1 sources on the history of ancient Greece. Natural conditions and population of Ancient Greece. Sources on the history of ancient Greece. Periodization of Greek history. Anthologies, readers, etc.
The data of written sources are largely supplemented by numerous material monuments that have survived to this day from all periods of the history of Ancient Greece. Finding material monuments through excavations, their preservation, restoration and study are the subject of archeology. The study of archaeological sites provides historians with numerous information on the history of crafts, art, trade and political relations, on the history of life and religion. For the most part, we do not find this information in written sources.
Archaeological sites are the remains of ancient cultures that are found during excavations. These include the ruins of ancient cities and settlements, tools and household items found in them, as well as ancient graves, where, in addition to the dead, various objects were placed.
Archaeological studies have shown that in most cases the ancient Greek city consisted of an acropolis (kremlin) with temples and public buildings, and a lower city, which, along with residential and craft quarters, included the main square (agora), which served as a place for public meetings and a market. .
Excavations of the residential quarters of Greek cities have provided interesting information about the social and economic situation of their inhabitants. The study of the agora in many cities brought particularly significant results: the Greeks usually placed statues of honored citizens and steles with texts of laws and regulations on this square. During excavations, many remains of these stelae and statues were found.
Very interesting are the tools of labor of the ancient Greeks discovered during excavations of cities and villages, usually quite primitive, which was due to the use of slave labor. Archaeological research introduced us to the development of various crafts among the Greeks. Now many details of ancient metallurgy are clear - ore mining, metal smelting, and the manufacture of metal products by forging and casting. Ceramic production is known in just as much detail thanks to the excavations of numerous large and small ceramic kilns and the finds of a mass of various pottery: vessels, tiles, water pipes, terracotta figurines and other clay products.
Drawings on expensive dishes and clay tablets introduce us to other Greek crafts (weaving, leatherworking, etc.), as well as to the work of Greek peasants. Some vase paintings testify to the plight of a slave in Greek society. Lead weights that have survived to this day and images of scales on vases enrich our understanding of Greek trade, the significant development of which is evidenced by numerous finds of handicrafts and coins in various areas of the ancient world.
The history of many wars that took place in antiquity was vividly described by ancient historians. The weapons of the Greek hoplites found by archaeologists - helmets, shells, shields, greaves, remnants of swords and spears - allow the modern reader to more clearly understand the events that took place.
The monuments of art, sculpture and architecture are especially diverse, testifying to the significant cultural level of ancient society.
A large number of archaeological sites were found during excavations of ancient cemeteries - necropolises. Since the ancient Greeks believed in an afterlife, they put the things they needed in the graves of the dead: a child - his toys, a warrior - his weapons, a woman - her jewelry. Of particular interest are tombstones, which often depicted relief portraits of the dead and carved the names of the deceased, sometimes with poetic epitaphs.
The peculiarity of archaeological monuments is that they are silent sources, they are things, not a story. Therefore, the archaeologist is in a more difficult position than the historian working with the text of ancient authors or inscriptions. But at the same time, archaeological sources have a great advantage: they are objective witnesses of ancient life, while every story of an ancient historian, to a greater or lesser extent, bears the stamp of subjective assessments, tendentiousness, and class limitations.
Due to the great importance of material monuments, without an idea of which it is impossible correct understanding Greek history, we consider it absolutely necessary to acquaint the reader with the results of excavations of the most important Greek centers, as well as the ancient cities of the Northern Black Sea region.
Lecture 1. Introduction to the history of Ancient Greece.
Lecture questions:
1. Periodization and sources of the history of Ancient Greece.
2. Historiography of the history of Ancient Greece
3. Geographical conditions of the Balkan Greece and Crete.
Introduction: Antiquity.
Russian word « antiquity" comes from the Latin "antiquus" - "ancient". In the Renaissance, antiquity in Europe was understood as all antiquity known then - “Greco-Roman”. Later, European scientists began to discover other "antiquities": Egyptian, Babylonian, Sumerian and others. Since then, the concepts of "antiquity", "ancient world" have been used in a narrower sense, to refer to the history and culture of ancient Greece and Rome.
Ancient civilization was born in the Mediterranean basin. The natural and climatic conditions of the region left an indelible imprint on it. The economy was largely determined by the cultivation of the "Mediterranean triad" - cereals, olives and grapes. Moreover, unlike the East, agriculture developed here without the use of artificial irrigation.
Recently, scientists have established a very curious coincidence - the boundaries of the ancient world, even during the period of maximum expansion of the Roman Empire, practically never extended far beyond the boundaries of the area where the grapevine grew - a culture without which the Greeks and Romans could not imagine civilized life.
The sea and islands, mountains and valleys largely predetermined not only the way of life of the Greeks, and later the Romans, but also influenced the external appearance and internal appearance of these peoples. Throughout ancient history, the Romans and Greeks remained largely different ethnic groups. But over time, they formed a historical and cultural community, whose representatives were aware of their difference from other peoples.
