as a "second nature" created by the people themselves (Democritus).

A further stage of philosophical ascent is associated with the sophists (Protagoras, Gorgias, Prodicus, Hippias, Antiphon) and Socrates, who focus on the problems of man, his soul, spirituality, humanism, knowledge, truth, self-creation, responsibility. Man is regarded as a self-determining free cognizing being, as the measure of all things and the highest value, as the central link of the world. Human knowledge and self-knowledge act as fundamental ideals. The problems of moral responsibility, criticism, relativism, the need for a wide dissemination of philosophical knowledge, the relationship between politics and morality, and the fight against prejudice are posed. The sophists are dominated by the subjective principle. In Socrates, the subjective and the objective are weighted. Philosophical problems are discussed not only in a narrow circle of experts, but also on the streets and squares; philosophy is taught. In short, philosophy becomes a common cause, in a sense, and the subject of speculation (among the sophists). For the sake of truth, their own rightness, philosophers are ready for self-sacrifice, they are able to go even to death.

The highest stage in the development of philosophical culture, which logically completes the development of ancient culture as a whole, is associated with the activities of Plato and Aristotle. They create centers of philosophical knowledge - the Academy and Lyceum. Through the efforts of these outstanding thinkers, a deep theoretical understanding of philosophical, scientific and socio-political ideas has been undertaken, fundamental systems of knowledge are being developed, in which the possibilities of true knowledge of the world, systematization and classification of the known are determined, the problems of the material and the ideal are touched upon, a conceptual apparatus is created, the beginnings of the methodology of knowledge are laid, the idea of ​​pluralism is expressed, questions of the state, man, politics, economics, laws, ethics, aesthetics, education, upbringing and others are being developed. Plato raises to the utmost height the role of ideas and the ideal in human life, points to their absolute significance and perfection. He extends the problem of the ideal to the state, constructing its “perfect” model. Real world the Athenian philosopher regards as a copy of the world of ideas; ideas are the original, they give birth to things, and not vice versa. The path to the world of ideas lies through knowledge and self-knowledge, dialogue with one's own soul, philosophizing. Plato reflects on the soul, its immortality, on ways to improve human culture. But Platonic philosophy has an anti-personal character; the state is above the individual. Aristotle, unlike Plato, relies on facts, seeks to create an ideal (philosophical, scientific) world from the real. His principles of knowledge are based on the principles of being. The whole world was the ecumene of Aristotle's knowledge, the thinker was interested in everything - from a small insect to the structure of the Universe. With the help of the laws of logic, the thinker seeks to survey the existent and realize the synthesis of all knowledge. In everything, Aristotle tries to observe the measure, considers it as a “golden mean”. He interprets a person as a social, “political” being, but in the matter of the priority of the individual or the state, he gives preference to the individual. Aristotle's rationalism played a fundamental role in European culture. Plato and Aristotle wrote many classic works: "State", "Laws", "Politician", "Timaeus", "Parmenides", "Critius", "Sophist" and others (Plato); “Politics”, “Athenian polity”, “Nicomachean ethics”, “Metaphysics”, “Physics”, “Organon”, etc. (Aristotle).

Along with what is called the philosophical classics, there were currents in Greece that preached the philosophy of nihilism. It was a kind of opposition to the existing cultural foundations. Cynics (Antisthenes, Diogenes of Sinop, Crates), Epicureans (Epicurus, Metrodorus, Ermarchus), skeptics (Pyrrho, Arcesilaus, Carneades), to some extent the Stoics (Zeno, Clean, Chrysippus), strongly criticize the existing order, call either for natural limitations , simplicity of life, disregard for moral standards, or to pleasure, bliss, liberation from suffering, isolationism, individualism, equanimity, serenity. Skeptics tried to teach even ignorance, i.e. preached a kind of anti-philosophy, denied the cognizability of the world, brought doubts to the absolute. In the views of the representatives of these schools, of course, not everything is negative; there were also profound ideas: about the priority of reason, the equality of people, freedom of choice, the need to live in harmony with nature.

More than a thousand-year-old philosophical marathon of the Neoplatonists is completed (Ammonius, Plotinus, Iamblichus, Porphyry, Proclus). Ancient philosophy, and culture as a whole, are on the decline, there is a strong pressure of Christianity. Representatives of Neoplatonism make the first significant attempt at a critical analysis of the entire previous culture, its value, real significance. The conclusions they draw are disappointing. Everything that was, though beautiful, is useless, they believe so. Neoplatonists preach mystical-intuitive knowledge of the Highest, the liberation of man from material burdens for pure spirituality with the help of asceticism or ecstasy.

