The study of art from the time of Peter the Great and Catherine began at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. We owe especially significant discoveries in this area to the leaders of the Art Nouveau era association “World of Art”. True, they also saw in the masters of this time mostly “brilliant imitators.” Modern scientists (D.V. Sarabyanov, T.V. Alekseeva, T.V. Ilyina, L.P. Rapatskaya, O.S. Evangulova) continued the research. The art criticism approach, with its emphasis on the museum-attribution task, bypasses the historical and cultural problem: what image of Russia was created by Russian art of the 18th century, what need of the national spirit is expressed in the gallery of portraits of this time, in the appearance of Russian capitals, old and new, how real or This image is mythological.

First of all, it is worth paying attention to the borrowed material that appeared in Russian culture, starting from the time of Peter the Great.

Images of antiquity in Russian culture of the 18th century.

The images of ancient mythology turned out to be one of the most important boundaries at which Europeanized and traditional cultures were divided. Europe knew no analogues to this process. The dissemination of mythological knowledge in Russia is becoming part of state policy aimed at Europeanizing the country.

Peter I cared about the mythological education of his subjects. On his initiative, the “Library” of Allolodor, an encyclopedia of mythological information, is translated and published. At the same time, the translation is entrusted to the Synod: the fight against the representation of ancient mythology as a demonic faith becomes part of the state church policy. If the old (patriarchal) organization of the church was a breeding ground for prejudices, then the new (synodal) organization, according to Peter, was called upon to contribute to the fight against ignorance. Thus, the popularization of Greek and Roman mythology was included in the sphere of responsibilities of the ecclesiastical department and the church itself. Preface to the book

Apollodorus was written by Feofan Prokopovich. He argued that true paganism is ritualism, not antiquity.

The conscious introduction of mythological imagery as an element of state policy is associated with the functions of mythological subjects in the apology of imperial power, in the formation of a new sacredness of autocracy. Mythological images were widely used in panegyric texts to glorify the emperor. Already in 1696, when Peter was returning from the Azov campaign, his triumphal entry into Moscow was furnished using antique elements. According to Roman custom, a triumphal gate was built, decorated with statues of Mars and Hercules, and in the middle of the gate hung trellises with the inscription “Return the victory of King Constantine.” Peter was presented as the new Constantine, and his “victory” was attributed to the signs of Roman triumphs.

From the time of Peter the Great, a kind of civil cult arose, structured according to the ancient model, using ancient characters as necessary attributes. Byzantine ideas about the monarch underwent significant modernization, which caused criticism from conservatives.

In 1704, on the occasion of the conquest of Livonia, Peter was given a ceremonial entry into Moscow, decorated using mythological symbols. The triumphal gates were decorated with images of Mars, Neptune, Juno, ancient heroes, and allegorical Hope. In the description of the celebration by the prefect of the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy, it was especially emphasized that the celebration was purely secular and not religious in nature, and therefore all ancient paraphernalia was completely acceptable. Secular ceremonies received the same right to exist as church ones, and therefore other “pagan”, but at the same time “imperial”, “sovereign” symbols are allowed for them. A kind of compromise was reached between church and secular authorities, with the latter's clear primacy.

It can be considered that Peter I was the first to introduce classical art to Russia, and in the most shocking form. The Emperor's summer house in St. Petersburg is surrounded by the Summer Garden, an example of a “regular French” park with grottoes, alleys, fountains and sculptures. The sculptures exhibited in the garden became the initial acquaintance with classical art in Russia.

There is almost no round sculpture in the Russian tradition. The appearance of round marble (and often naked) statues in Russia was a stunning novelty. The Orthodox consciousness rejected them as analogous to “pagan idols.” Meanwhile sent

Under Peter I, people bought antique and baroque sculpture throughout Europe. One of them wrote home: “I’m buying marble girls... why - I don’t know... their place is only in hell.” By the way, many ancient statues and even more copies came to Russia this way. The famous Venus of Tauride (named after the palace where the exhibition was held) was also accidentally purchased in 1718 by one of Peter’s envoys for 196 efimki - a lot of money at that time.

