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. Geographic conditions of 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 the antiquity known then - "Greco-Roman". Later, other "antiquities" began to be discovered by European scientists: Egyptian, Babylonian, Sumerian and others. Since then, the concepts of "antiquity", "ancient world" have been used in a narrower sense, to denote the history and culture of Ancient Greece and Rome.

Ancient civilization was born in the Mediterranean basin. The climatic conditions of the region have left an indelible imprint on it. The economy was largely determined by the cultivation of the "Mediterranean triad" - cereals, olives and grapes. Moreover, unlike in 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 the maximum expansion of the Roman Empire, practically nowhere spread far beyond the grapevine growing area - 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 realized their difference from other peoples.

In the last centuries of the 1st millennium BC. NS. two originally different paths of development of ancient society, Greek and Roman, merged into a single Greco-Roman civilization. Its final political form was the Roman Empire, which existed until the end of the 5th century. n. NS.

There are two major stages in the history of antiquity: Greek and Roman. Greeks or Hellenes as they called themselves, they 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.

Within its borders, the Pax Romana arose - the "Roman world", which contained the entire late antique civilization. In 476 A.D. BC, when the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire was deposed, it ceased to exist. This event is usually taken by historians as the finale 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 at the same time cultural eras:

Aegean or Crete-Mycenaean (III-II millennium BC);

Homeric, aka "dark ages" and "prepolis" (XI-IX centuries BC);

Archaic (VIII-VI centuries BC);

Classic (V-IV centuries BC);

Hellenistic (second half of the 4th - middle of the 1st century BC).

The first three eras are often combined under a common name pre-classical period.

Sources on the history of Ancient Greece

Sources on the history of Crete and mainland ("Achaean") Greece III-II millennium BC. NS.

The few sources of this time are divided into three main categories: - written monuments, written by the so-called. "Linear letter";

Data from archaeological excavations of cities and settlements;

Written sources. On the island of Crete, the most ancient so-called. " Linear A"(English Linear script A). The vast majority of inscriptions using it were applied to clay tablets. Some of them survived due to the fact that they were burned during a fire. Some of the inscriptions were made in ink on vessels and other objects. The shape of the marks suggests that the main writing material was not clay, but parchment or a similar short-lived material.

After the conquest of Crete by the Achaean Greeks, "Linear A" disappears, supplanted by " Linear B"(English 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 written in letter B are known. They were found in Crete, during excavations of the cities of Pylos, Mycenae, Thebes, Tiryns in mainland Greece. The overwhelming majority of tablets date from the XIV-XII centuries. BC NS. The labels are very short and are mostly business accounting documents.

In addition to the tablets found in the palace archives, inscriptions have survived, consisting of abbreviations of individual words, applied with paint or scratched on the walls of clay vessels, individual letters on seals placed on clay plugs and tags.

Archaeological excavations... The most important results were obtained from studies of vast palace complexes: at Knossos and Phaistos on the island of Crete, in Mycenae and Pylos on the Peloponnese peninsula.

Works of ancient authors. The earliest written sources are the poems The Iliad and The Odyssey, the author of which is traditionally attributed to Homer... It is generally accepted that they were created in the 9th-8th centuries. BC e., but contain many realities of the preceding time. Quite varied data are also contained in the legends and myths of the Greeks - about the Athenian hero Theseus, about Hercules, about the voyages of the Argonauts and many others.

In the works of ancient authors of the 5th century BC. NS. and in the following centuries, individual memories of the past of the Hellenes, the might of the Cretan king Minos, the creation of a vast state by him, and the high culture of that time have been preserved. A small amount of data, mainly on the foreign policy position of the Cretan and mainland Greek states, is contained in ancient Eastern monuments, primarily Hittite and Egyptian.

