What does the period of antiquity mean in history? Ancient times

(Latin antiquus - ancient) - preserved values ​​of the Greek-Roman. antiquity, especially in the region. literature and art, which are considered classical. The term "A." appeared at the beginning of the 18th century. in fr. language and originally meant (which has survived to this day) a special type of art dating back to early history. periods. The appearance of plural research related to the history of art led to a narrowing of the concept of “A” to Greek-Roman. antiquities. A. as a cult. the legacy of Ancient Greece and Rome had a huge influence on politics. and religious thinking, literature and art, philosophy. and legal views of all the peoples of Europe and all of modern times. world. Moreover, in the Romanesque countries, mainly developed in Rome. traditions; In Germany, from the end of the Middle Ages, Greek became increasingly influential. culture, and the peoples of the East. Europe, Transcaucasia and certain regions of the Bl. The East was influenced by Byzantine culture. Humanistic began antique heritage more than once in history have become the ideological arsenal of progressive forces, for example, during the Renaissance, during the period of France. revolution and in the German era. classicism. Due to the great influence of antiquity. ideas and traditions per person society history classic. antiquity and other languages ​​occupied a special preserved during many. centuries place in Europe. science and education. V.I.Polishchuk

Excellent definition

Incomplete definition ↓

ANTIQUITY

lat. - antiquity, antiquity) - the civilization of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, considered as the initial era, the source, the basis of European and modern world civilization and culture in a number of eras: antiquity - the Middle Ages - Modern times. This point of view is due to the fact that antiquity formed a state structure that became a model for modern civilization - democracy, and in the process of its formation created a culture that became one of the most significant factors in subsequent world culture. Therefore, the heyday of Greek democracy (V - IV centuries BC) is usually assessed as the era of classical Greece. The time of the formation of democracy (VP - VI centuries BC) is called the archaic (i.e. initial, ancient) period, and the even earlier time of the beginning of the collapse of the clan community is called prehistoric, i.e. from which written evidence has not survived ( XI - VIII centuries BC) or "Homeric" (named after the creator of the great poems) period. The source of antiquity was the Cretan-Mycenaean civilization (3 - 2 thousand BC). The era of the decline of the Greek democratic states, but at the same time the spread of Greek civilization and culture from the Mediterranean basin to India (as a result of the conquests of Alexander the Great), is called the era of Hellenism (338 - 30 BC).

) empire until the 11th century, before the arrival of the Seljuk Turks.

Video on the topic

Periodization of antiquity and proto-antiquity

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

• Aegean or Cretan-Mycenaean (III-II millennium BC),
• Homeric (XI-IX centuries BC),
• archaic (VIII-VI centuries BC),
• classical (V-IV centuries BC),
• Hellenistic (second half of the 4th - mid-1st centuries BC).

Crete-Mycenaean period - prehistory of antiquity

Characteristics

1. The Minoan civilization was a state ruled by a king.
2. The Minoans traded with Ancient Egypt and exported copper from Cyprus. The architecture is characterized by reinterpreted Egyptian borrowings (for example, the use of columns).
3. The Minoan army was armed with slings and bows. A characteristic weapon of the Minoans was also the double-sided ax labrys.
4. Like other peoples of Old Europe, the Minoans had a widespread cult of the bull en (see taurocatapsy).
5. The Minoans smelted bronze, produced ceramics, and built palace complexes from the mid-20th century BC. e. (Knossos, Phaistos, Mallia).
6. Like other pre-Indo-European religions of Europe, the Minoan religion is not alien to the vestiges of matriarchy. In particular, the Goddess with snakes (possibly an analogue of Astarte) was revered.

Cultural connections

The genetic affiliation of the Minoan (Eteocritan) language has not been established. Partial decipherment of the Cretan script made it possible to identify some morphological indicators. The Phaistos disc cannot be deciphered.

Sunset

The Minoan civilization suffered greatly as a result of a natural disaster in the 15th century BC. e. - a volcanic explosion on the island of Thira (Santorini), which generated a catastrophic tsunami. This volcanic eruption may have provided the basis for the myth of Atlantis.

Previously it was assumed that the volcanic eruption destroyed the Minoan civilization, but archaeological excavations in Crete showed that the Minoan civilization existed for at least about 100 years after the eruption (a layer of volcanic ash was discovered under the structures of the Minoan culture).

After the eruption, the Achaeans seized power on the island. The Mycenaean culture arose (Crete and mainland Greece), combining Minoan and Greek elements. In the 12th century, the Mycenaean culture was destroyed by the Dorians, who eventually settled Crete. The Dorian invasion led to a sharp cultural decline, and the Cretan script fell out of use.

All settlements of the Middle Helladic period were located, as a rule, on elevated areas and were fortified; an example of such a settlement is the site of Malti Dorion in Messenia. In the center of this settlement there was a palace; workshops of artisans adjoined it; the rest were houses of ordinary people and warehouses.

By the end of the Middle Helladic period, a cultural upsurge began to be felt in the development of the civilization of mainland Greece, the first state formations emerged, a process of class formation took place, manifested in the identification of a layer of nobility, and a significant increase in population was observed, associated with agricultural successes. The number of both small settlements and large cities has increased. The period in Greek history between the 16th and centuries BC. e. It is customary to call the Mycenaean era, after the name of the largest political and economic center of continental Greece - Mycenae, located in Argolis.

Questions about the ethnic origin of the carriers of the Mycenaean civilization remained one of the most difficult for a long time; only after scientists deciphered the Linear script, the opinion was established that they were Achaeans. The Achaeans who moved to Crete and the islands of Asia Minor around the 16th century BC. BC, apparently, came from the northern Thessalian Achaeans.

The first city-states formed in the 17th-16th centuries BC. e. - Mycenae, Tiryns, Pylos - had close cultural and trade ties with Crete, Mycenaean culture borrowed a lot from the Minoan civilization, the influence of which is felt in cult rituals, social life, and artistic monuments; undoubtedly, the art of building ships was adopted from the Cretans. But the Mycenaean culture had only its own traditions, rooted in ancient times (according to A. Evans, the Mycenaean culture is only a branch of the Cretan one and is devoid of any individuality), its own path of development. A few words can be said about the development of Mycenaean trade and external relations with other states. Thus, a number of objects found in Egypt and previously considered to have been brought from Crete are now identified as products of Mycenaean artisans. There is a hypothesis according to which the Mycenaeans helped Pharaoh Ahmose (16th century BC) in his fight against the Hyksos, and during the time of Akhenaten (century BC) Mycenaean ceramics were widespread in his new capital Akhetaton.

In the XV-XIII centuries BC. e. The Achaeans conquered Crete and the Cyclades, colonized many islands in the Aegean Sea, founded a number of settlements in the interior of Greece, on the site of which the famous ancient city-states later grew - Corinth, Athens, Delphi, Thebes. This period is considered the heyday of the Mycenaean civilization.

The Achaeans not only maintain old Cretan trade ties, but also build new sea routes to the Caucasus, Sicily, and North Africa.

The main centers, as in Crete, were palaces, but their important difference from the Cretan ones is that they were fortified and were citadels. The monumental dimensions of the citadels are striking, the walls of which are built from unprocessed blocks, reaching in some cases a weight of up to 12 tons. The most outstanding citadel is perhaps that of Tiryns, the entire defensive system of which was thought out with special care to prevent all unexpected disastrous situations.

Return of the Heraclides

The formation of the urban community as it is depicted in the Iliad and Odyssey, with a heterogeneous population in a certain territory, with all the peculiarities of the state structure, was facilitated by the movement of Hellenic tribes, known as the return of the Heraclides or the resettlement of the Dorians in the Peloponnese. The mixing of tribes that took place and the unification of conquerors and conquered in a common political organization, the thirst for success and improvement in new places should have accelerated the transition from a tribal system to a territorial, state one. The establishment of colonies in Asia Minor and on the islands, which followed the movement of the Dorians, acted in the same direction even more strongly: new interests and new relationships gave rise to new forms of social structure.
The movement of the Hellenes, in which the Dorians played the main role, dates back to the 12th century (from 1104); it began with the invasion of the Epirus people of Thessalians through Pindus into that country, which in historical times was called Thessaly. The Aeolian natives were partly conquered, partly fled to the south and gave their place of residence the name Boeotia. The Dorians who lived at the foot of Olympus first moved to the region that was later called Doris, and from there part of them, together with the Aetolians, crossed the Gulf of Corinth to the Peloponnese, until that time occupied by the Achaeans and in the northern part by the Ionians.
Only after a long struggle with the natives did the Dorians little by little establish themselves in Messenia, Laconia, Argolis, where they penetrated from the Argive Gulf, and Corinth. The Achaeans were forced either to submit to the newcomers in the position of incomplete inhabitants, or, having lost their tribal characteristics, to merge with the winners, or, finally, to move away from their homes. From that time on, the northern strip of the peninsula received the name Achaea, from where the Ionians fled to their fellow tribesmen in Attica: the coastal area was occupied by the Achaeans fleeing the Dorians. Another part of the Achaeans left the Peloponnese and settled on the island of Lesbos.
From the Isthmus of Corinth, the Dorians penetrated into central Greece and here they took possession of Megarid. In the Peloponnese, the inhabitants of Arcadia remained on their lands, in political independence from the Dorians, and Elis went to the allies of the Dorians, the Aetolians. The immediate consequences of the same conquest of the Peloponnese were the eviction of the Ionians from Attica and other regions to the islands and the Asia Minor coast, where the Ionian 12-city arose (Miletus, Ephesus, Phocaea, Colophon, etc.), and the founding by the Dorians, who came mainly from Argolis, of six cities (Hexapolis) on the Carian coast and on the adjacent islands.
With the return of the Heraclids and the founding of ancient colonies, which, in turn, served as metropolises for new settlements, the Hellenic people finally settled in Greece for permanent residence. This event constitutes a boundary beyond which lies the kingdom of legends and myths, and on the other side begins the historical existence of Greece as a Hellenic country.