Already in 1710, more than 30 large statues were exhibited in the Summer Garden. Some sculptural groups were commissioned specifically for Russian subjects, for example “Peace and Victory” (in honor of the Peace of Nystad). In fact, it was an open-air art class, a visual textbook of ancient aesthetics. Under Peter, the creation of large collections of Western art began. The sculpture appeared in the parks of Peterhof, Oranienbaum, and Tsarskoe Selo.

Mythology gradually became something like a state religion, the basis for the ritual, ceremonial side of secular power. During the ceremonial entry of Elizaveta Petrovna into St. Petersburg in 1742, Minerva was depicted on the triumphal gate, and under her eight more Greek gods and angels. At the coronation celebrations in Moscow in 1763, Catherine II appeared in the image of Minerva, and during the Potemkin holiday in the garden of the Tauride Palace in 1791, an altar of white marble in the Greek style was even built in front of the statue of Catherine.

The culture of the Russian Enlightenment realized mythology primarily as an action for the glory of state power. All of St. Petersburg is a concocted mirage. The mythological essence of the new Russian capital was carefully supported by the ancient vocabulary of culture. The “Gardens of Babylon” hung over the Neva; after the solemn prayer service, “Minerva” opened the “Temple of Enlightenment”. The servants of the throne exposed the vices, opening the eyes of the monarch, and the people praised their godlike ruler. Mythological heritage is reflected in favorite stories and heroes. The theme of Arcadia and the Golden Age was constantly repeated; goddesses of wisdom and beauty, Zeus the Thunderer, grateful “villagers” do not leave the canvases and literary pages. In the image of G.R. Derzhavina Ekaterina - “Fslitsa”, giving her “Order” to the peoples.

The trend under consideration, according to researchers V.M. Zhivova and B.A. Uspensky, takes shape against the background of the Christian sacralization of the monarch and serves as its figurative expression. Antique images used in “high style” literature, primarily in odes, also lie within the same characteristics. For the first time the question of their use was raised by V.K. Trediakovsky. A.S. Sumarokov in 1748 (“Epistole on Poetry”) even compiled detailed and categorical rules prescribing how and in what cases certain ancient characters should be mentioned.

Minerva is the wisdom in him, Diana is the purity,

Love is Cupid, Venus is beauty.

Where there is thunder and lightning, there Angry Zeus proclaims rage and terrifies the earth.

Mythology became the basis for the assimilation of the Baroque and Classicism styles, and the image of its aesthetic attitudes. Ultimately, mythology participated in the conflict between the European and the national, since mythological images were associated exclusively with the new secular culture. The use of the names of ancient gods and heroes in speech became a sign of new enlightenment, decoration, evidence that the author belongs to a layer of highly educated nobility, i.e. mythology acted as a factor of cultural self-identification and self-awareness. In Russia, mythology also turned out to be a means of cultural delimitation of classes.

If the sacralization of the monarch took place in the concepts and images of the Christian faith, it could make a negative impression on both the people and the educated nobility. Here it was almost impossible to “overdo it,” since the veneer of convention and play successfully masked the development of “autocracy” into absolutism. When Lomonosov, in an ode of 1743, called Peter God (“He is God, he was your God, Russia”), it seemed blasphemous. And comparisons of the same Peter with Jupiter the Thunderer or Zeus were quite favorably accepted by the public. Even the opponents of the Antichrist king could not object to the use of pagan images to him.

Of course, the contradictions between Orthodoxy and the imperial cult, realized in the images of antiquity, could not be completely resolved. The sacralization of the monarch in the mythological space only eliminated Christian associations, but could not stop the strengthening of the religious meaning of foreign mythological images. This circumstance emphasized the demarcation of secular and spiritual culture of modern times.

Images of antiquity in Russian art of the 18th century. realized most clearly in historical painting and architecture. The architectural “genre” of the triumphal arch, beloved in Russia, became a direct borrowing. The young empire celebrated its victories in the style of the Roman emperors - with triumphs. Already in Peter’s time, the main events and military “victories”: the Peace of Nystad,

The Battle of Poltava, coronations, namesakes, imperial entrances were marked by the construction of triumphal arches, temporary or permanent. Architects I.P. participated in their creation. Zarudny, D. Trezzini, M.G. Zemtsov, painters R.N. Nikitin, A.M. Matveev, L. Caravaque.