Concerning Roman philosophy, then it does not compare with the Greek. We can say that the Romans were far from philosophy. In the Roman intellectual environment, not many people knew, understood philosophy, and themselves thoroughly philosophized. The most famous of them include Cicero, Lucretius Car, Seneca. Through the efforts of Cicero, Greek philosophy was transferred to Roman soil and interpreted in a peculiar way. He considered philosophy to be the soul of culture. From a philosophical position, Cicero tried to comprehend the problems of humanism, morality, the culture of everyday life, a perfect state, law, the ideal of a politician, the ideal of a citizen, and other issues. He exalted philosophy with eloquence, gave his literary, oratory and legal work a philosophical character. The most significant works of Cicero: “Tusculan Conversations”, “On Duties”, “On Friendship”, “On Old Age”, “Speeches”, “On the State”.

Lucretius Carus wrote a philosophical poem “On the Nature of Things”, where he describes the formation and development of the world, analyzes the forces and causes acting in it, seeks to understand the relationship between fatalism and the subjective aspirations of people. Although the importance of rockavel, nevertheless, a person overcomes many obstacles and hardships, creates a culture and constantly improves it.

Seneca considers philosophy as a moral and religious guide for man. Human life itself is understood by him as a set of strict moral norms. The dominant of human life is the spirit, in accordance with which a person is obliged to build himself. The highest human virtues are loyalty to oneself, strictness towards oneself. In relation to others, the Roman philosopher advises to be indulgent, free from compassion and spiritual dependence. Of great importance are: “Letters to Lucilius”, “Natural Scientific Questions”.

Thus, ancient philosophy can be regarded as an extremely important step in the development of culture. It was thanks to the titanic efforts of ancient thinkers that man, figuratively speaking, rose from the dungeon to cosmic heights, opened his eyes to the world, admired it, doubted many things, posed a huge number of questions and found some answers to them. Philosophers acted as defenders of rational culture, its generators and experimenters; they, perhaps, became her intellectual therapists, and partly her surgeons.

5.2. scientific knowledge

Mankind owes to the Greeks and such an element of culture as science (Greek - episteme). Despite the fact that the first scientific knowledge originated in the cultures of the Ancient East, but only among the Hellenes did they acquire a systematic character, based on judgments, observations, evidence, analysis and synthesis. The first approaches to the experiment are outlined, an attempt is made to scientific foresight. Exploring the foundations and principles of things, the Greeks, in contrast to the Eastern sages, are not content only with the question “what?”, but also ask themselves the questions “why?”, “Where?”, “How?”, They strive to comprehend the world in concepts. Science among the Greeks is inextricably linked with philosophy and is a holistic knowledge. Since Aristotle and Hippocrates appear germs private scientific knowledge. More explicit outlines of the sciences emerge in the writings of Stagirite. Theophrastus was the first historian of science.

Ancient science had no way out into practice and had no effect on the economy. Even outstanding achievements in architecture, sculpture, shipbuilding and military affairs, with rare exceptions, did not depend on scientific data. The Greeks strove for knowledge for the sake of knowledge itself, which testifies to the high intrinsic value of ancient science. The Greeks stood at the origins of physics, mathematics, astronomy, medicine, logic, biology, botany, zoology, geology, geography, mineralogy , ethics, aesthetics, rhetoric, poetics, history, jurisprudence, political science and others.

Astronomy. Here the Greeks achieved great results, anticipating discoveries that would be recognized many centuries later. Eudoxus built the first scientific model of the universe, stood at the origins of astronomy. Although Thales learned to predict solar eclipses even earlier, and Empedocles and Anaxagoras explained their reasons. Pythagoras suggested the spherical shape of the Earth. Aristotle believes that the earth is a sphere. Meton sets the length of the year at 365 days. Anaxagoras considers the Moon as a satellite of the Earth. Aristarchus of Samos creates a heliocentric system of the world, determines the magnitude of the solar diameter and the approximate distance from the Earth to the Moon. Hipparchus creates precision observational astronomy, accurately determines the position of the center of the solar orbit, formulates the theory of epicycles, discovers the phenomena of precession (anticipation of equinoxes), establishes the exact length of the year (with an error of 6 minutes 20 seconds), develops a theory of the motion of the Moon, determines with an accuracy of one second periods of its circulation, makes up a star catalog; determines the exact distance from the Earth to the Moon. Ptolemy composes the "Great Mathematical Construction of Astronomy", creates a geocentric system of the world.