The history of Ancient Greece studies the process of the emergence, development, and functioning of the ancient Greek civilization in 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 constituent 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 are "closed" by the island of Crete, and a narrow coastal strip in the western part of Malaya Asia. During the era of the Great Greek colonization (VIII-VI centuries BC), the Greeks settled on vast expanses of the Mediterranean and Black Seas. In the west, numerous Greek colonies appeared in the south of 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 northeastern direction, Greek colonization was initially aimed at the development of the Thracian coast and the shores of the Hellespont Strait, which connects the Black and Mediterranean Seas. The most famous colony in this 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. In a southerly direction, the Greeks managed to gain a foothold in the area of ​​Cyrenaica, on the Libyan coast west of Egypt. As a result of the campaigns of Alexander the Great, the Greeks penetrated far to the East, right up to the western territories of Ancient India. All these territories became the place of development of 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 this time there were two main centers of development of civilization, Crete and Balkan Greece, there is a periodization for each of these centers: the early, middle and late periods are distinguished. Then follows the polis stage, during which the formation of the actual 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 the ancient Greek civilization, the polis, was formed. The classical period (5th - end of the 4th centuries BC) is 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 the 4th - end of the 1st centuries BC), which originates from the campaigns of Alexander the Great and finds its end 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. NS. the main population of Balkan Greece was made up of Pelasgians, Lelegs, Carians; Crete was inhabited by the Minoans until the second half of the 2nd millennium. Greek tribes (Achaeans) invaded the territory of Balkan Greece in the late III - early II millennium BC. NS. The ancient peoples were partially displaced from this territory, partially assimilated. In the second half of the 15th century. BC NS. after the death of the Cretan state, the Achaeans also landed on this island. At the end of the II millennium BC. NS. 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, settling during colonization in the vast expanses of the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions 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, first of all, written sources. From the Cretan-Mycenaean era, tablets written in the syllable letters A (in Crete) and B (in Balkan Greece) have survived. Syllabic letter A has not yet been deciphered, and syllabary letter B in 1953 was deciphered by the English scientist M. Ventris. These plates are documents of economic reporting. These documents, together with the data of archeology, are the object of research of a special direction in the history of Ancient Greece - myceneology. Homer's poems The Iliad and The Odyssey are an important but very complex source. 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 classical studies. Modern researchers deal with such issues as the specifics of the reflection of real life in such a genre as 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 (Archilochus, Theognis, Solon, Alcaeus, Sappho and others). Modern scientists, with the help of their works, try to solve the problems of the specifics of the social psychology of the archaic period. In Greece, history emerges 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, albeit sometimes subjective, picture of the events of the archaic and mainly classical periods. Of great importance are the works of late writers, Hellenistic and Roman times: Diodorus Siculus, Strabo, Plutarch, Pausanias, Athenaeus, Aulus Helius and many others. They brought to us the ancient tradition, most of which has been lost. Naturally, the clarification of the problem of the reliability of the works of ancient authors is one of the tasks of specialists in the history of Ancient Greece. Written sources also include 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 dedicated to various aspects of the public, religious and private life of the Greeks. Working with this category of sources requires special 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 XXI century, about 100 thousand Greek inscriptions were known, and modern computer technologies provide fast processing of epigraphic material. Another special discipline is antique numismatics, which deals with numerous Greek and Roman coins. At an early stage, numismatists were mainly concerned with the systematization and classification of numismatic material, the use of coins to illustrate political events, and the study of some aspects of Greek religion. Now, however, coins and treasury complexes make it possible to solve important problems of the Greek economy, to identify the specifics of monetary circulation in different regions and in different periods, and to study the financial and monetary policies of the Greek states. Papyrology is also a special discipline. She is studying papyri found in Egypt and created during the Hellenistic and Roman times. Although documentary material of these two periods predominates among these papyri, among the texts found there are works of an earlier period. Thus, thanks to the discovery of papyrus at the end of the 19th century, Aristotle's work "The Athenian Polity" became known. The work of epigraphists, numismatists and papyrologists is becoming more and more international, 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 XIX century, archaeological excavations have been carried out on the territory of 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 uncovered, numerous household items and monuments of art were found, especially significant in quantitative terms were the finds of Greek ceramics. 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. The excavations of A. Evans 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 Fera, who discovered the remains of the most ancient city in Europe, which perished 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 part of the Mediterranean culture that arose in the Roman Empire. Ancient heritage, written tradition was preserved in the Byzantine state. In 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 - 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 most influential was the German school of classical studies. The works of A. Boeck 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 was the first to introduce the concept of the "era of Hellenism". E. Curtius conducted the classical excavations of Olympia and created one of the best generalizing works on the history of Greece. The works of Ed. Meyer, K. Bücher, Y. Belokh, R. Pölmann. Among French historians, A. Wallon, who wrote a generalizing work on slavery in antiquity, and F. de Coulange, who formulated the idea of ​​the polis as a civil community, should be noted. The founder of the scientific school for the study of the history of Ancient Greece in the Russian state was professor of St. Petersburg and Moscow universities M.S. Kutorga. He mainly dealt with the history of the Athenian state; his work has been published in Western Europe. F.F. Sokolov laid the foundation for the study of epigraphic sources and educated a whole generation of Russian scientists. Among the pre-revolutionary specialists in antiquity, one can note V.V. Latysheva, M.I. Rostovtseva, M.M. Khvostova, V.P. Buzeskula, S.A. Zhebeleva, F.F. Zelinsky. The translations into Russian of the main works of Greek authors by F.G. Mishchenko. Russian scientists were especially active in the study of the Greek states in the Northern Black Sea region. In the period between the two World Wars, multivolume 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 emerging in the USSR, which was characterized by works, first of all, on socio-economic problems. Works by V.S. Sergeeva, A. I. Tyumeneva, S. I. Kovaleva, S. Ya. Lurie. A new stage in the development of classical studies 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. NS. - myceneology. In Western historiography, one should highlight the work of the English scientist M. Finley, 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. Will, C. Starr and some scientists. A group of specialists headed by J. Vogt dealt with the problems of ancient slavery in the FRG. 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 in the work of Western scientists, holding international conferences on various issues, and issuing numerous thematic collections. A special place in European classical studies is occupied by the research 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 polis. 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 were reflected in the works of G.A. Koshelenko, E. D. Frolov, A.I. Zaitsev, V.P. Yaylenko. Various aspects of the history of the Athenian state are devoted to the works of K.K. Zelina, 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. Frolov. Various aspects of the crisis of the Greek polis were reflected in the studies of L.M. Gluskina, L.P. Marinovich and V.I. Isaeva. The Russian school of classical studies remained 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, Russian antiquity studies have suffered significant losses, and excavation activities have sharply decreased. However, at the same time, cooperation with Western colleagues intensified, domestic scientists began to take a greater part in international projects.

And D.P. Callistova. M., 1956.

Ancient civilizations. Ed. G.M. Bongard-Levin. M., 1989.

Reader on the history of Ancient Greece. Ed. D.P. Callistova. M., 1964.

Ed. IN AND. Kuzishchina. SPb, 2000.

The natural conditions of Greece are quite difficult. Mountain ranges divide the country's territory into many narrow, isolated and marginal valleys with access to the sea, except for Laconia, Boeotia, Thessaly and on about. Euboea. In the ancient Greek period, three-quarters of the territory was pastures and only one-eighth was occupied by arable land. The flora (oak, wild walnut, etc.) and the animal world (bears, wolves) were rich and diverse, but the sea gave especially a lot of resources. The bowels of the earth hid significant deposits of minerals, primarily iron (Laconia), as well as silver, copper (Euboea), gold (Thessaly), white marble (Attica)

Unlike many countries of the Ancient East, which are characterized by ethnic diversity, a certain ethnic homogeneity is characteristic of the Aegean basin and the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula.