Poetic sources

The state of Hellenic societies closest to historical time is depicted with remarkable clarity and completeness in the so-called Homeric poems, the Iliad and Odyssey, at the beginning of the 8th century BC. e. existing approximately in their current form. The state of society depicted in them contains all the elements of the further development of Greece and constitutes, as it were, the starting point in the formation of various forms of government. The creation of the Iliad and Odyssey dates back to the 10th-9th centuries. The events sung in the poems are separated from the time of the composition of the poems by the movement of tribes and peoples in mainland Greece, the consequence of which was the founding of Asia Minor and island colonies. It is not possible to distribute the historical material contained in the poems by eras and periods; its main share belongs to the times of the author himself. The individual type of Hellene, with its most constant strengths and weaknesses, beliefs and inclinations, was already established in the society of Homer's time.

Judging by the poem, there are no positive laws in this society yet, therefore deviations from the norm of relations in one direction or another are more frequent and less sensitive here; however, primordial customs and attitudes, protected by the gods themselves, as well as public opinion, have greater power. However, the conclusion that there are no laws may be erroneous: it is enough to make a comparison with modern films or other literary works to understand that authors often show characters in settings where laws do not actually apply.

Remnants of the tribal system still operate in society, especially in family and private law relations, but the city community has already taken shape, its management is distributed between the individual leader, the council of elders and the people. The economic dependence of other leaders on the people, the power of public speech, the presence of speakers, examples of criticism directed against leaders and the like, indicate that already at that time the people in urban communities were not a powerless mass or an unresponsive instrument of other authorities. If obedience to the leader is required from the people, then concern for the people, justice in resolving matters, courage in war, wisdom in advice and eloquence in peacetime are also obligatory for the leader.
The personal merits of a leader are one of the necessary conditions for honor on the part of the people and for obedience to their demands. The further success of the public was that the mutual relations of the authorities acquired greater certainty: the concept of the common good in the state took precedence over all other interests, personal merit and service to society were the main right to influence and significance in the state.

Homeric society is far from homogeneous in its composition: it distinguishes between simple and noble people, in addition to the free there are slaves, among the free there are differences in status and occupation, mutual relations between masters and slaves bear the stamp of patriarchal simplicity and closeness, in relationships men and women have more equal rights than was the case in later historical times. Hesiod's poems complement the testimony of Homeric songs about Hellenic society at that distant time.

Polis period

(XI-IV centuries BC) Ethnic consolidation of the Greek world. The formation, flourishing and crisis of polis structures with democratic and oligarchic forms of statehood. The highest cultural and scientific achievements of ancient Greek civilization.

Homeric (pre-polis) period, XI-IX centuries BC. e.

This period is also known as the "Greek Dark Ages". The final destruction of the remnants of the Mycenaean (Achaean) civilization, the revival and dominance of tribal relations, their transformation into early class ones, the formation of unique pre-polis social structures.

Archaic Greece (VIII-VI centuries BC)

First period of antiquity. Begins parallel to the decline of the Bronze Age. The beginning of the period of antiquity is considered to be the date of the establishment of the ancient Olympic Games in 776 BC. e.

Formation of policy structures. Great Greek Colonization. Early Greek tyrannies. Ethnic consolidation of Hellenic society. The introduction of iron into all areas of production, economic growth. Creation of the foundations of commodity production, the spread of elements of private property.

Classical Greece (V-IV centuries BC)

Athens. View of the Acropolis.

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

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

Hellenistic period

In contrast to medieval thought, humanists separate the Middle Ages from antiquity. Petrarch was one of the first to highlight the concept of “medium aevum” or the Middle Ages, as a new period, separate from antiquity. Thus, humanists were the creators of a three-part periodization of ancient, middle and modern history. Machiavelli notes that the Roman Empire was destroyed by barbarians, which marked the beginning of a new period. He has a negative attitude towards Christianity, saying that the ancient religion cultivated civic virtues in people, and Christianity had a relaxing effect on civil morals, which undermined the power of the empire. Christianity introduced new unrest into the empire and thereby made it easier for the barbarians to conquer the empire.

It should also be noted such a figure as the priest and doctor of theology Jean Benny Bossuet (1627-1704). Its periodization is purely biblical in nature, linking the beginning of modern times with the reign of Constantine the Great. Thus, the history of the Middle Ages is absent in his periodization. The main idea of ​​its periodization is that the Franks are the true successors of the Roman Empire, which means the French monarchy seems to be the most ancient and noble in the whole world.

Since the time of Gibbon, historical and popular literature has traditionally interpreted the content of the period of late antiquity exclusively from a negative point of view, as the collapse of the Roman state system and the disintegration of the empire.

The term “late Antiquity” came into widespread use thanks to the research of the outstanding German historian and sociologist Max Weber, although another equally famous scientist, the Swiss cultural scientist Jacob Burckhardt, used a similar term already in 1853 in the book “The Age of Constantine the Great.”

Since the early 1970s in Great Britain, with the appearance of Peter Brown’s monograph “The World of Late Antiquity,” late antiquity began to be understood as an independent historical era (in a broad chronological framework, from the 3rd to the mid-7th century; in the narrow 4th-6th centuries). Peter Brown sees the religious factor as the basis for the development of late antique society. It was the formation and development of the Christian church, the Christianization of the Late Roman Empire, the formation of dogma and the emergence of various trends in Christianity, changes in ideology, the educational system and culture as a whole that determined the face of late antique society. Peter Brown showed readers a picture of late antiquity as a time of opportunity and dramatic change, diversity and creativity, which was reflected in an extremely rich literary tradition, works of art, construction, etc. The Roman Empire appears to be a multi-confessional entity in which, along with Christianity, they played a role Neoplatonism, old ancient pagan cults and ideas, as well as various religious practices.

As a rule, modern researchers build their periodization based on the years of the reign of emperors or on some epoch-making events. Such landmarks that determine the beginning of late antiquity are, most often, the reigns of Diocletian, Constantine and the formal division of the empire into two parts in 395. But all these dates are arbitrary and are adopted only for the convenience of research.

It should also be noted that until recently such major publications as the first edition of the Cambridge History of Antiquity (1923-1939) ended their narrative with the year 324 - the date of the independent reign of Emperor Constantine. However, the new edition of the same Cambridge history ends in 600.

Further work by researchers such as Arnold Hugh, Martin Jones and Peter Brown outlines a shift in the framework of the period of late antiquity to 641 for Jones and 800 for Brown (the coronation of Charlemagne, the “Emperor of the West”).

Very often, the end date of late antiquity is considered to be events in Byzantine history, such as the death of Justinian in 565, the coup of Phocas in 602, or the Arab invasion of Byzantium in the 630s (in particular, in Western Asia and the countries of North Africa, it is the Arab conquests that are considered the end of the ancient history of these countries). .

Thus, both the lower and upper limits of late antiquity remain a very, very controversial issue.

Geography of antiquity

Balkan Greece in ancient times occupied an area of ​​about 88 thousand square kilometers. In the northwest it bordered with Illyria, in the northeast with Macedonia, in the west it was washed by the Ionian Sea, in the southeast by the Myrtoian Sea, and in the east by the Aegean and Thracian seas. Included three regions - Northern Greece, Central Greece and Peloponnese. Northern Greece was divided into western (Epirus) and eastern (Thessaly) parts by the Pindus mountain range. Central Greece was delimited from Northern Greece by the mountains of Velucha and Eta and consisted of ten regions (from west to east): Acarnania, Aetolia, Locris Ozole, Doris, Phocis, Locris Epiknemidskaya, Locris Opunta, Boeotia, Megaris and Attica. The Peloponnese was connected to the rest of Greece by the narrow (up to 6 kilometers) Isthmus of Corinth.

