Love played an important role in the life of the ancient Greeks. It permeates the myths, works of art and philosophical treatises of Ancient Greece. No wonder the Greeks distinguished all its shades and nuances. Moreover, love was the root cause of all things.
Philia
The word "philia" first appears in the writings of Herodotus and originally means a peace treaty between states. Later, the concept of love-friendship was assigned to this word. Judging by the statements of ancient philosophers, philia is a feeling that arises in relation to friends and family, achieving complete unity of souls. The basis of friendship is not sensual affection, but mutual support, which was largely needed by the Hellenes, who were constantly exploring new territories, defending their cities, and undertaking new campaigns.
An example of such love-friendship is the story of Achilles and Patroclus, who went in search of glory to the Trojan War. Friends shared things, a table, a tent. And when Patroclus fell in an unequal battle with the Trojans, the legendary hero of the Trojan epic, who had previously refused to fight, goes to avenge the death of his friend.
Plato understood friendship as the desire for perfection, the emotional closeness of friends, and spiritual affection. The theory described in the works of Plato was called “Platonic love.”
Eros
Ancient Greek philosophers thought about eros in a special way. This was determined by the specific position of women in society. A woman-wife who was charged with the responsibility of procreation and maintaining household, was not an object of adoration and love for her husband. “Your wife pleases you only twice: on your wedding day and on the day of her funeral,” writes Hipponactus of Ephesus. Men enjoyed the company of hetaeras, but they also spoke impartially about them. Menander’s statement about women has survived to this day: “Among the strange animals that inhabit land and sea, the truly most terrible animal is the woman.”
Plato first used the word “eros”. In his work “The Symposium,” Plato divides love into true and grossly sensual. "The Feast" contains a myth about the origin of Eros, the eternal companion of Aphrodite. His parents were the gods of poverty and wealth - Penia and Poros. He was conceived at a feast on the occasion of the birth of the goddess of love, which predetermined his subsequent service. Eros was woven from contradictions, it combined rudeness and the desire for beauty, ignorance and wisdom. Eros is the personification of love, which can simultaneously strive for death and immortality.
Plato leads the idea that love is an ascent to the highest ideals. His eros is the eros of knowledge and aesthetic pleasure.
Aristotle views love not only from an aesthetic point of view. In The History of Animals, the thinker describes in detail sexual behavior and connects it with the sensual pleasures of eating, drinking and intercourse. However, in the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle holds the idea that not eros, but philia is the highest goal and dignity of love.
In the nai to a greater extent were characterized by sensuality and a craving for pleasure. However, it was Epicurus who said that eros, inherent in all life on earth, must be controlled. He noted that love pleasures never bring any benefit, the main thing is not to harm others, friends and relatives.
Strict and agape
By the word strictly, the ancient Greeks understood the love of parents for children, and children for parents. In today's understanding, strict is also the tender affection of spouses for each other.
The concept of “agape” defines the love of God for people and the love of people for God, sacrificial love. At the dawn of Christianity, this word acquired a revolutionary connotation. The first attempts of Christians to translate biblical texts into Greek encountered a number of difficulties - what word to use filia, eros, mania? The revolutionary Christian idea required revolutionary solutions. Thus, the neutral word "agapesis", which denoted love-the desire to give, turned into an all-encompassing concept of "God is love."
The ancient Greeks did not know the concept of sin in the context of love, eroticism and sexuality. Sin was considered to be offenses of a social and moral nature - crimes and injustice. With the spread of Christianity, a world filled with leisurely observations and reflections on human nature disappeared, in which family virtues, loyalty, friendship and love in all its manifestations were glorified.
(about 1200 BC) led to the collapse of these states and the restoration of tribal relations. By the 9th century. BC e. the population of Ancient Greece was as follows: Aeolians - Northern Greece, Dorians - Central Greece and the Peloponnese, Ionians - Attica and the islands.
In the VIII-VI centuries. BC e. Polis (city-states) were formed in Greece. Depending on the results of the struggle between the demos (farmers and artisans) with the clan nobility, the state structure in the policies was either democratic (Athens, etc.) or aristocratic (Sparta, Crete, etc.). In economically developed city-states (Corinth, Athens, etc.), slavery became widespread; in Sparta, Argos, etc., vestiges of the tribal system persisted for a long time.
V-IV centuries BC e. - the period of the highest flowering of the polis system. As a result of the victory of the Greeks in the Greco-Persian Wars (500-449 BC), Athens rose and the Delian League (led by Athens) was created. The time of the highest power of Athens, the greatest democratization of political life and the flowering of culture occurred during the reign of Pericles (443-429 BC). The struggle between Athens and Sparta for hegemony in Greece and the contradictions between Athens and Corinth related to the struggle for trade routes led to the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC), which ended in the defeat of Athens.
In the middle of the 4th century. BC e. in northern Greece the rise of Macedonia occurs. Its king Philip II, having won a victory at Chaeronea (338 BC) over a coalition of Greek states, actually subjugated Greece. His son Alexander the Great led the campaign of the united Greek-Macedonian army to Asia. He took Persia and part of India. After the collapse of his power in the III-II centuries. BC e. A number of Hellenistic states with a mixed Greek-Oriental population and culture emerge. In Greece itself at this time, states and unions of a militarized type prevailed (Macedonia, the Achaean League, the Aetolian League), challenging hegemony over Greece. In 146 BC e. The Romans defeat the Achaean League and subjugate Greece. In 27 BC e. the province of Achaia was formed on its territory. In the 4th century. Greece became a major part of the Eastern Roman Empire - Byzantium.
The history of the Greco-Eastern Hellenistic states ends with the conquest by Rome of the last Hellenistic state - Ptolemaic Egypt in the 1st century. BC e.