Mathematics. Among the most significant achievements are Thales' theorems on the equality of angles at the base of an isosceles triangle; that the diameter divides the circle into two equal parts. Democritus discovers the formula for the volume of a cone and a pyramid. Pythagoras - the multiplication table and the famous theorem on the ratio between the sides of a right triangle. Eudoxus lays the foundations of geometric algebra. A systematic presentation of geometry is given by Hippocrates of Chios. Stereometry develops. Eudoxus develops the theory of relations and the method of exhaustion. Euclid creates the classic work "Beginnings", which is the first scientific paradigm. Archimedes develops methods for calculating areas and volumes, as well as a method for determining the tangent to a curve. It also sets the approximate value of the numberp. Apollonius of Perga creates the theory of conic sections. Diophantus composes the work Arithmetic. Pappus proves theorems related to the study of curves on the torus and other surfaces. Greek thinkers were inclined to believe that without mathematics there is no science. The term “mathematics” itself meant “science”.

Physics. Parmenides expresses the idea of ​​the plurality of things, their birth, change, death. Anaxagoras formulates the idea of ​​evolutionary cosmology, according to which the cosmos is once born and develops in one direction, there is nothing divine in it, and everything consists of everything. He also expresses the idea of ​​infinitely small physical quantities and the position that "speed generates force." The atomistic theory of the structure of the world by Leucippus-Democritus had a truly revolutionary significance for the development of physics. Euclid formulated the idea that rays of light travel in straight lines.

Mechanics. Amazing discoveries also took place in this area. Ctesibius invented a two-cylinder water pump, a water organ, a water clock, military throwing machines. Archimedes substantiated the laws of leverage and hydrostatic weighing (Archimedes' law); studied the laws of mechanics and the beginning of statics; invented spherical mirrors, a crane, catapults. Geron invented a pneumatic device, a steam engine, a pump.

Biology and botany . Aristotle is considered to be the founder of biology. He divided nature into organic and inorganic, collected material on several hundred species of animals and classified it. But even earlier, some biological ideas were expressed by Anaximander, according to which living beings arose in wet silt. Theophrastus described 500 plant species.

Medicine. Alcmaeon was the first to practice dissection of animal corpses to study the functions of their organs. He is credited with discovering the nerves and recognizing the brain as an important human organ. Hippocrates studies the natural causes of diseases and substantiates the features of their treatment, formulates the provisions of medical ethics. Hippocrates is considered the father of medicine. Herophilis investigates the structure of the nervous system, draws a division between arteries and veins, explains the beating of the pulse, gives a description of the eye, liver, genital organs, compares the anatomy of humans and animals, and investigates the effects of drugs. Erisistrat establishes the difference between the brain and the cerebellum, describes the structure of the heart.

Geography. Anaximander was the first to draw a geographical map of the Earth. Eratosthenes determined the circumference of the Earth at 39690 km, compiled a map of the world, described Europe, Asia and Africa. Ptolemy composes a manual on geography, where he gives about 8000 coordinates of various points in latitude and longitude. Strabo writes the fundamental generalizing work “Geography”.

Historiography. Herodotus, the founder of historical science, in his work "History" gave a description of many events, countries and cultures. True, he is far from the actual scientific presentation of the material. Thucydides described contemporary events in his work "History". He uses the method of observation and strict chronology, strives for accuracy and critical analysis. Xenophon in his works “Anabasis”, “Kyropedia”, “Greek History” demonstrates the observation of the historian, the philosophical sharpness of thought, the skill of the artist. Valuable information of a historical nature was left in his writings by Polybius, who wrote the World History; Diodorus, who composed the "Historical Library"; Plutarch, who created the famous "Biographies". An outstanding historical and cultural popular work called "Description of Hellas" was created by Pausanias. From it you can learn valuable information about personalities, events and monuments of Hellenic culture.

Roman scientistsproved themselves in the field of jurisprudence, rhetoric, medicine, historical, political and agricultural sciences, i.e. in applied sciences. The historical thought of the Romans deserves attention. Through the efforts of Cato the Elder who composed “Origin”, Titus Livius (“History of Rome from the founding of the city”), Cornelius Tacitus (“Analla”, “History”), Appian (“Roman Wars”), Ammianus Marcellinus (“Roman History”), Suetonius (“The Life of the Twelve Caesars”), Sallust (“The War of Jugurt”, “The Conspiracy of Catilini”), Patercula (“Roman History”), an attempt was made to recreate the history of Rome and describe contemporary events. Almost all the works show the greatness of the Roman state, the heroism of the past and present, patriotism, the sublimity of morals. If Cato and Livy do not disdain mythology, then the rest are more strict in presenting the material. Julius Caesar's Notes on the Gallic War are also very important historical works.

Research in the field of agricultural science was very popular among the Romans. Cato the Elder writes the famous "Agriculture", in which the term " a gricultura”. Varro and Columella compose works called “Agriculture” and actually create a theory of agriculture.