The central region of the Peloponnese was Arcadia, which was bordered on the west by Elis, on the south by Messenia and Laconia, on the north by Achaia, on the east by Argolis, Phliasia (Greek)Russian and Sikyonia; in the extreme northeastern corner of the peninsula was Corinthia.

Insular Greece consisted of several hundred islands, forming four large archipelagos - the Cyclades in the southwest Aegean Sea, the Northern Sporades in the north Aegean Sea, the Dodecanese in the southeast Aegean Sea and the Ionian Islands off the west coast of Greece. The largest of the Greek islands are Crete, southeast of the Peloponnese and Euboea, separated from Central Greece by the narrow Euripus Strait. The most significant of the islands off the west coast of Greece are Kerkyra, Lefkas, Kefalonia and Zakynthos.

Balkan Greece is a mostly mountainous country (it is pierced from north to south by two branches of the Dinaric Alps) with an extremely indented coastline and numerous bays (the largest are Amvrakikos, Gulf of Corinth, Mesiniacos, Lakonikos, Argolikos, Saronikos, Maliakos and Pagasitikos).

Heritage of Antiquity

Antiquity and modern society

Antiquity has left a huge mark on modernity.

In the 19th century, the theory of the “Greek miracle” developed - the absolute perfection of the art of classical Greece, in comparison with which the art of Hellenism and Rome was a decline and epigone. The development of printing stimulated the study of Greek and Latin authors and familiarity with them. The Pythagorean theorem, Euclid's geometry, and Archimedes' law became the basis of schooling. The works of ancient geographers, who proceeded from the sphericity of the Earth and calculated its volume, played a significant role in the great geographical discoveries. The philosophical systems of ancient thinkers inspired

pedagogical thought and educational practice. Pedagogical thought and the system of educational institutions first reached mature forms in Greece by the 4th century. BC. after a long evolution of the polis (city-state), in Rome - by the end of the 1st century. BC, when the slave-owning republic was replaced by an empire. Ancient Greece. The idea of ​​an ideal model of behavior already existed in the myths and poems of Homer, from which it was known that boys were taught to run, hunt, play the lyre, etc., and were instilled with the concepts of heroism and dignity. Basic The method of education was imitation of models, incl. mythological; Homer's heroes themselves subsequently became models for the noble young aristocrat. Education was considered as one of the main. functions of the state; Here, for the first time, the task of educating and educating children (mainly boys) of the entire free population was set. Basic educational institute in policies of the 8th-6th centuries. BC. there was a system of religious celebrations that required preliminary training in the “musical arts”: dancing, music, and speech. Other basic An element of education was military training, which took exaggerated forms in Sparta (the so-called Spartan education). At the beginning of the 6th century. A military state was created in Sparta with its own system of educating soldiers, soldiers' wives and soldiers' mothers. Ch. The direction of the Spartan system was moral education, the goal of which was considered to be the complete subordination of the individual to the interests of the social group. Upbringing and education were strictly regulated by the state. State education was administered by a pedon official and included 3 cycles: two cycles of 4 years (boys from 8 to 11 years old and teenagers from 11 to 15 years old) and one 5-year cycle - ephebia (boys from 16 to 20 years old, t .n. irene, or eiren). The main thing was physical education, developing strength, agility, etc. Girls also did physical education. Intellectual education was reduced to a minimum (the rudiments of reading and writing) and was left to private teachers. Music, songs - everything was aimed at mobilizing soldiers. For example, the songs of Tyrtaeus (2nd half of the 7th century BC) called for disdain for any glory other than military glory. The Olympic Games and other competitions were of great importance, victories in which supported the aristocratic prestige of young men. The popularity of pan-Greek and local competitions testified to the extraordinary development of the competitive spirit among the Greeks, which also manifested itself in the intellectual sphere. By the end of the 6th century. BC. the Greeks began to cultivate intellectual virtues. The introduction of written laws (for example, the laws of Solon in Athens, 594), the development of legal proceedings and judicial eloquence had a decisive significance. By the 5th century. BC. eloquence became an element in the training system for young men. OK. 560 BC In Athens, Homeric poems were written down and their study became the basis of school education. At the same time, historical prose arose: throughout antiquity, poets and historians sought to educate future generations using examples from the past. In Attica from the 6th century. BC. theatrical performances spread. From the 6th century BC. Cosmology, arithmetic, geography, astronomy, and harmony were studied. The first schools appeared: the philosophical (Pythagorean) school in Croton (c. 532 BC), medical schools in Croton and Cyrea (late 6th century BC). From the end of the 6th century. BC. Attica, led by Athens, began to play a leading role in the development of Greek culture and education. The Athenian education system combined mental (musical) and physical (gymnastic) education. From the age of 7, boys, accompanied by slave teachers, simultaneously attended the palaestra (place of physical education), music and grammar schools (mostly private). By the 5th century. BC. Military education (ephebia) became mandatory for boys aged 18-20. Basic The sophists (sages, people knowledgeable in the field of philosophy) tried to formulate the ideas of Greek pedagogical thought. The concept of "paideya" (comprehensive development) and the ideal of "kalokagathia" (physical and moral improvement) were cultivated. The Sophists established a set of sciences and arts that were supposed to ensure success in the civil field for free young men. Young people were taught dialectics (the art of argument) and rhetoric (eloquence), which in turn required knowledge of mythology, history, and legislation. The formation of higher education begins with the sophists. However, the relativism of the sophists (for example, the proof of the correctness and incorrectness of any position depending on the circumstances) destroyed the foundations of traditional piety and the education built on it. The relativity of the moral norms of the sophists aroused objections already from Socrates, who contrasted the practicality of the sophistic school with the idea of ​​​​the independent meaning of virtue, the objectivity of moral norms. By the 4th century. BC. The democratic polis entered an era of decline, but it was during this period that philosophical schools were created by the students of Socrates - Euclid (in Megara), Phaedo (in Elis), Antisthenes and Plato (in Athens). OK. 390 BC Isocrates opened the school of rhetoric. The most important role in the history of ancient pedagogy belongs to Aristotle. His writings became the basis. textbooks on logic, physics, metaphysics and other sciences. Hellenism. Along with the Academy and Lyceum in Athens at the end of the 4th century. BC. The philosophical schools of Epicurus (Garden) and Stoics (Porticus) arose, which turned Athens into a center of education. New scientific and cultural centers emerged in Alexandria (early 3rd century BC) - the famous museum with the Library of Alexandria and in Pergamon - the Pergamon Library. Textbooks appeared in all branches of knowledge, many of which were written by philosophers of the Stoic school. The nature of primary education has remained virtually unchanged compared to the classical era. At a higher level of education in the grammar school, education was already determined by the new nature of Hellenistic education. Boys aged 7-14 attended a citharist school, a palestra school, and a grammar school. Under the guidance of a grammarian, the works of Homer, Hesiod, and later Apollonius of Rhodes, Sappho, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Menander, Herodotus, Demosthenes and others were read in the gymnasium. The reading and interpretation of the authors was accompanied by a writing exercise. Eloquence was studied at the rhetoric school. The ephebes' higher education system included physical and military training, lessons, lectures, and performances. Grammar, philosophy and rhetoric were studied, less often mathematics and medicine. Vocational education was acquired privately in the most famous training centers. Ancient Rome. In the 3rd century. BC. Rome became a leading state militarily, but was at a relatively low stage of cultural development. Unlike the ancient Greeks, who considered the ideal of a noble hero, the Romans cultivated the ideal of an independent farmer. Family education dominated. Slaves and children were equally subordinate to the father of the family; the mother's authority was maintained throughout life. Girls were raised in the family and for family life, boys received a practical education. Literacy instruction in elementary school was elementary. At the age of 15-16, young men, under the guidance of a speaker, studied civil rights and spent a year in military service. The first obvious fact of Greek influence is the free translation into Latin of Homer's Odyssey, made by the Greek freedman Livius Andronicus (3rd century BC). Since then, the Odyssey has been the basis for almost 2 centuries. a teaching aid in the Latin school. The Romans did not inculcate elements of Greek education (gymnastics, learning music, singing, dancing); they, embarrassed by nudity, rejected the palaestra and sports, preferring gladiator fights, etc. Scientific knowledge was formed. In 168 BC e. In Rome, the Pergamon philologist Crates gave lectures on literature and language. In the 60s 2nd century BC. grammar schools appeared; Greek and Latin schools existed in parallel. In 155 BC Representatives of three philosophical schools of Athens (the academician Carneades, the peripatetic Critolaus and the Stoic Diogenes) gave lectures in Rome. Noble Roman families hired Greek teachers. The first higher school of rhetoric was opened by Lucius Plotius Gallus in 93 BC. (closed as contrary to the morals of our ancestors). However, rhetoricians continued their activities in 85 BC. the famous “Rhetoric of Herennius” appeared, which became a classic textbook until the Renaissance (in the 4th-15th centuries AD it was attributed to Cicero). Unlike the Greek tradition, the Roman school did not offer fictitious mythological subjects, but real facts of Roman history, but completed higher education according to the Greek model. The encyclopedist Marcus Terentius Varro ("the father of Roman education") created the textbook "Sciences" (33 BC), which included grammar, rhetoric, dialectics, music, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, medicine and architecture. The first seven subjects made up the trivium and quadrivium - the so-called. seven liberal arts. At the same time, Cicero (treatise “On the Orator”, etc.) introduced the concept of “h Rhetorical schools developed in Rome in the era of Augustus (27 BC - 14 BC) and in the 1st century AD. BC - throughout the empire, legal schools became an achievement of the 1st century AD. interpretation of classical authors) and rhetorical (15-18 years old; exercises in eloquence) schools. In grammar schools they taught according to Greek models, but they studied Virgil, Ovid, Statius, Terence, Sallust and others, especially Cicero. The program of the rhetorical school can be judged. based on Quintilian’s work “On the Education of the Orator.” The first Latin grammar was created in the 1st century AD by Remmius Palaemon (not preserved). The most detailed presentation of grammar was given by Priscian (beginning of the 6th century AD). In the 1st century AD, Roman emperors began to exercise control over school education, some of them established a number of privileges for teachers and introduced restrictions: the city was supposed to have. no more than 5 grammarians and rhetoricians. Marcus Aurelius in 176 restored 4 philosophical schools in Athens and the school of rhetoric. In 425, Theodosius and Valentinian finally approved the state nature of the school and banned private teaching. At the beginning of the 6th century. AD Justinian expelled pagan teachers from the school and in 529 closed pagan schools in Athens. The ancient education system was adopted by the Middle Ages, and pedagogical ideas formed the basis of the pedagogy of humanism (see Renaissance). See also Neo-Humanism, Palaestra, Rhetoric, Seven Liberal Arts