These areas were inhabited mainly by the Greek people, represented by four tribal groups: Achaeans, Dorians, Ionians and Aeolians. Each of these tribal groups spoke a dialect and had some peculiarities in customs and religious beliefs, but these differences were minor. All Greeks spoke the same language, understood each other well and clearly understood their belonging to one nationality and one civilization.

The most ancient tribal group was the Achaeans, who came to the southern part of Balkan Greece at the end of the 3rd millennium BC. At the end of the 2nd millennium BC. under the pressure of the Dorian tribes moving from the area of ​​modern Epirus and Macedonia, the Achaeans were partially assimilated, partially driven back to the highlands. In the 1st millennium BC. the descendants of the ancient Achaeans lived in the mountains of Arcadia, in the Asia Minor region of Pamphylia and in Cyprus. The Dorians settled most of the Peloponnese (Laconic, Messinia, Argolis, Elis), most of the southern islands of the Aegean Sea, in particular Crete and Rhodes, some territories of Caria in Asia Minor. The Dorians were close to the inhabitants of Epirus, Aetolia and other regions of Western Greece.

A third tribal group, speaking the Attic-Ionian dialect, settled in Attica, Euboea, the islands of the central Aegean Sea, such as Samos, Chios, Lemnos, and in the region of Ionia on the Asia Minor coast. The tribal group of Aeolians lived in Boeotia, Thessaly and in the region of Aeolis on the Asia Minor coast north of Ionia, on the island of Lesbos.

However, neither the Achaeans, nor the Dorians, nor the Aeolians were the indigenous population of Ancient Greece. Before them, tribes lived here, the language and ethnicity of which remains problematic. The most ancient untranslatable toponyms ending in - "nf" have survived from them: Corinth, Olynthos, Tiryns, etc., as well as the names of plants in - "NT", "-s": hyacinth, cypress, daffodil. Most likely, the pre-Hellenic population was not Indo-European and was related to the tribes of Asia Minor. Later, after the appearance of the Hellenes, the local tribes will be called "Lelegi", "Pelasgi", "Carians". The remnants of these pre-Greek tribes lived in the Aegean region and did not play a significant role in the ethnogenesis of the population of Greece in the 1st millennium BC. The inhabitants of southern Thrace were of greater importance in the fate of the Greek states.

As for the sources on the history of Hellas, there are a great many of them. On the territory of Greece, the Aegean Sea and a number of other Mediterranean countries, archaeologists have carried out numerous excavations, as a result of which a huge number of material monuments have been discovered.

Until the 70s of the 19th century. only history was known, starting from the 8th century BC. The German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann and the English Arthur Evans carried out excavations, which resulted in the discovery of the legendary city of Troy, and the culture of the Cretan-Mycenaean civilization. In the 30s. XX century Greek and American archaeologists have discovered and studied the ruins of a large palace on the southwestern coast of the Peloponnese, on the site of the ancient city of Pylos. Soviet researchers in the second half of the XX century. actively explored the places of Greek colonization in the Northern Black Sea region.

In the 70s. J.I. Cousteau investigated the ruins of ancient settlements located on the seabed, off the coast of Crete and Santoria (dr. Fera). Somewhat later, a part of the Greek city of Phanagoria, which settled in the sea, was explored.

As for the written sources, they are very diverse. The overwhelming majority of the inscriptions were made in the ancient Greek language; ostracs - clay fragments are considered especially valuable. But during excavations on the island of Crete, as well as Mycenae and Pylos, linear inscriptions of 2 types were discovered: A and B. The first was written in the Cretan language, and the second - in one of the dialects of the ancient Greek language.

The most vivid idea of ​​those times is given to us by the works of ancient Greek historians: "History" of Herodotus about the Greco-Persian wars, "History" of Thucydides about the Peloponnesian war (the work is not finished). The works of Pausanias "Description of Hellas" (monuments of antiquity, legends, myths) are very remarkable. Xenophon made his contribution, leaving several historical works: "Greek History", where he spoke out against Athenian democracy, "Memories of Socrates", "Domostroy", "On Income". The historian Polybius wrote "General History", of which only 1/3 have survived. Another historian, Plutarch, noted that he applied analysis in Comparative Life Descriptions, where he described first the biography of a famous Greek figure, then the biography of a similar Roman figure, at the end comparing these persons and talking about their similarities and differences. Contributions were made by playwrights, poets, orators (the court speeches of Lysias, describing the activities of merchants of the 4th century BC, are especially noteworthy), poems (Homer's Iliad and Odyssey) and myths.

In the beginning, works that were considered historical combined several genres: historical, geographical, ethnographic; they included myths as well. These first works contained descriptions of the then known circle of lands, individual regions of the Greek world, genealogies and very briefly covered the events of a time close to them or did not concern them. The authors of these works were called logographers (in Greek "logos" - a word and "grapho" - I write), who lived in the 6-5th centuries. BC. In their writings there is no scientific - critical assessment of the material, but there is already a rational approach to explaining individual events of the mythological time. Representatives of logographers are Hecateus, who wrote the "Land Description" and "Genealogy", Gellanicus, who wrote an essay on the history of Athens and several "Genealogies". Especially a lot of information is contained in the works of the geographer Strabo. In his work "Geography" he talks about the life and history of different countries, their nature.

The periodization of ancient Greek history begins with the early Minoan period (XXX-XXIII centuries BC). Here we observe the dominance of clan relations, the beginnings of crafts and the development of metals, the development of navigation, a relatively high level of agrarian relations. In the Middle Minoan period (XXII-XVIII centuries BC), the construction of monumental palaces began, and the rudiments of statehood and early forms of writing appeared. The development of the Cretan-Mycenaean civilization was completed by the Late Minoan period (XVII-XII centuries BC). This period saw the flourishing of the Minoan civilization, the unification of Crete, the creation of the sea power of King Minos, the formation of an original writing system, a wide range of Crete's trade activities in the Aegean Sea and the activation of contacts with the ancient Eastern states. Natural disaster in the middle of the 15th century. BC NS. becomes the cause of the decline of the Minoan civilization, which created the preconditions for the conquest of Crete by the Achaeans, who in the XII century. BC NS. finally destroy the Minoan statehood along with the Dorians.