In the last centuries of the 1st millennium BC. e. two originally different ways of development of ancient society, Greek and Roman, merged into a single Greco-Roman civilization. Its final political form was the Roman Empire, which lasted until the end of the 5th century. n. e.
In the history of antiquity, two major stages are distinguished: Greek and Roman. Greeks or Hellenes, as they called themselves, were the first to create a civilization that spread throughout the Mediterranean. A little later, the Romans entered the historical arena of the Mediterranean. They managed to create a great state that united the entire ancient Mediterranean world for a long time.
Pax Romana arose within its borders - the “Roman world”, which contained the entire late antique civilization. In 476 a.d. e., when the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire was deposed, it ceased to exist. This event is usually taken by historians as the end of ancient history.
I. Periodization and sources of the history of Ancient Greece.
Periodization of ancient Greek history.
The history of Ancient Greece is usually divided into five periods, which are also cultural epochs:
Aegean or Crete-Mycenaean (III-II millennium BC);
Homer, he is also "dark ages" and "prepolis" (XI-IX centuries BC);
Archaic (VIII-VI centuries BC);
Classical (V-IV centuries BC);
Hellenistic (second half of the 4th - the middle of the 1st century BC).
The first three eras are often grouped under the common name preclassical period.
Sources on the history of ancient Greece
Sources on the history of Crete and mainland ("Achaean") Greece III-II millennium BC. e.
The few sources of this time are divided into three main categories: - written monuments written by the so-called. "linear writing";
Data from archaeological excavations of cities and settlements;
written sources. On the island of Crete, the oldest so-called. " linear A» (Eng. Linear script A). The vast majority of inscriptions using it were made on clay tablets. Some of them survived due to the fact that they were burnt during the fire. Some inscriptions are inked on vessels and other objects. The shape of the signs suggests that the main material for writing was not clay, but parchment or similar short-lived material.
After the conquest of Crete by the Achaean Greeks, "Linear A" disappears, supplanted by " Linear B» (Eng. Linear script B). The first tablets containing the signs of this letter were found Arthur Evans in 1901 during excavations in Crete. But only in 1950-1953 they were deciphered by the British Michael Ventris(1922 - 1956) and John Chadwick (1920-1998).
Currently, several thousand tablets are known, written with the letter B. They were found in Crete, during excavations of the cities of Pylos, Mycenae, Thebes, Tiryns in mainland Greece. The vast majority of the tablets date from the 14th-12th centuries. BC e. The inscriptions are very brief and are mainly business accounting documents.
In addition to the tablets found in the palace archives, inscriptions have been preserved, consisting of abbreviations of individual words, applied with paint or scratched on the walls of clay vessels, individual letters on seals placed on clay corks and tags.
Archaeological excavations. The most important results were obtained by studies of vast palace complexes: at Knossos and Phaistos on the island of Crete, at Mycenae and Pylos on the Peloponnese peninsula.
Works of ancient authors. The earliest written sources are the poems "Iliad" and "Odyssey", the author of which is traditionally attributed to Homer. It is generally accepted that they were created in the IX-VIII centuries. BC e., but contain many realities of the previous time. Quite a variety of data are also contained in the legends and myths of the Greeks - about the Athenian hero Theseus, about Hercules, about the voyage of the Argonauts and many others.
In the works of ancient authors of the 5th century BC. e. and subsequent centuries, separate memories of the past of the Hellenes, the power of the Cretan king Minos, the creation of a vast power by him, and the high culture of that time have been preserved. A small amount of data, mainly on the foreign policy situation of the Cretan and mainland Greek states, is contained in ancient Eastern monuments, primarily Hittite and Egyptian.
WRITTEN SOURCES
All written monuments are the most important historical sources that allow you to restore the course of specific events, find out what worried people, what they aspired to, how relations were built in the state at the social and personal levels. Written sources are divided into literary, or narrative, and documentary.
The earliest that have come down to us literary sources are epic poems Homer"Iliad" and "Odyssey", created at the beginning of the VIII century. BC e. The Homeric epic differs significantly from the mythological and epic works of the peoples of the Ancient East, since, due to the presence of secular, rational aspects, it contains very valuable information. The works of Homer lay the foundations of historical tradition and historical worldview. The memory of the thousand-year era of the Crete-Mycenaean civilization with its events, and above all with the fighting of the Trojan War, outgrew the boundaries of myth and became a historical landmark that determined in the collective memory of the Hellenes not only mythological, like most peoples, but also historical time. That is why the social system, mores, customs, etc. are reflected in artistic images vividly and reliably. At the same time, Homer's mythological picture of the world is widely represented. The world of the gods depicted by the poet (their images, functions) became the basis for the Greek Olympic religion.