In the field of natural science, the huge compilation work “Natural History” written by the Roman scientist Pliny the Elder stands apart. Having studied more than two thousand sources, he gave valuable information on various branches of knowledge, while Pliny himself did not make any important new discoveries.

It is impossible, of course, not to say about the scientific and practical activities of the doctor, anatomist, physiologist Claudius Galen. He not only systematized knowledge in the field of medicine, but he himself carefully studied the anatomy of humans and animals, noticed a great similarity in the structure of the human and monkey bodies, sought to establish a connection between the spinal nerves and the processes of breathing and heartbeat, and worked on the creation of drugs.

In IV - V centuries. AD the decline of ancient science is taking place. Its decline was due to the general historical causes of the death of ancient culture, the lack of socio-economic incentives, the resurgent myth-making, mysticism, and occultism.

Summing up, we can say: the efforts and talent of ancient researchers constructed a demythologized and desacralized image of the cosmos, nature, state and man, a new idea of ​​reality, which played an exceptional role in the intellectual progress of mankind.

6. The historical significance of the ancient heritage

and its impact on European culture

6.1. Influence of Antiquity on European culture

Despite the fact that by the end of the 5th c. AD ancient civilization has exhausted itself, Greco-Roman culture has not sunk into oblivion. Of course, the barbarians have inflicted heavy damage on her, exhausted her strength. The new Christian culture also did not favor ancient values, their conflict was inevitable. And yet, the coming Christian medieval age could not completely ignore the great cultural capital accumulated by the Greeks and Romans. The victorious barbarians began to slowly try on “antique outfits”. Latin becomes not only the language of Catholicism, but also the language of all Western culture. Roman law is actively used, interest in philosophy (especially Aristotle), literature, architecture, applied arts, education, and rhetoric is awakening. Antique (especially Latin) culture becomes a factor in the rapprochement and reconciliation of European peoples.

From the XIII - XIV centuries. in Europe, primarily in Italy, the process of active revival of ancient culture begins. Interest is not only shown to it, but it becomes the foundation of a new phenomenon called the culture of the Renaissance. Such venerable figures of the Renaissance as Dante, Boccaccio, Petrarch, Salutati, Alberti, Machiavelli, Raphael, Bruni, Ficino, Vasari, Shakespeare and many others experience sacred awe before the great geniuses of antiquity, become their apologists. The works of Homer, Plato, Phidias, Scopas, Virgil, Lucretius, Cicero, Epicurus, Seneca, Pliny, Galen, Varro are gaining great popularity. They are talked about, written about, they are admired, imitated, their creations become a wide public domain, they are made contemporaries. It is as if ancient myths, literature, architecture, sculpture, theater, painting, science, political, legal and many other lost values ​​come to life and successfully make their way into life. Italy and other European countries literally “breathe the air of antiquity”. Antique culture becomes an indisputable subject of philosophical, artistic and scientific creativity. Knowledge of Antiquity becomes an essential attribute of education. All universities in Europe study the legacy of the ancients. With the further movement of European culture, interest in Antiquity and its real influence are increasing more and more. During the Age of Enlightenment, voluminous scientific and artistic works dedicated to Greco-Roman culture. Antiquity is perceived as a wise educator, as a mother, as a significant generalization, as European universalism. “Let everyone be, in their own way, a Greek!” - writes Goethe, who is in love with Antiquity. English, German, French scientists, or even just admirers of antiquity (G. Schliemann), are actively searching for archaeological sites of Greco-Roman culture. Every museum in the world considers it an honor to have them. Even Europeans are trying to arrange their life in such a way that it at least somewhat resembles antiquity. Poets, playwrights, prose writers, painters, architects, sculptures, musicians, philosophers, historians, philologists, lawyers, politicians, educators have been turning to this topic for several centuries. Antique culture has truly become an ideal, a role model, a style-forming factor for European art, a great and enduring classic.

Greco-Roman culture influenced Russian culture. Genuine interest in it is characteristic of all Russian history. The names of Homer, Achilles, Agamemnon were known to the ancient Russian reader. Homer, Euripides, Plato, Plutarch were revered by the Russian Orthodox Church as heralds of Christianity. Their images are immortalized on the walls of the Annunciation and Assumption Cathedrals of the Moscow Kremlin. Starting from the XV century. the Russian state became the successor of the cause of Rome (“Third Rome”).