The history of Balkan Greece begins in the early Helladic period (XXX-XXI centuries BC). Here tribal relations prevail among the pre-Greek population. The first large settlements and proto-palace complexes appeared. In the Middle Helladic period (XX-XVII centuries BC), the first waves of speakers of the Greek language, the Achaeans, began to settle in the south of the Balkan Peninsula, among whom the decomposition of tribal relations began, accompanied by a slight decrease in the general level of socio-economic development of Greece. In the late Helladic period (XVI-XII centuries BC), an early class society emerged among the Achaeans, the formation of a producing economy in agriculture. In the XII century. BC NS. a new tribal group invades Greece - the Dorians.

In the Homeric (pre-polis) period, the "dark ages" (XI-IX centuries BC) tribal relations dominate, transforming into early class ones, unique pre-polis social structures are formed.

In the archaic era (VIII-VI centuries BC) polis structures were formed. The Great Greek colonization takes place, the ethnic consolidation of Hellenic society takes place, tyrannies appear. Iron is being introduced into all spheres of production, there is an economic upsurge, contradictions between the elites and the masses are growing. In the era of the classics (V-IV centuries BC), the economy and culture of the Greek city-states flourished, and the aggression of the Persian superpower was reflected. There is a growing conflict between trade and craft types of policies with a democratic state structure and backward agrarian policies with an aristocratic structure. The Peloponnesian War takes place, undermining 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 the Macedonian aggression

First Hellenistic period (334-281 BC). The campaigns of the Greco-Macedonian army of Alexander the Great, a short period of the existence of his world power and its disintegration into a number of Hellenistic states.

Second Hellenistic period (281-150 BC). The flourishing of the Greek-Eastern statehood, economy and culture.

Third Hellenistic period (150-30 BC). Crisis and disintegration of the Hellenistic state.

Every historical science studies its subject by examining historical facts. Fact is the starting point of scientific research seeking to reconstruct the historical realities of the past. Historical facts are preserved for us by historical sources, which are used by scientists to reconstruct the past. The historical source is all the monuments of the past, that is, all surviving evidence reflecting a person's past life and activities. The historical source is inevitably secondary to the fact to which it testifies. In particular, the amount of information and the objectivity of a written source is always influenced by both the material where it is recorded and the position and personal attitude to the events of its compiler. Often this leads to a distortion of information, to the fact that many attendant circumstances hide the historical truth, and this does not allow directly, without critical selection, to use the information gleaned from the historical source.

Historical sources differ in the content of the evidence of the past and the nature of the information:

1) real sources are various monuments of material culture (remnants of buildings, tools and weapons, household items, coins, etc.);

2) written sources are all kinds of works, including literary works of the era under study, inscriptions of various contents that have come down to us;

3) linguistic sources are data from the ancient Greek language (vocabulary, grammatical structure, onomastics, toponymy, idioms, etc.); a lot about the people are said by its dialects and Koine (common Greek);

4) folkloric sources are monuments of oral folk art (legends, songs, fables, proverbs, etc.), which have come down to us due to the fact that they were subsequently written down;

5) ethnographic sources are customs, rituals, beliefs, etc., which were preserved in the form of survivals in later eras.

However, sources on the history of Ancient Greece have a number of features, which directly affects the ability to comprehensively and fully restore historical realities. The main problem of classical studies is the scarcity of the source base (in comparison with materials from later historical periods). It should also be noted that ethnographic sources played a relatively small role in the study of the ancient world, since none of the modern researchers could directly observe the ancient society. However, ethnographic data can be used as a comparative historical material in the study of the origin of myths, rituals, customs, etc.

In addition, the relatively limited amount of evidence of the past is unevenly presented both across different eras and regions, and according to the types of sources. This fully applies to the most important written sources for the historian. Many stages of ancient Greek history spanning several centuries are poorly reflected in written records that provide basic information about the life of society in the past. In fact, not a single epoch of ancient Greek history has a complete and comprehensive coverage in the sources, and for some very long periods in the hands of historians there is very scanty and fragmentary evidence.

Heinrich Schliemann

In addition, in many sources that have come down to us, information on a number of issues is presented in a very complex or veiled form. Therefore, the analysis of the source and the interpretation of ancient history on their basis inevitably causes an ambiguous and often debatable assessment of objective realities and subjective phenomena in the life of society in Ancient Greece.

MATERIAL SOURCES

Archaeological discoveries of the 19th-20th centuries played a huge role in the development of classical studies. German archaeologist G. Schliemann(1822-1890) in the second half of the 19th century. discovered the ruins of the legendary Troy, and then the majestic ruins of Mycenae and Tiryns (fortress walls, ruins of palaces, tombs). The richest material about previously unknown pages of the past, which were considered fiction, fell into the hands of historians. So it was opened Mycenaean culture, preceding the culture of the era of Homer. These sensational finds expanded and enriched the understanding of the most ancient period of history and stimulated further archaeological research.

The largest archaeological discoveries have been made in Crete. Englishman A. Evans(1851-1941) excavated in Knossos the palace of the legendary ruler of Crete - King Minos. Scientists have discovered other ancient settlements in Crete and neighboring islands. These discoveries showed the world a unique Minoan culture the first half of the 2nd millennium BC e., an earlier culture than the Mycenaean.