An important epic source is the didactic poem of the Boeotian poet Hesiod(border of VIII-VII centuries BC) "Theogony". In the story about the origin of the gods, the poet draws a picture of the development of the world, reflecting the religious and mythological ideas of the Greek society of the archaic era. In this epic, mythological tales of the ancient past already merge with the description of the contemporary author. real history. In the poem "Works and Days" the poet gives realistic pictures of the life of the peasants of his time. The didactic epic of Hesiod argues that a just order is necessary not only for the world of the gods, but also for the world of people.
By the 7th century BC e. the intensive development of the Greek world left no room for the heroic epic. The most complete reflection of the era of the formation of a new, urban society and the emergence of an active personality are various genres of lyrics. In elegies and iambic Tirtea from Lacedaemon, Solon from Athens Theognis from Megara reflected the complex life of society, riddled with acute political conflicts, in which it is difficult for a person to find peace and happiness. The new self-awareness of the individual was reflected in poetry Archilochus and especially in the work of the Aeolian poets Alcaea and Sappho.
In addition to works of art, you can learn about the life of Ancient Greece from historical writings, official certificates of various kinds. The first documentary records were made in the 2nd millennium BC. e. in Achaean society. With the advent of the alphabet and the approval of policies, documentary evidence becomes much larger. Thus, from the fusion of the historical attitude in poetic creativity with official documentary records in ancient Greece, a historical tradition arose. It was reflected in a special prose genre, the development of which eventually led to the formation history as a science.
The emergence of Greek historical prose dates back to the 6th century. BC e. and is connected with the activity of the so-called logographers. Outlining the plots of distant mythological antiquity, tracing the genealogy of ancient heroes and the history of the cities founded by them, they were close to epic poets. But these were already historical works. Describing the legendary past, logographers introduced documentary materials, geographical and ethnographic information into the text. And although myth and reality are bizarrely intertwined in their works, an attempt at a rationalistic rethinking of the legend is already clearly visible. On the whole, the works of the logographers mark a transitional stage from myth, with its sacred history, to logos, with its scientific study of the past.
The first historical work created Herodotus from Halikartas (c. 485-425 BC), who was called "the father of history" in antiquity. During the political struggle, he was expelled from his native city. After that, he traveled a lot, visited the Greek policies in the Mediterranean and Black Seas, as well as a number of countries of the Ancient East. This allowed Herodotus to collect extensive material about the life of the contemporary world.
A great influence on the formation of his own historical concept was exerted on Herodotus by his stay in Athens, where he became close to the leader of the Athenian democracy, Pericles. In his work, which is commonly called "History", Herodotus described the course of the war between the Greeks and Persians. This is genuine treatise, since already in the first lines the author formulates a scientific problem that he is trying to investigate and substantiate: “The following research is presented by Herodotus of Halicarnassus in order ... so that the reason for which the war arose between them was not forgotten.” To reveal this reason, Herodotus turns to the prehistory of events. He tells about the history of the ancient Eastern countries and peoples that became part of the Persian state (Egypt, Babylonia, Media, Scythians), and then about the history of the Greek policies, and only after that he proceeds to describe military operations. To find the truth, Herodotus takes a critical approach to the selection and analysis of sources involved. And although the degree of reliability of the information collected by the historian varies, and some episodes in the treatise are fiction, nevertheless, most of the information from the History is confirmed by other sources, and above all by archaeological discoveries. However, the thinking of Herodotus is still traditional: the divine power, which rewards good and punishes evil, acts as a regularity in history. But the main merit of Herodotus is that, through his work, a source appeared in the hands of scientists, where the core of the events described is historical time and deliberately introduced historicism.
The principle of historicism, first used by Herodotus, was developed and made dominant in the scientific treatise by his younger contemporary, the Athenian. Thucydides(c. 460-396 BC). He was born into a noble family, took part in the Peloponnesian War, but due to the fact that he could not protect the city of Amphipolis from the Spartans, he was expelled from Athens. In exile, where he spent almost two decades, Thucydides decided to describe the history of the Peloponnesian War.
The historian is interested in all the events of which he was a contemporary. But in order to find historical truth, Thucydides conducts a strict critical selection of historical sources, using only those that contain reliable information: which he himself was an eyewitness, and what he heard from others, after as accurate as possible investigations regarding each fact taken separately. To do this, he visited the scene, talked with eyewitnesses, got acquainted with the documents. Such an approach to facts allows him, in presenting the course of history, no longer to explain the events that take place by the intervention of the gods, but to find the objective causes of events and the reasons that caused them, which helps to identify the patterns of historical events. For him, a direct connection between successes in the conduct of hostilities and the stability of the internal political situation in the state is clear. History, according to Thucydides, is made people, acting in accordance with their "nature". Their interests, aspirations and passions are stronger than laws and agreements.
Thucydides played a decisive role in establishing scientific knowledge about the past. He developed a critical method for analyzing historical sources and was the first to reveal patterns of historical development. For all subsequent generations of researchers, Thucydides laid the foundation for understanding the meaning of historical development and human actions. His work is a valuable historical source, in which the events described are as objectively as possible covered.