Periodization
In the most general view in historical science it is customary to distinguish next steps history of ancient Greece:
- Creto-Mycenaean (late III-II millennium BC). Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations. The emergence of the first state entities. Development of navigation. Establishing trade and diplomatic contacts with the civilizations of the Ancient East. The emergence of original writing. For Crete and mainland Greece at this stage, different periods of development are distinguished, since on the island of Crete, where the non-Greek population lived at that time, statehood developed earlier than in Balkan Greece, which underwent at the end of the 3rd millennium BC. e. conquest of the Achaean Greeks.
- Minoan civilization (Crete):
- Early Minoan period (XXX-XXIII centuries BC). The dominance of tribal relations, the beginning of the development of metals, the beginnings of crafts, the development of navigation, a relatively high level of agrarian relations.
- Middle Minoan period (XXII-XVIII centuries BC). Also known as the period of "old" or "early" palaces. The emergence of early state formations in different parts of the island. Construction of monumental palace complexes in several regions of Crete. Early forms of writing.
- Late Minoan period (XVII-XII centuries BC). The heyday of the Minoan civilization, the unification of Crete, the creation of the maritime power of King Minos, the wide scope of Crete’s trading activities in the Aegean Sea basin, the heyday of monumental construction (“new” palaces in Knossos, Mallia, Phaistos). Active contacts with ancient Eastern states. Natural disaster of the mid-15th century. BC e. becomes the cause of the decline of the Minoan civilization, which created the preconditions for the conquest of Crete by the Achaeans.
- Mycenaean civilization (Balkan Greece):
- Early Helladic period (XXX-XXI centuries BC). The dominance of tribal relations among the pre-Greek population in Balkan Greece. The appearance of the first large settlements and proto-palace complexes.
- Middle Helladic period (XX-XVII centuries BC). The settlement of the first waves of Greek speakers - the Achaeans - in the south of the Balkan Peninsula, which was accompanied by a slight decrease in the overall level of socio-economic development of Greece. The beginning of the decomposition of tribal relations among the Achaeans.
- Late Helladic period (XVI-XII centuries BC). The emergence of an early class society among the Achaeans, the formation of a productive economy in agriculture, the emergence of a number of state entities with centers in Mycenae, Tiryns, Pylos, Thebes, etc., the formation of original writing, the flourishing of Mycenaean culture. The Achaeans subjugate Crete and destroy the Minoan civilization. In the 12th century. BC e. a new tribal group invades Greece - the Dorians, the death of the Mycenaean statehood.
- Minoan civilization (Crete):
- Polisny (XI-IV centuries BC). Ethnic consolidation of the Greek world. The formation, flourishing and crisis of polis structures with democratic and oligarchic forms of statehood. Higher cultural and scientific achievements ancient Greek civilization.
- Homeric (prepolis) period, “dark ages” (XI-IX centuries BC). The final destruction of the remnants of the Mycenaean (Achaean) civilization, the revival and dominance of tribal relations, their transformation into early class ones, the formation of unique pre-polis social structures.
- Archaic Greece (VIII-VI centuries BC). Formation of policy structures. Great Greek Colonization. Early Greek tyrannies. Ethnic consolidation of Hellenic society. The introduction of iron into all areas of production, economic growth. Creation of the foundations of commodity production, the spread of elements of private property.
- Classical Greece (V-IV centuries BC). The flourishing of the economy and culture of Greek city-states. Reflecting the aggression of the Persian world power, raising national consciousness. The growing conflict between trade and craft types of policies with democratic forms of government and backward agrarian policies with an aristocratic structure, the Peloponnesian War, which undermined the economic and political potential of Hellas. The beginning of the crisis of the polis system and the loss of independence as a result of Macedonian aggression.
- Hellenistic (IV-I centuries BC). The short-term establishment of the world power of Alexander the Great. The origin, flourishing and collapse of the Hellenistic Greek-Eastern statehood.
- First Hellenistic period (334-281 BC). The campaigns of the Greek-Macedonian army of Alexander the Great, the short period of existence of his world power and its collapse into a number of Hellenistic states.
- Second Hellenistic period (281-150 BC). The flourishing of Greek-Eastern statehood, economy and culture.
- Third Hellenistic period (150-30 BC). Crisis and collapse of Hellenistic statehood.
Fractured Greece
Throughout the independent existence of Greece, it has never been a single state and different parts of the Hellenic race have never constituted one people. In historical times, the territory occupied by the Hellenes was divided into two thousand small states, usually consisting of one city, with adjacent fields or village settlements. Each such city-state was completely politically independent, like today's extensive monarchy or republic, or steadily strived towards such independence. Only this small region was the fatherland for the Hellene; all other Hellenes were strangers, foreigners, and mutual relations between states were international relations. In the space of, for example, one Kazan province could accommodate about 30 republics such as the famous Athenian. Uniting several villages, the system of institutions provided each citizen with a conscious, active participation in all community affairs and diversified personal development through frequent joint discussion and final resolution of a variety of issues of internal governance and foreign policy.