Excellent definition

Incomplete definition ↓

ANTIQUITY

pedagogical thought and educational practice. Ped. thought and system will educate. institutions first reached mature forms in Greece by the 4th century. BC e. after long evolution of the polis (city-state), in Rome - towards the end. 1st century BC e., when the slave owner. The republic was replaced by an empire. Despite the limited material and social base of antiquity. culture, it was in antiquity that ped. ideals that served as a model for subsequent eras.

Greece. The idea of ​​an ideal model of behavior already exists among the heroes of Homer’s poems, whom Plato called the first educator of the Hellenes. From Homer's poems and myths it is known that boys were taught javelin throwing, running, horse riding, hunting, and playing the lyre. Conduct yourself with dignity not only in council and in battle, but also during sports. competitions, and at the feast (“Always be the best and surpass others”) requires the honor of the hero, and his valor allows him to maintain his dignity.

Basic the method of education is imitation of models, including mythological ones; Homer's heroes themselves subsequently become models for the noble young aristocrat. In Greek policy, education was considered as one of the main. functions of the state; Here, for the first time, the task of training and educating children (mainly boys) of the entire free population was set. Basic will educate institute in policies of the 7th-6th centuries. BC e. there was a system of religions. festivities that required preliminaries. teaching “musical arts”: dance, music, words. The rite of the holiday cemented the community from within. From the outside, constant strife forced us to unite. Therefore, other basic The military became an element of a young man’s upbringing. training that took on hypertrophied forms in Sparta (the so-called Spartan education).

The need to constantly maintain the dominance of a small group of Spartiates over the mass of subordinate perieci and conquered helots led to the creation (beginning of the 6th century BC) and conservation for 3 centuries of military forces. state with its own system of educating soldiers, soldiers' wives and soldiers' mothers. Ch. The direction of the Spartan system was morals. education, the goal of which was considered to be the complete subordination of the individual to the interests of the social group. The most important feature was the strict regulation by the state of various aspects of life, including the upbringing and education of children. State education for boys, which was run by the state. official pedonom, began at the age of 8 and consisted of 3 cycles: two cycles of 4 years - from 8 to 11 years ("boys") and from 11 to 15 years ("teenagers") and a 5-year "ephebia" - from 16 up to 20 years (“irenes” or “airens” is the Spartan name for ephebes). The young men were divided into squads, squads into units; The age hierarchy demanded unconditional submission to the older boys who stood at the head of the detachment, as well as to all adult men.

Phys. the exercises involved the development of strength, agility, endurance, but not physical beauty. Constant clashes between peers developed an insensitivity to pain, demonstrated during the ritual of public flagellation; at the festival of gymnopedia (from the mid-6th century BC), young men who performed naked (which initially had a purely ritual meaning) showed their ability to endure the heat; During cryptia (secret forays to intimidate and kill helots) in winter they walked barefoot and slept on the bare ground. Gymnastics, running competitions, and a strict lifestyle physically strengthened the girls and were supposed to serve to improve the Spartan breed.

The intellectual education of the Spartiates was reduced to a minimum (the rudiments of reading and writing) and was left to private teachers. Music was valued for its ability to organize and mobilize warriors. Will bring up evidence of militarization. programs in Sparta are the songs of Tyrtaeus (2nd half of the 7th century BC), who called for neglecting any glory (including sports) except military glory. This, however, did not mean a reduction in the role of sports in the military training system in Sparta. A sense of collectivism was also maintained by societies. meals.

On the physical character. preparation was influenced by the program of pan-Greek (Olympic, Isthmian and other games) and local competitions: running, wrestling, pentathlon (pentathlon: running, jumping, discus and javelin throwing, wrestling), horse racing, chariot racing. At the Pythian Games in honor of Apollo, flutists and cithara players also competed, and competitions in wisdom were held. In the winners, not only strength and dexterity were valued, but rather, their chosenness both before the gods who allowed the victory, and among people. Victory in the competition was primarily a means of maintaining the aristocracy. prestige. Popularity of common Greek and local sports. competitions testified to the extraordinary development of the agonistic (competitive) spirit among the Greeks, which also manifested itself in the intellectual sphere. K con. 6th century BC e. the Greeks began to gradually cultivate intellectual virtues, although physical. qualities continued to remain paramount.

The introduction of written laws (for example, the laws of Solon in Athens, 594), the development of legal proceedings and judicial eloquence had a decisive influence on the formation of life in the city. By the 5th century. BC e. eloquence has become fundamental. element in the system of education of young men. The formation of a written tradition in literature was important. OK. 560 BC e. Homeric poems were written down in Athens; to the 5th century BC e. reading them and memorizing them became the basis of the school. education. At the same time, history arose. prose: throughout antiquity, poets and historians, using examples from the past, sought to educate future generations, in Attica from the end. 6th century BC e. theater and performances spread. At the same time, scientific research was formed. knowledge. From the 6th century BC e. Arithmetic, geometry, geography and astronomy developed. In the first philosophical school - Pythagorean (c. 532 BC, in Croton), which still had the character of a relit, community, cosmology, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and harmony were studied. In con. 6th century BC e. honey was founded in Croton and Cyrene. schools. Honey enjoyed great influence. school o. Kos (Hippocrates belonged to it).

The democratization and intellectualization of polis life affected the Greek. culture and education. In their development from the end. 6th century BC e. Attica, with Athens at its head, began to play the leading role. The Athenian education system included a combination of mental (musical) and physical (gymnastic) education. From the age of 7, boys, accompanied by slave teachers, simultaneously visited the palaestra (where they were introduced to physical education), music. and grammatical schools, which, as a rule, were private. By the 5th century. BC e. carried out by the state obligated. military education (“ephebia”) was limited to two years (from 18 to 20 years).

Intellectualization of morals. and citizen ideals undermined traditions. belief in the innateness of virtue. Back in the 1st quarter. 5th century BC e. Pindar proclaimed: “The wise know many things from birth, but those who need teaching croak chatteringly and idly,” but already in the middle. 5th century BC e. so-called the senior sophists (Gorgias, Protagoras) declared their task to be “the education of people.”

The sophists tried to formulate the basic. ideas of Hellenic ped. thoughts. The concept of “found” (comprehensive development, education and culture) and the ideal of “kalokagathia” (physical and moral perfection) were cultivated. The Sophists established a set of sciences and arts, which were supposed to provide free young men with success in citizenship. field. First of all, they taught dialectics (the art of argument) and rhetoric (eloquence), which in turn required knowledge of mythology, history, and legislation. The formation of the highest begins with the sophists. education: appropriate programs and textbooks appeared, but there were still no permanent higher education. schools.