The genre of historical research was further developed in the 4th century. The unfinished "History" by Thucydides, which ended at the description of the events of 411 BC. e., continued literally from the last phrase in his "Greek History" Xenophon from Athens (c. 445-355). But in his presentation of the material more clearly than in Thucydides, the personal position of the author, who came from a wealthy family, received an aristocratic upbringing and was a student of Socrates, is manifested. A supporter of the Spartan state system, Xenophon was critical of Athenian democracy. This explains a certain bias in the presentation of the material. In addition, Xenophon does not use the sources involved critically enough, sometimes interpreting events to please his predilections, and also paying great attention to individual personalities, does not try to reveal the objective causes of historical events. However, his "Greek History", describing the events from 411 to 362 BC. e., remains the most important source for studying the difficult era of acute struggle between the policies and the crisis of the classical Greek policy.
Xenophon was not only a historian. A number of his treatises reflected his political predilections. In the essay “On the State Structure of the Lacedaemonians”, he idealizes the Spartan order, and in the “Cyropaedia”, dedicated to the education of the founder of the Persian state, Cyrus the Elder, he sympathizes with the idea of a monarchical state structure. Interesting information about the Persian state, its mercenary army and the life of the peoples on the territory of Asia Minor is contained in the treatise "Anabasis" ("Ascent"). It tells about the participation of Greek mercenaries, including Xenophon, in the internecine struggle for the Persian throne on the side of Cyrus the Younger.
Of great interest from the point of view of the development of philosophical thought and the characteristics of Athenian life is the treatise "Memories of Socrates", which recorded the conversations of the famous philosopher with his students. Xenophon's views on the most expedient methods of managing the economy are reflected in the essay "Economics" (or "Domostroy"), and suggestions on how to improve the financial situation of the Athenian state are reflected in the work "On Incomes". In general, Xenophon's numerous treatises contain diverse and valuable, but not always objective, information about the most diverse aspects of the life of the Greek society of his time.
The main merit of Herodotus, Thucydides and Xenophon was the spread of interest in history in Greek society and the establishment historical approach to past events. Some, like Xenophon, and also Kratappus, or the "Oxirinian historian," directly continued the studies of Thucydides, imitating the great historian with varying degrees of success. Others, like Ephor, Theopompus and Timaeus, came "into history" from oratorical schools. But the result was the appearance a large number treatises on the history of Athens, Sicily and Italy, Persia, the reign of King Philip II, etc. They had a huge impact not only on the formation of historical consciousness in Greek society (these works were widely used by scientists of subsequent eras), but also on the formation of historical tradition in neighboring societies.
An important source on the classical era is the ancient Greek dramaturgy - the works of the tragedians Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides and the comedian Aristophanes. As citizens of the Athenian polis they accepted Active participation in the political events of their time, which was directly reflected in their poetic works. The peculiarity of this type of literary source lies in the fact that here reality is presented through artistic images. But since during this period the Greek theater actively participated in the formation of the polis system of values and democratic morality, the literary images were not the fruit of idle fiction or the interpretation of legendary mythological plots, but were an expression of the dominant civil worldview, objective assessments and judgments of the Athenian society.
Playwright Aeschylus(525-456 BC) was a contemporary of acute internal political clashes during the formation of Athenian democracy and the struggle of the Greeks for freedom in the era of the Greco-Persian wars. A participant in the main battles of the Greeks with the conquerors, he expressed the patriotic mood of the Hellenes in the tragedy "Persians", written about real historical events. Even in the works of Aeschylus on mythological subjects (trilogies "Oresteia", "Chained Prometheus", "Seven Against Thebes", etc.), there are constantly allusions to modern events and all the actions of the characters are evaluated from the position of a civil ideal.
The model of an honest citizen is the poet and playwright Sophocles(496-406 BC). In his tragedies "Oedipus Rex", "Antigone", "Ajax" and others, he raises such important issues as the morality of power, the place of wealth in life, and attitudes towards war. But, despite the objective expression of public sentiment, the views of Sophocles are largely traditional, which brings him closer to Herodotus. He sees in events a manifestation of the divine will, before which a person must humble himself. People will suffer inevitable punishment if they dare to violate the world order established by the gods.
tragedy Euripides(480-406 BC) Medea, Petitioners, Electra, Iphigenia in Tauris and others introduce the public mood of that era, and not only the democratic ideals of the Athenians, their exaltation of friendship and nobility , but also with a negative attitude towards the Spartans, wealth, etc. An important place in the tragedies of Euripides is shown by the everyday life of ancient Athens, including family relationships, in particular between husband and wife.
An interesting source on the political history of Athens are comedies. Aristophanes(c. 445 - c. 385 BC). His work falls on the period of the Peloponnesian War, which was difficult for Athens, and in his plays “Acharnians”, “Horsemen” and “Peace”, he affirms the idea of peace, expressing the anti-war sentiments of the Athenian peasants, who bear the greatest burdens of war. Shortcomings in the life of the Athenian state (“Wasps”, “Women in the National Assembly”), and newfangled scientific and philosophical theories (“Clouds”) were subjected to caustic satire. The works of Aristophanes are a response to all important events in the life of the Athenian policy. They very accurately reflect the real life and moods of Greek society, which are weakly traced according to other sources.