This same fragmentation of the Hellenic race into small autonomous communities, with all the rights of supremacy, fostered those feelings of attachment to the homeland and its political institutions, which found repeated expression in deeds of selfless courage and thanks to which, of all the ancient peoples of Europe, only the Hellenic retained of the present time, the main part of its territory, with the same name, and a political structure capable of further development. However, an inevitable concomitant of the fragmentation of the Hellenes was political discord between communities, which was based, in addition to the thirst for independence, on differences in the degree of civil and mental development, in social institutions, morals, habits, and in the entire way of life. Everyday and mental discord among the Hellenes did not weaken over time, but rather intensified, as the successful republics moved further and further away from the state of settlements that remained faithful to the archaic conditions of life. Could it have been achieved in the 3rd century BC? e. a strong unity between Athens or Corinth, on the one hand, and some community of Aetolians, Locrians or Acarnanians on the other, when the former were industrial and enlightened urban republics, and the latter were at the level of poor rural settlements? Nevertheless, from ancient times, the numerous branches of the Hellenic race were characterized by a sense of consanguinity, externally expressed in a single name (first Achaeans, or Danaans, or Argives, then Hellenes), in the unity of language, in the community of religious beliefs and some traditions, and finally, in isolating themselves from other peoples, non-Hellenes, designated by the term “barbarians.” Since ancient times, certain provisions of customary international law, the protection of which belonged to the gods themselves, festivals recognized by all Hellenes, tribal unions, and finally national enterprises, such as, for example, the Trojan War, served as an expression of the same feeling from ancient times. The Hellenes were no strangers to the understanding of the benefits that the unification of disparate communities could bring them in the fight against the barbarians, who from time to time threatened the freedom of all of Hellas, whether these barbarians were Medes, Macedonians or Romans.
The first 10 Years' War, known as Arkhidamova, was carried out with varying success, and in 421 BC. e. The warring parties concluded the so-called Peace of Nicias for 60 years. But barely 6 years had passed before the rotten peace was broken and hostilities resumed: in 416 BC. e. the Athenians sent an excellent army against Syracuse in Sicily under the command of Alcibiades, Nicias, Demosthenes; but Alcibiades was recalled from the road and fled to Sparta. On his advice, the Spartans sent strong reinforcements to Syracuse and waged a naval war in the waters of the Aegean Sea, and a land war in the territory of Attica itself, where they occupied the village of Decelea and constantly threatened Athens itself. Sparta now had the money and ships of the Persian king on her side. The Sicilian expedition ended for the Athenians with the complete destruction of their fleet (413 BC) and the fall of their strongest allies. The return of Alcibiades to Athens (411 BC) was accompanied by an oligarchic revolution, but the reign of 400 lasted no more than 4 months, and democracy was little by little restored. Athens again stood at the head of the alliance, had a significant fleet of one and a half hundred ships, and repeatedly showed miracles of courage and selflessness.
But in 405 BC. e. in the Hellespont, at Aegospotami, the Athenian fleet was destroyed, and the Spartan troops, under the command of Lysander, blocked them from land and sea. Hunger and the machinations of the oligarchs forced the Athenians to agree to capitulation: the fortifications of the city were razed, all ships except 12 were handed over to the enemy, the alliance was dissolved, democracy was replaced by the oligarchic rule of the Thirty (April 404 BC). IN next year the tyranny of the thirty was overthrown by the democratic exiles, with Thrasybulus at their head, and in the archonship of Euclid (autumn 403 BC) an agreement was made between the parties. According to Aristotle, the now restored democratic government was maintained without coups until his time; the changes taking place in it tended to expand the rights of the people. The People's Party in Athens, in its triumph, showed extraordinary moderation, tolerance and generosity towards its opponents.
Hegemony of Sparta and Thebes
The secondary hegemony of Sparta that followed the defeat of Athens had little in common with the first Spartan hegemony, before the Greco-Persian Wars. On the one hand, Sparta has now stained itself with violent coups in the allied communities in the oligarchic sense, corruption and theft; on the other hand, the Hellenic communities, taught by experience and jealously guarding their independence, found salvation from the yoke of Sparta in the allied organization and in the support of the Persian king. Partly mainland, but mainly Asia Minor Greeks were involved in the internecine feud between Cyrus the Younger, governor of Asia Minor, and his brother Artaxerxes, king of the Persians (401 BC). Xenophon's work "Anabasis" immortalized the campaign of 10,000 Greeks, carried out under the command of Cyrus, into the depths of Asia, and their return journey to the Asia Minor coast, under the command of
At the heart of worldview ancient Greeks beauty lay. They considered themselves beautiful people and did not hesitate to prove this to their neighbors, who most often believed the Hellenes and over time, sometimes not without a struggle, adopted their ideas about beauty. Poets of the classical period, starting with Homer and Euripides, depict heroes as tall and fair-haired. But that was the ideal. Besides, what did a person of that time understand to be tall? Which curls were considered golden? Red, chestnut, blond? All these questions are not easy to find answers to.
When the geographer Dicaearchus from Messene to the State University c. BC e. admired the fair-haired Thebans and praised the courage of the fair-haired Spartans, he only emphasized the rarity of fair-haired and light-skinned people. From numerous images of warriors on ceramics or wall paintings from Pylos and Mycenae, bearded men with black curly hair look out at the viewer. Also, the priestesses and court ladies on the palace frescoes of Tiryns have dark hair. On Egyptian paintings, where peoples living “on the islands of the Great Green” are depicted, people appear short, slender, with skin lighter than that of the Egyptians, with large, wide open dark eyes, with thin noses, thin lips and black curly hair. hair.
This is an ancient Mediterranean type that is still found in the region. Golden masks from Mycenae show some faces of the Asia Minor type - wide, with close-set eyes, fleshy noses and eyebrows converging at the bridge of the nose. During excavations, the skeletons of Balkan-type warriors are also found - with an elongated torso, a round head and large eyes. All these types moved throughout the territory of Hellas and mixed with each other, until, finally, the image of the Hellene was formed, which was recorded by the Roman writer Polemon in the 2nd century. n. e: “Those who managed to preserve the Ionian race in all its purity are quite tall and broad-shouldered men, stately and fairly light-skinned. Their hair is not entirely blond, relatively soft and slightly wavy. The faces are wide, high cheekbones, thin lips, straight noses and shiny eyes full of fire.”
