LECTURE No. 19. Antiquity culture (Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome)

1. Features of ancient culture

Antique culture in the history of mankind is a unique phenomenon, a role model and a standard of creative perfection. Some researchers define it as a "Greek miracle". Greek culture was formed on the basis of the Aegean and Crete-Mycenaean cultures and became the cradle of modern European culture.

The special geographical position of Greece is the intersection of busy maritime trade routes; city-states with their democracy; a special way of thinking (contemplation plus a high level of logic) is the content and originality of Greek culture. Ancient Greece went far beyond national boundaries, creating an art that was understandable to both the Hellenes and all other peoples.

Ancient Rome means not only the city of Rome, but also all the countries and peoples conquered by it as part of the Roman state. Roman art was created by both the Romans and:

1) the ancient Egyptians;

2) Greeks;

3) Syrians;

4) inhabitants of Gaul;

5) ancient Germany and other peoples.

Ancient Rome gave humanity an example of an enriched cultural environment: comfortable cities with paved roads, magnificent bridges, buildings of libraries, archives, palaces with solid furniture - all that is characteristic of a modern civilized society. The periodization of ancient culture is very complex.

2. Religion

In ancient culture, there is a desire to express their understanding of the world. Aesthetic categories are being developed that express important assessments and aspects of the Greek worldview.

1. Harmony.

2. Symmetry.

3. Beauty.

The ancient religion is characterized by polytheism - polytheism. The first deities in Rome include the patrons of the hearth: the penates, lares - the deified souls of the ancestors and the goddess Vesta, whose priestesses (Vestals) maintained an unquenchable fire in her temple. More individualized gods gradually emerged. For example, among the ancient Greeks - Zeus the Thunderer, the supreme god; god of war Ares; the god of the water element Poseidon; goddess of love Aphrodite. Among the Romans, Jupiter, Mars, Neptune, Venus corresponded to these gods. Numerous priestly colleges (vestals, augurs) maintained respect for the gods and observance of customs and traditions. The cult was headed by a college of pontiffs headed by the great pontiff.

3. Theatre. Music

Theater played an important role in the life of the ancient Romans. It could express their feelings and emotions. The theater not only reflected the life of the ancient Greeks and Romans, but also served as a manifestation of their interest in politics. Ancient Greece left 3 names of the authors of the tragedy:

1) Aeschylus;

2) Sophocles;

3) Euripides;

4) Aristophanes is a comedian.

The state took care of the poor citizens, giving them money to visit the theater.

The fate of the theater in the Hellenistic era is interesting. The first work of the creator of the "new comedy" - the comedy of manners Menander (342-291 BC) is dedicated to the life of ordinary Athenian families with their worries. Greek drama and theater arose from rural festivities in honor of Dionysus, the god of winemaking, accompanied by songs, dances and performances with the participation of mummers. Later, a special performer stood out from the choir - an actor. Improvisation was replaced by a precise fixation of the role of the actor and the choir.

The folk theater had organizational features - it consisted of 3 parts:

1) orchestras (stages);

2) seats for spectators;

3) skins (dressing room).

In the early era, the decorations were massive wooden structures, later - painted decorations. The content of Greek tragedy required the use of theatrical machines. The most common were a retractable platform and a device that allowed the gods and other actors to rise into the air and descend.

Women's roles have always been played by men. Greek actors wore masks on their faces, which were replaced even during the performance of one role. To increase their height, the actors of the tragedy used koturny - platform shoes. In the Hellenistic era, the art of the actor became a profession.

The origins of Roman drama and theater go back to rural harvest festivals. Permanent theater buildings in Rome until the middle of the XNUMXst century. BC e. did not have. In comedy, the action usually took place on a city street. The architecture of the Roman theater had a number of features that distinguished it from the Greek. Seats for spectators were arranged in one or more tiers in the form of a semicircle. Circus performances and gladiator fights held in the Colosseum were very popular.