The works of Greek and Roman authors are translated into Russian and actively studied. knowledge of ancient Greek and Latin becomes an integral part of the education of Russian people. Well-known figures of national culture - M.V. Lomonosov, N.I. Gnedich, V.A. Zhukovsky, G.R. Derzhavin, A.S. Pushkin, K.N. Batyushkov, E.A. Baratynsky, M.Yu. Lermontov, F.I. Tyutchev, V.A. Krylov, V. Ivanov, M.A. Voloshin, K.P. Bryullov, V.A. Serov, M.E. Shchedrin, P.I. Sokolov, V.A. Bryusov, K.D. Balmont, N.S. Gumilev, A. Bely, A.A. Block, L.S. Bakst, M.A. Vrubel, S.A. Zhebelev, M.S. Kutorga, V.V. Latyshev, K.L. Zelinsky, A.F. Losev, N.A. Berdyaev and others admired her and dedicated many of their works to antiquity. ON THE. Berdyaev believed that “the entire European culture of the great style is connected with the traditions of antiquity. The real culture, he argued, is the ancient Greco-Roman culture, and no other culture exists in Europe.” The Russians not only loved, studied, but also knew Antiquity well. A.F. Losev accomplishes a truly scientific feat by writing about twenty fundamental volumes devoted to various aspects of ancient culture.

6.2. What did the Greeks and Romans give to the world?

The Greeks and Romans created in the fullest sense a new context of a civilized harmonious culture, which is the archetype, parent, substratum of all subsequent European culture. Its attributes are rationality, high intellectuality, emotionality, deep symbolism, agonism, canonicity, dynamism, diversity, balance, completeness, openness, heterogeneity, secularism, heuristic, harmonious combination with nature. It was in its bowels that most of the political, legal, philosophical, aesthetic, ethical, scientific, artistic ideas, values ​​that underlie modern Western culture and, to some extent, world culture in general, were formed.

If we briefly summarize the achievements of ancient culture, we can say that the Greeks and Romans gave mankind: 1) exemplary (classical) languages ​​- ancient Greek and Latin; 2) highly developed mythology; 3) a peculiar religion; 4) excellent literature; 5) artistry and imagery of thinking; 6) amazing theatre, dance, music, song; 7) the most perfect architecture; 8) unsurpassed sculpture; 9) refined painting; 10) various applied arts; 11) the deepest philosophy (created a new rational type of thinking); 12) science (gave rise to many branches of knowledge and scientific terminology); 13) formed a historical type of thinking; 14) genuine law, legal psychology, legal thinking and legal behavior; 15) samples of oratory, the greatest art of the word, dialogue; 16) democracy, freedom, various forms of power, political thinking; 17) new forms of sociality, emphasized the importance of the personal principle; 18) patterns of communication, education and upbringing; 19) original military art, created the ideals of heroism and patriotism; 20) new forms of management and economic activity; 21) physical culture, sports, approved the value of health, the cult of a healthy body; 22) discovered a person as a creator and a creation of culture, opened the spirit and human soul, removed the feeling of human inferiority, formed an idea of ​​the ideal of a cultured person, and much more.

No culture can boast of such a numerous galaxy of geniuses as the ancient one. There is no such sphere of activity in which the Greeks and Romans would not have their say. The English scientist H. Maine believes that "with the exception of the blind forces of nature, everything that moves in this world has its origin in Greece."

However, it must be recognized that not everything in Greece and Rome was perfect. As in any culture, in ancient times, there was a downside. There were cruelty, and violence, and fanaticism, and barracks, and infanticide, and baseness, and the trial of Socrates, and the unjust imprisonment of Phidias, and the murder of Cicero, and the exile of Aristarchus, and the persecution for atheism, and tyranny, and slavery , and discrimination, and pessimism, and ignorance, and arrogance, and underestimation of other cultures, and internecine strife. But in the background greatest achievements the negative is clearly relegated to the background. It is in no way comparable to the positive results achieved by these two great peoples. All this gives us the right to assert that the study and use of the ancient cultural heritage should be not only a hobby, but also the duty of every enlightened person. The symptoms of impending radical changes in culture force us to turn to the greatest culture of the past, the unshakable ancient classics. It can be treated differently, but it is impossible to ignore it, or even distance itself altogether.