The study of skeletons suggests that average height of Hellenic men was 1.67-1.82 m, and for women 1.50-1.57 m. The teeth of almost all those buried were perfectly preserved, which should not be surprising, since in those days people ate “ecologically clean” food and died relatively young, rarely surpassing the 40th anniversary.
Psychologically, the Hellenes were Quite a curious guy. In addition to the traits inherent in all Mediterranean peoples: individualism, quick temper, love of debate, competition and spectacle, the Greeks were endowed with curiosity, a flexible mind, and a passion for adventure. They were distinguished by a taste for risk and a thirst for travel. They set out on the road for her own sake. Hospitality, sociability and pugnacity were also their qualities. However, this is only a bright emotional cover that hides the deep internal dissatisfaction and pessimism inherent in the Hellenes.
The split of the Greek soul It has long been noted by historians of art and religion. The craving for fun, the desire to taste life in all its fullness and transience were intended only to drown out the melancholy and emptiness that opened up in the Hellene’s chest at the thought of the immaterial world. The horror of understanding that earthly life is the best that awaits a person was unconsciously great. Further, man’s path lay in Tartarus, where thirst-dried shadows wander through the fields and only for a moment acquire a semblance of speech and reason, when relatives bring funeral hecatombs, pouring out sacrificial blood. But even in the sunny world, where man could still enjoy himself while he walked the earth, hard work, epidemics, wars, wanderings, longing for his native places and the loss of loved ones awaited him. The wisdom gained over the years of struggle told the Hellene that only the gods taste eternal bliss; they decide the fate of mortals in advance; their verdict cannot be changed, no matter how hard you try. This is the conclusion from the most popular myth of Oedipus, endowed with philosophical significance.
Oedipus was predicted that he would kill own father and marries his mother. Separated from his family, the young man returned to his homeland many years later and unknowingly committed both crimes. Neither his piety before the gods nor his just rule as king of Thebes overturned predestination. The fateful hour has come, and everything destined by fate has come true. Oedipus gouged out his eyes as a sign of the blindness to which man is doomed by the immortal gods, and went off to wander.
Nothing can be done, and therefore rejoice while you can, and taste the fullness of life that flows between your fingers - such is the internal pathos of the Greek worldview. The Hellenes were fully aware of themselves as participants in a huge tragedy unfolding on the stage of the world. The civil liberties of the policies did not compensate for the soul's lack of freedom from predestination.
So, Hellene- laughing pessimist. He becomes sad at a cheerful feast, he can, in a fit of momentary darkness, kill a comrade or loved one, or, at the will of the immortals, go on a journey, not expecting anything for his accomplished deeds except the tricks of the celestials. If a person is lucky enough to live at home with a nice family, he will hide his happiness without showing it off, for the gods are envious.
One of the characteristic features of ancient Greek society is the complete absence of large-scale slavery. This is what influenced the development of democracy in this state. The greatest ancient Greek culture was that of the free citizen. The costume of the ancient Greeks could not help but inherit this feature. In addition, the freedom of citizens was reflected not only in their clothing, but also in their hairstyle and jewelry. Below will be a brief summary of the history of clothing in ancient Greece.
Ancient Greece costume
The cultivated craving for simplicity led to the fact that clothing in the ancient state was, perhaps, one of the few ways to stand out from other people and stand out from the crowd. It should be noted that the ancient Greek dress only seems natural and simple. Although, at first glance, what could be simpler - fold it in half and wrap a couple of pieces of fabric around the body? However, in fact, the fashion of ancient Greece consisted of all kinds of pinching, draping and different ways of wearing the same thing. This was considered a real art, which was brought up in the family from a young age. In addition, such skill was part of good manners and etiquette.
Color and fabric
The ancient Greeks, whose clothing previously consisted only of pieces of fabric, began to sew tailored suits relatively early. Ionian flax was soon replaced by woolen threads introduced by the Dorians. They were painted blue, purple, red and yellow. A complex multi-colored ornament could be achieved by weaving with threads of a different color or by embroidering on the main background. As a rule, the Greek chiton was embroidered along the border with geometric patterns, and leaves, stars or flowers could be embroidered on the field. In addition, there were various figurines of gods and animals, scenes of battles and hunting.
Pink or pink clothes were especially popular in ancient Greece. white flowers, which were edged with a contrasting red or black border.
The history of clothing tells that in the early period the Hellenes preferred large designs. However, starting from the turn of the 5th-4th centuries BC, plain fabric began to predominate in the wardrobe of the Greeks. Often the costume of ancient Greece was either brown or decorated with a blue or yellow border, as well as an ornament that was a broken line with curls. It was called a meander.
Chiton
The main clothing of the ancient Greeks, the name of which was the chiton, as already mentioned, was distinguished by its simplicity and convenience. Chiton is the main item of clothing for a Greek. It was a piece of fabric that had a hole on one side for the arm, and on the other it was attached to the shoulder with a buckle or clasp. Less often it was simply stitched together. Before the wars with the Persians began, in ancient Greece it was customary to tie the waist tightly. Belt played special role in an ancient Greek costume. It had two functions: firstly, to select a tunic, and secondly, to make it of the required length. The short version - to the knees - was preferred by the Dorians, and the Ionians preferred to wear a chiton to the toes. A little later, fashion changed, so even the Athenians began to wear a shortened Dorian version of this clothing.
There were few slaves in Greece, but for them there was special option tunic: it was distinguished by the fact that the slave’s right shoulder always remained open.
Himation
Himation, or himation, is a spacious cloak that the ancient Greeks threw over a chiton. The clothing was fastened to the chest just below the left shoulder, and then the fabric was simply thrown behind the back.