Music was also of great importance in antiquity. The Greeks believed that the harmony in music creates the mood of a person. Singing and playing musical instruments made up a significant part of the competitions of various policies. Music among the Greeks was closely associated with poetry and dance. The great Greek tragedians - Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides - were not only brilliant playwrights, but also composers. The main musical instruments of the ancient Greeks:

1) lira;

2) cithara;

3) harp.

A distinctive musical culture existed in Rome as well. Descriptions of ancient triumphal, wedding, funeral and drinking songs, the performance of which was accompanied by playing a musical instrument, have been preserved. Noble, wealthy Romans kept orchestras from slaves.

4. Enlightenment

The education of free-born citizens in Ancient Greece was aimed at training slave owners who knew how to keep slaves in subjection and protect their state from external enemies. Depending on the conditions of development, various systems of education developed, of which the most famous were two:

1) spartan;

2) Athenian.

In Sparta (Laconica), boys who reached the age of 7 were placed in a closed educational institution, where they stayed until adulthood. Education was directed mainly to physical training. Teaching reading and writing was not included in the compulsory education program. Conversations were conducted with the children on political topics, and they tried to develop a short but meaningful ("laconic") speech.

Athenian education was much more versatile and set as its task a combination of moral, aesthetic and physical principles. Until the age of 7, boys were brought up at home; then they attended grammar schools, where they learned to read, write and count, and later learned to sing, play musical instruments and memorize Homer's poems. From the age of 12-13, the boys moved to the palestra, where they received physical education. The richest young men then attended the gymnasium, where they studied philosophy, politics and literature. The girls were brought up in the family, accustomed to housekeeping and the management of slaves. Roman education as a system developed during the period of the republic. With the development of cities, schools arose in which boys were taught to read, write, and count. Aristocrats gave their children their initial education at home. Much attention in the system of education was given to the physical training of youth. In the era of the Empire, education becomes more and more formal.

5. Science

In antiquity, scientific knowledge also actively developed. Among the sciences stand out:

1) geography (Eratosthenes);

2) physics (Democritus);

3) philosophy (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Democritus, etc.).

Under the auspices of the state, the famous library and scientific school in Alexandria is being formed - the Alexandria Museion - the prototype of the new European academies of sciences. The state took care of the replenishment of the local library.

The natural science knowledge of Rome was formed on the basis of the development of centuries-old production, the experience of the Romans themselves and the assimilation of the culture of other peoples of the Mediterranean. Known works:

1) 3 books "On Agriculture" by M. T. Varron;

2) "About agriculture" by Cato the Elder;

3) Columella "On Agriculture";

4) Virgil's poem "Georgics";

5) "Ten Books on Architecture" by Vitruvius.

The territorial growth of the Roman Empire contributed to the expansion of geographical knowledge: a large geographical map and geographical works appeared.

Medicine also developed.

Mathematics among the Romans was narrowly applied in nature and was content with rough calculations.

6. Literature

Literature developed rapidly. Period VI-IV centuries. BC e. called "Greek Classics". The development of lyrical poetry, which grew out of drinking and wedding songs, testifies to the attention to the person, the world of his feelings and experiences. The great Greek poetess Sappho sings beauty and love in her poems. But this was not the case in Homer's poems. Literature seeks to reflect the weaknesses and vices of man: a special prose genre is born - a fable. "Father of the fable" Aesop wisely and mercilessly denounces the dark sides of the human soul.

The literature of the Roman people began to take shape in the 280rd century BC. BC e. Along with cult poetry, secular poetry also existed in Rome. The most ancient literary monument of Latin prose is the speech against Pyrrhus delivered in the Senate by Appius Claudius the Blind in 254 BC. e. The Roman author, whose works are known to us, descendants, in full, was the playwright Plautus (c. 184-106 BC). An example of oratory was the speeches of Mark Tullius Cicero (43-99 BC). Along with prose literature, Latin poetry also achieved great success in the work of Lucretius Cara (c. 55-XNUMX BC), the author of the philosophical poem On the Nature of Things.