The relativism of the sophists (for example, the proof of the correctness and incorrectness of any position depending on the circumstances) destroyed the foundations of tradition. piety and education built on it. Relativity of morals. the norms preached by the Sophists aroused objections from Socrates. Without leaving the framework of sophistry. rationalism in the formulation and resolution of ped. problems, Socrates contrasted practicality with sophistry. schools' idea of ​​self-sufficiency. the meaning of virtue, the objectivity of morals. normal

By the 4th century. BC e. democr. The polis and the polis system itself entered an era of decline. However, it was at this time that philosophies were created. schools - the students of Socrates Euclid (in Megara), Phaedo (in Elis), Antisthenes and Plato (in Athens). OK. 390 BC e. Isocrates opened the school of rhetoric. Sophists Jr. generations no longer played a leading role in the development of pedagogy. thoughts of Greece. For Plato and Isocrates, most. outstanding teachers of the 4th century. BC e., characterized by the desire to educate citizens in the spirit of ancient nobility with worthy examples and instructions. By criticizing the sophists, they limited the competence of the sophists. “science”: morality and virtue cannot be taught, as they teach the art of calculation or argument. The most important role in the history of antiquity. pedagogy belongs to Plato’s student Aristotle, who continued the work begun by the Sophists on the development of school methods. education. Even at the Academy (under Plato), and subsequently at the Lyceum, Aristotle taught courses in rhetoric, logic, etc., and therefore created a number of works, which after 3 centuries became the main ones. textbooks on logic, physics, metaphysics and other sciences.

Hellenism. Along with the Academy and Lyceum in Athens at the very end. 4th century BC e. Philosophy arose. the school of Epicurus (“Garden”) and the Stoics (“Portic”), which turned Athens into a center of education, a kind of “pedagogical province” of Hellenistic. world, the ideal of the cut inspired thinkers and teachers of the West. Europe 18 - early 19th centuries During the Hellenistic era, new scientific studies were created. and cultural centers: in Alexandria in the beginning. 3rd century BC e. the famous Museyon was organized with a library, a menagerie and a botanical garden. garden In the Alexandria library they gathered and studied the works. in all branches of literature, science and culture, philology was formed here. tradition of working with texts (primarily with the works of the “classics” used in schools). Other scientific the center was Pergamon; Apamea, Antioch, and Syracuse were famous for their large banks. Rhodes was a famous center of rhetoric.

Teachers appeared. manuals on all areas of knowledge of the Hellenistic era. A number of op. in logic and linguistics belonged to representatives of Stoic philosophy. A textbook of the Alexandrian tradition has reached us - the grammar of Dionysius of Thracia, who had plural. followers. Aristoxenus's manual “The Beginnings of Harmony” (2nd half of the 4th century BC) in Sv. BC e. was adapted for the needs of the school by Kleonidom, the author of “Introduction to Harmony”. In the beginning. 3rd century BC e. Euclid created the Elements, ca. 100 N. e. Nicomachus of Ge-rasa wrote “Introduction to Arithmetic.” Astronomy according to Eudoxus of Cnidus was presented in hexameters by Aratom (mid-3rd century BC); development of astronomy in the 3rd-2nd centuries. BC e. Aristarchus of Samos and Hipparchus found a popular exposition among the 1st century Stoics. BC e. Gemina of Rhodes.

The character of the beginning education in the Hellenistic era compared to the classical. virtually unchanged by the era. At the age of 7-14 years, boys attended, under the guidance of a “teacher,” a cytharist school, a palestra, a grammar school, where they studied the alphabet, learned to write syllables, words, and then copied coherent texts from Homer or tragedians; learned to read (aloud) from selections from Homer, sometimes adapted from Aesop's fables, as well as edification. anthologies of lyric poetry; numeracy was taught (four arithmetic operations, fractions, monetary units, measures of weight and length). Corporal punishment was used at school.

The range of classes at a higher level is in grammar. school - was already determined by the new character of the Hellenistic. education. Under the guidance of a grammarian, usually in the gymnasium, “authors” were read, primarily Homer, Hesiod, and later Apollonius of Rhodes; lyricists Alcman, Alcaeus, Sappho, Pindar and others (at the choice of the teacher, often contemporaries); tragedians - Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and among comedians - Menander. The prose of Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon and Hellanicus was studied to a lesser extent. Of the speakers, special attention was paid to Demosthenes. The student was introduced to the work by a summary: the text was read aloud “with expression”, interpreted word by word, some words were explained through synonyms; then came comments - grammatical, metrical, historical. In conclusion, the text was assessed and a moral was derived. Reading and interpretation of the “authors” were accompanied by an exercise in writing, and schoolwork was practiced. the genres of these exercises are progymnasms (preliminary exercises). Training in eloquence was special. the task of the rhetoric school.

State system higher education - the upbringing of ephebes - involved, first of all, military. and physical exercises, as well as lessons, performances and lectures. The exercises were carried out in the gymnasium, in special. a room, usually richly decorated, - “ephebeion”; Grammar, philosophy and rhetoric were studied, less often mathematics, and sometimes medicine. Wide education the program was introductory in nature and was not designed for profs. training, which was acquired privately through the study of rhetoric, philosophy and medicine from famous teachers and in general. famous Hellenistic centers education.

Rome. Hellenistic influence education in the 3rd century. BC e. extended to Rome, which by this time had become leading in the military. in relation to the state of the Mediterranean, but was at a relatively low stage of cultural development. If the Greeks, from ancient times, had as their ideal of behavior a noble - “god-like” - hero, hero and warrior, then “rural Latium” cultivated the ideal of an independent farmer. Emphasized loyalty to the morals of the ancestors was kept primarily in the family, the influence of which on the upbringing of the child was dominant. Slaves and children were equally in complete submission to the father of the family; The authority and influence of the mother, who herself fed the child, were great for him throughout his life. The girls were raised in the family and for family life. The boys received practical training. education and, accompanying his father, became acquainted with the range of his responsibilities and with the affairs of the state. Teaching literacy in the beginning. school (ludus littera-rius) was of an elementary nature. Under the guidance of a mentor (magister ludi or litterator), they learned to read according to the “Laws of the 12 Tables” and memorized certain sacred formulas. At the age of 15-16, young men put on a man's goga and practiced under the guidance of a practical speaker. studying civics license and were in military service for a year. service (tirocinium fori and tirocinium militiae, which corresponded to the Greek ephe-bia).

The first obvious fact is Greek. influence on the character of Rome. education - free translation into Lat. language “The Odyssey” of Homer, made by the Greek freedman Livnus Andronicus (3rd century BC) for the school he organized in Rome. Since then, the translation of the Odyssey has been the main one for almost two centuries. uch. allowance in lat. school. Shk. teacher (grammaticus or literatus) and playwright Ennius (late 3rd century BC) set himself the task of rebuilding Rome. literature and Rome education in Greek samples. In this he was supported by the Hellenophile circle of Rome. commander Scipio the Elder. The Romans did not take root. components of the Greek education: gym-nasgika, teaching music, singing, dancing. Shy about nudity, the Romans rejected the palaestra and sports; they preferred a circus with horse races and an amphitheater with gladiator fights to competitions. The spiritual wealth of the Greeks was assimilated. In 168 BC e. In Rome, the Pergamon philologist Crates gave lectures on literature and language. In the 60s 2nd century BC e. grammar began to appear in Rome. schools (scholae), where Greek was taught. language, and the program is lat. schools became more complicated. Greek and Lat. schools existed in parallel. The Greeks began to teach philosophy and rhetoric. Greek influence rhetoric was reflected in the speeches of Rome. politicians, and the influence of the Greek. philosophy in particular intensified after the lectures (155 BC in Rome) by representatives of the three philosophies. schools of Athens: the academician Carneades, the peripatetic Critolaus and the Stoic Diogenes. Nobles of Rome. families hired Greek tutors for their children. Against the Hellenization of Rome. way of life was made by Marcus Porcius Cato, who himself, however, did not escape the influence of the Greeks: according to the Greek. His manual “On Agriculture” was written on the basis of samples.

The first higher (rhetorical) school was opened by Lucius Plotius Gallus in 93 BC. e., but a year later it closed as an institution contrary to the morals of its ancestors. However, “lat. Rhetors" continued their teaching activities. In 85 BC e. the famous “Rhetoric of Herennius” appeared, which remained a classic. a manual on rhetoric up to the Renaissance (in the 4th-15th centuries AD it was attributed to Cicero). The textbook reflected the Roman tendency to create independence. traditions of the highest education, in accordance with the cut for rhetoric. The developments that were proposed were not fictional myths. topics, but real facts from Rome. stories using lat. Greek equivalents terms. However, the highest education in Greek sample.

The need for lat. uch. manuals for a complete course of education of a free citizen lay at the heart of the work of the encyclopedist scientist Marcus Terence Varro, “the father of Rome. education." He wrote the “Sciences” (Disciplinae; 33 BC), which included grammar, rhetoric, dialectics, music, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy; medicine, architecture (the first seven made up the trivium and quad-rivium of the so-called seven liberal arts). At the same time, in the works of Cicero (including in the treatise “On the Orator”), the concept of humanitas was developed, corresponding to the Greek. paideia. Cicero formulated the cultural ideal of a person who combines philosophical education (as a means of individual improvement) and rhetorical education (as a means of social influence).