Women also wore gimation when leaving the house. They could throw the edge of this cloak over their heads. Terracotta figurines and multiple designs on vases demonstrate the endless variety of ways to wear a himation. If you were standing on the street hot weather, then it served as nothing more than a scarf, which was thrown back over the arms bent at the elbows. But if she wanted, the girl could easily wrap herself entirely in it in such a way that even part of her face was hidden from view.
Chlamys
In addition to the long cloak - himation, the ancient Greeks also had a short cloak, which was called a chlamys. It was fastened with a clasp at the neck. The chlamys was worn on the road, during wars or hunting by the ancient Greeks. Clothes in Athens were reserved only for young guys, and in Sparta chlamys could only be worn by adult citizens.
Tunic
Women in ancient Greece knew hundreds of ways to turn simple clothes - the same as those worn by men - into an exquisite and original costume. One of the varieties of chiton is a tunic; it fell to the toes and was made of soft, but at the same time heavy woolen fabric. In most cases it was white with a colored border. The folds on the tunic, draped in many ways, were held in place by a belt that held the garment together. Using irons and starch, the folds were carefully fixed. It should be noted that girls wore a belt at the waist, but married women had to wear it under the chest.
It was the loose style of clothing that provided great scope for all sorts of feminine tricks for modeling the figure. Usually, special fabric inserts could be hemmed under the tunic to make the chest fuller and the hips more rounded. Strips of linen canvas could be used to pull the bulging belly tightly. Women who were tall wore shoes with very thin soles, while short girls, on the contrary, wore thick ones.
Fans in the shape of a lotus leaf were popular among Greek women. They were usually painted blue.
Hairstyles in ancient Greece
The hairstyles of the inhabitants of Greece, which are depicted on vases and frescoes, are striking in their diversity. Assyrian fashions dominated during archaic times. During this period, they also preferred not to cut their hair, but to carefully curl it and then intertwine it with each other. According to Cretan fashion, young men preferred to wear their hair, which was divided into strands that reached the elbows in length.
Greek men wore long and thick beards. They went from the temples to the cheeks and protruded strongly forward, leaving the strip around the mouth free. Often the beard was cut so that it bristled downwards like a comb and curled. A thick beard among the Greeks was considered a sign of the masculinity of its bearer. However, after the Greco-Persian War, it began to be somewhat shortened, and from the period of Alexander the Great, the Greeks generally preferred to shave. However, the razor was known to the Hellenes since the Mycenaean period. Later, some Athenian fashionistas, even during the time of Pericles, plucked or shaved their hair, for which they were ridiculed by the townspeople.
For a long time long hair were considered a sign of noble origin. However, by the 4th century BC, the male population began to cut their hair relatively short so that it could lie around the head in natural curls. Curls were left only to children, and while the young man was studying at the gymnasium, a short hairstyle was required. Later, when he became a citizen, he was free to choose any length, and in most cases they settled on the medium one.
In Greece, there were many options for women's hairstyles. After the wars with the Persians, they lost the bulkiness for which they were famous in the east. Spartan girls wore their hair long and unbraided, but on their wedding day they had to shave their heads. In other regions, the hair was tied in a knot at the back of the head, combed up, strengthened with a wreath or several turns of ribbon, shortened at the back and hidden in some kind of net or bag.
With the help of plant substances, hair was dyed and lightened in golden color. White curls were a rarely achieved ideal. However, most Greek fashionistas had to be happy with one hair color or another. Curling irons were used for curling.
As excavations show, there were many hairdressers in Athens. There, hair was not only dyed, cut and curled, but also strangled. In addition, they could order a wig or attach artificial strands to their hair. Other people's curls are one of the most popular goods in all of Greece, except Sparta. Women there were famous for their thick hairstyles.
Hats
The ancient Greeks, whose clothing was simple but unusual, did not cover their heads in cities. But on the road or in the countryside, a small felt hat that had no brim protected from the sun. It was called pilos. They could, on the contrary, wear a wide-brimmed hat made of straw and felt.
Ancient Greek shoes
Residents of Greece in most cases walked barefoot, so ancient Greek sandals were very popular. It is interesting that a woman was considered a real artist if she knew how to lace her shoes so that her feet seemed almost naked to others. However, in this country there were also shoes with thick leather soles, and leather boots, laced with straps in the front, reaching the owner to the middle of the shin. In most cases, such rough shoes were used for horseback riding.
Cosmetics in ancient Greece
In classical Greece the art of perfumery was extremely developed. Vegetable white, blush, wax - all this was part of the Greek. Of all the incense, spikenard was most valued. Egyptian pencils were used for eyeliner; Greek women also knew lipstick and powder. Numerous “guises of husbands” have survived to this day. They called for appearing “in a decent and simple manner.”
Such behavior was unquestioningly condemned, since it was believed that it led to effeminacy, and, moreover, promised a decline in morality in the near future. Boxes with fashionable trinkets and blush were presented as real Pandora's boxes, from which numerous troubles and misfortunes were already emerging right before the eyes of strict husbands. The main one - imitation of barbarians and the desire for luxury - was especially condemned. But the larger and wider the Greek world became, the more closely it intertwined with the cultures of other peoples, the more difficult it was to resist the emergence of fashionable and everyday trends that had become established there. Jewelry art is where this manifested itself especially clearly.
Jewelry in ancient Greece
The ancient Greeks were able to make elegant and at the same time complex jewelry, both for local sale and for export to the barbarian world, for example, the Scythians, artisan jewelers had to cater to the tastes of buyers.
They were very restrained in their choice of jewelry. They tended to wear almost no jewelry. An engraved stone in a simple frame is the maximum of their imagination and imagination. The imprint of such a carved seal was perceived as the signature of its owner. It was impossible to find a single men's bracelet or necklace in Athena's shops.