Sculptural and pictorial allegories on ancient subjects likened the glorified person to ancient gods and heroes. The symbolism was often straightforward and complimentary. So, Neptune forbids the winds to blow on Kronstadt; Menshikov offers Peter his flaming heart. Scenes of naval battles, as a rule, were accompanied by explanatory and jubilant inscriptions, such as “At sea the Turks are defeated... their ships are burned”, “Moscow wins”, etc. Hercules was a friendly neighbor to St. George the Victorious, Perseus - with the Archangel Michael, Alexander Macedonian - with King David, Alexander Nevsky - with Mars, etc. For the first time, national characters in a heroic interpretation appeared on the triumphal gates: Peter I, Charles XII, Menshikov in ancient or modern clothes and in the real environment of a naval battle, near the walls of fortresses, etc. Thus, triumphal arches in Russia acquired the significance of a kind of historical canvases, sometimes more nationally oriented than the actual paintings.

In all the diversity of its historical forms.

General periodization of antiquity

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

• Early antiquity (8th century BC - 2nd century BC) The origin of the Greek state.
• Classical antiquity (1st century BC - 2nd century AD), golden age, time of unity of Greco-Roman civilization.
• Late antiquity (III-V centuries AD). Collapse of the Roman Empire. The collapse of the Western Roman Empire marked the beginning of a new era - the Middle Ages.

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. Nevertheless, 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.

Periodization of antiquity and proto-antiquity

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 (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 appeared, 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 the success of agriculture. 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. 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 Heraclides and the founding of ancient colonies, which, in turn, served as metropolises for new settlements, the Hellenic people finally settled permanently in Greece. 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, towards the beginning of the 8th century BC. 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. There are no positive laws in this society yet, so 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. Remnants of the clan system still live in society, especially in family and private law relations, but the city community has already taken shape and 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, etc. indicate that already at this 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 required 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 (prepolis) 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. 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

Heritage of Antiquity

Antiquity and modern society

Antiquity has left a huge mark on modernity.

With the advent of the first states and the emergence of various economic forms of the state in economic life, many problems arose before society. Their importance and relevance continues to this day. Over time, the influence of the ancient heritage grew stronger. Latin continued to be the language of scientists throughout the European world, and familiarity with the Greek language and Greek thinkers deepened. In the 19th century, the theory of the “Greek miracle” emerged - 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 the philosophers of modern times.

In the 18th century, on the eve of the Great French Revolution, materialist philosophers turned to Lucretius. His teaching about the emergence of the world from atoms, about the evolution of nature and human society without divine providence, about a natural contract that unites people for a common benefit, about a law that is not established by God, but people establish for the same benefit and cancel it when it serves this benefit ceases to satisfy, was in tune with the advanced theories of the time. And the ideas of democracy, equality, freedom, and justice were just as consonant, although, having become revolutionary slogans of the 18th century, they were understood much more broadly than in antiquity.

European theater and literature constantly turned to antiquity, and their connections with it became more and more diverse. Ancient subjects were worked on: “Antony and Cleopatra” and “Julius Caesar” by Shakespeare, “Andromache”, “Phaedra”, “Britannicus” by Racine, “Medea”, “Horace”, “Pompey” by Corneille. Entire plays were reproduced. For example, Shakespeare's "Comedy of Errors" repeated Plautus' "Menechmus", and Moliere's "The Miser" repeated Plautus's "Casket". The servants of the comedies of Moliere, Lope de Vega, Goldoni are similar to the dexterous, intelligent slaves of Plautus, who helped the masters arrange their love affairs. Ancient novels were translated and new ones were written in imitation of them. Many ancient images and subjects - gods, goddesses, heroes, battles and festivals - served as themes for artists and sculptors, who interpreted them in accordance with the tastes of their time. Thus, an active participant in the Great French Revolution - the artist David - in contrast to artists who catered to the tastes of the pampered nobility, painted ancient heroes full of patriotic and civic feelings: “The Oath of the Horatii,” “The Death of Socrates,” “Leonidas at Thermopylae.”