Systematic archaeological research carried out both on the Balkan Peninsula (in Athens, Olympia, Delphi) and the islands of Rhodes and Delos, and on the Asia Minor coast of the Aegean Sea (in Miletus, Pergamum) provided historians with a huge variety of sources. All leading European countries and the United States founded archaeological schools in Greece. They turned into centers of antique studies, which not only improved the methods of excavation and processing of archaeological material, but also developed new approaches to the study of the histories of Ancient Greece.

Russian scientists did not stand aside either. After the establishment of the Imperial Archaeological Commission in Russia in 1859, a systematic study of the Greco-Scythian antiquities in the Northern Black Sea region began. Archaeologists have begun excavating mounds and Greek colonies. (Olbia, Chersonesus, Panticapaeum, Tanais, etc.). A number of sensational finds were made that adorned the expositions of the Hermitage and other major Russian museums. Later, when the research was headed by the Institute of Archeology of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, scientists and students from the country's leading historical universities joined them.

Arthur Evans

As a result of almost a century and a half of archaeological research, the most diverse and sometimes unique sources fell into the hands of antiquities, which discovered many previously unknown or unfamiliar in the history of Ancient Greece. But archaeological finds alone (the remains of fortresses, palaces, temples, works of art, ceramics and utensils, necropolises, tools and weapons) cannot give a complete picture of the historical processes of the development of society. The material evidence of the past can be interpreted in different ways. Therefore, without supporting archaeological material with data from other sources, many aspects of ancient history threaten to remain blank spots in our knowledge of the past.

WRITTEN SOURCES

All written monuments are the most important historical sources that allow us to reconstruct the course of specific events, to find out what worried people, what they were striving for, how relations in the state were built on the social and personal levels. Written sources are divided into literary, or narrative, and documentary.

The earliest surviving literary sources are epic poems Homer"Iliad" and "Odyssey", created at the beginning of the 8th century. BC NS. The Homeric epic differs significantly from the mythological epic works of the peoples of the Ancient East, since, due to the presence of secular, rational aspects, it contains very valuable information. Homer's works lay the foundations of the historical tradition and historical outlook. The memory of the millennial era of the Mycenaean civilization with its events, and above all with the hostilities of the Trojan War, outgrew the framework 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. Therefore, the social system, manners, customs, etc. are reflected in artistic images vividly and authentically. At the same time, Homer has a widespread mythological picture of the world. 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(the turn of the VIII-VII centuries BC) "Theogony". In the story about the origin of the gods, the poet paints a picture of the development of the world, reflecting the religiously mythological ideas of the Greek society of the archaic era. In this epic, mythological legends about the ancient past already merge with the description of the contemporary real history to the author. 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 asserts that a just device is necessary not only for the world of gods, but also for the world of people.

By the 7th century. BC NS. the intensive development of the Greek world left no room for a 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, Solona from Athens, Theognis Megar reflected the complex life of society, riddled with sharp political conflicts, in which it is difficult for a person to find peace and happiness. The new self-awareness of personality is reflected in poetry Archilochus and especially in the work of the Aeolian poets Alkea and Sappho.

In addition to works of art, you can learn about the life of Ancient Greece from historical writings, official certificates of a different nature. The first documentary records were made in the 2nd millennium BC. NS. in Achaean society. With the advent of the alphabet and the approval of policies, documentary evidence is becoming much more. So from the fusion of the historical perception of the world in poetry with official documentary records in ancient Greece, a historical tradition arose. She 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 NS. and is associated with the activities 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 intricately intertwined in their writings, an attempt at rationalistic rethinking of tradition is already clearly visible. On the whole, the works of 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 hometown. After that, he traveled a lot, visited the Greek city-states 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.

Herodotus stayed in Athens, where he became close to the leader of Athenian democracy Pericles, had a great influence on the formation of his own historical concept. In his work, which is usually called "History", Herodotus described the course of the war between the Greeks and Persians. This is a genuine scientific work, 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 Halicarnassus in order ... so that the reason why a war arose between them is not forgotten." To reveal this reason, Herodotus turns to the background of events. He talks 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 Greek city-states, and only after that begins to describe military operations. To find the truth, Herodotus critically approaches the selection and analysis of the sources involved. And although the degree of reliability of the information collected by the historian is different and some episodes in the treatise are in the nature of 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 pattern in history for him is the divine power that rewards good and punishes evil. But the main merit of Herodotus is that, through his labors, 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, 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 nearly 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: “I do not consider it agreeable with my task to write down what I learned from the first person I met, or what I could assume, but recorded events , the eyewitness of which was himself, and what he heard from others, after as accurate as possible, research on each fact, taken separately. " To do this, he visited the places of events, talked with eyewitnesses, got acquainted with the documents. Such an approach to facts allows him, in presenting the course of history, not to explain the events taking 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, the direct connection between success in the conduct of hostilities and the stability of the internal political situation in the state is clear. History, according to Thucydides, is created people, acting in accordance with their "nature". Their interests, aspirations and passions are stronger than laws and treaties.

Thucydides played a decisive role in establishing scientific knowledge of the past. He developed a critical method for analyzing historical sources and was the first to identify the laws 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 the most valuable historical source, which as objectively as possible illuminates the events described.

The genre of historical research was further developed in the 4th century. Not completed by Thucydides "History", cut off at the description of the events of 411 BC. e., continued literally from the last phrase in his "Greek history" Xenophon from Athens (about 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 education and was a student of Socrates, is manifested. A supporter of the Spartan state structure, Xenophon was critical of Athenian democracy. This explains a certain bias in the presentation of the material. In addition, Xenophon does not use the attracted sources critically enough, sometimes interpreting events to please his preferences, and also paying great attention to individual personalities, does not try to reveal the objective reasons for historical events. However, his "Greek History", which describes the events from 411 to 362 BC. e., remains the most important source for the study of the complex era of acute struggle between the poleis and the crisis of the classical Greek polis.