However, a completely opposite picture was revealed in the colonies that came into contact with the barbarian world. There, wealthy townspeople, natives of Olivia and Panticapaeum, under the influence of local culture, could, without any twinge of conscience, succumb to the desire to look as impressive as the visiting nomadic kings. In turn, the border guards were not averse to adopting Greek culture, but at the same time not giving up their passion for jewelry.
As for Greek women, anywhere in the country, be it the capital or the province, they were distinguished by their uncontrollable desire to bathe in jewelry. They wore elegant earrings, bracelets, belts, chains, tiaras and hairpins.
In 1833, at the London Conference of the three great European powers, Otto I of Bavaria was appointed king of the Greek state that had just gained independence from the Ottoman Empire.
When the young king arrived in Athens, the city he had chosen for his capital, there was not a single more or less decent building for the royal residence.
Such were the consequences of the bloody, long and destructive war for the country's independence.
The population of Athens at that time was post-war period hardly more than 12 thousand inhabitants. But the most terrible consequences of the almost 400-year Turkish yoke and almost continuous military operations were the irreparable destruction of many historical monuments.
And before them, the Venetians and the Frankish crusaders “worked” here. The early Christian struggle against paganism, as well as the raids of the southern Slavs, also played a significant role. And in ancient times, Hellas was not spared by the aggressive campaigns of the Roman legions of the dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla.
But fortunately, one of the main historical achievements of the “golden era” of ancient classicism was the creation by the Hellenes, in addition to material monuments, of unprecedented spiritual witnesses: theater, literature, sculpture and painting, thanks to which we can today, by comparing the results archaeological excavations ancient cities with artistic everyday life descriptions of their population, it is much better to learn and understand how they lived in ancient Greece...
Literary sources - witnesses of the era
The history of ancient Greece is usually divided into several historical periods, in each of which the life of the Hellenes was strikingly different from another, later time:
1. Archaic Creto-Mycenaean, which we know about mainly from mythological stories and from two brilliant poems of the great Homer.
2. "Dark" ancient Middle Ages, when new conquerors - the Dorians - poured into the Greek lands, dividing the culture of ancient Hellas into two branches: Achaean and Doric, and the history of the country into two eras: archaic and classical.
This transitional period left significantly less cultural evidence, but at this time, memories of more ancient eras were preserved and recorded for posterity, becoming a connecting thread and preparing the ground for the rapid spiritual flowering that followed.
3. To the highest material, spiritual and cultural achievements classical period, prepared by previous legislative and social reforms, Hellas rose immediately after the victories in the Greco-Persian wars. The unprecedented rise of national spirit, which made it possible to defeat the strongest enemy, became the source of the greatest spiritual rise. This was expressed in the appearance of many works of art that became witnesses of the era for us.
Excellent descriptions of the way of life, way of life, habits and traditions of the ancient Hellenes can be found in many works of ancient authors, ranging from Homer's Iliads and Odysseys or Hesiod's Works and Days to filled with everyday details comedies of Aristophanes, all-encompassing "Descriptions of Hellas" by Pausanias or encyclopedic "Feast of the Wise Men" by Athenaeus.
Life in Ancient Greece
Chronology
There are different opinions on what date to take as the starting point that can be used to record the beginning of the most interesting classical period of ancient Hellas for us.
It is most logical to follow the Hellenes themselves, who determined the beginning of their new time to be the date corresponding to our calendar 776 BC uh. and became the first unifying symbol of Hellas.
Until this point, each policy had its own, sometimes very confusing, time measurement system. And starting from this date, they all began to measure time everywhere in four-year increments, called the number of the corresponding Olympiad.
It was a time of rapid growth of new city-states, colonization of the territories of Asia Minor, the Apennine Peninsula and Sicily, development of trade and crafts, improvement of legislation and judicial system, the emergence of sciences, philosophy and art, moving from the power of kings and tyrants to national, democratic principles of governance.
Family life
Cult family relations, quite strong in modern Greece, in ancient Greece it was one of the foundations of ancient society.
The basis of this, of course, lies in the clan community of the Early Bronze Age.
For example, when describing the palace of the Trojan king Priam in the Iliad, Homer, talking about its gigantic size, lists all the numerous relatives who lived in these chambers.
The unconditional head of the clan was the father of the family, after whom power passed to the eldest son, even if he was not born into this family, but adopted.
The power of the head of the family was so strong that he could even sacrifice one of his children to the gods if they demanded it. This is, for example, the story of Iphigenia from the same “Iliad”.
If the head of the family fell into need, he could sell his daughters and expel his son from the house for disrespect, which was even enshrined in law.
About the feelings of young people at the conclusion of a marriage no one asked: the ransom price was the determining factor, given by the groom to his future father-in-law, and sometimes a real auction was held for the bride, and the main motive for creating a family was procreation.
It is believed that a woman in a Greek family did not have the right to vote. This is not entirely true: she had her own specific range of responsibilities around the house, for which she was responsible, managing slaves, food, supplies and all household chores. The man was responsible for everything else.
So, in the Odyssey, Telemachus, the son of Agamemnon, says to his mother Penelope: “Take care of the housekeeping, yarn, weaving, as you should, see that the slaves are diligent in their work: speaking is not a woman’s business, but a man’s business, and now mine. I am my own master..."
But at the same time family property, especially the land, did not belong solely to its head: it was considered as common property and what was received from the previous generation was to be transmitted to descendants not reduced, but exaggerated.
The concept of gender was given great importance. Today, many of us are unlikely to be able to remember our ancestors before the third generation, the Greeks kept and remembered their own genealogy, sometimes counted for centuries.
Many tragedies of the ancient theater, especially those of Euripides, began with a description of the genealogy of the heroes, and this did not surprise the audience at all: everyone could find their distant relative among the characters. Echoes of such clanism can be found even in modern Greek society.