Roman law formed the basis of the law of other Western states.

In modern and modern times, the ancient world has retained its importance in a variety of spheres of spiritual and mental activity. Historians, sociologists, and cultural experts turn to him. The ancient world, as a kind of closed cycle known from its origin to its destruction, constantly serves as a standard for cultural scientists.

Adaptation of ancient culture in Russia

In Ancient Rus', the first source of ancient influence was Orthodox literature, which came to Rus' along with Christianity from Byzantium and the southern Slavic lands. Ancient mythology lost its cultural content in Ancient Rus' and turned into a purely religious, pagan concept, opposite to Christianity. The mention of ancient realities in ancient Russian literature was accompanied by an unconditional condemnation of “Hellenic charm.” Quotes from ancient philosophers taken out of context appeared to confirm Christian ideas; ancient deities were mentioned as demons in denunciations of paganism, or were considered as historical figures. Ancient history itself was of interest to scribes in the context of sacred history and was perceived through the prism of church tradition. Some philosophical concepts of ancient authors, for example Plato, seemed to Orthodox writers to be Christian in essence and therefore worthy of preservation. They ended up in Old Russian books (with indications of authorship or anonymously). . Historical works also contained information about the ancient past: in the 11th-12th centuries. “History of the Jewish War” by Josephus Flavius ​​has been translated. Joseph Volotsky, Ivan the Terrible, and Archpriest Avvakum knew and used it in their works. Already in the 11th century. In Rus', Byzantine chronicles were known, reflecting the history of the ancient world. Later, novels about Alexander the Great and works about the Trojan War became available to the Russian reader. In the 17th century, the situation began to change, and starting from the reign of Peter I, the state purposefully disseminated knowledge about ancient culture. Antiquity has become an organic part of Russian culture. Without familiarity with it, it is impossible to understand the numerous Greek and Roman reminiscences of the classics of Russian literature. In Russia back in the 18th century. translated ancient authors, and Derzhavin already wrote his “Monument” in imitation of Horace’s “Monument”. A. S. Pushkin knew Roman literature very well. His translations are unrivaled in their adequacy to the original. D. S. Merezhkovsky (“Julian the Apostate”) and L. Andreev (plays “The Rape of the Sabine Women” and “The Horse in the Senate”) turned to ancient subjects.

Antiquity (from Latin this word means “antiquity” - antiquus) is the era of two great civilizations - Ancient Greece and Rome.

Periodization of antiquity

When answering the question of what ancient society was, you need to know in what era it existed and into what periods this time was divided.

The following periodization is generally accepted:

1. Early antiquity - the time of the birth of the Greek states.

2. Classical antiquity - the period of unity of Roman and Greek civilization.

3. Late antiquity - the time of the collapse of the Roman Empire.

When considering ancient society, one must take into account the fact that the time frame here cannot be accurately established. Greek civilization appeared before the Roman one, and the Eastern civilization existed for some time after the fall of the Western one. It is believed that the era of antiquity is the time from the 8th century. BC e. to the 6th century n. e., until the beginning of the Middle Ages.

The emergence of the first states

In ancient times, several unsuccessful attempts to create states occurred on the Balkan Peninsula. This was the period of prehistory

2700-1400 BC e. - the time of the Minoan civilization. It existed in Crete and had a high level of development and culture. It was destroyed by a natural disaster (a volcanic eruption that generated a strong tsunami) and by the Achaean Greeks who captured the island.

Around the 16th century BC. The Mycenaean civilization arose in Greece. She dies in 1200-1100 BC. e. after the Dorian invasion. This time is also called the “Dark Greek Ages”.

After the disappearance of the remains of the Mycenaean culture, the first period of antiquity begins. In time, it coincides with the end and formation of early class society.

The ancient Greek state was a primary civilization. It originates in the primitive system, and before it there was no previous experience of statehood. Therefore, ancient society experienced a strong influence of primitiveness. This was manifested, first of all, in the religious worldview. Man during this period was viewed as a person. Hence the main feature of antiquity - an active position in relation to the world.