An irreplaceable historical source are philosophical and rhetorical works. At the end of the 5th - the first half of the 4th c. BC. the intense political life and the creative spiritual atmosphere in the policies contributed to the development of science, the desire to comprehend all the diversity of society. An outstanding philosopher was Plato(427-347 BC). For historians, his treatises "The State" and "Laws" are of great interest, where the author, in accordance with his socio-political views, suggests ways for a just reorganization of society and gives a "recipe" for an ideal state system.
Plato's Disciple Aristotle(384-322 BC) tried to explore the history and political structure of over 150 states. Of his works, only the Athenian Politia has survived, which systematically describes the history and state structure of the Athenian policy. Extensive and varied information is gleaned from numerous sources, both extant (the works of Herodotus, Thucydides) and almost completely lost (like the Attids - the Athenian chronicles).
Aristotle
Based on the study of the life of the Greek policies, Aristotle created a generalizing theoretical work "Politics" - about the essence of the state. His provisions, Aristotle based on an analysis of the real processes of the historical development of Hellas, predetermined the further development of political thought in ancient Greece.
Texts are a kind of historical source speakers' speeches. Written for pronunciation in a popular assembly or in court, they are, of course, polemically pointed. Political speeches Demosthenes, court speeches Lisia, solemn eloquence Isocrates and others contain important information about various aspects of the life of Greek society.
Oratory had a huge impact both on the development of social thought in Greece and on the stylistic features of written texts. In order to please the laws of rhetoric, the main thing in speech gradually becomes not the accuracy and truthfulness of the presentation, but the external attractiveness and polemical tendentiousness of the speech, in which historical objectivity is sacrificed to the beauty of form.
irreplaceable historical evidence are epigraphic sources, i.e., inscriptions made on a solid surface: stone, ceramics, metal. Greek society was educated, and therefore quite a variety of inscriptions have come down to us. These are state decrees, articles of contracts, construction inscriptions, inscriptions on the pedestals of statues, dedicatory inscriptions to the gods, tombstone inscriptions, lists of officials, various business documents (accounts, property lease and mortgage agreements, acts of sale, etc.) , inscriptions during voting in the national assembly, etc. (more than 200 thousand inscriptions have already been found). Both multi-line inscriptions and inscriptions in a few words are of great value, since they relate to all aspects of the life of the ancient Greeks, including everyday life, which is practically not reflected in literary sources. But the main thing is that the inscriptions were made in most cases by ordinary citizens and express their worldview. The German scientist A. Bockh was the first to publish Greek inscriptions back in 1886. The latest collection of Greek historical inscriptions to date was published in 1989 by R. Meiggs and D. Lewis.
This text is an introductory piece. From book Ancient Russia author Vernadsky Georgy VladimirovichII. Written sources 1. Greek and Latin Agathias, Historiac, ed. Dindorf, HGM, II. Amianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae, J. C. Roife, ed. and trans., 3 vols. Locb Classical Library (Harvard University Press). Annales Bertiniani, see Prodentius "Anonymi Belae regis notarii de Gestis Hungaronim Liber", Renim Hungaricarum Monumenta Arpadiana", ed. S. Endlicher (St. Gallen, 1849; reprint: Leipzig, 1931).Anscarius, see.
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1. The concept of "Antiquity" The concept of antiquity. The 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. The chronological framework of this period, like any other cultural and historical phenomenon, cannot be accurately determined, but they largely coincide with time. the existence of the ancient states themselves: from the XI-IX centuries. BC, the time of the formation of ancient society in Greece and up to the 5th century. AD - the death of the Roman Empire under the blows of the barbarians. The concept of antiquity. The 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. The chronological framework of this period, like any other cultural and historical phenomenon, cannot be accurately determined, but they largely coincide with time. the existence of the ancient states themselves: from the XI-IX centuries. BC, the time of the formation of ancient society in Greece and up to the 5th century. AD - the death of the Roman Empire under the blows of the barbarians.
Classification of sources for studying the history of Ancient Greece written sources for studying the history of Ancient Greece; written sources for studying the history of Ancient Greece; monuments of material culture; monuments of material culture; materials of ethnographic observations. materials of ethnographic observations.
Written sources: Cretan letter Cretan letter Homer "Iliad" and "Odyssey" Homer "Iliad" and "Odysseus" Poems of Hesiod and Greek lyricists (Archiloch, Theognis, Solon, Alcaeus, Sappho and others). Poems of Hesiod and Greek lyricists (Archiloch, Theognis, Solon, Alcaeus, Sappho and others). historical works Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon. Historical works of Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon. Works of late writers, Hellenistic and Roman times: Diodorus Siculus, Strabo, Plutarch, Pausanias, Athenaeus, Aulus Helius and many others. Works of late writers, Hellenistic and Roman times: Diodorus Siculus, Strabo, Plutarch, Pausanias, Athenaeus, Aulus Helius and many others. Speeches of Greek orators, scientific and philosophical works, works of tragedians and comedians. Speeches of Greek orators, scientific and philosophical works, works of tragedians and comedians.