Rhetoric schools began to strengthen in Rome from the era of Augustus (27 BC - 14 AD) and in the 1st century. n. e. spread throughout the empire. Study in Rome grammatical and rhetoric schools theoretically included music, geometry, and astronomy, but in practice they did little of this. But the undoubted achievement of the Romans were legal schools.

By the 1st century. n. e. in Rome, a 3-degree system of humanitarian education was established: elementary school (age children 7-12 years old; reading, writing, counting), grammatical school (12-15 years old; reading and interpretation of classical authors) and rhetorical school (15-18 years old ; exercises in eloquence). Although Rome grammarians and rhetoricians were taught in Greek. samples, Rome. Tradition had an independent meaning for the Middle Ages. cultural tradition, ch. arr. because in Rome. grammatical schools from the beginning 1st century BC e. gradually established its own set of classics. authors: in 26 BC e. Quintus Caecilius introduced Epirotes into the school. the texts of Virgil, who had not yet completed work on the Aeneid, were used in everyday life (during the authors’ lifetime, the works of Ovid and Statius were also studied at school). In addition, Terence was required to be studied at grammar school; from historians - Sallust. Will exclude. place - as a role model - was occupied by Cicero. To study a number of authors (for example, Horace), the level of grammatical. school was considered insufficient, so their works were mastered in rhetoric schools. About the program of the rhetoric school in the 1st century. n. e. can be judged from op. Quintilian "On the Education of the Orator." First lat. grammar was created in the 1st century. Remmiem Palemon (not preserved). Among the comments on Wed. centuries, the works of Donatus, Servius, and Macrobius were popular. In the 4th century. n. e. Donat amounted to school. a grammar manual, an abbreviated version of which is especially common in Wed. century. max. gave a detailed presentation of grammar in the beginning. 6th century n. e. Priscian.

In the 1st century n. e. Rome. Emperors began to exercise control over the school system. education. Vespasian (reigned 69-79) began to subsidize both Roman and Greek. grammarians and rhetoricians (including Quintilian) from the imperial treasury. Tra-yan (98-117) introduced an allowance for the education of a certain number of unemployed children. citizens. Anthony Pius (138-161) exempted grammarians, rhetoricians and philosophers from certain taxes and gave a number of privileges (the right not to serve in the army, etc.). At the same time, restrictions were established: the city was supposed to have no more than 5 grammarians and rhetoricians. Marcus Aurelius restored 4 philosophies in 176. schools in Athens and established a school of rhetoric. Constantine the Great, by edicts 321, 326 and 333, expanded the privileges of teachers: they were allowed to hold judicial positions, they themselves and their families were declared free from taxes. Julian the Apostate (361-363) tried to remove Christian teachers from the school. Gratian in 376 doubled the amount paid from the mountains. funds for the maintenance of the school. In 425, Theodosius and Valentinian finally approved the state. character of the school by prohibiting private teaching. In the beginning. 6th century n. e. Justinian expelled pagan teachers from schools and in 529 closed the language. Philosopher schools in Athens. However, the main antique elements education systems, antique textbooks, texts and commentaries were adopted by the Middle Ages, and pedagogy. the ideals of antiquity formed the basis of the pedagogy of humanism (see Renaissance).

Incomplete definition ↓

Antiquity is a term derived from the Latin "antics" which literally means "ancient". In the narrow sense of the word “antiquity” this is Greco-Roman antiquity. When we talk about ancient civilization, we need to talk about the civilization of the Mediterranean basin (river civilizations, those that formed in the valleys of large rivers, Babylonian, Sumerian, Egyptian, Chinese, Itskaya).

Since antiquity accounts for several thousand years of human history, it is usually divided into eras and periods.

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

Early Antiquity (8th century BC - 2nd century BC)

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

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

Time periods may vary somewhat within the geopolitical context. Thus, the golden age of antiquity in Ancient Greece was celebrated earlier than in the Roman Empire. In addition, ancient civilization in the Eastern Roman Empire arose earlier and died out later than in the Western part, where its way of life was destroyed by the invading Germans.

However, the ancient cultural heritage (mainly in late antique form) was quite well preserved in the life, culture, language and traditions of most modern Romanesque peoples, and from them it was passed on to other peoples of the Mediterranean (South Slavs, Arabs, Turks, Berbers, Jews) .

It should also be noted that many elements of classical antiquity (traditions, laws, customs, etc.) were well preserved in the Asia Minor core of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire until the 11th century, before the arrival of the Seljuk Turks.

Creto-Mycenaean period of Ancient civilization. End of III-II millennium BC

The birth and death of the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations dates back to this period. During the Cretan-Mycenaean period, the first state formations began to emerge, and navigation began to develop. Trade and diplomatic contacts are being established with the civilizations of the Ancient East. Writing appears.

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

Creto-Mycenaean period. Distinctive features of the Minoan civilization:

1. The Minoan civilization was a state ruled by a king.

2. The Minoans traded with Ancient Egypt and exported copper from Cyprus. The architecture is characterized by reinterpreted Egyptian borrowings (for example, the use of columns).

3. The Minoan army was armed with slings and bows. A characteristic weapon of the Minoans was also the double-sided labrys axe.

4. Like other peoples of Old Europe, the Minoans had a widespread cult of the bull (see taurocatapsy).

5. The Minoans smelted bronze, produced ceramics and built palace complexes from the mid-20th century BC. (Knossos, Phaistos, Mallia).

6. Like other pre-Indo-European religions in Europe, the Minoan religion is not alien to the remnants of matriarchy. In particular, the Goddess with snakes (possibly an analogue of Astarte) was revered.

Creto-Mycenaean period.

Periodization of the Minoan civilization:

1. Early Minoan period (XXX-XXIII centuries BC). The dominance of tribal relations, the beginning of the development of metals, the beginnings of crafts, the development of navigation, a relatively high level of agrarian relations.

2. Middle Minoan period (XXII-XVIII centuries BC). Also known as the period of "old" or "early" palaces. The emergence of early state formations in different parts of the island. Construction of monumental palace complexes in several regions of Crete. Early forms of writing.

3. Late Minoan period (XVII-XII centuries BC). The heyday of the Minoan civilization, the unification of Crete, the creation of the maritime power of King Minos, the wide scope of Crete’s trading activities in the Aegean Sea basin, the heyday of monumental construction (“new” palaces in Knossos, Mallia, Phaistos). Active contacts with ancient Eastern states. Natural disaster of the mid-15th century. BC. becomes the cause of the decline of the Minoan civilization, which created the preconditions for the conquest of Crete by the Achaeans.

Creto-Mycenaean period. Mycenaean civilization (Balkan Greece)

1. Early Helladic period (XXX-XXI centuries BC). The dominance of tribal relations among the pre-Greek population in Balkan Greece. The appearance of the first large settlements and proto-palace complexes.

2. Middle Helladic period (XX-XVII centuries BC). The settlement of the first waves of Greek speakers - the Achaeans - in the south of the Balkan Peninsula, which was accompanied by a slight decrease in the overall level of socio-economic development of Greece. The beginning of the decomposition of tribal relations among the Achaeans.

3. Late Helladic period (XVI-XII centuries BC). The emergence of an early class society among the Achaeans, the formation of a productive economy in agriculture and a number of state formations with centers in Mycenae, Tiryns, Pylos, Thebes, etc., the formation of original writing, the flourishing of Mycenaean culture. The Achaeans subjugate Crete and destroy the Minoan civilization. In the 12th century. BC. a new tribal group invades Greece - the Dorians, the death of the Mycenaean statehood.

Polis period of Ancient civilization

(XI-IV centuries BC) Ethnic consolidation of the Greek world. The formation, flourishing and crisis of polis structures with democratic and oligarchic forms of statehood. The highest cultural and scientific achievements of ancient Greek civilization.

Homeric (pre-polis) period, “dark ages” (XI-IX centuries BC)

The final destruction of the remnants of the Mycenaean (Achaean) civilization, the revival and dominance of tribal relations, their transformation into early class ones, the formation of unique pre-polis social structures.

Archaic Greece (VIII-VI centuries BC)

First period of antiquity. Begins parallel to the decline of the Bronze Age. Although the 8th-7th century BC is still largely protohistoric, with the earliest Greek alphabetic inscriptions appearing in the later 8th century. The beginning of the Antiquity period is considered to be the date of the establishment of the Ancient Olympic Games in 776 BC.

Formation of policy structures. Great Greek Colonization. Early Greek tyrannies. Ethnic consolidation of Hellenic society. The introduction of iron into all areas of production, economic growth. Creation of the foundations of commodity production, the spread of elements of private property.

Classical Greece (V-IV centuries BC)

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

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

Hellenistic period

Hellenistic (IV-I centuries BC). The short-term establishment of the world power of Alexander the Great. The origin, flourishing and collapse of the Hellenistic Greek-Eastern statehood.