Questions for self-control

1. The culture of what peoples and what period is called “ancient”?

2. What are the main reasons for the cultural rise of the Greeks and Romans?

3. What is the originality of Roman culture?

4. How do myth and religion relate?

5. How did the Roman religion differ from the Greek?

6. What innovations did the Greeks bring to literature?

7. What are the origins of the ancient theater?

8. What was philosophy for the Greeks: the love of wisdom, the art of living, the theory of being, the science of being?

9. At the origins of what sciences were the Greeks and Romans?

10. What architectural orders and styles did the Greeks and Romans create?

11. How did Roman sculpture differ from Greek?

12. What new things did Hellenic artists bring to painting?

13. What creations of antiquity are ranked among the seven wonders of the world?

14. What do the concepts mean: agon, ponderation, canon, module?

15. What are the reasons for the death of ancient civilization?

16. What did the Greeks and Romans give to the world?

17. Why is ancient culture called classical?

18. What gods did the ancient Greeks consider to be Olympian?

19. Did the ancient Greeks have a separation of powers?

20. What important legal principles were formulated by Roman lawyers?

Topics of reports and abstracts

1. The origins of ancient culture.

2. Mythology of the ancient Greeks and Romans.

3. The originality of the ancient Greek and Roman religions.

4. Ancient Greek literature.

5. Roman literature.

6. Hellenic theater.

7. Roman theater.

8. Greek philosophy.

9. Roman philosophy.

10. Ancient science.

11. Architecture of ancient Greece.

12. Roman architecture.

13. Ancient sculpture.

14. Painting of the ancient Greeks and Romans.

15. Applied art.

16. Musical creativity of the Greeks and Romans.

17. Political culture of Antiquity.

18. Legal culture of the Hellenes.

19. Roman law.

20. Culture of life, education and upbringing.

21. Olympic Games.

22. Military art of the Greeks and Romans.

23. Material and economic culture of Ancient Greece and Rome.

24. The influence of antiquity on European culture.

25. Antiquity and Russian culture.

26. Phenomenon of Homer.

27. Hellenic cultural archetype.

28. Ancient Greek tragedy.

29. Ancient Greek comedy.

30. Roman comedy.

Literature

1. Ancient literature. M.: Che Ro, 1997.

2. Bogomolov A.S. ancient philosophy. M.: Publishing House of Moscow State University, 1985.

3. Varneke B.V. History of the ancient theatre. M.: Art, 1940.

4. Herodotus. Story. L.: Nauka, 1972.

5. Gorokhov V.F. Culturology. M.: MEPhI, 2001.

6. Zelinsky F.F. History of ancient culture. St. Petersburg: Mars, 1995.

7. Culture of Ancient Rome. In 2 vols. M.: Nauka, 1995.

8. Kumanetsky K. History of culture of Ancient Greece and Rome. M.: Higher school, 1990.

9. Livy Titus. History of Rome from the founding of the city. In 3 vols. M.: 1994.

10. Losev A.F. Mythology of the Greeks and Romans. Moscow: Thought, 1996.

11. Pausanias. Description of Hellas. In 2 vols. M.: Ladomir, 1994.

12. Pliny the Elder. Natural science. About art. M.: 1994.

13. Rivkin B.I. Antique art. M.: 1972.

14. Rozhansky I.D. ancient science. M.: 1980.

The era of ancient culture begins with the formation of Greek policies - city-states - on the Mediterranean lands of Hellas and Asia Minor at the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. and ends with the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. In Greece and Rome, cattle breeding, agriculture, metal mining, crafts, and trade are intensively developing in this era. The patriarchal tribal organization of society is disintegrating. The wealth inequality of families is growing. The tribal nobility, growing rich through the use of slave labor, is fighting for power. Public life proceeds rapidly - in social conflicts, wars, unrest, political upheavals.

Antique culture throughout its existence remains in the arms of mythology. Moreover, it merges disparate tribal myths into a single religious and mythological system, which becomes the basis of the entire ancient worldview.

However, the dynamics of social life, the complication of social relations, the growth of knowledge undermine the archaic forms of mythological thinking. Trade relations and navigation broaden the horizons of the ancient Greeks. Alphabetical writing gives the Greeks the opportunity to record various information, observations that were difficult to fit into the mythological canons. The need to maintain public order in the state requires the replacement of tribal norms of behavior by ordered codes of laws. Public political life stimulates the development of oratory, culture of thinking and speech. The improvement of handicrafts, construction, and military art is increasingly going beyond the limits of myth-sanctified models.

Thus, the flourishing of mythology in the ancient era is accompanied by a struggle against the archaic traditions of mythological consciousness, which fetter freedom of thought, the growth of knowledge, and the development of labor activity. The desire to resolve this internal contradiction of ancient culture is the driving force behind its development.

The history of the ancient era is divided into two partially overlapping phases - Greek and Roman antiquity.

Main areas Greek cultures become philosophy and art. They grow out of mythology and use its images. But at the same time, they acquire a meaning that goes beyond its limits.

ancient greek philosophy- a child of mythology - created a type of thinking fundamentally different from the mythological one. Mythological consciousness is satisfied with descriptions, while philosophical consciousness requires proofs. Philosophical thinking seeks to give an explanation of reality through rational, logical reasoning with the help of abstract concepts. Philosophy considers it necessary to clearly distinguish facts and logical conclusions from fictions and assumptions; along with it, the rudiments of scientific knowledge - astronomy, mathematics, biology, medicine - also develop.