CRETAN LETTER (Cretan-Mycenaean letter) - ancient types of writing (3-2 millennium BC) found on about. Crete and mainland Greece. Three stages of development are distinguished: hieroglyphic, linear writing A and linear writing B (only B was deciphered; it was used for archaic Greek). Cypriot writing arose on the basis of Cretan writing. CRETAN LETTER (Cretan-Mycenaean letter) - ancient types of writing (3-2 millennium BC) found on about. Crete and mainland Greece. Three stages of development are distinguished: hieroglyphic, linear writing A and linear writing B (only B was deciphered; it was used for archaic Greek). Cypriot writing arose on the basis of Cretan writing. Crete Linear Cypriot Linear
Monuments of material culture Of great importance for the study of the history of Ancient Greece are material monuments, which are discovered as a result of archaeological excavations. Since the 30s of the 19th century, archaeological excavations have been carried out in Greece. From the very beginning, scientists from different countries(France, England, Germany, USA and others). The largest archaeological excavations were carried out in Athens, Olympia, Delphi, Delos, on the western coast of Asia Minor (Turkey). Of great importance for the study of the history of Ancient Greece are material monuments that are discovered as a result of archaeological excavations. Since the 30s of the 19th century, archaeological excavations have been carried out in Greece. From the very beginning scientists from different countries (France, England, Germany, USA and others) took part in them. The largest archaeological excavations were carried out in Athens, Olympia, Delphi, Delos, on the western coast of Asia Minor (Turkey).
Parthenon Parthenon, architects Iktin, Kallikrates, years BC, Athens Temple of Demeter Temple of Demeter, builders unknown, VI century BC Olympia
Erechtheion Erechtheion, builders unknown, BC, Athens Temple of Nike Apteros Temple of Nike Apteros, architect Kallikrates, BC, Athens
The history of Ancient Greece studies the process of emergence, development, functioning of the ancient Greek civilization in the basin of the Mediterranean and Black Seas, which has a special socio-economic structure, developed political institutions, and a rich culture. However, the origin of the ancient Greek civilization took place on the Balkan Peninsula and the islands of the Aegean Sea.
Geographic scope
Geographically, Ancient Greece is a combination of its three parts: the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula (from Mount Olympus in the north to Cape Tenar in the south), the numerous islands of the Aegean Sea, which in the southern part “close” with the island of Crete, and a narrow coastal strip in the western part of Malaya Asia. In the era of the Great Greek colonization (VIII - VI centuries BC), the Greeks settled in the vast expanses of the coast of the Mediterranean and Black Seas. In the west, numerous Greek colonies appeared in southern Italy, on the island of Sicily, on the western coast of the Adriatic, in the south of Gaul (modern France) and in northeastern Iberia (modern Spain). In the northeast direction, Greek colonization was first aimed at the development of the Thracian coast and the shores of the Hellespont Strait, connecting the Black and Mediterranean Seas. The most famous colony in the area was Byzantium, which became Constantinople in the 4th century AD, and Istanbul in the 15th century. Through the straits, the Greeks entered the Black Sea and founded dozens of new cities on its coast, most of which still exist. To the south, the Greeks managed to gain a foothold in the region of Cyrenaica, on the Libyan coast to the west of Egypt. As a result of the campaigns of Alexander the Great, the Greeks penetrated far to the East, up to the western territories of Ancient India. All these territories became the place of development of the Greek civilization and are the object of study within the framework of the history of Ancient Greece.
Periodization of the history of ancient Greece
The history of ancient Greece is usually divided into several stages and periods. The first stage (III-II millennium BC) is called Crete-Mycenaean. Since at that time there were two main centers for the development of civilization, Crete and Balkan Greece, there is a periodization for each of these centers: early, middle and late periods are distinguished. This is followed by the polis stage, during which the actual formation of the model of society, which is usually called antique, takes place. The first period of this stage (XI - IX centuries BC) is called the period of the dark ages or the Homeric period. This is followed by the archaic period (VIII - VI centuries BC), during which the structure-forming element of ancient Greek civilization, the polis, is formed. The classical period (5th - the end of the 4th centuries BC) is the time of the heyday of all the constituent parts of the ancient Greek civilization and the time of the crisis of the polis model of the development of the Greek polis. Then the 300-year era of Hellenism begins (end of IV - end of I centuries BC), which originates from the campaigns of Alexander the Great and ends in the collapse of the world of the Hellenistic states, the subordination of the western territories to Rome and the entry of the eastern territories into the Parthian kingdom.