Religion, ceremonies and rituals
The ancient Hellenes built their homes from cheap clay, which was abundant in these places.
The best Construction Materials were dedicated to the houses of the gods - temples, which were initially built from wood that was quite expensive here.
But wood is a short-lived material, and also flammable, and many ceremonies held in temples were accompanied by a large amount of open fire.
One of the impetuses for the construction of a masterpiece of classical architecture - the magnificent Acropolis complex, was the burning of old wooden buildings on it by the Persians who captured Athens.
Therefore, gradually the tree became be replaced everywhere by limestone, and then marble.
In turn, the massive construction of temple complexes gave a powerful impetus to the development ancient architecture like art.
The importance of religion in the life of the Hellenes was enormous. Without the advice of the gods, expressed in the predictions of the oracles, not a single important business began.
Indicative semi-mythical story of the capture of the Peloponnese by the Dorians, who, on the advice of the oracle, waited until three generations had passed before they began conquest, which, as we know, ended with a quick victory and the formation of the state of Sparta.
Considering that these three generations were busy preparing for the campaign and creating a powerful army, the wisdom of the oracle's advice should be recognized.
Marriage ceremony
Of considerable interest for the general concept of religious life Hellenes represents marriage ceremony, which was performed not in a temple, but at the home altar and symbolized the transition of a girl from one family to another: in her father’s house a sacrifice was made to the gods at the altar, at the end of which the head of the family handed over his daughter to the groom according to the established formula, tore her away from her clan, giving her to another .
Then, accompanied by messengers, covered with a veil and with a wreath on her head, in white clothes, she was transported, accompanied by wedding hymns, in a chariot to the groom's house.
The young man carried his betrothed, pretending to be abducted, in his arms into his home. The bride had to scream, showing that she was entering here not of her own free will, but in submission to her new master - her husband.
A real wedding ceremony was already held here, where the newlywed was presented to the household gods at the groom’s family altar. A ritual of purification with water and fire was carried out, the young people shared bread and fruit among themselves, then performed a joint prayer to the gods.
Cult of the dead
The cult was of great importance in the life of the Hellenes veneration of the dead, who were not considered to have died forever, but only to have moved to another kingdom, and according to some legends, for example, Hercules even managed to return from there. When visiting the graves of their ancestors, relatives brought them food and drink, as if they were alive, so that they would not feel deprived in another life.
Public life
A remarkable feature of the ancient Hellenes, which distinguished this people from others and allowed them to cope with an enemy that was many times superior to them in numbers, was the importance of the role and superiority of public consciousness over personal.
A fair part of the life of the country's male population took place not in houses, where they came only for an evening meal and sleep, but in public places, mostly in the Agora, where trade and production were combined, “without leaving the cash register,” with politics.
The art of persuasion - rhetoric- revered at the level of worship. Public figure, capable of proving, convincing, and leading, was honored during his lifetime. Disputes between representatives of various philosophical schools in the squares attracted huge crowds of spectators.
Unconditional obedience to laws, no matter how unfair they may seem, was in the blood of the inhabitants of Hellas.
Thus, the great Socrates, all his students were convinced of the injustice of whose sentence, suggesting that the teacher flee, unconditionally obeyed the verdict of the court and drank the prepared cup of poison. After all, if he did not do this, the ideals of the teachings of the great philosopher and his enormous authority among the citizens of Athens became meaningless.
Army and Navy
The Greeks, great admirers of geometric order and harmony, were among the first to use combat formations in military operations.
The iron discipline of the Greek warriors, who fought to the death, forced the enemy to shamefully leave the battlefield even with multiple numerical superiority. This was achieved by full-fledged combat education of the male population from an early age, especially in.
The importance of the fleet in the life of ancient Hellas can hardly be overestimated. Not only was most of the country located on islands, but superiority at sea allowed for uncompetitive trade throughout the Mediterranean region. The best example of this is the Athenian Maritime League, created at the end of the Persian wars.
The art of shipbuilding What the ancient masters achieved is amazing: within a few weeks they could build and launch a full-fledged battle fleet. The fruits of this skill have not been lost in time - the Greeks are still one of the best navigators and owners of the world's largest merchant fleet.
Cloth
The simplicity of the Greek costume admires. All its varieties and details were built from ordinary rectangular pieces of linen or woolen fabric, fastened at the shoulders and sides with brooch buckles.
The only difference between a rich suit and a poor one was the coloring., and the richness of the geometric border pattern. The main types of patterns were the classic meander and the Cretan wave.
To a greater extent, the nobility of origin of the owner of the suit was emphasized by various Jewelry. Women richly used cosmetics: blush, antimony, various creams, masks and hair mixtures.
The basis of the ancient Greek costume was the undershirt: a chiton for men, a tunic for women, which was worn at home, and when going outside, various types of cloaks were added to them: a long himation and a short chlamys, as well as capes: calyptra and peplos.
The clothes of slaves, and often also peasants, fishermen, hunters, shepherds, and the urban poor could consist only of a loincloth.
Walking barefoot was by no means considered a sign of poverty, although The most popular shoes were still sandals, consisting of a wooden, cork or rope sole tied to the leg with straps. In addition, leather or felt endromid boots were popular.
Hats made of felt or straw, they were most often used in bad weather or for protection from the sun during long walks. For the same purpose, they took various fans and fans.
Great importance in appearance ancient Greeks, especially women, attached hairstyle and hair decoration hairpins, tiaras, ribbons, etc.
For men, the main decoration, one might even say, a detail of the costume, was beard, considered a sign of dignity and wisdom.
Furniture
The most common type of seats were half-bench-half-beds, where they were located during dinner symposiums.
The same purpose was served by low tables with short legs. Also in great use were folding difer chairs with legs in the shape of the letter “X” and a seat made of canvas or woven from rope.