The art of ancient Greece, like philosophy, comes from mythology and draws its themes and plots from it. However, it begins to serve not only ritual and mythological purposes. Works of art acquire their own aesthetic value, which is determined not by their cult purpose, but by their artistic merit. Art is transformed by the ancient Greeks into an independent area of ​​culture, a sphere of activity aimed at satisfying aesthetic needs. Architecture, sculpture, lyric poetry, drama, and theatre, appear in it as its special types. The ancient Greek style in art is a style proportionate to a person, balanced, harmonious. Sensual enjoyment of things, their visible and tangible harmony, proportionality, proportionality - this is what art was supposed to deliver to ancient man first of all.

Ancient Greek art largely predetermined the development of the artistic culture of later historical eras. Classical architectural styles, the canons of the sculptural image of the human body, samples of love lyrics, tragedy, comedy. The word theater itself is taken from the Greek language (in literal translation - a spectacle, a place for spectacles). Theatrical performances, combining visual, stage, literary, musical creativity, were the favorite entertainment of the ancient Greeks. In Athens, the city authorities even gave money to the poor to visit them. Ancient Greek theaters were huge structures that could accommodate up to 17,000 spectators.

Roman Antiquity borrows many ideas and traditions of Greek culture. Roman mythology duplicates Greek, philosophy uses various ideas of the teachings of Greek thinkers. In the era of Roman antiquity, oratory reached a high level of development, fiction and poetry, historical science4 mechanics, natural science. The architecture of Rome uses Hellenic forms, but is distinguished by the gigantism inherent in the imperial scale of the state and the ambitions of the Roman aristocracy. The most grandiose are public buildings (the huge amphitheater Colosseum could accommodate 50,000 spectators). Roman sculptors and artists follow Greek models, but, unlike the Greeks, they develop the art of realistic portraiture and prefer to sculpt not naked, but “closed” statues.

Both the Greeks and the Romans loved all kinds of spectacles - Olympic competitions, gladiator fights, theatrical performances. As you know, the Roman plebs demanded "bread and circuses." All ancient art was subject to the principle entertainment.

The most important cultural innovations of Roman antiquity are associated with the development of politics and law. The management of the vast Roman power required the development of a system of state bodies and legal laws. Ancient Roman jurists laid the foundation of legal culture, on which modern legal systems still rely. But the relationships, powers and duties of bureaucratic institutions and officials clearly stipulated by law do not eliminate the tension of the political struggle in society. Political and ideological goals significantly affect the nature of art and the entire cultural life of society. Politicization- a characteristic feature of Roman culture.

Antique culture preserves the mythological shell and at the same time develops forms of cultural life that do not fit into this shell and tear it apart. This contradiction manifests itself in antinomies that permeate the entire ancient culture.

1. Feelings and reason. Mythological consciousness does not know abstractions; it operates with visual, figurative, sensually accessible material. Even gods and human souls appear in it observable, corporeal. For ancient man, the entire surrounding world - the cosmos - was something like a cozy home filled with sensual data, visible and tangible things. The Greeks were frightened by everything that is inaccessible to the eye, which exceeds the possibilities of visual representation.

Perhaps this was facilitated by the nature of the Greek landscape: the coast dissected by bays and rivers, valleys bounded by mountains, islands scattered in the Aegean Sea - everywhere the eye encounters barriers that close small areas of space. Ancient people were afraid of infinity. The Greeks did not seek to know the vast expanses of the universe. In Athens during the time of Periclus, astronomy was forbidden. The Greeks represented both the earth and the entire cosmos in the form of closed balls. Even their gods lived on the close, visible and tangible Olympus. Ancient Greek mathematics was visual, and it dealt exclusively with finite quantities. The discovery of an irrational number caused real horror among ancient mathematicians, which was reflected in the legend about the death of the one who made this discovery.

But the life of ancient society posed problems for people that could be solved only on the basis of rational, logically consistent reasoning. The authority of reason, its priority over feelings became a necessary condition for achieving success in the economy, legal legislation, judicial practice, public administration, military affairs, etc. Logic and exact calculation also penetrated into art - into the canons of architecture, versification, and the image of a person. Ancient philosophy plunged deeper and deeper into the jungle of abstract thinking. All this led to the fact that the mind in the mind of ancient man turned into the supreme ruler and arbiter, establishing the true state of things, into the main force that governs the world. Rejoicing at the sensually perceived corporeality of things and fearing everything inaccessible to the senses, ancient man at the same time put logic above sensuality. The ability to think rationally was considered the most important human asset. Belief in the power of the human mind, in its great possibilities, was a distinctive feature of ancient culture.