Ethnic history of ancient Greece
The ethnic history of ancient Greece is quite complex. Until the end of the III millennium BC. e. the main population of Balkan Greece was the Pelasgians, Leleges, Carians; Crete until the second half of the 2nd millennium was inhabited by the Minoans. Greek tribes (Achaeans) invaded the territory of Balkan Greece at the end of III - beginning of II millennium BC. e. The ancient peoples were partially forced out of this territory, partially assimilated. In the second half of the XV century. BC e. after the death of the Cretan state, the Achaeans also landed on this island. At the end of II millennium BC. e. Greece was invaded by new Greek tribes - the Dorians. From the beginning of the 1st millennium, the Greeks, remaining a single people, were divided into four main groups using their own dialect: Achaeans, Dorians, Ionians, Aeolians. The dialectal features of these groups persisted until the Hellenistic era. The active contacts of the Greeks with other peoples, primarily with the peoples of the ancient Eastern states, settlement during colonization in the vast expanses of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea and close relations with local tribes (Thracians, Scythians, Gauls, Iberians and others) led to the fact that the concept of Hellenes was associated more with belonging to Greek culture than with ethnic origin. In connection with the emergence of the policy, civil society, the status of a citizen of a particular Greek state comes to the fore.
The history of Ancient Greece has an extensive source base. These are primarily written sources. From the Crete-Mycenaean era, tablets written in syllabary A (in Crete) and B (in Balkan Greece) have been preserved. The syllabary A has not yet been deciphered, and the syllabary B was deciphered in 1953 by the English scientist M. Ventris. These plates are business reporting documents. These documents, together with archeological data, are the object of research in a special direction in the history of Ancient Greece - mycenology. An important but very complex source are Homer's poems "Iliad" and "Odyssey". They are also studied by a special group of philologists and historians. In the 19th century, the so-called "Homeric question" was one of the central problems of antiquity. Modern researchers deal with such issues as the specifics of the reflection of real life in such a genre as the heroic epic, the correlation of the literary text and archaeological material. For the archaic era, important sources are the poems of Hesiod and the Greek lyricists (Archiloch, Theognis, Solon, Alcaeus, Sappho and others). Modern scientists, with the help of their works, are trying to solve issues of the specifics of the social psychology of the archaic period. History emerges in Greece as a science. The historical works of Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, which have come down to us in full, fragments of the works of other historians give a holistic, although sometimes subjective picture of the events of the archaic and mainly classical periods. Of great importance are the works of late writers of the Hellenistic and Roman times: Diodorus Siculus, Strabo, Plutarch, Pausanias, Athenaeus, Aulus Helius and many others. They conveyed to us the ancient tradition, most of which has been lost. Naturally, clarifying the problem of the reliability of the works of ancient authors is one of the tasks of specialists in the history of Ancient Greece. The written sources also include the speeches of Greek orators, scientific and philosophical works, works of tragedians and comedians.
A special discipline is Greek epigraphy, which deals with all issues related to inscriptions on hard materials (stone, metal, ceramics) that have survived to this day and were found, as a rule, as a result of excavations. These inscriptions are devoted to various aspects of the public, religious and private life of the Greeks. Working with this category of sources requires special professional training. The prospect of this discipline lies in the fact that in our time, as a result of the work of archaeologists, there is a constant replenishment of this category of sources, although not as intensively as in the 19th century. By the beginning of the 21st century, about 100 thousand Greek inscriptions were known, and modern computer technologies provide fast processing of epigraphic material. Another specialized discipline is ancient numismatics, which deals with numerous Greek and Roman coins. At an early stage, numismatists were mainly concerned with the problems of systematization and classification of numismatic material, the use of coins to illustrate political events, and the study of certain aspects of the Greek religion. Now, coins and treasure complexes allow solving important problems of the Greek economy, identifying the specifics of monetary circulation in different regions and in different periods, and exploring the financial and monetary policy of the Greek states. Papyrology is also a specialized discipline. She is engaged in the study of papyri found in Egypt and created in the Hellenistic era and in Roman times. Although the documentary material of these two periods predominates among these papyri, among the texts found there are works of earlier times. So, thanks to the discovery of papyrus at the end of the 19th century, Aristotle's work "The Athenian Politia" became known. The work of epigraphers, numismatists and papyrologists is increasingly international in nature, and many projects are carried out by groups of scientists from different countries.