Gaius Valerius Catullus (c. 84-54 BC) was an outstanding lyric poet. He became famous as the author of original lyric poems addressed to the beloved woman Lesbia. The largest literary works were created by the poets Virgil (70-19 BC) and Horace (65-8 BC). The creator of the classical Roman elegy was Tibull (c. 50-19 BC). Publius Ovid Nason (43 BC - 17 AD) became famous for his love lyrics, the book "The Science of Love". His "Metamorphoses" ("Transformations") and "Heroids" ("Messages") are a poetic treatment of Greek and Roman myths. Of particular importance is the "Satyricon" by Petronius (XNUMXst century), one of the first ancient novels, in which an accusatory picture of the life of a depraved Italian province is given.

7. Painting

The era of especially high classics (450-400 BC) did not tolerate models with flaws - everything in a person must be perfect.

The reign of Emperor Nero, one of the most cruel rulers in Roman history, was the heyday of portraiture. The evolution of his image can be traced in a whole series of portraits. Later portraits represent Nero as a complex, contradictory nature.

The artists of Ancient Rome for the first time paid close attention to the inner world of a person and reflected it in the portrait genre, creating works that had no equal in antiquity. Very few names of Roman artists have survived to this day.

The painting of the era of the republic is characterized by portraits that are very close to the original. They convey all the smallest features of the human face, additionally endowing it with the features of old age, the end of life. The leading character of the portrait was an elderly strong-willed patrician, who, according to Roman laws, had the "right of life and death" of all his household members.

In the middle of the XNUMXst c. in the visual arts, the genre of still life (from the French "dead nature") began to take shape, showing inanimate objects. The Romans depicted both butcher shops, in which the carcasses of dead animals hang, and symbolic works: for example, a golden table against a background of scarlet drapery.

Emperor Trajan refused lush hairstyles, rich chiaroscuro. The art of his time is committed to the ideal of apparent simplicity: here grandeur and power appear, previously absent in works of art. With the onset of the era of "soldier emperors", the masters stopped depicting lush hair, almost removed their mustaches and beards.

The era of geometry in Greece (IX-VIII centuries BC) has long been underestimated by scientists; she was considered poor in decorating things. The murals were dominated by the geometric style, named after the clear, logical forms of the main decorative techniques:

1) rhombus;

2) square;

3) rectangle;

4) circle;

5) zigzag;

6) line.

However, each vessel contains a lot of information about the world, encrypted in its shape and painting.

8. Architecture

The Greeks create a city in which a thoughtful and clear system of architectural forms is formed - an order (from the Latin ordo - "order", system), which then becomes the basis of Greek and new European architecture. The Romans for the first time began to build "typical" cities, the prototype of which were the Roman military camps. Two perpendicular streets were laid, at the intersection of which the city center was erected. The urban planning was subject to a strictly thought-out scheme. The Romans invented concrete - the most important building material, with the help of which they fixed the buildings under construction.

The first Greek orders are Doric and Ionic (the names are associated with the places of their origin). Later, the Corinthian order appears, close to the Ionic. In the 60th century BC e. the formation of the main types of temples is being completed. The architects chose the order for the temples depending on the gender, spirit and Olympic authority of the deity. There were exhibitions and discussions. In the 4s. XNUMXth century BC e. The temple of Zeus at Olympia was rebuilt - the most important pan-Hellenic sanctuary, where the Olympic Games were held every XNUMX years.

The history of Rome is divided into two stages.

1. The first - the era of the republic - which came at the end of the VI century. BC e.

2. The second stage - the imperial one - began during the reign of Octavian Augustus and lasted until the XNUMXth century. n. e.

Another attraction of Rome: the market square - the forum. On one side it adjoined the impressive building of the state archive - the Tabularium. Temples towered in the square, among them the round Temple of Vesta. Columns also rose here, to which rosters were attached - the prows of defeated enemy ships (rostral columns), and a "sacred road" passed along which benches stood. The extensive forum was surrounded by a 2-storey colonnade. There was a large amphitheater, designed for 20 thousand spectators, it greatly exceeded the needs of the inhabitants of the city.