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 "Cyropedia", 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 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 "Recollection of Socrates", where the conversations of the famous philosopher with his students are recorded. Xenophon's views on the most expedient methods of economic management are reflected in the essay "Economics" (or "Domostroy"), and suggestions on how to improve the financial situation of the Athenian state - in the work "On Income". In general, the numerous treatises of Xenophon contain diverse and valuable, but not always objective information about the most diverse aspects of the life of Greek society of his time.

The main merit of Herodotus, Thucydides and Xenophon was the spread in Greek society of interest in history and the approval of historical approach to the events of the past. Some, like Xenophon, and also Kratapp, or "Oxirin historian", directly continued the research of Thucydides, imitating the great historian with varying degrees of success. Others, like Ephor, Theopompus and Timaeus, came "into history" from oratory schools. But the result was the emergence of a large number of treatises on the history of Athens, Sicily and Italy, Persia, the reign of Tsar 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 scholars of subsequent eras), but and the establishment of a historical tradition in neighboring societies.

An important source for 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 took an active part in the political events of their time, which was directly reflected in their poetry. 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, literary images were not the fruit of idle fiction or the interpretation of legendary mythological plots, but were an expression of the prevailing civil worldview, objective assessments and judgments of Athenian society.

Playwright Aeschylus(525–456 BC) was a contemporary of sharp internal political clashes during the formation of Athenian democracy and the struggle of the Greeks for freedom during the era of the Greco-Persian wars. A participant in the main battles of the Greeks with the conquerors, he expressed in the tragedy "Persians", written about real historical events, the patriotic sentiments of the Hellenes. Even in the works of Aeschylus on mythological plots (trilogies "Orestea", "Chained Prometheus", "Seven Against Thebes", etc.) there are constantly hints of modern events and all the actions of the characters are evaluated from the standpoint of the civic ideal.

The poet and playwright is an example of an honest citizen Sophocles(496-406 BC). In his tragedies "King Oedipus", "Antigone", "Ajax" and others, he raises such important issues as the morality of power, the place of wealth in life, attitude to war. But, despite the objective expression of public sentiments, the views of Sophocles are largely traditional, which brings him closer to Herodotus. He sees in events a manifestation of 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.

Tragedies Euripides(480–406 BC) "Medea", "The Supplicants", "Electra", "Iphigenia in Taurida" and others acquaint with the public sentiments of that era, and not only with 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 held by showing the everyday life of ancient Athens, including family relationships, in particular between husband and wife.

Comedies are an interesting source on the political history of Athens. Aristophanes(c. 445 - c. 385 BC). His work falls on the difficult period of the Peloponnesian war for Athens, and in his plays Aharnians, 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. The 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 the important events in the life of the Athenian polis. They very accurately reflect the real life and moods of Greek society, which, according to other sources, are poorly traced.

An irreplaceable historical source are philosophical and rhetorical works. At the end of the 5th - first half of the 4th century. BC. tense political life and creative spiritual atmosphere in the polis contributed to the development of science, the desire to comprehend all the diversity of the life of society. An outstanding philosopher was Plato(427–347 BC). Historians are of great interest in his treatises "State" and "Laws", where the author, in accordance with his socio-political views, proposes ways of a just reorganization of society and gives a "recipe" for an ideal state structure.

Disciple of Plato Aristotle(384–322 BC) tried to study the history and political structure of over 150 states. Of his works, only the "Athenian polity" has survived, where the history and state structure of the Athenian polis are systematically described. Extensive and varied information is gleaned from numerous sources, both those that have come down to us (the works of Herodotus, Thucydides) and almost completely lost (like the Attids - the Athenian chronicles).

Aristotle

Based on the study of the life of Greek city-states, 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.

The texts are a kind of historical source speeches by speakers. Written to be pronounced in a popular assembly or in court, they are, of course, polemically pointed. Political speeches Demosthenes, court speeches Lysis, 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. For the sake of the laws of rhetoric, gradually the main thing in speech 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, that is, inscriptions made on a hard surface: stone, ceramics, metal. Greek society was educated, and therefore quite a lot of various 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, gravestones, lists of officials, various economic documents (invoices, agreements on lease and mortgage of property, acts of purchase and 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 practically did not find reflection in literary sources. But the main thing is that the inscriptions were made in most cases by ordinary citizens and express their worldview. The first to publish Greek inscriptions back in 1886 was the German scientist A. Bockh. The last collection of Greek historical inscriptions to date was published in 1989 by R. Meiggs, D. Lewis.

SOURCES OF THE ERA OF HELLINISM

In the era of Hellenism narrative sources (i.e., narratives) take on new features. During this period, the Greek historian Polybius(c. 201 - c. 120 BC) the first "General History" was written. In his youth, he actively participated in the activities

The Achaean Union and after the defeat of Macedonia, along with other representatives of the Achaean nobility, was taken to Rome as a hostage. There he became close to the pro-Hellenic consul Scipio Emilian and soon also became an admirer of Rome. In an effort to understand the reasons for the rise of Rome, Polybius studied the state archives, met with participants in the events, and traveled. Historical events in the Mediterranean from 220 to 146 BC are described in 40 books (the first five books are fully preserved) of the "General History". NS. Carefully selecting the facts, Polybius strove for historical truth in order to show the regularity of Rome's gaining world domination. Based on the study of historical processes, he created an original theory of historical development, in which there is a regularity of the degeneration of the main forms of the state - from tsarist power to democracy.

Another major historian of this period was Diodorus of Siculus(c. 90-21 BC). In his "Historical Library" (of 40 books, books 1–5 and 11–20 have survived to us, and only fragments from the rest), the history of the Mediterranean states, including the history of classical Greece, was described in detail. Diodorus pays special attention to the economic development of the Hellenistic states and the social and political struggle between their rulers. Despite some chronological inaccuracies, his work, based on reliable sources, is of great historical value.