First Hellenistic period (334-281 BC)

The campaigns of the Greek-Macedonian army of Alexander the Great, the short period of existence of his world power and its collapse into a number of Hellenistic states. High Hellenism coincided with the fierce Punic Wars, which diverted Rome's attention from the eastern regions of the Mediterranean, and lasted until the Roman conquest of Macedonia in 168 and their destruction of Corinth. During these years, Rhodes flourished, the rich kingdom of Pergamon played a huge role under Attalus I (241-197) and Eumenes II (197-152), and the majestic monuments of Ptolemaic Egypt were built.

1. Second Hellenistic period (281-150 BC)

2. The flourishing of Greek-Eastern statehood, economy and culture.

3. Third Hellenistic period (150-27 BC)

4. Crisis and collapse of Hellenistic statehood.

5. Roman Empire

6. Roman Empire (27 BC-476 AD)

7. Principate (27 BC-284 AD)

8. Tetrarchy and dominance (285-324 AD)

9. Decline of the Roman Empire (395-476 AD)

By the beginning of the First Century, the civilization process gradually began to shift north. In the north, in the Mediterranean basin, it was inhabited by about twenty large peoples who created their own civilizations (they belong to the Mediterranean type, also known as Thallasocratic or Sea Peoples civilizations (Phoenician, Keklatsky).

Ancient civilization existed for twelve centuries starting from the eighth century BC. and ended in the fifth century AD. Ancient civilization was divided into two local civilizations; a) Ancient Greek (8th-1st centuries BC) b) Roman (8th century BC - 5th century AD) Between these local civilizations, a particularly bright era of Hellenism stands out, which covers the period from 323 BC. e. to 30 BC

At the turn of the 7th - 6th centuries. BC. In Southern Europe, a social mutation occurred within this type of society. As a result of Solon's reforms and related processes in the policies of Ancient Greece, a phenomenon of antiquity arose, the basis of which was civil society and the rule of law; the presence of specially developed legal norms, rules, privileges and guarantees to protect the interests of citizens and owners.

The main elements of the ancient structure not only survived, but also, in synthesis with Christianity, contributed to the formation of the foundations of a privately owned market economy in the medieval city-communes and trading republics of Europe that had autonomy and self-government (Venice, Hansa, Genoa). During the Renaissance and then the Enlightenment, the ancient genotype of European civilization manifested itself in full, taking the form of capitalism.

Despite the alternative nature of the social genotype of antiquity compared to the evolutionary type of development in the East, until approximately the 14th - 17th centuries. there was much in common between the West and the East. Cultural achievements in the East at this time were quite comparable in importance to the successes of the European Renaissance (the Copernican system, printing, great geographical discoveries). The East is the world's largest hydraulic and defensive structures; multi-deck ships, including those for ocean navigation; collapsible metal and ceramic fonts; compass; porcelain; paper; silk.

Moreover, Europe, acting as the heir of ancient civilization, became familiar with it through Muslim intermediaries, having first become acquainted with many ancient Greek treatises translated from Arabic. Many European humanist writers of the Renaissance widely used artistic means developed in Iranian and Arabic poetry, and the very concept of “humanism” (“humanity”) was first heard in Farsi and was conceptualized in the work of Saadi.

The concept of "antiquity" appeared during the Renaissance, when Italian humanists introduced the term "antique" (Latin antiguus - ancient) to define Greco-Roman culture, the oldest known at that time. Without diminishing the importance of other ancient civilizations, it should be recognized that Ancient Greece, the Hellenistic states and Ancient Rome had a special influence on the history of the peoples of Europe.

In the history of ancient Greece, the following periods are distinguished: Homeric and early archaic (IX-VIII centuries BC - collapse of tribal society); (VII-VI centuries BC - the formation of slave states - policies); classical (5th century to the last third of the 4th century BC - the heyday of the policies); Hellenistic (the last third of the 4th century - until the middle of the 2nd century BC - the decline of the poleis, the Macedonian Empire, Hellenistic states).

However, before antiquity, the Cretan-Mycenaean culture existed in the history of Ancient Greece. Its centers were the island of Crete and the city of Mycenae. The time of the emergence of the Cretan culture (or Minoan - named after the legendary king of Crete Minos) is the turn of the 3rd-2nd millennium BC. Having experienced periods of rise and decline, it existed until about 1200 BC.

All life in Crete was centered around palaces, perceived as a single architectural ensemble. The remarkable wall paintings inside the rooms, corridors and porticos deserve special attention. Among the monuments of the crafts and arts of the Cretan civilization that have come down to us are beautiful frescoes, wonderful bronze figurines, weapons and magnificent polychrome (multi-color) ceramics. Religion played an important role in the life of Crete; a special form of royal power arose there - a theocracy, in which secular and spiritual power belonged to one person.

The Mycenaean (or Achaean) civilization flourished in the 15th-13th centuries. BC. As in Crete, the main embodiment of culture is palaces. The most significant of them were found in Mycenae, Tiryns, Pylos, Athens, Iolka.

At the end of the 13th century. BC. a huge mass of Northern Balkan barbarian tribes, not affected by the Cretan-Mycenaean civilization, rushed south. The leading role in this migration of peoples was played by the Greek tribe of the Dorians. They had a great advantage over the Achaeans - iron weapons were more effective than bronze. It was with the arrival of the Dorians in the XII-XI centuries. BC. The Iron Age begins in Greece, and it was at this time that the Cretan-Mycenaean civilization ceased to exist.

Culture of the Homeric period. The next period of Greek history is usually called Homeric - after the name of the great Homer. His beautiful poems "Iliad" and "Odyssey", created in the 8th century. BC, is the most important source of information about this time. During this period, there is a kind of accumulation of strength before a new rapid rise. Of great importance was the radical renewal of the technical base - the widespread distribution of iron and its introduction into production. This prepared the path of historical development, upon which the Greeks were able to reach heights of cultural and social progress unprecedented in the history of mankind over the course of 3-4 centuries, leaving far behind their neighbors both in the East and in the West.

Culture of the archaic period. The archaic period of Greek history covers the VIII-VI centuries. BC. At this time, the Great Colonization took place - the development by the Greeks of the coasts of the Mediterranean, Black and Marmara Seas. As a result, the Greek world emerged from the state of isolation in which it found itself after the collapse of the Cretan-Mycenaean culture. The Greeks learned a lot from other peoples: from the Lydians - coinage, from the Phoenicians - alphabetic writing, which they improved. The development of science and art was also influenced by the achievements of Ancient Babylon and Egypt. These and other elements of foreign cultures organically entered Greek culture.

In the VIII-VI centuries. BC e. in Greece, socio-economic and political development reached a level that gave ancient society a special specificity in comparison with other civilizations of antiquity. These phenomena include: classical slavery, the system of monetary circulation and the market, the polis - the main form of political organization, the idea of ​​​​the sovereignty of the people and a democratic form of government. The largest policies are Athens, Sparta, Corinth, Argos, Thebes. Pan-Greek sanctuaries, the emergence of which was facilitated by the creation of a single pantheon of gods as a result of the merging of local cults, became important centers of economic, political, and cultural ties between city-states.

An important component of spiritual life was mythology, which was extremely rich and fascinating. For more than two thousand years it has remained a source of inspiration for many poets and artists. The work of Hesiod (VIII-VII centuries BC), who wrote the poems “Theogony” (about the origin of the gods) and “Works and Days,” is remarkable. In "Theogony" an attempt was made to systematize not only the genealogy of the gods, but also the history of the origin of the world.

In the archaic era, the first philosophical system of antiquity arose - natural philosophy. Its representatives (Thales, Anaximenes, Anaximander) tried to comprehend nature and its laws, to identify the fundamental principle of all things, while they perceived the world as a single material whole. Pythagoras (VI century BC) and his followers followed the same line of research into the root cause of the world; they considered numbers and numerical relations to be the basis of all things, and made a significant contribution to the development of mathematics, astronomy and music theory.

In the VIII-VI centuries. BC. Greek historiography is born. The emergence of Greek theater also dates back to this time.

Despite the fact that in the archaic period Greece did not represent a single country, regular trade relations between individual policies led to the formation of ethnic identity - the Greeks gradually began to recognize themselves as a single people, different from others. One of the manifestations of such self-awareness was the famous Olympic Games (the first in 776 BC), to which only Hellenes were allowed.

The classical period (from the turn of the 6th-5th centuries BC to 339 BC) is the heyday of the polis organization of society. Freedom in all spheres of public life is the special pride of the citizens of the Greek polis.

Athens became the center of Greek culture. The Athenian state in just one century (5th century BC) gave humanity such eternal “companions” of its history and culture as Socrates and Plato, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides and Aristophanes, Phidias and Thucydides, Themistocles, Pericles, Xenophon . This phenomenon is called the "Greek miracle."