Life in Ancient Society: Structure and Classes

The first Greek states developed very actively. This was facilitated by the struggle between the peasants and the nobility, when the latter tried to turn the former into debt slavery. Many other ancient civilizations managed to do this, but not the Greek one. Here the demos was not only able to defend its freedom, but also achieved some political rights. Of course, this does not mean that society in the ancient world did not know slavery. Both ancient Greece and subsequently Rome were

What is ancient society and what is its structure? The main state formation of the ancient world was the polis, or city-state. Therefore, a society has developed here that is completely different from other countries. Its core was the community. Everyone occupied their own position in it. It was determined by the presence of civil status. The entire population was divided into three categories: full citizens, incomplete citizens and those without rights. Civil status is the main achievement of ancient society. If in other countries the population lived within strict boundaries of classes, then in Greece and Rome it was more important to have the status of a citizen. He allowed the demos to take part in the management of the policy on an equal basis with the nobility.

Roman society was somewhat different from Greek and had the following structure:

2. Free farmers and artisans. The same category of population included the colons.

3. Merchants.

4. Military.

5. Slave owners. Here the senatorial class was in first place.

Science and culture of ancient society

The first scientific knowledge was obtained in ancient times, in the states of the East. This period is called pre-scientific. These teachings were later developed in Ancient Greece.

The science of ancient society is the emergence of the first scientific theories, basic concepts, treatises and communities. At this time, the formation and emergence of many modern sciences took place.

The science of antiquity has come a long way in its development:

1. Early stage - VII-IV centuries. BC. This is the time of natural science and philosophy. The first philosophical scientists were mainly interested in the problems of nature, as well as in the search for the fundamental principle of all living things.

2. Hellenic stage - it is characterized by the division of a single science into separate areas: logic, mathematics, physics, medicine. This time is considered the highest flowering of ancient science. Euclid, Aristotle, Archimedes, and Democritus created their great works.

3. The Roman stage is the time of the decline of ancient science. Among the most important achievements of this period is the astronomy of Ptolemy.

The main success of science in ancient times lies in the formation of separate directions, the creation of the first terminology and methods of cognition.

The philosophy of ancient society and its famous representatives

It arose in the 7th-5th centuries. BC e. in Greece and is divided into the following stages:

1. Natural philosophy, or early classics. Philosophers of this time were primarily interested in questions of cosmology. Prominent representatives: Thales, Pythagoras, Democritus.

2. Classics is the heyday of the time in which its brightest representatives lived: Socrates, Plato, Euclid, Aristotle. Here, for the first time, questions of natural philosophy were replaced by interest in the problem of good and evil, ethics.

3. Hellenistic philosophy - at this time the active development of philosophical thought began under the influence of ancient Greek scientists. The most famous representatives: Seneca, Lucretius, Cicero, Plutarch. Many trends emerged: Epicureanism, Neoplatonism and Stoicism.

The influence of antiquity on modern culture

Ancient Greece and Rome are poetically called the cradle of modern civilization. Undoubtedly, ancient society had a tremendous influence on the development of other countries and peoples. Science, theater, sports competitions, comedy, drama, sculpture - it’s impossible to list everything that the ancient world gave to modern man. This influence can still be traced in the culture, life and language of many Romanesque peoples and inhabitants of the Mediterranean region.