Essays contain important information Plutarch(c. 45 - c. 127), primarily biographies of the greatest Greek and Roman politicians and Hellenistic kings, as well as a variety of information from the socio-political and cultural life of ancient society. The facts used to illuminate the activities of outstanding personalities of the Hellenistic period are more reliable than the data of the early eras.

Interesting information, the reliability of which is confirmed by archaeological excavations, was left by a Greek historian Pausanias(II century) in the ten-volume "Description of Hellas". This work, based on the observations of the author and other sources, contains a detailed description of architectural monuments (temples, theaters, public buildings), sculptures and paintings. In his presentation, Pausanias uses not only historical information, but also myths.

The era of Hellenism with its contradictions, when the cultures of the East and West, rational and irrational, divine and human, were closely intertwined, influenced historical science as well. This was most clearly manifested in labor Arriana(between 95 and 175 II.) "Anabasis", dedicated to the description of the campaigns of Alexander the Great. On the one hand, it tells in detail about the real events and military actions of the commander, and on the other, various miracles and signs are constantly mentioned, which give historical reality a fantastic look and raise Alexander to the level of a deity.

The romantic tradition of perceiving the personality of Alexander the Great is also characteristic of other historians: Pompey Trogus (end of the 1st century BC), whose works came to be transcribed by Justin (2nd – 3rd centuries), and Curtius Rufus (1st century).

Rapid development is associated with the era of Hellenism book culture. Books of the most varied content connected the individual experience of a person with the life of a huge inhabited world that opened up to the Greeks. Numerous scientific treatises on various areas of human knowledge and works of fiction contain a wealth of information about knowledge, acquired experience, everyday life, and the characters of people of that era. Of great interest to historians are treatises on economics: the pseudo-Aristotelian "Economics" (end of the 4th century BC) and "Economics" by the epicurean philosopher Philodemus (1st century BC).

Reliable and valuable information contains "Geography" Strabo(64/63 BC - 23/24 AD). The writer traveled a lot and supplemented his observations with information gleaned from other scientists: Eratosthenes, Posidonius, Polybius, and others. Strabo tells in detail about the geographical position of countries and regions, the climate, the availability of minerals, the peculiarities of the economic activities of peoples. He has many excursions into the past, but most of the information belongs to the Hellenistic era.

In the field of natural science literature, it should be noted the works Theophrastus(Theophrastus, 372–287 BC) "On Plants" and "On Stones", which not only provides extensive information on botany and mineralogy, but also provides interesting information on agriculture and mining. In the treatise "Characters" Theophrastus presented various types of people and described their behavior in various situations.

Of the works of fiction, the playwright's everyday comedies most accurately reflect the era Menander(343-291 BC), as well as epigrams and idylls (bucolics) of the poet Theocritus(III century BC).

A huge number of inscriptions, which contain a wide variety of information on almost all spheres of life in Hellenistic society. They were published in publications of a different nature (for example, in the "Inscriptions of Greece", in thematic collections of legal inscriptions, historical inscriptions, etc.). Of great interest are the economic documents of the Temple of Apollo on the island of Delos, decrees of the rulers and manums- acts of freeing slaves. For the study of individual areas, collections of documents by region are important. So, in 1885-1916. V.V. Latyshev prepared a collection of Greek and Latin inscriptions from the Northern Black Sea region (three volumes out of four planned by the author were published).

In the era of Hellenism appeared texts on papyri (there are more than 250 thousand), created mainly in Ptolemaic Egypt. They contain a wide variety of information: royal decrees, business documents, marriage contracts, religious texts, etc. Thanks to the papyri, the many-sided life of Egypt is known better than the life of other Hellenistic states.

Much information about the history of the Hellenistic states is given by archaeological excavations and coins.

Modern historians have at their disposal numerous and varied sources that make it possible to sufficiently fully investigate all aspects of the life of ancient Greek society.

Monuments of ancient writing in Russian translations

Andokides. Speeches. SPb., 1996.

Apollodorus. Mythological library. M., 1993.

Apollonius of Rhodes. Argonautics. Tbilisi, 1964.

Aristotle. Athenian polity. M., 1937.

Aristotle. Animal history. M., 1996. T. 1–4.

Aristotle. Compositions. M., 1975-1984. T. 1-2.

Aristophanes. Comedy. M., 1983.

Arrian. Alexander's hike. SPb., 1993.

Archimedes. Compositions. M., 1973.

Athenaeus. The Feast of the Wise Men: Books 1–8. M., 2003.

Achilles Tatius. Leucippa and Clitophon;

Long. Daphnis and Chloe;

Petronius. Satyricon;

Apuleius. Metamorphoses, or Golden Donkey. M., 1969.

Heliodor. Ethiopica. Minsk, 1993.

Herodotus. History. M., 2004.

Gigin. Myths. SPb., 1997.

Hippocrates. Selected books. M., 1994.

Homer. Iliad. L., 1990.

Homer. Odyssey. M., 1984.

Greek speakers of the second half of the 4th century BC e .: Hyperides, Lycurgus, Dinarchus, Aeschines // Bulletin of ancient history. 1962. No. 1-4; 1963. No. 1.

Demosthenes. Speeches. M., 1994-1996. T. 1-3.

Diogenes Laertius. About the life, teachings and sayings of famous philosophers. M., 1986.

Diodorus of Siculus. Historical Library: Greek Mythology. M., 2000.

Euripides. Tragedies. M., 1998-1999. T. 1-2.

Isocrates. Speeches // Bulletin of Ancient History. 1965. No. 3, 4; 1966. No. 1-4; 1967. No. 1, 3, 4; 1968. No. 1–4; 1969. No. 1, 2.