Interesting buildings of Roman houses - "domuses". These were rectangular structures that stretched along the courtyard, and faced the street with blank end walls. The main room was an atrium (lat. atrium - "entrance") with a hole in the center of the roof, under which there was a pool for collecting water. In general, the atrium served as a "pillar of the world", connecting every Roman house with heaven and the underworld. In the atrium there was a cabinet for storing wax masks of ancestors and images of good patron spirits - lares and penates. Inside the houses were painted. The beautifully preserved frescoes show what the typical living environment of a Roman was like.

Nero decided to give Rome a new look. By decree of the emperor, several city blocks were secretly burned, on the site of which the emperor erected the famous Golden House. Several of its halls have been preserved, some of the halls have an unusual shape (for example, octagonal).

In the 70-80s. 50st century n. e. the grandiose Flavian amphitheater was built, called the Colosseum (from the Latin collosseo "huge"). It was built on the site of the destroyed Golden House of Nero and belonged to a new architectural type of buildings. The Roman Colosseum was a huge bowl with stepped rows of seats, enclosed from the outside by an annular wall. It accommodated about 4 thousand spectators. There were XNUMX tiers of seats inside. On sunny days, a huge canvas canopy - velarium - was pulled over the Colosseum. Various performances were given in the amphitheatres: sea battles, battles of people with exotic animals, gladiator fights. The Romans practically did not stage tragedies, and even comedies were not successful.

The second masterpiece of architecture of the Flavian era is the famous Triumphal Arch of Titus. The arch was erected in honor of the ruler in 81, after his death. She immortalized the campaign of Titus in 70 to Jerusalem. The ashes of Titus were buried in the attic. So they buried only people with special charisma (Greek "divine gift"), i.e., endowed with exceptional personal qualities. Other citizens rested along the roads outside the city gates of Rome.

Under Trojan, the Roman Empire reached the height of its power. This emperor was considered the best of all in Roman history. The most famous monument of Troyan in Rome is his forum.

Roman architecture in the XNUMXrd century the terms (baths) of Caracalla are especially grandiose. The baths for the Romans were something like a club, where the ancient tradition of ritual ablutions was gradually overgrown with complexes for entertainment and occupations with palestras and gymnasiums, libraries, and rooms for music lessons. The Baths of Caracalla occupied a colossal area with lawns, had halls of hot, warm and cold water.

9. Sculpture. vase painting

In ancient sculpture of the archaic period, anthropomorphic (human-like) statues of gods are still common. And the characters of the statues of the XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries. BC e. not only gods, but also young men - kuros and girls - bark, participants in religious processions. Individual statues resemble columns - the arms are closely pressed to the body, the feet are on the same level. The male and female figures have almost the same proportions: thin waists and broad shoulders, with the only difference that the male statues very often appear naked, and the female statues are in robes. By the end of the VI - the beginning of the V century. BC e. the proportions of the figures become more natural, and their movements more free. The body forms become stronger, more real, and the smile disappears from the faces.

The sculptors Phidias, Miron, Polikleitos worked in Ancient Athens. Much of their work has come down to us in Roman marble copies.

The further development of sculpture is associated with an increase in interest in the inner world of man. The masculinity and severity of the images of the classics are being replaced by sculpture, where the authors manage to convey the subtle and rich spiritual world by plastic means. Here, the famous ancient master Praxiteles (c. 390-330 BC) showed himself magnificently. A native of the island of Paros, Skopas (XNUMXth century BC), conveys the intensity of emotions, sometimes a tragic breakdown. The sculptor Lysippus, working in bronze, set himself other tasks.

Another important element of the art of antiquity is painted vases. Their shapes and sizes varied greatly. There were different types of vessels, such as:

1) crater;

2) pelika;

3) amphora;

4) nefora;

5) hydria;

6) kanfar;

7) claf;

8) kylix;

9) lenif;

10) lutfor;

11) oinochoa;

12) psykter;

13) skyphos;

14) stamnos.

In Attica, 30th century BC e. - the area of ​​Athens - black-figure style vessels were popular: black figures were located on a light background. However, they introduced a number of innovations, such as varnish. The potter and the vase painter put their signatures on the vases. But for about XNUMX years. XNUMXth century BC e. the red-figure style became fashionable: the figures became light, and the background dark.

Author: Konstantinova S.V.

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