Armchairs with armrests - thrones - were available only in noble houses and in royal palaces, serving as one of the symbols of supreme power.
Great importance was attached to the manufacture and decoration of beds. They were made of wood and decorated with rich carvings, and sometimes with real sculptures. They were used to store clothes and valuables. various chests, which were also decorated with carvings or inlays.
There was practically no other furniture in the houses, even in pantries, food supplies were stored in clay vessels standing directly on the floor. The kitchens also had a fireplace for cooking.
In the cold season, clay or metal braziers with coals were used to heat homes, which were melted on the street and then brought into the house. They also served as primitive lamps. If more light was needed, oil lamps or torches were lit.
Dishes
Ceramic art in ancient Greece reached unprecedented heights.
It is not for nothing that the largest and oldest district of ancient Athens was the pottery quarter of Keramikos, practically adjacent to the central shopping area of Agora.
But the most remarkable feature of the pottery art of ancient Greece was the transition from simple geometric patterns in the early stages of development to real works of art decorating ceramic products.
Thanks to these stunning paintings, sometimes real masterpieces that witnessed the era, we can learn many small details from the everyday life of the ancient Greeks, and some images were accompanied by inscriptions, such as: vase kept in the Hermitage.
By the way, even by the coloring of the images on the dishes, it was possible to determine the time of its creation: black figures on a red background are earlier than red ones on a dark one.
The variety of shapes of Greek tableware is also impressive. These are pithos and skyphos, amphorae and vials, lekythos and kylixes, craters and hydrias, inochoi and cyathae, canfares and rhytons. Even archaeologists sometimes rack their brains for a long time over the purpose of this or that object.
The Hellenes also used all kinds of comic devices.: cups that poured wine over the one who began to drink from them or, on the contrary, did not allow them to quench their thirst, no matter how you tilt them.
Another feature of ancient Greek dishes was the presence, in addition to ordinary household utensils, large quantity all kinds of large-volume vessels for storing and transporting liquid and bulk products. Undoubtedly, their appearance was facilitated by the comprehensive development of trade in the Mediterranean.
Food and wine
Many products that have become a symbol of the modern Greek table, for example, tomatoes, were not yet known in Europe in ancient times. This also applies to potatoes, eggplants, peppers, rice and some other plants.
Much loved by the Greeks tobacco and coffee also appeared much later. Nevertheless other vegetables: cucumbers, carrots, onions, cabbage, zucchini, and radishes were widely represented on Greek tables.
The basis of the daily diet were various legumes: numerous types of beans, peas, lentils, etc. Seafood was of great importance: fish and seafood, which were available in every home. Meat was consumed every day only in rich families, and in simply wealthy, or even more so poor, families only on holidays, when sacrifices were made to the gods.
All kinds of cheeses played an exceptional role in the diet. It must be said that the art of cheese-making in Greece has reached very high level, and it was widely known and widespread already in the time of Homer. Thus, in the Odyssey, the cyclops Polyphemus, who captured the sailors, was engaged in the production of cheeses from sheep's milk.
Of great importance in the diet of the ancient Hellenes was bread made from wheat or barley flour, of which there were many types. His role was so significant that a meal without bread was even considered sinful and displeasing to the gods. In fact, bread formed the basis of the table, while the rest of the dishes were simply additives to it. In addition to unleavened bread, yeast bread was already known, which was considered a delicacy due to its high cost.
And the specially shaped vessels for leavening were called, by the way, "clibanos". Perhaps the Russian word - bread - came from this word.
Priceless gift of the goddess Athena - olive tree was the subject of constant veneration and gratitude for this gift of the beloved and wise goddess. The value of the olive lay in the fact that its use did not involve any waste: everything, from fruits to wood and leaves, was used. Oilseeds and olive oil occupied an overwhelming place in the daily diet.
Cult grapevine and wine, expressed in the worship of one of the beloved greek gods- Dionysus, was one of the most common in ancient Hellas. Wine occupied one of the leading places in the Hellenic diet. We consumed it three times a day, with every meal.
By the way, the procedure of diluting wine with water, known to many, played a completely opposite role. The ancients did not dilute wine with water, but added it to the latter for the purpose of disinfection.
Trade and craft
The first people of ancient times who lived mainly through trade were the Phoenicians - noble merchants and sailors. The Hellenes borrowed a lot from them, including taking Phoenician writing as the basis for their alphabet. And they didn’t just borrow it, but significantly developed and improved it in the future.
The importance of trade in the life of the Hellenes was so great that The central square of many large cities was the market Agora. But they did not only engage in trade here. In Athens, for example, on the Agora was the highest rock of the Council and the Supreme Court - Areopagus.
People's assemblies of free citizens were also held here, making epoch-making decisions. Speakers spoke here and philosophers gave lectures... All in order to avoid being distracted from the main business - buying and selling - while engaging in public life.
Next to the Agora, or even right in the trade pavilions, there were workshops of artisans: weavers, blacksmiths, cabinetmakers, jewelers, etc., and a little further away, to protect against the strong smell, there was a tannery. Many products of ancient artisans still captivate connoisseurs of beauty with their beauty and grace.
The development of trade required the creation of commodity equivalents - banknotes.
Precisely the ancient Greek measures of weight: talent and drachma, which later became the names of coins, were the first currency units of the ancient world to become widespread.
Science and education
Everyone knows that Greece is the birthplace of most sciences, and this topic requires a separate large article. Most of the citizens of Hellas were fairly educated people. And insufficient education was even considered a vice.
For example, there was a law that allowed a son not to take care of his father in old age, which in general was considered a huge sin if the younger one could prove that his parent, having the opportunity, did not give his offspring any education.
The sacred island of Crete with a detailed story about the life of the gods - read
Loading...