The image of antiquity in Western European culture of the 20th century

More than two centuries separate us from the 60s of the 18th century, when for the first time Winckelmann tried to summarize the essence of Hellenic culture with the well-known formula about “noble simplicity and calm grandeur,” tracing aesthetic quality down to the smallest details of ancient life, and “the way of thinking of the entire ancient Greek people in overall" they did not hesitate to describe it as "majestic". Today no one will repeat these words after him. His idea of ​​the ancient classics seems naive to us, and it is indeed naive. However, it has one inherent advantage: it is truly a representation, integral, consistent and logical, and not an amalgam of mutually exclusive fragmentary representations, which will more than once arise from later, more knowledgeable and much less naive interpreters of antiquity. It is “ideal” because it is “ideological”. This is an ideal not in the erased, irresponsible-emotional, sentimental usage of words, but in the original strict and significant sense. Behind it is not mood or admiration, but faith - the faith inherent in the Enlightenment in the possibility of a culture that would be completely in agreement with nature, and a nature that would be completely in agreement with reason. Goethe compared Winckelmann to Columbus, and Winckelmann truly “discovered” the ideal image of antiquity for an entire era. The Weimar classicism of Goethe, Schiller and Voss, the German classical idealism of Schelling and Hegel come from the original idea of ​​Winckelmann. Hellenic culture is again and again likened to nature, moreover, identified with nature. Homer for Goethe is “nature itself.” Schiller turns to Wolf and his followers: the history of literature and the history of philosophy. Its topic is the specific, unique state of the literary word in Greek philosophical texts of the pre-Aristotelian era. The transformation of an everyday everyday word into a component of a newly and for the first time becoming a terminological system is a complex and in many ways paradoxical process: on its way to the status of a philosophical term, the word inevitably had to pass through a zone of increased metaphorical activation. The intense phonics-semantic game, which often reveals hidden trains of thought, but is inevitably lost in translations and retellings, is examined primarily using examples from Plato’s philosophical prose. Close to this issue is T. A. Miller’s article “On the Study of the Artistic Form of Plato’s Dialogues,” which examines the radical shift in the understanding of the relationship between Plato the thinker and Plato the artist, which is characteristic of 20th-century science. A critical analysis of the concepts proposed by experts and a review of the results achieved lead to reflection on the nature of the immediate unsolved problems, to which the author seeks to draw attention. The article by M. L. Gasparov “The Plot of Greek Tragedy” is an attempt to pose in an unusually generalized manner the question of the laws of this central genre of ancient Greek poetry. The plot structure of all 33 surviving tragedies was subjected to a systematic review based on clearly formulated criteria. The fundamental attitude of the researcher is the desire to go not so much from later literary and theoretical-aesthetic categories, but from those working concepts, a set of which Aristotle used ("pathos" together with "antipathos", "mecha-nema", etc.). And this work ends with a program of scientific work for the future, a description of the immediate prospects that are opening up. Finally, M. I. Boretsky’s article “The Artistic World of the Fables of Phaedrus, Babrius and Avian” is devoted to the formal and structural components of the depiction of the world by fabulists of late antiquity. (... are bypassed; we change, they remain.") They seem immutable, like the change of day and night, alien to the sphere of human choice, risk and struggle. This is how an entire era saw the Hellenic classics. We can conditionally date the beginning of this era to 1764 or 1766 ( the publication of Winckelmann's "History of the Art of Antiquity" and Lessing's "Laocoon" respectively), and the end - in 1831 or 1832 (the death of Hegel and the death of Goethe). The interpretation of antiquity was then placed in unique conditions, determined, among other things, by the balance of forces between scientific factography and philosophical and aesthetic generalization.The successes of specific scientific disciplines were relatively modest, while the ability of the German burgher and the European bourgeois to live with great life-building ideas remained high.

But the situation soon changed. There were more and more facts, but not always ideas. Philosophical decadence, which replaced classical idealism, revealed sharply dissonant, but also connected by some secret connection, opposite extremes: at one pole - the hateful “sobriety” of positivism and vulgar materialism, at the other pole - the “intoxication” of irrationalism. The traditional attitude towards antiquity as an ideal does not disappear after the first third of the 19th century. The most characteristic representative of positivist eclecticism, which appealed to the all-European educated public and had an impact completely disproportionate to his significance as a thinker, Ernest Renan in his rhetorical periods “prayed” to Pallas Athena, as the eternal legislator of Beauty and Reason: “The world will be saved only by returning to you, renouncing his connections with barbarism." Anatole France's rehash of similar motifs can be found in "The Revolt of the Angels" (1914), and even later. A certain emotional reaction to the monuments of classical antiquity remains almost automatic for the Western European bearer of the old culture. “Athens? I was there,” Thomas Mann sums up his travel impressions in 1925. “... And yet it is indescribable how natural, how spiritually elegant, how youthfully European these divine remains appear to us after the forms of culture from the banks of the Nile.

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