2. Fate and struggle ("ananke" and "agon"). Following the traditions of the mythological way of thinking, the Greeks placed the responsibility for the events of their lives on the gods. The Greeks believed that everyone is predestined to live life in accordance with the fate of fate, and no one is able to prevent what should happen to him. Ananke(fate, fate, inevitability, inevitability) dominates the whole world.

It would seem that the idea of ​​an ananka should doom a person to complete passivity. However, people are not given to know in advance what is written in the book of fate, and they act according to their own understanding. But if a person tries to violate the will of the gods and evade the fate that has befallen him, his life will inevitably turn into a tragedy. The tragedy genre among the Greeks is a form of artistic description of the hero’s struggle with the inevitable ananke and the consequences of such a struggle, which are the more terrible, the more will and perseverance the hero shows: Oedipus, having learned that he was predicted to become the murderer of his father and marry his mother, leaves home, but this is precisely what leads him to the fulfillment of what was predicted, and his desire for truth, goodness and justice turns into terrible misfortunes for him and his entire city. The emergence of tragedy in ancient culture is the result of Greek awareness capabilities a person to violate the prescriptions of fate, despite the punishment for it. The behavior of the tragic hero showed the still unexplored potential of man.

3. Sociality and individuality. In ancient Greece, the former tribal communities were replaced by an association of people at the place of settlement - policy. The Greeks and Romans believed that the absence of policies was a sign of barbarism, and, conquering new lands, they built cities everywhere. It was believed that otherwise people could not live. To live like a human being, not like a barbarian means to live in the polis, to participate in the life of the polis. The very concept of man among the Greeks began to be associated with the fact that he is a free citizen, belongs to the community of citizens of the policy. Slaves who did not have the right to participate in the life of the policy were not considered people. The whole life of a person in the policy, his rights and obligations were determined by his status as a citizen. Polis for the Greek was the only place where he felt safe and lived a full life. There he was guarded by both gods and laws. There he had the right to protection from violence and arbitrariness. Therefore, there was nothing more terrible for a Greek or Roman than expulsion from the city and the removal of the title of citizen.

Public life in the policy, on the one hand, led to the strengthening of social ties and dependencies. On the other hand, it stimulated the development of self-awareness of a person who has the freedom to act according to his own will, regardless of the requirements of society. These two trends are very contradictory combined with each other.

In the early period of antiquity, the idea of ​​the originality and uniqueness of the human personality was very vague. The ancient Greek language did not even have the word "personality" (it comes from the Latin word persona - a mask, an actor's mask). How alien to the ancient Greeks was then the interest in the human person, shows their art. In the theater, the actors hid their faces under masks. antique sculptures beautiful, but not individualized, and their faces with eyes devoid of pupils, little expressive. Both viewers and sculptors paid attention to the body, not to the soul.

Pygmalion, who fell in love with the Galatea he had sculpted, was fascinated by her bodily beauty - her spiritual qualities did not bother him. In Greece, it was not customary to make individualized portraits. Even the statues in honor of the winners of the Olympics depicted idealized human figures, not the features of athletes.

However, the organization of life in the polis created the conditions for the emergence of bright and strong personalities who are able to think not according to generally accepted canons and defend their views. Antique culture inevitably led to penetration into the inner spiritual world of the individual, to the realization of the diversity, complexity and inconsistency of individual human characters.

The very fact that an individual can be spiritually independent of society, that he can think and act contrary to social requirements, was a kind of discovery for the Greeks. But from this discovery followed the possibility of putting personal interests above public ones and the realization that the discrepancy between the individual and society is far from always deserving of blame. Citizens of the policy began to realize that "man" and "citizen" are not the same thing, that "human" in a person sometimes comes into conflict with "civilian". Socrates rejected the priority of the social over the individual. Thanks to his teachings, his whole life and death, the principle of independence of the “true sage” from circumstances entered into social thought. social life with its vanity and struggle for momentary benefits. He placed the court of conscience above the people's court, the self-consciousness of the individual - above the collective consciousness, the right of the individual to self-expression - above the moral and legal practice of the state.

In the Roman Empire, the Socratic approach to understanding human individuality was developed by Stoic philosophers. Artistic development began in Roman art unique world personalities - in literature and portrait sculpture. Ancient Greek fans could also depict a face “looks like”, but only in Rome does a psychological sculptural portrait appear.

However, ancient culture as a whole was still characterized by the predominance of the public over the personal, the social over the individual.