Of great importance for the study of the history of Ancient Greece are material monuments that are discovered as a result of archaeological excavations. Since the 30s of the 19th century, archaeological excavations have been carried out in Greece. From the very beginning scientists from different countries (France, England, Germany, USA and others) took part in them. The largest archaeological excavations were carried out in Athens, Olympia, Delphi, Delos, on the western coast of Asia Minor (Turkey). The remains of remarkable architectural monuments were unearthed, numerous household items and art monuments were found, finds of Greek ceramics were especially significant in quantitative terms. Excavations were carried out in almost all places of residence of the Greeks: in southern Italy and Sicily, southern France, in the Black Sea region. In the Northern Black Sea region, which was part of the Russian state, Russian archaeologists were excavating. As a result of the excavations of G. Schliemann in Mycenae in the 70s of the XIX century, Mycenaean Greece was discovered. A. Evans' excavations at Knossos on Crete in 1900 led to the discovery of the Minoan civilization. Excavations continued actively throughout the 20th century. Particularly significant were the excavations of the Greek scientist S. Marinatos on the island of Thera, who discovered the remains of the oldest city in Europe, which died as a result of a volcanic eruption 3.5 thousand years ago. Modern methods of archaeological research, new progressive technology make it possible to obtain much more scientific information during excavations than before.
The main stages of the study of ancient Greece
The cultural and historical heritage of Ancient Greece has never been forgotten. Greek culture became an important component of the Mediterranean culture that arose in the Roman Empire. The ancient heritage, the written tradition was preserved in the Byzantine state. AT Western Europe interest in ancient Greek culture and history arose in the 15th century during the Renaissance. However, the real scientific study of Ancient Greece begins at the end of the 18th - the first half of the 19th century. The works of I. Winkelmann and F. Wolf aroused interest in Greek history in society and among specialists. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the German school of antiquity was the most influential. The works of A. Böck laid the foundation for the study of the economic life of the Greeks. He also initiated the scientific publication of Greek inscriptions. I. Droysen was the first to systematize the complex historical material of late Greek history and for the first time introduced the concept of the “epoch of Hellenism”. E. Curtius carried out the classical excavations of Olympia and created one of the best generalizing works on the history of Greece. Of great importance for understanding theoretical problems were the works of Ed. Meyer, K. Bucher, Yu. Beloch, R. Poelman. Among French historians, one should note A. Vallon, who wrote a generalizing work on slavery in antiquity, and F. de Coulange, who formulated the idea of the policy as a civil community. Founder scientific school studying the history of Ancient Greece in the Russian state became a professor of St. Petersburg and Moscow universities M.S. Kutorga. He mainly dealt with the history of the Athenian state; his works were published in Western Europe. F.F. Sokolov laid the foundation for the study of epigraphic sources and brought up a whole generation of Russian scholars. Of the pre-revolutionary antiquity specialists, one can note V.V. Latysheva, M.I. Rostovtseva, M.M. Khvostov, V.P. Buzeskula, S.A. Zhebeleva, F.F. Zelinsky. Of great importance were the translations into Russian of the main works of Greek authors, carried out by F.G. Mishchenko. Russian scientists were especially active in studying the Greek states in the Northern Black Sea region. In the period between the two World Wars, multi-volume generalizing works on world history were published in the West, among which the Cambridge Ancient History should be noted, several volumes in it were devoted to Ancient Greece. At the same time, a school of Soviet historians was taking shape in the USSR, which was characterized by works primarily on socio-economic issues. Works by V.S. Sergeeva, A.I. Tyumeneva, S.I. Kovaleva, S.Ya. Lurie. A new stage in the development of antiquity began in the second half of the 20th century. After M. Ventris deciphered the syllabic writing A, a special direction arose that studied the history of Greece in the 2nd millennium BC. e. - mycenology. In Western historiography, the work of the English scientist M. Finlay should be singled out, who in his numerous works opposed the modernization of ancient history, especially in the field of economics. This direction found its expression in the works of E. Ville, C. Starr and some scientists. The problems of ancient slavery were dealt with in Germany by a group of specialists headed by J. Vogt. The works of K. Mosse, R. Meiggs, J. Davis, M. Hansen and many others were devoted to the study of questions of the history of the Athenian state and democracy. The current period is characterized by a policy of cooperation between the work of Western scientists, the holding of international conferences on various issues, and the publication of numerous thematic collections. A special place in European antiquity is occupied by a scientific center in Denmark (headed by M. Hansen), which deals with one of the central problems of Greek history - the study of all aspects of the policy. Most of the directions in the study of the history of Ancient Greece are represented in our country. The works of Yu.V. Andreeva. T.V. Blavatsky studied the history of Achaean Greece. The problems of the policy and its formation are reflected in the works of G.A. Koshelenko, E.D. Frolova, A.I. Zaitsev, V.P. Yaylenko. Various aspects of the history of the Athenian state are devoted to the works of K.K. Zelyina, V.M. Strogetsky, S.G. Karpyuk, I.E. Surikov; social and political thought of the ancient Greeks - the work of A.K. Berger, A.I. Dovatura, E.D. Frolova. Various aspects of the crisis of the Greek polis are reflected in the studies of L.M. Gluskina, L.P. Marinovich, V.I. Isaeva. The Russian school of antiquity continued to be the world's leading school in the study of the history of the Greek city-states of the Northern Black Sea region. Over the past two decades, domestic antiquity has suffered significant losses, and excavation activity has sharply decreased. However, at the same time, cooperation with Western colleagues intensified, domestic scientists began to take a greater part in international projects.
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