Cornelius Nepos. About famous foreign commanders. M., 1992.

Xenophon. Anabasis. M., 1994.

Xenophon. Memories of Socrates. M., 1993.

Xenophon. Greek history. SPb., 1993. Xenophon. Kyropedia. M., 1993.

Curtius Rufus Qu. History of Alexander the Great. M., 1993.

Fox. Speeches. M., 1994.

Lucian. Selected Prose. M., 1991.

Menander. Comedy. M., 1964.

Pausanias. Description of Hellas. M., 1994. T. 1–2.

Pindar. Bacchilides. Odes. Fragments. M., 1980.

Plato. Collected Works. M., 1990-1994. T. 1-4.

Pliny the Elder. Natural science; About art. M., 1994.

Plutarch. Table conversations. L., 1990.

Plutarch. Comparative biographies. M., 1994. T. 1–2.

Polybius. General history. SPb., 1994-1995. T. 1-3.

Polien. Stratagems. SPb., 2002.

Sophocles. Dramas. M., 1990.

Strabo. Geography. M., 1994.

Theophrastus. Characters. M., 1993.

Philostratus. Paintings;

Callistratus. Description of the statues. Tomsk, 1996.

Frontin Sex Julius. Military tricks (Stratagems). SPb., 1996.

Thucydides. History. M., 1993.

Khariton. The Tale of Herea and Kallira. SPb., 1994.

Elian Claudius. Colorful stories. M., 1995.

Aeschylus. Tragedies. M., 1989.
Anthologies, anthologies, etc.

Alexandria poetry. M., 1972.

Antique fable. M., 1991.

Antique democracy in the testimony of contemporaries. M., 1996.

Antique Literature: Greece: Anthology. M., 1989. T. 1–2.

Antique hymns. M., 1988.

Antique rhetoric. M., 1978.

Anthology sources on the history, culture and religion of Ancient Greece. SPb., 2000.

Greek epigram. SPb., 1993. Ancient greek elegy. SPb., 1996.

Interstate relations and diplomacy in antiquity: a reader. Kazan, 2002. Part 2.

Molchanov A.A., Neroznak V.P., Sharypkin S. Ya. Monuments of the oldest Greek writing. M., 1988.

Fragments early Greek philosophers. M., 1989. Part 1.

Reader on the history of the ancient world: Hellenism: Rome. M., 1998.

Reader on the history of ancient Greece. M., 1964.

Hellenic poets of the 8th – 3rd centuries BC NS. M., 1999.

Plan: 1. The concept of "Antiquity" 1. The concept of "Antiquity" 2. Classification of sources for studying the history of Ancient Greece 2. Classification of sources for studying the history of Ancient Greece 3. Myth as one of the elements of studying the history of Ancient Greece: 3. Myth as one of the elements of study history of ancient Greece:

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 precisely defined, 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 precisely defined, 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 "Odysseus" Homer "Iliad" and "Odysseus" Poems of Hesiod and Greek lyricists (Archilochus, Theognis, Solon, Alkeus, Sappho and others). Poems of Hesiod and Greek lyricists (Archilochus, Theognis, Solon, Alcaeus, Sappho and others). Historical works of Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon. Historical works of Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon. Works of late writers, Hellenistic and Roman times: Diodorus of Siculus, Strabo, Plutarch, Pausanias, Athenaeus, Aulus Helius and many others. Works of late writers, Hellenistic and Roman times: Diodorus of 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.

CRETE LETTER (Crete-Mycenaean writing) - ancient types of writing (3rd - 2nd millennium BC), discovered on about. Crete and mainland Greece. There are three stages of development: hieroglyphic, linear A and linear B (only B deciphered; used for archaic Greek). Based on the Cretan writing, the Cypriot writing arose. CRETE LETTER (Crete-Mycenaean writing) - ancient types of writing (3rd - 2nd millennium BC), discovered on about. Crete and mainland Greece. There are three stages of development: hieroglyphic, Linear A and Linear B (deciphered only B; used for Archaic Greek). Based on the Cretan script, the Cypriot script arose. Creteline letter line letter Cypriot letter

Monuments of Material Culture Material monuments that are discovered as a result of archaeological excavations are of great importance for the study of the history of Ancient Greece. Since the 30s of the XIX century, archaeological excavations have been carried out on the territory of 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). 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 XIX century, archaeological excavations have been carried out on the territory of 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 Iktinus, Callicrates, years BC, Athens Temple of Demeter Temple of Demeter, builders unknown, VI century BC Olympia

Erechtheion Erechtheion, builders unknown, years BC, Athens Temple of Nika Apteros Temple of Nika Apteros, architect Callicrates, years BC, Athens

Olympus Olympus (O l u m p o z) is a mountain in Thessaly where the gods live. The name Olympus is of pre-Greek origin (a possible connection with the Indo-European root ulu / uelu, "to rotate", that is, an indication of the roundness of the peaks) and belongs to a number of mountains in Greece and Asia Minor. On Olympus are the palaces of Zeus and other gods, built and decorated by Hephaestus. The gates of Olympus are opened and closed as they ride out in golden chariots. Olympus is thought to be a symbol of the supreme power of a new generation of Olympian gods who defeated the titans. Olympus (O l u m p o z) is a mountain in Thessaly where the gods live. The name Olympus is of pre-Greek origin (a possible connection with the Indo-European root ulu / uelu, "to rotate", that is, an indication of the roundness of the peaks) and belongs to a number of mountains in Greece and Asia Minor. On Olympus are the palaces of Zeus and other gods, built and decorated by Hephaestus. The gates of Olympus are opened and closed as they ride out in golden chariots. Olympians are thought of as a symbol of the supreme power of a new generation of Olympian gods who defeated the titans.