The external manifestation of the internal freedom of the Greeks is their democracy. The formation of Greek democracy begins with the “military democracy” of Homeric times, then the reforms of Solon and Cleisthenes (VI century BC), and, finally, its development in the “golden age” of Pericles (reign 490-429 BC). BC.). Citizens of the polis, imitating nature and the gods, served by slaves, fully enjoyed the benefits of life in what they imagined were comfortable small states, feeling truly independent and sovereign. A polis system of values ​​was developed: a firm belief that the polis is the highest good, that human existence outside its framework is impossible, and the well-being of an individual depends on the well-being of the polis. His values ​​included recognition of the superiority of agricultural labor over all other activities (the only exception was Sparta) and condemnation of the desire for profit.

A special distinguishing feature from other civilizations is ancient anthropocentrism. It was in Athens that the philosopher Protagoras of Abdera (c. 490 - c. 420 BC) proclaimed the famous saying “man is the measure of all things.” For the Greeks, man is the personification of all that exists, the prototype of everything created and being created; it became not only the predominant, but almost the only theme of classical art. This feeling of the Greeks was reflected in the art of the archaic and classical periods, which knows no examples of not only spiritual, but also physical suffering. Myron, Polykleitos, Phidias - the greatest sculptors of this time - depicted gods and heroes. Their “Olympic” calm, majesty, state of mind, devoid of doubts and worries, express the perfection that a person, if he has not achieved, can and should achieve.

Only in the 4th century. BC. - late classics - when the Greeks discovered new facets in life that were beyond their control, human experiences, passions, and impulses gradually began to take the place of greatness. These processes are manifested both in sculpture and in literature. The tragedies of Aeschylus (late archaic) express the ideas (ideal obligation) of human feat, patriotic duty in general. Sophocles (classics) already glorifies man, and he himself says that he depicts people as they should be. Euripides (late classic) strives to show people as they really are, with all their weaknesses and vices.

In the 5th century BC. Greek historiography is actively developing. The ancients called Herodotus (454-430 BC) “the father of history”. He wrote a complete, beautifully presented work - “History”, based on the plots of the Greco-Persian wars. The main task of art of the 5th century. BC, its basis is a truthful image of a man, strong, energetic, full of dignity and balance of mental strength - the winner in the Persian wars, a free citizen of the polis. At this time, realistic sculpture in marble and bronze reached its peak. The works of Phidias ("Athena the Warrior", "Athena-Parthenos" for the Parthenon in Athens, "Zeus" for the temple in Olympia), Myron ("Discus Thrower"), Polykleitos (statue of Hera, made of gold and ivory, " Doryphoros", "Wounded Amazon").

Harmony, proportionality, classical proportions - these are what fascinate us in ancient art and have determined the European canons of beauty and perfection for centuries. The senses of order and measure were the most important for antiquity: evil was understood as immensity, and good as moderation. “Observe moderation in everything!” taught by the ancient Greek poet Hesiod. "Nothing too much!" - read the inscription above the entrance to the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi.

Hellenistic civilization. In the last decades of the 4th century. BC. the end of the classical culture of ancient Hellas came. This began with the Eastern Campaign of Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) and the massive colonization flow of Hellenes into the newly conquered lands. This led to the destruction of polis democracy. As a result, a new stage in the development of material and spiritual culture, forms of political organization and social relations of the peoples of the Mediterranean, Western Asia and adjacent areas gradually emerged. The spread and influence of the Hellenistic civilization was extremely wide: Western and Eastern Europe, Western and Central Asia, North Africa. The era of Hellenism has arrived - a synthesis of Hellenic and Eastern cultures. Thanks to this synthesis, a common cultural language emerged, which formed the basis for the entire subsequent history of European culture.

The culture of the Hellenistic civilization combined local stable traditions with the traditions of culture introduced by conquerors and settlers, Greeks and non-Greeks.

These changes determined the need for the Hellenes to understand their inner world. New philosophical movements met this need: Cynics, Epicureanism, Stoicism (philosophy in Greece was always considered not so much a subject of study, but rather a guide to life). The main question was: where do evil and injustice come from in the world and how to live in order to maintain at least moral, internal independence and freedom?

Even a cursory listing of the achievements of Hellenistic culture shows its enduring significance in the history of mankind. Hellenism enriched world civilization with new discoveries in the field of scientific knowledge and invention. In this regard, it is enough to mention the names of Euclid (III century BC) and Archimedes (ca. 287-212 BC). Within the framework of philosophy, social utopias were born and developed, describing an ideal social structure. The treasury of world art has been replenished with such masterpieces as the altar of Zeus in Pergamum, the statues of Venus de Milo and the Nike of Samothrace, and the sculptural group Laocoön. A new type of public building appeared: a library, a museum, which served as a center for work and the application of scientific knowledge. These and other cultural achievements, later inherited by the Byzantine Empire and the Arabs, entered the golden fund of universal human culture.

The dignity of Greek culture is that it discovered the human citizen, proclaiming the supremacy of his reason and freedom, the ideals of democracy and humanism. History knows of no more outstanding discoveries, for there is nothing more valuable to a person than the person himself.

Antiquity(from lat. antiquitas- antiquity, antiquity) is an era in the historical and cultural development of the world's population, associated with the Greco-Roman civilization (c. 7th century BC - 4th century AD).

The civilization of Ancient Greece and Old Rome is often considered as the initial era, source, base of European and modern world civilization and civilization in a number of eras: Antiquity - Middle Ages - Modern times. This point of view is due to the fact that Antiquity formed a state structure that became a model for modern civilization - democracy, and in the process of its formation created a culture that became one of the most significant reasons for the next world civilization. Therefore, the heyday of Greek democracy (V-IV centuries BC) is usually assessed as the era of traditional Greece.

In the architecture of the Antiquity period, an order system was created, the arch and vault were introduced, the building was formed as a single complete compositional whole, and a permanent urban planning system was created. In Antiquity one should find the sources of many values ​​that later formed European culture.

Also, from time to time, any very old periods are called antiquity, using the concept synonymously with the word “antiquity.”

Since Antiquity accounts for few centuries of human history, it is usually divided into eras and periods.

General periodization of Antiquity

In general, the general periodization of Antiquity looks like this:

Time periods may vary slightly within the geopolitical context. Thus, the Golden Age of Antiquity in Ancient Greece was celebrated earlier than in the Roman Empire. In addition, the ancient civilization in the Eastern Roman Empire arose earlier and died out later than in the Western part, where its way of life was destroyed by the invading Germans. Nevertheless, the ancient cultural heritage (mainly in the late antique form) was quite well preserved in the life, culture, language and traditions of the majority of modern Romanesque peoples, and from them was passed on to other peoples of the Mediterranean (South Slavs, Arabs, Turks, Berbers, Jews).

The final period of Antiquity is designated as Hellenic-Roman, since after Rome's conquest of the last Hellenistic monarchy - Egypt (30 BC) - the higher Greek civilization and culture continued to coexist with Roman culture, exerting a strong influence on it. In addition to democracy, among the achievements of Antiquity, it is necessary to emphasize art, architecture, literature, Roman law, and philosophy.

Many elements of traditional Antiquity (traditions, laws, customs, etc.) were perfectly preserved in the Asia Minor core of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire until the 11th century, before the invasion of the Seljuk Turks.

Geography of Antiquity

Balkan Greece in ancient times occupied the area ca. 88 thousand sq. km. In the northwest it bordered on Illyria, in the northeast - on Macedonia, in the west it was washed by the Ionian (Sicilian), in the southeast - the Myrtoian sea, in the east - the Aegean and Thracian seas. It included three regions - Northern Greece, Central Greece and Peloponnese. Northern Greece was divided into western (Epirus) and eastern (Thessaly) parts by the Pindus mountain range. Central Greece was delimited from Northern Greece by the Timfrest and Eta mountains and consisted of 10 regions (from west to east): Acarnania, Aetolia, Locris Ozole, Doris, Phocis, Locris Epiknemidskaya, Locris Opunta, Boeotia, Megaris and Attica. The Peloponnese was connected to the rest of Greece by the narrow (up to 6 km) Isthmus of Corinth.

The central region of the Peloponnese was Arcadia, which was bordered on the west by Elis, on the south by Messenia and Laconia, on the north by Achaea, on the east by Argolis, Phliuntia and Sicyonia; Corinthia was located in the last northeastern corner of the peninsula. Insular Greece consisted of several hundred islands (the largest are Crete and Euboea), forming three huge archipelagos - the Cyclades in the southwest of the Aegean Sea, the Sporades in the eastern and northern parts and the Ionian Islands off the western coast of Asia Minor. Balkan Greece is mainly a mountainous country (it is pierced from north to south by two branches of the Dinaric Alps) with a very indented coastline and countless gulfs (the largest are Ambracian, Corinthian, Messenian, Laconian, Argolid, Saronic, Malian and Pagasian).

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

Primary sources:

Additionally on the site about Antiquity: