characteristics of the Hellenistic era. Hellenism: what is it, the meaning and definition of the word

1. General characteristics of the Hellenistic era.

The era of Hellenism occupies the last three centuries BC.

The conquest of the East by Alexander and his successors brought large numbers of Greeks there. His successors continued the work he had begun, all the cities that arose became hotbeds of Greek culture.

With the expansion of the network of roads and trade relations, the spread of Greek culture received even greater opportunities. Greek cities after the eastern campaigns were filled with crowds of slaves from the conquered countries.

The vast wealth captured in the countries of the East was concentrated in the hands of the rulers, who, according to Eastern custom, took the titles of kings. They fought endless wars to conquer new countries and often fought among themselves.

The influx of slaves from the conquered countries and their trade reached incredible proportions at this time: the island of Delos became one of the largest slave markets. By III - II century. BC. includes the largest number of slave revolts. These uprisings became all the more dangerous because they were usually joined by all the exploited poor.

The wide dissemination of Greek culture was reflected in the fact that representatives of other peoples - Egyptians, Babylonians, Jews, Syrians, etc. - began to increasingly appear in the field of Greek literature.

2. Hellenistic education.

Hellenistic literature was dominated by prose. Many works under the poetic form hid a purely prosaic content.

Philosophy was still concentrated in Athens. The academic school continued to develop the teachings of Plato.

In the Hellenistic era, three philosophical schools- Epicureans, Cynics and Stoics. All three were individualistic in nature, promising a person happiness not in the outside world, but within himself.

The school of cynics (cynics), founded by Antisthenes, a student of Socrates, held to the view that only virtue is needed for bliss, which is acquired by life in nature. The teachings of this school most closely reflect the ideology of ordinary people and the broad masses of the people, including slaves.

The doctrine of the Stoic school enjoyed great authority. Its founder was Zenon of Kitia from the island of Cyprus. The teaching of this school developed from the teachings of the Cynics. In an effort to live in harmony with nature, the Stoics sought moral freedom, liberation from passions. They protested against slavery and found their ideal in the firm and steady exercise of virtue.

The origin and first examples of the Greek novel belong to the Hellenistic period. Such are the “Milesian Tales” of Aristides - something like a series of love stories. This collection has been translated into Latin language, and officers read to them during the campaign against the Parthians. However, there is no other information about this work.

A characteristic feature of the lyrics of this time was that the poem broke its obligatory connection with musical accompaniment and began to be intended not for singing, but for reading.

3. Realism and naturalism.

The refined sophistication of Hellenistic poetry coexisted alongside realistic and naturalistic tendencies. The representative of this trend was Sotad (beginning of the 3rd century BC), who described in ponderous styles modern life, dared to attack the rulers themselves, mocked Ptolemy II Philadelphus for his incestuous marriage with his sister Arsinoe, and for this he was sewn into a bag and thrown into the sea.

This trend was also reflected in the field of drama, a merry tragedy - something like a farce. Its ancestor is Rinfon. He used the wit and jokes of the local population, creating comic skits and parodies based on them.

Few excerpts from the “Meliyambs” of Kerkid have been preserved. He defended the rights of the poorest part of the population and, as a consistent supporter of the Cynic school, gave his poetry a folk character.

The same direction was found by the expression “holiyambov”, i.e. lame iambs. Several excerpts from the satirical works of Phoenix of Colophon have survived, in which he castigates the greed of the rich. In the spirit of folk songs, the poem “Crows” was written, which presents a beggar who wanders the streets with “things” like a crow and begs for gifts.

The petty comic genre of this time is best known for the so-called “Mimiyambs” by Gerond (3rd century BC). Mimiyambas are small everyday scenes with two or three actors. Gerond continues the direction that was outlined by the mimes of Sophron (5th century BC). The content of Gerond's plays is an image of petty everyday reality. In many cases, these plays are reminiscent of some of Theocritus' scenes, but Gerond's biases towards naturalism are much stronger, and he is sometimes not embarrassed by the most risky situations. The language of Gerond is simple colloquial speech, sometimes rude in the mouths of the corresponding characters. The dialect is Ionian with a strong admixture of the language of the Attic drama.

VI. The end of ancient Greek literature and early Christian literature.

1. The last Greek poets.

The time of the decay of ancient society is characterized by creative impotence, as a result of which the Greeks were no longer able to create anything new and original. Poetry was limited to the processing of old motifs. Such, for example, are the attempts to revive the epic genre made by poets:

Quint Smirnsky,

Nonn Panopolsky,

Schiller

Anacreon

Gregory Bogoslovsky,

Pallad and others.

2. Greek literature at the turn of the Byzantine.

Most monarchs, in order to become famous, brought representatives of culture closer to themselves: writers, musicians, poets, philosophers, and released huge funds for the development of culture.

VII. The value of Greek literature for world civilization.

The development of ancient Greek literature over a period of almost one and a half thousand years: its origin from purely folk foundations, its magnificent dawn in the conditions of a slave-owning society, a long gradual extinction, and finally, the rebirth into new forms of Byzantine literature. The creative forces of the Greek people found vivid expression in the creations of art and literature, which captured the characteristic features of life and embodied the best ideals of the people. Greek culture enriched the Roman and, merging with it, formed the basis of all European culture. European literature still continues to use the heritage of Greece and process this heritage. Remarkable Greek poets - Homer, Alcaeus, Sappho. In Greece, the first forms of the novel arose. Greek philosophers, historians, mathematicians, doctors, mechanics, engineers, etc. created the science from which modern science has grown, and many of their works have not lost their significance for us.

Bibliography.

Radtsig S.I. "Story ancient Greek literature”

Ed. Blavatsky V.D. “Ancient civilization”, M., 1973

“World History”, vol. 1-3, M., 1955-1957

Gasparov M.L. “About studying ancient literature in USSR"

Ed. Sobolevsky S.I. “History of Greek Literature”, in 3 volumes, M., 1946-1950

Troyansky I.M. “History of ancient literature”, 3rd ed., L., 1957

For the preparation of this work, materials from the site http://www.ed.vseved.ru/

1 Lurie S.Ya. “Language and culture of Mycenaean Greece”, M.-L., 1957;

Whitman C.H. "Homer and the heroic tradition", Cambridge - Mass, 1958, p.22-26.

1 Chantren P. “Historical morphology of the Greek language”, trans. Borovsky Ya.M., M., 1953, pp. 9 - 12, 277 - 318

Denisov Ya.I. “The foundations of the metrics of the ancient Greeks and Romans”, M., 1888, p.8

2 Belinsky V.G. “Works of A. Pushkin”, full. coll. cit., v.7, p.108

1 Athenaeus XIV, p.618 C-11, p.620 A.

2 Gnedich N.I. “Poems”, 1956, p.207 - 221

1 Belinsky V.G. Full coll. sochin., v.7, p.318

1 Belinsky V.G. “Works of A. Pushkin”, Poln. coll. cit., v.7, p.403

2 In the 4th c. Plato (“Laws”, II, 11, p. 669 DE) notes as a shortcoming of modern poets that they began to tear melodies from words and write poetry without music, and musicians - music without words.

1 Belinsky V.G. “Guide to General History”, Poln. coll. sochin., v.6, p.92

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While among this conglomerate of tribes, such tribes as the Archeans (a dynamic, aggressive people), the Dorians, and the Felacci stood out especially clearly. Ancient Greek civilization is divided into three periods: 1. Archaic (8th-6th centuries) 2. Classical (5th-4th centuries) 3. Hellenistic (4th-1st centuries) What was the transition to ancient Greek civilization? In historical science, there is an opinion that ...

Hellenism, in terms of historical science- this is a period in the history of the ancient states of the Mediterranean region, the beginning of which is considered to be the conquests of Alexander the Great, and the end - the fall of Ptolemaic Egypt and the complete establishment of the domination of states ancient rome(about 30 AD).

However, in art history, the period of Hellenism is usually understood as a shorter period of time, which lasted until the actual conquest of the Mediterranean by the ancient Roman legions (II-I centuries BC).

The main feature of Hellenism is considered to be the global spread of the Greek language and way of life in the territories conquered by Alexander the Great, as well as the mutual penetration and mutual influence of the two great ancient cultures - Persian and Greek.

At the beginning of the Hellenic period, there was a transition from the democracy of ancient Greek independent policies to Greek monarchies, which united large territories and centralized power in several cities. The main economic and political activity moved from Greece to Asia Minor and Egypt.

The campaigns of Alexander the Great contributed to the spread of Greek culture in the vast territories from Asia Minor to the borders of India and from the Black Sea to the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula. It was the largest empire known to mankind until then, but it proved to be fragile and quickly fell apart.

On its ruins, several empires were formed with centers in Egypt, Syria and Macedonia. Their rulers were the supreme owners of the land controlled by the empires, which was cultivated by completely dependent peasants and slaves. Slavery is widespread, sharpening the contrast between the vast wealth of the court nobility and the general poverty of the vast majority of the population.

A typical characteristic of the Hellenistic era is the combination and interpenetration of Greek and Eastern cultures and the systematization of accumulated knowledge.

A significant role in the development of Hellenistic culture was played by big cities. This time is characterized by a wide development of urban planning: old cities were rebuilt, and new ones were founded in important strategic and trading points. The capital of Egypt, Alexandria, and the capital of the Seleucid state, Antioch, grew into huge cities for that time, numbering several hundred thousand inhabitants. The center of Hellenistic culture was Alexandria, with its museum (which also included scientific institutions) and a library where hundreds of thousands of handwritten scrolls were kept. Pergamum, Syracuse, Rhodes and other cities were also major cultural centers.

The development of trade relations contributes to the rapid growth and development of new cities. The centers of Greek influence are Alexandria, Antioch and Pergamon. In these capitals, rich royal palaces, temples, theaters, luxurious private houses are being built. For the first time in the history of mankind, monuments of engineering art appear, for example, the Faros lighthouse.

The era of Hellenism was characterized by the desire for monumentality. Huge statues are created, a typical example is the Colossus of Rhodes, the figure of the god Helios 32 meters high. The architects of Hellenism, who did not leave to the descendants of artistic images similar in depth to the Parthenon or the Erechtheion, surpassed the classical masters in creating huge building complexes, sought to solve the problem of placing large ensembles in space, made it possible in the forms of architecture to feel the dynamics of the world expanses inherent in Hellenism, having prepared in this regard ground for the architects of imperial Rome. The grandiose ensembles and majestic high-rise buildings of Hellenism reflected the feelings that escaped from the narrow framework of the polis balance into the stormy, disharmonious world of huge monarchies.

The most significant in the era of Hellenism were the successes of the natural sciences and mathematics. One of the greatest scientists of antiquity, Archimedes, who worked in Syracuse, the author of many remarkable works on various issues of mathematics and mechanics, who discovered the basic law of hydrostatics, also created a number of mechanisms that played a large role in improving the construction and military equipment of that time. The Greek astronomer Aristarchus of Samos was the first to put forward the idea that the earth rotates around the sun and around its own axis. A student of Aristotle, Theophrastus laid the scientific foundations of botany. An exceptional role in the development of the exact sciences was played by the Alexandrian school, whose representatives were the mathematician, astronomer and geographer Eratosthenes, who gave a strikingly accurate definition of the circumference of the earth for that time, the mathematician Euclid, who left a systematic presentation of the foundations of geometry, the astronomer Hipparchus, the author of an extensive star catalog. The expansion of horizons led to the creation of works on world history (the works of Polybius and Diodorus Siculus).

Hellenistic philosophy as a whole was characterized by a turn to the problems of ethics, morality and religion. The religion of the Hellenistic era is extremely characterized by the spread of mystical cults, including syncretic Greek-Oriental deities, for example, the cult of Sarapis, which combined the features Egyptian gods Apis, Osiris and Greek Zeus, Poseidon and Hades).

With undoubted and very essential features of commonality, the art of each of these areas is also marked by features of originality. This originality was determined by the peculiarities of the economic, political and cultural development each of the states, as well as the value of the local artistic tradition. Thus, in Hellenistic Greece, the preservation of the social and artistic traditions of the classical era determined a closer connection between art and classical models than anywhere else. To a much lesser extent, this connection is felt in the artistic monuments of Pergamum and Rhodes - here the signs of Hellenistic art as a new stage in the history of art were most clearly expressed. In the art of Hellenistic Egypt, more than in any of these states, the features of syncretism (fusion) of Greek art forms with the local artistic tradition are noticeable.

The process of formation of individual local art schools took place in the presence of the closest cultural ties between them, which was facilitated, for example, by the frequent relocations of artists from one state to another. The similarity of social conditions, combined with artistic connections, was the reason that, for all its complexity and versatility, the culture of the Hellenistic world was marked by features of integrity, since it reflected the specific features of a certain period in the development of the ancient slave society.

In general, the art of Hellenism is divided into two main stages. Time from the end of the 4th c. before the beginning of the 2nd c. BC. constitutes the early period of Hellenistic art, when it experienced its highest flowering and progressive artistic tendencies acquired the deepest expression. 2nd - 1st centuries BC, the time of a new crisis of the slave-owning society and its culture, constitute the late period of Hellenistic art, already marked by features of a clear decline.

Hellenistic architecture experienced a rapid upsurge at the end of the 4th and 3rd centuries. BC, during the emergence of a number of new capitals, trade, administrative and military-strategic centers. In subsequent centuries, with the approach of the crisis that engulfed the states of the Hellenistic world, the scope of construction activity began to fall.

The historical conditions of the era determined the main tasks facing the Hellenistic architects. They were required not only to develop new principles of urban planning to ensure the normal operation of a large trading city, but also to use all the figurative means of architecture to assert the idea of ​​the greatness and power of the Hellenistic monarch.

Hellenistic urban planning is characterized by the separation of the administrative and commercial center of the city. The temple, which in the classical era was the main city building, in the period under review became only a part of the general central ensemble, which also included administrative buildings, a basilica, a library, a gymnasium and other buildings. A new principle was established for the architectural design of the main square - the agora - which was surrounded by covered porticos, giving it a closed character; such was, for example, the agora at Priene. Sometimes the central part of the city consisted of several ensembles, such as the city center in Miletus, the acropolis in Pergamon. Works of monumental sculpture - colossal statues and multi-figure groups - were widely introduced into architectural ensembles. As the main main thoroughfares, two streets intersecting in the city center were usually singled out. They were much wider than the others and architecturally richer decorated.

In the Hellenistic era, the principles of park architecture were developed. Alexandria and Antioch were famous for their magnificent, richly decorated parks. Public and administrative buildings were created with a vast interior space, capable of accommodating a significant number of people, such as the Bouleuterium in Miletus. Huge engineering structures were erected, for example, the famous Pharos lighthouse in Alexandria.

For Hellenistic architecture, not only an increase in the size of public buildings is indicative, but also a significant change in the very nature of architectural solutions. So, for example, in the construction of temples, along with the peripter, a more magnificent and solemn dipter became widespread. Instead of a strict Doric order, the Ionic order was more often used. In connection with the general trends of Hellenistic architecture and the emergence of new types of structures, the nature and functions of the order have changed in many ways. If in the buildings of the 5th c. BC. Since the two-tiered colonnade was used only inside the temple cells, in Hellenistic architecture it began to be used much more widely - for example, the sanctuary of Athena in Pergamon is surrounded by a two-tiered portico. This technique corresponded to the aspirations characteristic of Hellenistic architecture for greater splendor of the building and was associated with the transition to larger scale buildings. The wall began to play an important role in Hellenistic structures. In this regard, the elements of the order began to lose their constructive significance and were used as elements of the architectonic articulation of the wall, the plane of which was broken up by niches, windows and pilasters (or semi-columns).

The enrichment of the slave-owning elite, the interest in private life characteristic of the Hellenistic Era, resulted in increased attention to the architecture of a private dwelling. The Hellenic era created a more architecturally complex peristyle type of residential building with rich interior decoration, an example of which are the houses on the island of Delos.

With all its achievements, Hellenistic architecture bears the stamp of the contradictions of its time. The huge scale of buildings, the richness of ensembles, the complication and enrichment of architectural forms, the splendor and elegance of buildings, more advanced construction techniques could only partly compensate for the loss of noble grandeur and harmony inherent in the architectural monuments of the classical era. The contrast intensified between the quarters built up with luxurious houses of the rich, and the miserable shacks of the poor.

As in the classical era, sculpture in the Hellenistic era retained a leading role among other types of fine arts. Not in any other form; art, the essence and character of the Hellenistic era was not reflected as vividly and fully as in sculpture.

The slave-owning democracy of the polis - the basis of the high flowering of the art of the classics - is irrevocably a thing of the past. With her, a free citizen of the polis, who actively participated in the government of the state, defended it from enemies with weapons in his hands, constantly felt his inseparable connection with the collective of free citizens, passed away.

The free Greek of the classical era was replaced by a subject of a despotic monarchy, freed from the obligation to defend his state during wars and deprived of the right to participate in state administration. The close connection between the individual and the collective was lost. In the minds of the people of the Hellenistic era, individualistic tendencies develop, a feeling of self-doubt, powerlessness to resist the course of events. Thus, a consciousness of conflict with the reality surrounding him, characteristic of the worldview of the Hellenistic person, arises, a conflict that gave rise to elements of dissonance, a tragic breakdown in artistic images.

The Greek classics created their own artistic ideal, a generalized image of a human citizen, in which the traits of valor and beauty are inextricably linked. In Hellenistic art, there was, as it were, a splitting of the integral image of a person: on the one hand, his heroic qualities are embodied in exaggerated monumental forms; on the other hand, images of a lyrically-intimate or everyday-everyday character constitute a kind of contrast to them. If in the art of the 5th c. BC. the images of the gods were distinguished by the same naturalness and humanity as the images of people, then in Hellenistic art the images of the gods are often endowed with features of hypertrophied monumentality, for example, in colossal statues such as the Colossus of Rhodes common in this era; on the contrary, the image of a person often undergoes a strong decline, as evidenced by some naturalistic genre sculptures of the Alexandrian school.

Individualism in the Hellenistic era appears, on the one hand, in the form of self-affirmation of a strong egoistic personality, striving by any means to elevate itself above the social collective and subordinate it to its will. Another form of Hellenistic individualism is associated with man's consciousness of his impotence before the laws of being. It manifests itself in the refusal to fight, in immersion in one's inner world. Both of these forms are reflected in the Hellenistic portrait, where two main lines can be distinguished: the type of portrait of the Hellenistic rulers, in which the artist’s task is to glorify a man of strong will and energy, who mercilessly sweeps away all obstacles in his path to achieve his egoistic goal, and the type of portrait thinkers and poets, whose images reflected the consciousness of the contradictions of reality and the powerlessness to overcome them.

The need for the Hellenistic artist to glorify the power of the monarch, instead of affirming truly civic ideals, undoubtedly had a negative effect on the ethical side of the images. In Hellenistic art, monuments are not uncommon, in which the features of external representativeness prevail over the depth of the ideological content. But it would be a mistake to see only these negative traits. The best Hellenistic artists were able to convey the greatness and pathos of their era - the era of the sudden expansion of the boundaries of the world, the discovery of new lands, the rise and fall of huge states, grandiose military clashes, the time of great scientific discoveries, unprecedentedly expanding the knowledge of man and his horizons, periods of rapid growth and severe crisis. These features of the era determined the titanic character, superhuman strength and stormy pathos of images - the qualities inherent in the outstanding works of Hellenistic monumental sculpture. The strong social contradictions of the Epoch prevented the appearance of artistic images of a harmonious nature, and it is no coincidence that the pathos of Hellenistic images, bearing the imprint of insoluble conflicts, often takes on a tragic character. Hence the specific features of the figurative structure of Hellenistic works of art: in contrast to the calm strong-willed concentration, the internal integrity of the images of high classics, they are characterized by enormous emotional tension, strong drama, and stormy dynamics.

A progressive feature of Hellenistic art was a broader reflection of various aspects of reality than in the classics, expressed in the emergence of new themes, which in turn led to the expansion and development of the system of artistic genres.

Among the individual genres of sculpture, the most developed in Hellenistic art was monumental plastic, which was an essential element of architectural ensembles and vividly embodied the most important features of the era. In addition to colossal statues, Hellenistic monumental sculpture is characterized by multi-figured groups and huge relief compositions (both of these types of sculpture were most widely used in the ensemble of the Pergamon acropolis). Along with the mythological themes, Hellenistic monumental sculpture also contains historical themes (for example, episodes of the battle of the Pergamians with the Gauls in group compositions of the same Pergamon acropolis).

The second most important place among the sculptural genres in the Hellenistic era was occupied by a portrait. Greek classics did not know such a developed portrait; the first attempts to introduce elements of emotional experience into the portrait, moreover, in a very general form, were made only by Lysippus. Hellenic portraits, while retaining the principle of typification characteristic of Greek artists, incomparably more individually convey not only the features of the external appearance, but also various shades of the emotional experience of the model. If the masters of the classical time in portraits of representatives of the same social group emphasized, first of all, common features (this is how the types of portraits of strategists, philosophers, poets arose), then the Hellenistic masters, in similar cases, preserving the typical foundations of the image, reveal the characteristic features of this particular person.

In the art of Hellenism, sculpture of a genre character was first widely developed; however, such works were inferior in their ideological and artistic significance to works of mythological themes: in the era of Hellenism, the true significance of the images and phenomena of everyday life and the beauty of labor could not yet be realized, due to which the works of the everyday genre related to this time often suffer from superficiality, pettiness, purely external entertainment; in them, more than in any other genre, naturalistic tendencies manifested themselves. Similar features appeared in the so-called pictorial relief, in which everyday scenes were depicted against the backdrop of a landscape (landscape first began to be depicted in sculpture precisely in the Hellenistic era). Garden decorative sculpture, widely used in decorating parks, was a new type of plastic art. Hellenistic fine plastic continued the achievements of the classical era in this type of sculpture, expanding its subject matter and developing along the lines of enhancing the vital character of the images.

Hellenistic masters significantly enriched the arsenal of artistic means of sculpture. They discovered new possibilities for a more concrete transmission of nature, found ways to show various emotions, to convey movement in its complex and diverse forms, developed new compositional principles in the construction of multi-figure groups and reliefs, continued the search for three-dimensional sculpture and the construction of a sculptural monument, taking into account the plurality of points of view. .

As far as can be judged from the sources, the importance of painting in the Hellenistic era was very great. Unfortunately, most of her monuments perished; an idea of ​​them is given by the mosaics that have come down to us due to their durability, as well as copies of Roman times in Pompeian houses. Judging by the copies and the surviving descriptions of paintings, the nature of the images in Hellenistic painting was similar to the images of sculpture. Like sculpture, painting was enriched with new genres, including everyday genre and landscape.

In Hellenistic painting, a departure was made from compositional techniques, reminiscent of the techniques of sculptural relief, to a more vital and more convincing rendering of nature, to showing the real environment in which the action takes place. There are attempts to construct objects and space in a perspective way, the color solution is enriched and complicated.

The conditions of the Hellenistic era greatly contributed to the flourishing of applied art. The tasks of artistic decoration of palaces and rich houses that arose before the masters of that time, the desire to decorate everyday life, characteristic of the era, were the reason for the creation of a large number of works of applied art, from which mainly monuments of toreutics and glyptics have come down to us. The nobility and beauty of these works, the perfection of their technical execution make them among the remarkable monuments of Hellenistic art.

The outstanding achievements of Hellenistic art arose in the struggle between progressive artistic trends and anti-realist currents. These tendencies manifested themselves in various forms - in the external representativeness and theatricality of images, in the predominance of elements of conditional idealization in them, in the features of naturalism, and finally, in slavish adherence to dead canons and in conditional stylization. Relatively weakly expressed in the early period of Hellenism, these negative features became predominant in its later period, in an atmosphere of ideological impoverishment of art.

The largest building in Hellenistic Athens is the temple of Olympian Zeus (the so-called Olympeion). The construction of the temple dragged on for several hundred years. Started in the 6th century BC, the temple was built mainly in 174 - 163 years. BC. and was completed only under the Roman emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century. AD The Temple of Olympian Zeus, one of the largest temples of the ancient world, was a dipter measuring 41 X approx. 108 m; 20 columns were located along its longitudinal sides, 8 columns along the facades. For the first time in Greek architecture, the Corinthian order, the richest and most elegant of the Greek orders, previously used only in interior spaces, was used in the outer colonnade. The 15 giant columns that have survived from the temple to our time, made of Pentelic marble, testify to the scope and splendor of this structure, which, however, did not differ in excessive splendor, usually characteristic of Hellenistic buildings; the builders of the temple to a large extent still relied on the traditions of classical architecture.

Another well-known Athenian building of the Hellenistic period is the Tower of the Winds, built in the middle of the 1st century BC. BC, is a small octagonal tower 12.1 m high, set on a three-stage base. Outside, a sundial was placed on the tower, inside - a mechanism for a water clock - clepsydra. In front of the doors leading to the tower from two sides, there used to be Corinthian porticoes. The tower is decorated with a relief frieze with allegorical images of flying winds; the relief figures spread over the wall violate the tectonic logic of architectural forms, as they cross the line of the architrave. Such a technique testifies to the well-known loss of understanding of the logic of architectural composition.

A peculiar structure was the so-called Arsinoyon on the island of Samothrace - a temple built in 281 BC. Arsinoe, daughter of the Egyptian king Ptolemy Soter, and dedicated to the "great gods". The temple was a cylindrical structure with a diameter of 19 m. The outer wall of the temple was divided into two tiers; the lower tier was deaf, lined with marble squares, the second tier consisted of 44 pillars that supported the entablature and the conical roof; the gaps between the pillars were filled with marble slabs. The same division into two tiers was preserved inside the building. Arsinoyon is one of the earliest examples of a centric structure with a vast interior space; a new feature of its architecture is also the principle of division by floors, applied inside and outside the building.

The buildings on the island of Delos give an idea of ​​the Hellenistic architecture of a residential building. The Delian dwelling houses belonged to the peristyle structures; the core of the house was the peristyle - a courtyard surrounded by a colonnade, around which rooms were located, illuminated through doors that opened onto the peristyle. The arrangement of these premises was not distinguished by symmetry and was of a free character. In the middle of the peristyle there was a pool with a cistern, where rainwater flowed from the roofs. The peristyle houses of Delos - the House on the Hill, the House of Dionysus - were two-story, in accordance with this, the colonnades of the peristyle were two-tiered. The houses were built of stone and plastered inside and out, the floor was earthen or laid out from stone slabs; in rich houses, the floors of individual rooms were decorated with mosaics. The walls of the interior were decorated with molding and colored plaster, which imitated the masonry of colored marbles. In rich houses, real marble was used: peristyle columns, as well as floors, were made from it. The peristyle was decorated with flowers, ornamental plants, figurines. Thus, the masters of Hellenistic architecture developed the type of house developed over the centuries in the conditions of the Mediterranean climate with living quarters located around the courtyard, giving it greater integrity and elegance.

The first works of sculpture, made in the forms of Hellenistic art, were created by the masters of mainland Greece and the islands of the Aegean archipelago adjacent to it. This phenomenon is quite natural: the origins of Hellenistic art date back to the Greek art of the 4th century BC. BC.; in addition, in Greece, incomparably stronger than in other areas of the Hellenistic world, a realistic tradition was developed, which contributed to the rapid formation of new artistic principles. At the same time, due to the preservation of the polis structure in Greece, the political system and the nature of social relations here differed significantly from the political system and social relations in despotic monarchies such as the Seleucid state or Ptolemaic Egypt. True, the independence of the Greek cities was illusory, but they still retained the freedom-loving spirit of citizens and the democratic traditions of the ancient policies and, consequently, there was ground for preserving the artistic traditions of the classical era. Therefore, in the monuments of Greek art of the Hellenistic era, the Hellenistic features proper, expressed quite clearly, did not, however, receive such a pointed expression as, for example, in the art of Pergamum, and at the same time, features that go back to the art of the classics are clearly felt in them. In the period of early Hellenism, the classical traditions were not dead dogma - they still had life-giving power. After the Roman conquest, when Greece found itself in the position of a Roman province, when the possibilities for the progressive development of Hellenistic art were exhausted, and the classical traditions were reborn into conditional canons, Greek art experienced a deep decline.

One of the best works of early Hellenistic sculpture is the famous statue of Nike of Samothrace. This statue was erected on the island of Samothrace in memory of the victory won in 306 BC. Demetrius Poliorcetes over the fleet of the Egyptian ruler Ptolemy. Unfortunately, the sculpture has come down to us badly damaged - without a head and hands. The statue was placed on a high sheer rock, on a pedestal in the form of the front of a warship; Nika, as evidenced by her reproductions on coins, was depicted blowing a battle trumpet.

The Greek masters repeatedly portrayed the goddess of victory in monumental sculpture, but never before had they reached "such an emotional upsurge, never expressed the feeling of victory with such brightness as in the Samothracian statue. The powerful figure of the goddess with outstretched wings, resisting the stormy gusts of the headwind, her confident step, every movement of the body, every fold of fabric trembling from the wind - everything in this image is full of a jubilant feeling of victory. This victorious feeling is given without any pomp and rhetoric - the image of Nika is striking, first of all, with its enormous vitality.

Nika of Samothrace gives an example of a new plastic solution, characterized by a more complex understanding of movement and a more differentiated interpretation of plastic forms. The general movement of Nike's figure is of a complex helical nature, the sculpture has a great "depth", achieved not only due to the wings folded back, but also due to Nike's strong step and the general aspiration of her figure forward; in more detail than in classical sculpture, the plastic form is interpreted (for example, the muscles of the body are depicted with amazing subtlety, appearing through the fabric of a transparent tunic). An extremely important feature of the plastic language of the statue is the increased attention paid by the artist to chiaroscuro. Chiaroscuro is designed to enhance the picturesque form and contribute to the emotional expressiveness of the image. It is no coincidence that clothes play such a big role in the figurative and plastic characterization: without the numerous folds of clothing that flutter, then hug the body and form the richest picturesque game, the transfer of Nika's emotional outburst would be less impressive.

Both in the interpretation of the image and in the very staging of the monumental statue, the author of Nike acts as a successor to the achievements of Scopas and Lysippus, but at the same time, features of the Hellenistic Epoch are clearly manifested in the Samothracian Victory. Art 4th c. BC. knew highly pathetic images, however, even the most dramatic images of Scopas retained, so to speak, a human scale, there was no exaggeration in them, while in the Nike of Samothrace, features of a special grandiosity, titanism of the image are manifested. And in classical art there were large statues designed to be perceived from distant points of view (for example, the statue of Athena Promachos on the Acropolis of Athens); in the 4th c. BC. Lysippus developed a three-dimensional interpretation of the plastic image, thereby outlining the possibility of its connection with the environment, but only in Nike of Samothrace these qualities were fully expressed. The statue of Nike not only required a detour from various directions, but was also inextricably linked with the landscape surrounding it; the staging of the figure and the interpretation of the clothes are such that it seems as if Nika is meeting the pressure of a real wind, which opens her wings and flutters her clothes.

Of particular note is one feature in the figurative incarnation of Nike of Samothrace, which distinguishes this work from other monuments of Hellenistic sculpture; if the pathetic images of Hellenistic art are usually tragic in nature, then the feeling of jubilant joy embodied in the Samothracian Victory, the optimistic sound of the image, bring this work closer to the monuments of Greek classics.

Another characteristic monument of early Hellenistic art is the so-called Alexander sarcophagus - a marble sarcophagus of a local ruler found in Sidon with reliefs by Greek masters. The length of the sarcophagus is 2.30 m, on its two sides - longitudinal and transverse - scenes of the battle between the Greeks and Persians are depicted, on the other two sides - scenes of hunting lions with the participation of the Greeks and Persians. Of greatest interest is the image of the battle on the longitudinal side.

In the composition of the battle scene and in the interpretation of the images, the masters of the sarcophagus proceeded from the achievements of the relief plastics of the classical era; the frieze of the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, depicting scenes of the battle between the Greeks and the Amazons, served as a model for them. At the same time, the masters of the Sidon sarcophagus managed to introduce new features into their work. First of all, a different outline of the images, a different nature of the compositional and plastic solution attracts attention. In the Halicarnassian frieze, the figures were separated from each other by spacious intervals, which achieved clear visibility, uniform distribution of figures, emphasizing, despite the drama and dynamics of the images, the overall architectonic balance of the composition of the frieze. In the reliefs of the Sidon sarcophagus, the arrangement of the figures is more complex: the figures of the Greeks and Persians, depicted in moments of mortal combat, are intertwined, uniting into complex groups. In the Halicarnassian frieze, the bodies protruded only halfway from the plane of the background, the movement took place, as it were, in one plane; in the sarcophagus of Alexander, the figures, made in high relief, almost separated from the plane of the background, and in some cases are located one in front of the other, forming very complex plastic and compositional motifs and thereby enhancing the overall impression of intense struggle. The principle of architectonic clarity, characteristic of the art of the classics, here was replaced by the principle of a common pictorial whole, typical of the art of Hellenism, and the picturesqueness of the relief is enhanced by its rich coloring.

In the types of fighting and hunting warriors, especially the Greeks, one can catch some features of proximity to the images of classical art, however, in the interpretation of the images, signs are also manifested that are characteristic of the art of the Hellenistic era. Attention is drawn to the increased interest in the authentic transmission of the appearance of soldiers, facial expressions, movements, gestures, clothing, weapons (the weapons were made of metal and are now lost). The ethnic type of the Persians here differs little from the Greek type, but the Persian military costume - a shirt, long trousers, a special hood covering the head and lower part of the face, are reproduced with extreme care.

The pathos of the struggle is conveyed not only by the stormy movement of the figures - the emotional expressiveness of the faces also plays a significant role. Particularly characteristic in this regard are the views of the warriors - sometimes formidable and angry, sometimes full of suffering (the eyes are made by means of painting). The superbly preserved coloring of the relief gives an idea of ​​how the Greeks painted sculpture. The introduction of color into the relief to a certain extent contributes to the concrete concretization of the form, but the Greek masters avoided illusionistic effects. Coloring does not aim to imitate nature; its main role is to enhance the emotional Effect and decorative sound of the relief. In accordance with this, the naked parts of the bodies are left without tinting, as well as the faces - only the hair and eyes are painted; clothing fabrics are given in soft blues, purples, purples and yellows. Despite the unusual use of color in sculpture for us, one cannot but admit that polychromy was used in Alexander's sarcophagus with high artistic skill.

Along with the heroic line coming from Scopas and Lysippus in the Hellenistic sculpture of Greece, an important place was occupied by the direction that goes back to the work of Praxiteles.

Close to this trend is the statue of the so-called "Girl from Anzio" - a marble Greek original, stored in the Roman Museum of Thermes. The girl is depicted during the sacrifice; she carries in her hands a tablet with a laurel branch, a scroll and an olive wreath; a thin chiton, exposing her shoulder and fitting the figure, conveys the movement of the body. More detailed than in classical art, the image of accessories, as well as a very free, without emphasized beautiful folds, transfer of the costume, without leading to this case to the genre refinement of the image, contributes to its life concretization. In the image of a girl, we are attracted by the organic combination of great lyrical depth and spirituality with a sense of inner significance, the combination of plastic modeling, amazing in its softness, with the free, energetic movement of the figure, the deep content of individual motives of movement (for example, tenderness and strength are simultaneously felt in the tilt of her beautiful head) , impeccable clarity and softness of the plastic form. The original beauty of the type, the deep vitality of the image, the richness of plastic and light and shade nuances, and finally the general feeling of amazing purity and freshness - these are the distinctive features of this work. All these features are very close to the principles of classical Greek art; in this case, they testify to the fact that in the era of early Hellenism, classical traditions were still a living creative source for artists.

One of the best works of the same trend in early Hellenistic art is also the marble head of a girl, which has come down to us in the original Greek, found on the island of Chios (Boston Museum). The finest lyricism of the image, its poetic content, find their expression not only in the very type of the young, as it were, not yet fully formed face, in the expression of inner feeling, unusual in its softness, but also in the very processing of the material. The sculptor chose a particularly transparent sort of marble; its plastic processing was carried out with amazing softness - there is not a single line, not a single sharp protrusion or depression, the forms imperceptibly pass one into another, the contour of the face seems to be melting - such chiaroscuro nuances are found that it seems as if the face is shrouded in haze. This wonderful work completes the search for a sophisticated spiritual image, which was started by Praxiteles in his "Hermes with Dionysus" and other sculptures.

A bronze statue of a boy riding a horse found at the bottom of the sea near the island of Euboea belongs to the early Hellenistic period. This sculpture strikes with an unprecedented freshness of artistic perception. The characteristic appearance of the boy (classical art did not know such an expressive depiction of children's age characteristics), his natural and free landing, the strong impulse that carries him forward - everything is conveyed without the slightest convention and idealization. The general plastic solution, as well as the bronze processing, is of high perfection.

The famous statue of Praxiteles "Aphrodite of Cnidus" was the model for numerous images of the goddess in Hellenistic times; largely comes from Praxiteles, for example, the author of the famous statue of Aphrodite de Medici. The goddess is depicted at the moment when she emerges from the water, as evidenced by the dolphin at her feet. However, in comparison with the statue of Praxiteles, the image of Aphrodite de Medici is characterized by a shade of superficiality. The great skill of the sculptor, who managed to create a beautifully proportioned figure, an expressive silhouette, well perceived from different angles, to convey the "wet" look of the goddess, is still unable to make up for the main drawback - the well-known coldness of the image, the loss of a deep sense of life, characteristic of the monuments of the classical era and the works of early Hellenistic sculpture discussed above.

A more important place in the history of ancient art is occupied by the statue of Aphrodite de Milo (found on the island of Melos). As the inscription testifies, the author of this work was the sculptor Alexander (or Agesander - a few missing letters do not allow us to definitively establish his name). The statue has come down to us without both hands, and so far no convincing reconstruction has been found. The time of its execution is also unknown - it is presumably believed that the statue belongs to the 3rd - 2nd centuries. BC.

Difficulties in dating are largely due to the unusual nature of the image of Aphrodite of Milo for the Hellenistic era: not a single work of Hellenistic art bears so many features of classical art, and, moreover, not late, but high classics. The sublime beauty of this image, like the very type of the goddess, is unusual for the Hellenistic time - for all the femininity, the beauty of the goddess is distinguished by some special power. In individual techniques, for example, in the strict interpretation of wavy locks of hair, echoes of the artistic manner of sculptors of the 5th century are captured; however, when applied to Aphrodite of Milo, we can least of all talk about direct imitation of classical models: the figurative and artistic principles of classical art are reinterpreted on the basis of the best achievements of Hellenism. Aphrodite is depicted half-naked - her legs are draped with picturesque folds of clothing. Thanks to this motif, the lower part of the figure is more massive and the overall compositional solution acquires the character of a special monumentality. At the same time, the strong contrast of the naked body and clothing opens up the possibility of a particularly rich plastic solution, which also corresponds to the staging of the figure using a helical turn and slight tilt. Depending on the aspect of vision, the figure of the goddess seems either flexible and mobile, or full of majestic peace. For all the ideality of the forms, the body of the goddess is striking in its amazing vitality: behind the generalized masses and contours, an unusually finely felt musculature of the body is hidden; the extraordinary freshness of the texture achieved during the processing of marble contributes to this to a large extent. Finally, the main feature that makes this work particularly attractive is the ethical height of the image. In the Hellenistic era, when the sensual principle was emphasized in numerous images of Aphrodite, the author of Aphrodite of Milo managed to rise to the realization of the ideal of high classics, when the beauty of the image was inseparable from its high moral strength.

In the field of sculptural portraiture, Hellenistic art takes an important step forward compared to the classics. The weakening of the ideal generalization of the image, the increased interest in the truthful transmission of nature, the appeal to the inner world of man, characteristic of Hellenism, predetermined the new principles of portraiture.

Relating to the beginning of the Hellenistic era, the images of the great thinker of the ancient world Aristotle, solved in the methods of portraits of philosophers established in Greek art, compared with portraits of the 4th century. BC. differ not only in a more detailed transfer of the characteristic features of the external appearance of the model, but also in the desire to embody its spiritual appearance. In the portrait of Aristotle from the Roman National Museum, the internal characterization of the image is given more generally, without detailing; the plastic embodiment is strict, the composition is frontal, the construction of the face is emphasized constructively. What is new in this portrait is the increased internal tension of the image, which contributes to the transfer of the spiritual power of the great thinker. Similar features are also distinguished by the one belonging to the beginning of the 3rd century. BC. portrait of Epicurus.

The next step forward is the portraits of the famous playwright of the late 4th - early 3rd century. BC. Menander, including an excellent portrait of him, kept in the Leningrad Hermitage. In this portrait, there is less connection with canonical principles, the features of Menander's thin nervous face are more individually conveyed, his inner appearance is revealed in more detail - features of meditation, sadness, fatigue; however, these qualities of the image are expressed in a muted way, they are not yet the subject of the artist's main attention. The compositional structure has become freer, the head is given in a slight turn and tilt, which enhances the impression of naturalness; plastic modeling is more soft.

An example of a mature Hellenistic portrait is provided by the portrait statue of the Athenian orator Demosthenes, by the sculptor Polyeuctus, preserved in a Roman copy. The statue was made in 280 - 279 years. BC, that is, more than forty years after the death of Demosthenes. It would seem that the more reason there was to create an ideally generalized statue of the orator in the spirit of established traditions. However, Polieukt refused any idealization in the transfer of the individual facial features of Demosthenes, interpreting them with a pronounced portrait resemblance, which indicates a thorough study of the lifetime images of the orator. The concretization of the image did not prevent the sculptor from creating an image of extremely wide scope and great ideological depth.

When working on the portrait of Demosthenes, Polievkt was guided by the desire to recreate the tragic image of the Athenian patriot, who unsuccessfully tried to unite his fellow citizens in the struggle against Macedonia, which was preparing to capture Attica. Immersed in himself, the speaker stands with his head bowed, his shoulders bent, his hands clenched. A wrinkled forehead, sunken eyes, sunken cheeks, a weak, thin body, clothes - a cloak, carelessly crumpled and thrown over his shoulder, turned into a randomly crumpled lump at the waist, an expressive gesture - the whole appearance of Demosthenes expresses a consciousness of impotence, bitterness and disappointment, a feeling of tragic hopelessness . This is the image of a man who has exhausted all his strength in a fruitless struggle.

The importance of the portrait of Demosthenes lies in the fact that in this work (unlike the portrait of Menander, in which only the general state of mind was conveyed), a transition was made to depicting the specific experience of the hero. The portrait of Demosthenes is not only an image of a separate individual, it contains a deep historical assessment of one of the outstanding figures of the era.

The realistic line of the early Hellenistic portrait is completed by a bronze bust of an unknown philosopher (or poet) in the Neapolitan Museum. At first glance, the portrait strikes with its extraordinary sharpness in the transfer of the external appearance of the old philosopher: the signs of senile decrepitude are emphasized - wrinkles furrowing the face, sunken cheeks, senile folds of skin on the neck. However, the main thing here is not in the external characteristics, but in the deep transmission of the spiritual image of a person. In contrast to the portrait images of the classical era, the Neapolitan portrait of the philosopher represents a person at a moment of extreme emotional stress. In the head of Alexander the Great ascending to Lysippus from the island of Kos, elements of pathos were first introduced into the portrait, and this pathos was perceived as an expression of a heroic upsurge of feelings; elements of spiritual disharmony were then just emerging. In the Neapolitan portrait, pathos turns into a tragic breakdown. The theme of the spiritual crisis, underlying this image, not only characterizes this particular person, but is an expression of the crisis of the entire era.

The best qualities of the art of the early Hellenistic period found their expression in the works of small plastic arts, in particular in the widespread terracotta figurines. Continuing the traditions of the classical time, the Hellenistic masters at the same time follow the line of strengthening the vitality of the types and the greater emotional brightness of the images. One of the remarkable works of Hellenistic small plastic art is the figurine known as the "Old Teacher". Depicting a thin old man bent over the years, this figurine is distinguished by the accuracy of figurative characteristics, the sharpness of vital observation and the mastery of the sculptural solution.

In the early Hellenistic era, remarkable monuments of painting were created on the territory of mainland and island Greece. In the house of the Faun in Pompeii, a beautiful mosaic copy was found from the famous painting by the painter Philoksen from Eritrea (late 4th - early 3rd century BC). This painting, commissioned by the ruler of Athens Cassander, depicted the battle between Alexander the Great and Darius at Issus. As can be judged from the mosaic, the features of Hellenistic art were clearly manifested in the work of Philoxenus - the interpretation of the theme in dramatic terms, the pathetic nature of the images. The multi-figure composition is divided into two parts: on the left, more affected by time, Alexander is depicted, at the head of his horsemen, furiously attacking the Persians and ready to throw a spear at the Persian king, on the right - Darius taking flight on a war chariot. In a complex composition, the artist singles out the main characters; the dramatic collision of the picture is based on their contrasting juxtaposition. The anger and excitement of Alexander and the horror of Darius, who sees the death of his comrades-in-arms, are convincingly conveyed. Even more specific than in the reliefs of Alexander's sarcophagus, the transfer of the national type and costumes of the Persians is noteworthy. The figures are masterfully arranged in space; the artist even uses angles, for example, in the image of a horse in the middle part of the composition. With the exception of the schematic representation of a tree, landscape motifs and the scene are not shown here: the artist's entire attention is devoted to the expressiveness of the images and the transmission of the general pathos of the battle. The coloristic construction of the mosaic is based on the predominance of warm brownish, reddish and golden tones.

An example of a composition based on a mythological plot is the painting from the house of the Dioscuri in Pompeii "Achilles among the daughters of Lycomedes", which goes back to the original, which worked in the 3rd century BC. BC. painter Athenian from Thrace. And here we see a dramatic interpretation of the theme, figures in strong movement, dynamic compositional construction. One of the peaks of Hellenistic easel painting was the famous painting by Timomach from Byzantium, depicting Medea before the murder of her children (a copy of it has been preserved in one of the houses of Herculaneum). In this work, Timomach showed himself to be a master of deep psychological disclosure of the image: he portrayed Medea in those tragic moments when conflicting feelings struggle in her soul - maternal love and a fierce desire to take revenge on Jason who left her.

A remarkable example of decorative mosaics is found in one of the houses of Delos depicting a winged Dionysus crowned with a wreath. It stands out for its exceptional colorful richness and subtlety of color transitions. Resounding greens and blues, deep brownish-violet tones are combined here with delicate lilac, pink and golden hues.

In the late Hellenistic era, the art of mainland Greece and the islands was in decline. The skill of the artists was still distinguished by great technical sophistication, but the weakness of the ideological content inevitably led to the insufficient significance of the images, to their inner emptiness. It is extremely indicative how the time of decline was reflected in the work of the worker in the 1st century. BC. Attic sculptor Apollonius, son of Nestor. One of the most famous monuments of ancient sculpture belonging to him - the so-called "Belvedere Torso" - testifies to the outstanding skill of the author. Only the torso of this sculpture, apparently depicting Heracles at rest, has survived. The sculptor perfectly conveyed the powerful muscles of the body, although this work, perhaps, lacks the immediacy of early Hellenistic images, the freshness of their plastic modeling. The same Apollonius owns a statue of a fist fighter (Rome, Thermae Museum), interpreted in a completely different way. This is an image of an elderly fighter with all the details, with a face smashed in numerous fistfights (a broken nose, scars, torn ears, all the hypertrophied muscles of a professional athlete, gloves with iron inserts on the hands are conveyed with almost naturalistic accuracy). This work completes the path of development of the image of the Greek athlete - from the image of an ideal, harmoniously developed human citizen of the classical era to the type of a professional athlete of the Hellenistic time, performing for the sake of earning. Head of a fist fighter from Olympia, 4th c. BC. also conveyed the features of a professional athlete, but she felt an expression of a bright character and strong passion. The image of the fighter from the Thermae Museum is essentially devoid of true character development; in this statue, the transmission of purely external features of nature prevails. The fact that the same sculptor is the author of two works so different in their principles, such as the Belvedere Torso and the Fist Fighter, testifies to the penetration of elements of eclecticism into his art.

The features of the decline of late Hellenistic art were most strongly expressed in the works of sculptors of the so-called neo-Attic school of the 1st century BC. BC. The head of this school, the sculptor Pasitel, who worked in Rome, was the author of statues that, in a conditionally stylized form, imitated the works of Greek sculpture of the 5th century. BC, mostly strict style and high classics. The complete inner emptiness of the image, conditional idealization, banishing everything living and truthful from the monument, the deliberate archaization of the plastic language, dry graphicness - these are the style features of the Orestes and Electra group belonging to Pasitel's student Menelaus or the statue of an athlete, made by another student of Pasitel - Stefan.

Hellenistic Egypt, where the Ptolemaic dynasty reigned, turned out to be the most stable of the Hellenistic powers. Egypt experienced fewer upheavals than other Hellenistic states, and later than all the countries of the Mediterranean was conquered by Rome (30 BC). The highest flowering of Hellenistic Egypt dates back to the 3rd century BC. BC, when Alexandria, the main city of the Ptolemaic kingdom, became the true capital of the entire Hellenistic world.

Founded by Alexander the Great in 332-331. BC. in the Nile Delta, Alexandria was built according to a single plan by the Rhodesian architect Deinocrates. The huge city had a circumference of 15 miles. The ancient geographer Strabo describes Alexandria as follows: “The whole city is cut by streets convenient for riding horses and carriages; the two widest streets, 100 feet [about 30 liters], cut one another at right angles. The city has the most beautiful public sanctuaries and royal palaces, covering a fourth or even a third of the entire space occupied by the city ... the city is filled with luxurious public buildings and temples; the best of them is a gymnasium with porticos in the middle, more extensive than the stadium. In the middle of the city are a courthouse and a grove. Here is an artificial ... hill ... similar to a rocky hill. A winding road leads to this hill; from its top you can contemplate the whole city spreading around.

The most famous building in Alexandria was the Pharos lighthouse, considered one of the seven wonders of the world and standing for one and a half thousand years. Composed of three successively decreasing towers placed one on top of the other, the lighthouse reached 130 - 140 m in height. Its fire was visible at night at a distance of 100 miles. The grandiose scale of this structure is a characteristic feature of Hellenistic architecture.

It should be noted that in the art of Hellenistic Egypt great importance preserved the ancient Egyptian tradition. Often, individual architectural structures and entire complexes were erected in the forms of ancient Egyptian architecture; such are the temple of Horus at EDFU, the temple of the goddess Hathor at Dendera. Sculptures made according to the canons of ancient Egyptian plastic art were extremely common. Often found in the Hellenistic sculpture of Egypt is a purely external fusion of the pictorial techniques of Greek and Egyptian art; for example, in images of the goddess Isis, realistic body modeling in the spirit of Greek plastic arts is combined with a conditional hieratic posture and traditional attributes of fertility. In the portrait statue of Alexander IV from Karnak (Cairo Museum), the face of the king is made in the forms of Greek art, while the figure is in full accordance with the ancient Egyptian canons. The relief from the Berlin Museum, depicting King Ptolemy IV Philopator with two goddesses, is entirely consistent with the principles of ancient Egyptian art, down to the very technique of in-depth relief. However, the artistic value of such monuments cannot be compared with truly realistic works created by the masters of the Alexandrian school.

In the sculpture of Hellenistic Egypt, we will not find monumental works of a heroic-pathetic character; other trends typical of Hellenistic art were predominant here - everyday genre, decorative sculpture, which served to decorate gardens and parks; small plastic has received significant development. It is no coincidence that it was in Alexandria that the students of Praxiteles who worked there had the greatest success, whose works largely predetermined the features of Alexandrian sculpture.

The best works of sculpture found in Egypt testify to the creative continuation of the traditions of classical art. They include a wonderful statue of the so-called Aphrodite of Cyrene. The statue represented Aphrodite emerging from the water and wringing out her wet hair, just as she was depicted in the famous painting by the great Greek painter Apelles. Unfortunately, the head and hands of the statue have not been preserved. The author of Aphrodite of Kirenskaya showed himself to be a successor to the best achievements of the late classic era. In this work, there is neither genre grinding, so common in Hellenistic art, nor conditional idealization that dries up the image - the figure of Aphrodite is striking in its extraordinary beauty and vitality: it seems that marble here loses its properties of stone and turns into a living body. Exquisite proportions of the figure, flexible contour lines, soft interpretation of sculptural masses, the finest nuance of plastic transitions - everything is aimed at expressing the main idea of ​​the image: the glorification of human beauty.

Related to the 3rd century. BC. the marble head of the goddess from the collection of Golenishchev (Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts) testifies to the artist's appeal to the majestic images of classical art of the late 5th - early 4th century. BC. Majestic beauty, highly poetic nature of the image, noble restraint of feeling, generalization of the plastic form, far from dryness and schematism, masterful processing of transparent marble - these are the characteristic qualities of this work.

It should be noted, however, that the works in which the art of the classics found its living embodiment are few in Hellenistic Egypt. The search of the Alexandrian masters went along the path of the allegorical image, and especially in the direction of the everyday genre. A touch of genre is also inherent in many works of Alexandrian masters on mythological subjects. Images of an idyllic nature were especially popular.

An example of the monumental sculpture of Hellenistic Egypt, which combines allegory with narrative elements, is one dating from the end of the 1st century BC. BC. a colossal statue of the Nile, glorifying the fruitful power of the mighty river. The Nile is represented as a reclining naked old man; in his hand, with which he leans on the sphinx, he holds a cornucopia, in the other - ears of cereals. Around him sixteen tiny boys frolic and play with animals; their number corresponds to the number of cubits that the Nile rises at the time of the flood. One of the boys, symbolizing the last cubit that ensures the harvest of the year, looks out from the cornucopia. On the base of the statue is a relief depicting animals and plants of the Nile Valley. Neither the excess of narrative nor the ingenuity of the artist, however, can hide the inner emptiness of this work.

More remarkable are the achievements of Hellenistic art in genre sculpture. Close in character to the genre works of the Alexandrian school is the bronze group "The Boy with the Goose", famous in antiquity, made by the sculptor Boeth from Chalcedon (3rd century BC). The group has come down to us in a marble Roman copy. The artist with gentle humor shows the fight of a boy with a big goose; the plump body of the child, the peculiar expressiveness of his movements, is well conveyed. The group is masterfully composed; the plastic solution is enriched by the contrast of the boy's body and the bird's wings.

The Alexandrian masters introduce new themes and images into sculpture, they often depict even people from the lower classes of society, and yet their works often turn out to be very far from genuine realism, because the skill accumulated by artists in conveying images and phenomena of the real world is often directed to reducing the image of a person, to exaggerate his ugly features. The statue of the “Old Fisherman” dating back to the late Hellenistic period makes a repulsive impression with a scrupulously naturalistic transmission of all the features of ugly old age: we have an image of a naked, thin old man bent over by years; his unsteady gait, half-open toothless mouth, sagging skin, sclerotic veins are deliberately emphasized.

more alive and immediate images created in Alexandrian fine bronze and terracotta plastic. The bronze figurine of a singing Nubian boy testifies to the artist's great powers of observation and skill. The expressive silhouette of the teenager's flexible body, the specificity of his posture and gesture, the angular rhythm of movements, and enthusiasm for singing are conveyed with particular sharpness. A large place in Alexandrian terracotta small plastic art is occupied by caricature types, often inspired by images of theatrical comedy.

The so-called "painterly relief" is associated with genre sculpture, that is, relief, the pictorial principles of which resemble the techniques of pictorial paintings. Usually, in pictorial reliefs, everyday scenes or mythological episodes were depicted against the backdrop of a landscape or in interiors. A characteristic example of a picturesque relief is the Departure to the Market. The relief depicts a peasant loaded with food, driving a cow in front of him, over whose back sheep tied for sale are thrown; against the background are given Elements of the landscape - various buildings, a tree trunk. The spatial environment, however, is rendered conditionally, without a single perspective vanishing point. In essence, the master only places individual objects on the plane, without finding an organic connection between them. This is a characteristic feature not only of the genre relief, but also of the painting of this time.

Everyday and mythological motifs were widely used in the creation of works of garden and park sculpture, extremely characteristic of the Hellenistic era, which adorned the villas of the rich and the parks of the rulers. Sculptural images of the post-Hellenistic time began to be used in garden and park ensembles of subsequent eras. Statues and groups successfully fit into their environment; places were carefully chosen for them in park ensembles, decorated with fountains, artificial grottoes, flower trellises, and bosquets. The plots of park sculpture were distinguished by considerable diversity. The most common were motifs associated with the myths about Aphrodite, as well as about Dionysus and his companions - silenes, satyrs, nymphs.

As far as can be judged from the sources and from the surviving finds, painting in the Alexandrian school occupied a leading place among other types of fine arts. Unfortunately, her monuments perished. It is known that the head of the Alexandrian school of painters, Antiphilus, was the first to introduce everyday themes into painting. The stay of the great Greek painter Apelles in Alexandria was of considerable importance for local masters. As in sculpture, idyllic scenes were common in Alexandrian painting, an example of which is the image of Polyphemus and Galatea in the painting of the house of Livia on the Palatine in Rome, which goes back to the Alexandrian original. Landscape and still life images were also popular, an idea of ​​which is given by the murals of Herculaneum and Pompeii. Extremely common in Alexandria was a mosaic of colored smalt; This technique was used to create both large historical and mythological compositions, as well as genre scenes and decorative images.

Applied art in all its forms was widely developed in Alexandria. Works of Alexandrian toreutics were especially famous, mainly chased silver bowls with relief images, and glyptic monuments. An excellent example of Alexandrian work is the so-called Gonzaga cameo in the Hermitage. This cameo with profile portraits of King Ptolemy Philadelphus and Queen Arsinoe is made of carnelian, and the layered structure of multi-colored stone is used to achieve a beautiful effect: the lower, dark layer serves as a background, images of faces are made from the next, light layer, the upper, dark layer is used for the image hairstyles, helmets and jewelry.

From the art of the state of the Seleucids, the largest and most powerful state of the Hellenistic world, a relatively small number of monuments have survived. It is known from sources that the capital of the Seleucid kingdom - Antioch on the Orontes River - was one of the largest Hellenistic cities and was only slightly inferior to the capital of Egypt, Alexandria. The huge city was built using a regular layout; part of the city, located on a hill, had a free layout. The country royal residence of Daphne, a huge complex that included temples, a sanctuary, a theater, a stadium, palaces, surrounded by magnificent gardens and parks, was very famous in the Hellenistic era.

In the ensembles of Antioch itself, an important role belonged to monumental sculpture. It is known, for example, that a colossal bronze statue of the goddess Tyche was erected in Antioch by a student of Lysippus, Eutychides. We have an idea of ​​this work from a small marble copy. This sculpture, which was an allegorical embodiment of Antioch, served as a model for the allegorical statues of many other Hellenistic cities.

The most interesting type of Antiochian sculpture is the portrait. In the work of the masters who worked in Antioch, the principles of the portrait of the Hellenistic rulers were clearly reflected. An example of a portrait statue of a solemnly official nature is the bronze statue of a Hellenistic ruler (the so-called "Diadochus") from the Thermae Museum in Rome. The ruler is presented naked, leaning on a huge staff. A spectacular pose, hypertrophied muscles should contribute to the representativeness of the image, but in contrast to this, the head is interpreted unexpectedly truthfully: without any idealization, the ugly, somewhat flabby facial features of the Diadochus are conveyed. A similar, essentially violating the integrity of the image, combination of an idealized depicted torso and a portrait-interpreted head was further developed in the monumental portrait statues of Roman emperors.

In a slightly different way, the development of the sculptural portrait took place. Relating to the early portrait works of the Hellenistic era

Hellenism - the meeting of East and West

The concept of Hellenism and its time frame

Hellenistic civilization is usually called a new stage in the development of material and spiritual culture, forms of political organization and social relations of the peoples of the Mediterranean, Western Asia and adjacent regions.

They started with the Eastern campaign of Alexander the Great and the massive colonization flow of the Hellenes (Greeks and Macedonians) to the newly conquered lands. The chronological and geographical boundaries of the Hellenistic civilization are defined by researchers in different ways, depending on the interpretation of the concept of "Hellenism", introduced into science in the first half of the 19th century. I. G. Droyzen, but still controversial.

The accumulation of new material as a result of archaeological and historical research revived discussions about the criteria and specifics of Hellenism in different regions, about the geographical and temporal boundaries of the Hellenistic world. The concepts of pre-Hellenism and post-Hellenism are put forward, that is, the emergence of elements of the Hellenistic civilization before the Greco-Macedonian conquests and their survivability (and sometimes regeneration) after the collapse of the Hellenistic states.

For all the controversy of these problems, one can point to established views. There is no doubt that the process of interaction between the Hellenic and non-Asiatic peoples also took place in the previous period, but the Greco-Macedonian conquest gave it scope and intensity. New forms of culture, political and socio-economic relations that arose during the Hellenistic period were the product of a synthesis in which local, mainly eastern, and Greek elements played one role or another, depending on specific historical conditions. The greater or lesser significance of local elements left an imprint on the socio-economic and political structure, forms of social struggle, the nature of cultural development and to a large extent determined further historical destinies individual regions of the Hellenistic world.

The history of Hellenism is clearly divided into three periods:

• the emergence of Hellenistic states (end of IV - beginning of III century BC),
• the formation of the socio-economic and political structure and the flourishing of these states (III - the beginning of the II century BC),
• the period of economic decline, the growth of social contradictions, the subjugation of the power of Rome (the middle of the II - the end of the I century BC).

Indeed, from the end of the 4th c. BC e. one can trace the formation of the Hellenistic civilization, in the III century. and the first half of the 2nd c. BC e. is in its heyday. But the decline of the Hellenistic powers and the expansion of Roman domination in the Mediterranean, and in the Near East and Central Asia - the possessions of the emerging local states did not mean its death. As an integral element, it participated in the formation of the Parthian and Greco-Bactrian civilizations, and after the subjugation of the entire Eastern Mediterranean by Rome, a complex fusion of the Greco-Roman civilization arose on its basis.

The emergence of the Hellenistic states and the formation of the Hellenistic civilization

Wars of the Diadochi

As a result of the campaigns of Alexander the Great, a power arose that covered the Balkan Peninsula, the islands of the Aegean Sea, Asia Minor, Egypt, the entire Front, southern regions of Central Asia and part of Central Asia to the lower reaches of the Indus. For the first time in history, such a vast territory found itself within the framework of one political system. In the process of conquest, new cities were founded, new routes of communication and trade were laid between remote areas. However, the transition to peaceful land development did not occur immediately; for half a century after the death of Alexander the Great, there was a fierce struggle between his commanders - the diadochi (successors), as they are usually called - for the division of his heritage.

In the first decade and a half, the fiction of the unity of the state under the nominal power of Philip Arrhidaeus (323-316 BC) and the infant Alexander IV (323-310? BC) was preserved, but in reality already by agreement 323 BC e. power in its most important regions was in the hands of the most influential and talented commanders:

• Antipater in Macedonia and Greece,
• Lysimachos in Thrace,
• Ptolemy in Egypt
• Antigone in the southwest of Asia Minor,
• Perdiccas, who commanded the main military forces and the de facto regent, was subject to the rulers of the eastern satrapies.

But Perdikke's attempt to consolidate his autocracy and extend it to the western satrapies ended in his own death and laid the foundation for the wars of the Diadochi. In 321 BC. e. in Triparadis, the satrapies and positions were redistributed: Antipater became regent, and the royal family was transferred to Macedonia from Babylon, Antigonus was appointed autocratic strategist of Asia, commander of all the troops stationed there, and authorized to continue the war with Eumenes, a supporter of Perdikkas. In Babylonia, which had lost its significance as a royal residence, the commander of the Getairs, Seleucus, was appointed satrap.

Death in 319 BC e. Antipater, who handed over the regency to Polyperchon, an old commander devoted to the royal dynasty, opposed by Antipater's son Cassander, supported by Antigonus, led to a new intensification of the wars of the Diadochi. Greece and Macedonia became an important springboard, where the royal house, the Macedonian nobility, and the Greek policies were drawn into the struggle; Philip Arrhidaeus and other members of the royal family, and Cassander managed to consolidate his position in Macedonia. In Asia, Antigonus, having defeated Eumenes and his allies, became the most powerful of the Diadochi, and immediately a coalition of Seleucus, Ptolemy, Cassander and Lysimachus formed against him. A new series of battles began at sea and on land in Syria, Babylonia, Asia Minor, and Greece. In prison in 311 BC. e. world, although the name of the king appeared, but in fact there was no longer any talk of the unity of the state, the diadochi acted as independent rulers of the lands belonging to them.

A new phase of the war of the Diadochi began after the killing of the young Alexander IV on the orders of Cassander. In 306 BC. e. Antigonus and his son Demetrius Poliorket, and then other Diadochi, appropriated royal titles, thereby recognizing the collapse of Alexander's power and claiming the Macedonian throne. Antigonus was most actively striving for it. Military operations are being deployed in Greece, Asia Minor and the Aegean. In the battle with the combined forces of Seleucus, Lysimachus and Cassander in 301 BC. e. At Ipsus, Antigonus was defeated and died. A new distribution of power took place: along with the kingdom of Ptolemy I (305-282 BC), which included Egypt, Cyrenaica and Celesiria, a large kingdom of Seleucus I (311-281 BC) appeared, uniting Babylonia , eastern satrapies and Asiatic possessions of Antigonus. Lysimachus expanded the boundaries of his kingdom in Asia Minor, Cassander received recognition of the rights to the Macedonian throne.

However, after the death of Cassander in 298 BC. e. the struggle for Macedonia flared up again, which lasted more than 20 years. Alternately, her throne was occupied by the sons of Cassander, Demetrius Poliorket, Lysimachus, Ptolemy Keravn, Pyrrhus of Epirus. In addition to the dynastic wars in the early 270s. BC e. Macedonia and Greece were invaded by the Galatian Celts. Only in 276 did Antigonus Gonatas (276-239 BC), the son of Demetrius Poliorcetes, who won a victory over the Galatians in 277, establish himself on the Macedonian throne, and under him the Macedonian kingdom gained political stability.

The policy of the Diadochi in their domains

The half-century period of the struggle of the Diadochi was the time of the formation of a new, Hellenistic society with a complex social structure and a new type of state. The activities of the Diadochi, guided by subjective interests, ultimately manifested objective trends in the historical development of the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Asia - the need to establish close economic ties between the deep regions and the sea coast and ties between individual areas of the Mediterranean - and at the same time the tendency to preserve ethnic community and traditional political and cultural unity of individual regions, the need to develop cities as centers of trade and crafts, to develop new lands in order to feed the increased population, and, finally, in cultural interaction, etc. There is no doubt that the individual characteristics of statesmen who competed in the struggle for power, their military and organizational talents or their mediocrity, political myopia, indomitable energy and indiscriminate means to achieve goals, cruelty and greed - all this complicated the course of events, gave it a sharp drama, often about the imprint of chance. However, one can trace common features politics of the diadochi.

Each of them strove to unite the interior and maritime regions under their rule, to ensure dominance over important routes, trade centers and ports. Everyone faced the problem of maintaining a strong army as a real power base. The main backbone of the army consisted of Macedonians and Greeks, who had previously been part of the royal army, and mercenaries recruited in Greece. The funds for their payment and maintenance were partly drawn from the treasures plundered by Alexander or the Diadochi themselves, but the issue of collecting tribute or taxes from the local population was also quite acute, and, consequently, about organizing the management of the occupied territories and establishing economic life.

In all areas, except for Macedonia, there was a problem of relations with the local population. There are two trends in its solution:

• the rapprochement of the Greek-Macedonian and local nobility, the use of traditional forms of social and political organization and
• a tougher policy towards the indigenous strata of the population as conquered and completely disenfranchised, as well as the introduction of a polis system.

In relations with the far eastern satrapies, the Diadochi adhered to the practice that had developed under Alexander (possibly dating back to Persian times): power was granted to the local nobility on the basis of recognition of dependence and payment of cash and in-kind supplies.

One of the means of economic and political strengthening of power in the conquered territories was the foundation of new cities. This policy, begun by Alexander, was actively continued by the Diadochi. Cities were founded both as strategic points and as administrative and economic centers, which received the status of a policy. Some of them were erected on empty lands and settled by people from Greece, Macedonia and other places, others arose by voluntary or forced connection of two or more impoverished cities or rural settlements into one policy, and others by reorganization of eastern cities replenished with the Greek-Macedonian population. It is characteristic that new policies appear in all areas of the Hellenistic world, but their number, location and method of occurrence reflect both the specifics of the time and the historical features of individual areas.

During the struggle of the Diadochi, simultaneously with the formation of new, Hellenistic states, there was a process of profound change in the material and spiritual culture of the peoples of the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Asia. Continuous wars, accompanied by major naval battles, sieges and storms of cities, and at the same time the foundation of new cities and fortresses, brought to the fore the development of military and construction equipment. Fortifications were also improved.

New cities were built in accordance with planning principles developed as early as the 5th century BC. BC e. Hippodamus of Miletus: with straight and intersecting streets at right angles, oriented, if the terrain allowed, to the cardinal points. The agora, surrounded on three sides by public buildings and commercial porticos, adjoined the main, widest street, temples and gymnasiums were usually erected near it; theaters and stadiums were built outside residential areas. The city was surrounded by defensive walls with towers; a citadel was built on an elevated and strategically important site. The construction of walls, towers, temples and other large structures required the development of technical knowledge and skills in the manufacture of mechanisms for lifting and transporting super-heavy loads, the improvement of various types of blocks, gears (such as gears), levers. New achievements of technical thought were reflected in special works on architecture and construction, which appeared at the end of the 4th-3rd centuries. BC e. and who preserved for us the names of architects and mechanics of that time - Philo, Hegetor of Byzantium, Diad, Charius, Epimachus.

The political situation in the Eastern Mediterranean in the III century. BC.

The struggle of the Seleucids, Ptolemies and Antigonids

Since the second half of the 70s. 3rd century BC e., after the borders of the Hellenistic states stabilized, a new stage began in the political history of the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Asia. Between the powers of the Seleucids, Ptolemies and Antigonids, a struggle ensued for leadership, subjugation to their power or influence of independent cities and states of Asia Minor, Greece, Coele-Syria, the islands of the Mediterranean and Aegean seas. The struggle went not only through military clashes, but also through diplomatic intrigues, using internal political and social contradictions.

The interests of Egypt and the Seleucid state clashed primarily in southern Syria, and since, in addition to the huge incomes that came from these countries as taxes, their possession provided a predominant role in trade with the Arab tribes and, in addition, these areas were of strategic geographical importance. position and wealth with the main building material for the military and merchant fleet - cedar forest. The rivalry between the Ptolemies and the Seleucids resulted in the so-called Syrian wars, during which the boundaries of their possessions changed not only in southern Syria, but also on the coast of Asia Minor and in the Aegean Sea.

The clashes in the Aegean and Asia Minor were due to the same reasons - the desire to strengthen trade relations and secure strategic bases for further expansion of their possessions. But here the predatory interests of the large Hellenistic states ran into the desire of the local small Hellenistic states - Bithynia, Pergamum, Cappadocia, Pontus - to defend their independence. So, in 262 BC. e. As a result of the war with Antiochus I, Pergamum achieved independence, and Eumenes I, proclaimed king, laid the foundation for the Attalid dynasty.

The confrontation between the Seleucids and the Ptolemies went on with varying degrees of success. If the second Syrian war (260-253 BC) was successful for Antiochus II, and brought great territorial losses to Egypt in Asia Minor and the Aegean, then as a result of the third Syrian war (246-241 BC) .) Ptolemy III not only returned the previously lost Miletus, Ephesus, the island of Samos and other territories, but also expanded his possessions in the Aegean Sea and Coele-Syria. The success of Ptolemy III in this war was facilitated by the instability of the Seleucid state. Around 250 BC e. the governors of Bactria and Sogdiana Diodotus and Euthydemus set aside, a few years later Bactria, Sogdiana and Margiana formed an independent Greco-Bactrian kingdom. Almost simultaneously, the governor of Parthia, Andragoras, was set aside, but soon he and the Seleucid garrison were destroyed by the rebellious tribes of the Parnov-Dai, led by Arshak, who founded the new, Parthian dynasty of the Arshakids, the beginning of which the tradition dates back to 247 BC. e. Separatist tendencies, apparently, also existed in the western region of the state, manifesting itself in the dynastic struggle between Seleucus II (246-225 BC) and his brother Antiochus Hierax, who seized power in the Asia Minor satrapies. The correlation of forces between the Ptolemies and the Seleucids, which developed after the third Syrian war, lasted until 220.

The situation in Greece and Macedonia

The hotbed of conflict between Egypt and Macedonia was mainly the islands of the Aegean Sea and Greece - areas that were consumers of agricultural products, manufacturers of handicrafts, a source of replenishment of troops and suppliers of skilled labor. The political and social struggle within the Greek policies and between them provided opportunities for the intervention of the Hellenistic powers in the internal affairs of Greece, and the kings of Macedonia relied mainly on the oligarchic layers, and the Ptolemies used the anti-Macedonian sentiments of the demos. This policy of the Ptolemies played a large role in the emergence of the Chremonid War, named after one of the leaders of the Athenian democracy, Chremonides, who apparently initiated the conclusion of a general alliance between Athens, the Lacedaemonian coalition and Ptolemy II. The Chremonid War (267-262 BC) was the last attempt by the leaders of the Hellenic world of Athens and Sparta to unite the forces hostile to Macedonia and, using the support of Egypt, defend independence and restore their influence in Greece. But the preponderance of forces was on the side of Macedonia, the Egyptian fleet could not help the allies, Antigonus Gonatus defeated the Lacedaemonians near Corinth and, after the siege, subjugated Athens. As a result of the defeat, Athens lost its freedom for a long time. Sparta lost influence in the Peloponnese, the positions of the Antigonids in Greece and the Aegean were strengthened to the detriment of the Ptolemies.

However, this did not mean the reconciliation of the Greeks with the Macedonian hegemony. Previous historical experience, confirmed by the events of the Chremonid War, showed that the independent existence of disparate policies under the system of Hellenistic monarchies became practically impossible, moreover, the trends in the socio-economic development of the policies themselves required the creation of broader state associations. In international life, the role of political unions of Greek policies, built on federal principles, is growing: while maintaining equality and autonomy within the union, they act as a single whole in foreign policy relations, defending their independence. Characteristically, the initiative to form federations comes not from the old economic and political centers of Greece, but from underdeveloped areas.

At the beginning of the III century. BC e. the Aetolian Federation (which arose at the beginning of the 4th century BC from the union of the Aetolian tribes) acquires significance after the Aetolians defended Delphi from the invasion of the Galatians and became the head of the Delphic Amphictyony, an ancient cult association around the sanctuary of Apollo. During the Chremonid War, without entering into open conflict with Macedonia, Aetolia supported democratic groups hostile to the Antigonides in neighboring policies, due to which most of them joined the alliance. By 220 BC. e. the federation included almost all of Central Greece, some policies in the Peloponnese and on the islands of the Aegean Sea; some of them joined voluntarily, others, such as the cities of Boeotia, were subdued by force.

In 284 BC. e. The union of the Achaean policies, which had collapsed during the wars of the Diadochi, was restored in the middle of the 3rd century. BC e. it included Sicyon and other cities of the northern Peloponnese on federal principles. Established as a political organization defending the independence of the Greek policies. The Achaean League, led by the Sicyonian Aratus, played a large role in countering the Macedonian expansion in the Peloponnese. A particularly important act was the expulsion in 243 BC. e. the Macedonian garrison from Corinth and the capture of Acrocorinth, a fortress located on a high hill and controlling the strategic route to the Peloponnese through the Isthmian Isthmus. As a result of this, the authority of the Achaean Union greatly increased, and by 230 BC. e. this union included about 60 policies, occupying most of the Peloponnese. However, the failures in the war with Sparta, which restored its political influence and military forces as a result of the social reforms of King Cleomenes, and the fear of the desire of citizens for similar transformations, forced the leadership of the Achaean League to agree with Macedonia and ask her for help at the cost of concession to Acrocorinth. After the defeat of Sparta in 222 BC. e. The Achaean Federation joined the Hellenic Union formed under the hegemony of King Antigonus Doson, which included other Greek policies, except for Athens and the Aetolian Union.

The aggravation of the social struggle led to a change in the political orientation of the propertied strata in many Greek policies and created favorable conditions for the expansion of the possessions and influence of Macedonia.

However, the attempt of Philip V to subjugate the Aetolian federation, unleashing the so-called Allied War (220-217 BC), into which all participants in the Hellenic Union were drawn, was not successful. Then, given the dangerous situation for Rome that developed during the second Punic War, Philip entered in 215 BC. e. in alliance with Hannibal and began to oust the Romans from their possessions in Illyria. This was the beginning of the first war between Macedonia and Rome (215-205 BC), which was essentially Philip's war with his old opponents who had joined Rome - Aetolia and Pergamon - and ended successfully for Macedonia. Thus, the last years of the III century. BC e. were the period of the greatest power of the Antigonids, which was facilitated by the general political situation in the Eastern Mediterranean.

4th Syrian War

In 219 BC. e. the fourth Syrian war broke out between Egypt and the Seleucid kingdom: Antiochus III invaded Coele-Syria, subjugating one city after another by bribery or siege, and approached the borders of Egypt. The decisive battle between the armies of Antiochus III and Ptolemy IV took place in 217 BC. e. near the village of Rafi. The forces of the opponents were almost equal, and the victory, according to Polybius, was on the side of Ptolemy only thanks to the successful actions of the phalanxes formed from the Egyptians. But Ptolemy IV could not take advantage of the victory: after the battle of Raphia, unrest began inside Egypt, and he was forced to agree to the terms of peace proposed by Antiochus III. The internal instability of Egypt, which escalated after the death of Ptolemy IV, allowed Philip V and Antiochus III to seize the external possessions of the Ptolemies: all the policies belonging to the Ptolemies on the Hellespont, in Asia Minor and in the Aegean Sea went to Macedonia, Antiochus III took possession of Phoenicia and Celesiria. The expansion of Macedonia infringed on the interests of Rhodes and Pergamon. The war that arose as a result of this (201 BC) was overwhelmingly on the side of Philip V. Rhodes and Pergamum turned to the Romans for help. So the conflict between the Hellenistic states developed into the second Roman-Macedonian war (200-197 BC).

Brief conclusions

End of the 3rd century BC e. can be regarded as a certain milestone in the history of the Hellenistic world. If in the previous period economic and cultural ties prevailed in relations between the countries of the Eastern and Western Mediterranean, and political contacts were episodic and mainly in the form of diplomatic relations, then in the last decades of the 3rd century. BC e. there is already a trend towards open military confrontation, as evidenced by the alliance of Philip V with Hannibal and the first Macedonian war with Rome. The balance of power within the Hellenistic world also changed. During the III century. BC e. the role of small Hellenistic states - Pergamon, Bithynia, Pontus, Aetolian and Achaean unions, as well as independent policies that played an important role in transit trade - Rhodes and Byzantium, increased. Until the last decades of the 3rd c. BC e. Egypt retained its political and economic power, but by the end of the century, Macedonia was growing stronger, the kingdom of the Seleucids became the strongest power.

Socio-economic and political structure of the Hellenistic states

Trade and increase cultural exchange

Most feature economic development of the Hellenistic society in the III century. BC e. there was an increase in trade and commodity production. Despite military clashes, regular maritime communications were established between Egypt, Syria, Asia Minor, Greece and Macedonia; trade routes were established along the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf and further to India, and Egypt's trade relations with the Black Sea, Carthage and Rome. New major trading and craft centers arose - Alexandria in Egypt, Antioch on the Orontes, Seleucia on the Tigris, Pergamum, etc., the handicraft production of which was largely designed for the external market. The Seleucids founded a number of policies along the old caravan roads connecting the upper satrapies and Mesopotamia with the Mediterranean Sea - Antioch-Edessa, Antioch-Nisibis, Seleucia on the Euphrates, Dura-Europos, Antioch in Margiana, etc.

The Ptolemies founded several harbors on the Red Sea - Arsinoe, Philoter, Berenice, connecting them by caravan routes with ports on the Nile. The emergence of new trade centers in the Eastern Mediterranean led to the movement of trade routes in the Aegean Sea, the role of Rhodes and Corinth as ports of transit trade grew, and the importance of Athens fell. Cash transactions and money circulation expanded significantly, which was facilitated by the unification of the monetary business, which began under Alexander the Great with the introduction of silver and gold coins minted according to the Attic (Athenian) weight standard. This weight standard was retained in most Hellenistic states, despite the variety of stamps.

The economic potential of the Hellenistic states, the volume of handicraft production and its technical level increased noticeably. Numerous policies that arose in the East attracted artisans, merchants and people of other professions. The Greeks and Macedonians brought with them their usual slave-owning way of life, and the number of slaves increased. The need to supply food to the trade and craft population of cities gave rise to the need to increase the production of agricultural products intended for sale. Monetary relations began to penetrate even into the Egyptian “komu” (village), disintegrating traditional relations and intensifying the exploitation of the rural population. The increase in agricultural production occurred due to the expansion of the area of ​​cultivated land and through their more intensive use.

The most important stimulus for economic and technological progress was the exchange of experience and production skills in agriculture and crafts of the local and alien, Greek and non-Greek population, the exchange of agricultural crops and scientific knowledge. Settlers from Greece and Asia Minor brought the practice of olive growing and viticulture to Syria and Egypt and adopted the cultivation of date palms from the local population. Papyri report that in the Fayum they tried to acclimatize the Milesian breed of sheep. Probably, this kind of exchange of breeds of livestock and agricultural crops took place before the Hellenistic period, but now there are more favorable conditions for it. It is difficult to detect changes in agricultural implements, but it is certain that in the large scale irrigation work in Egypt, carried out mainly by local residents under the direction of Greek "architects", one can see the result of a combination of technology and experience of both. The need for irrigation of new areas, apparently, contributed to the improvement and generalization of experience in the technique of constructing water-drawing mechanisms. The invention of the pumping machine, which was also used to pump out water in flooded mines, is associated with the name of Archimedes ("Archimedes screw" or the so-called "Egyptian snail").

Craft

In the craft, the combination of techniques and skills of local and alien artisans (Greeks and non-Greeks) and an increase in demand for their products led to a number of important inventions that gave rise to new types of handicraft production, a narrower specialization of artisans and the possibility of mass production of a number of products.

As a result of the development by the Greeks of a more perfect loom, which was used in Egypt and Western Asia, there were workshops for the development of patterned fabrics in Alexandria and gold-woven ones in Pergamum. The range of clothing and footwear has expanded, including those made according to foreign styles and patterns.

New types of products also appeared in other branches of handicraft production designed for mass consumption. In Egypt, the production of different varieties of papyrus was established, and in Pergamum from the 2nd century. BC e. - parchment. Relief ceramics covered with a dark varnish with a metallic tint, imitating in their shape and color more expensive metal utensils (the so-called Megar bowls), became widespread. Its manufacture was of a serial nature due to the use of ready-made small stamps, the combination of which made it possible to diversify the ornament. In the manufacture of terracotta, as in the casting of bronze statues, detachable molds began to be used, which made it possible to make them more complex and at the same time make numerous copies from the original.

Thus, the works of individual craftsmen and artists turned into handicraft products of mass production, designed not only for the rich, but also for the middle strata of the population. Important discoveries were also made in the production of luxury goods. Jewelers have mastered the technique of cloisonné enamel and amalgamation, i.e. coating items with a thin layer of gold using its solution in mercury. In the glass industry, methods were found for making products from mosaic, carved two-color, engraved and gilded glass. but the process of their manufacture was very complicated. Objects made in this technique were highly valued, and many were genuine works of art (objects that have come down to us date mainly from the 1st century BC, for example, the so-called Portland vase from the British Museum and the gilded glass vase found in Olbia, kept in the Hermitage , and etc.).

The development of maritime trade and constant military clashes at sea stimulated the improvement of shipbuilding technology. Multi-row propeller warships armed with rams and throwing guns continued to be built. 20 and 30 row ships were built in the shipyards of Alexandria, but, apparently, they turned out to be less effective (the Ptolemaic fleet was twice defeated in battles with the fleet of Macedonia, built in Greek shipyards, probably on the model of the fast 16-row ships of Demetrius Poliorcetes). The famous tesseraconter (40-row ship) of Ptolemy IV, which struck contemporaries with its size and luxury, turned out to be unsuitable for navigation. Along with large warships, small vessels were also built - reconnaissance, messengers, for the protection of merchant ships, as well as cargo.

The construction of a sailing merchant fleet expanded, its speed increased due to the improvement of sailing equipment (two and three-masted ships appeared), the average carrying capacity reached 78 tons.

Construction

Simultaneously with the development of shipbuilding, the arrangement of shipyards and docks was improved. Harbors were improved, piers and lighthouses were built. One of the seven wonders of the world was the Pharos lighthouse, created by the architect Sostratus of Cnidus. It was a colossal three-tiered tower crowned with a statue of the god Poseidon; information about its height has not been preserved, but, according to Josephus Flavius, it was visible from the sea at a distance of 300 stadia (about 55 km), in its upper part a fire burned at night. By the type of Pharos, lighthouses began to be built in other ports - in Laodicea, Ostia, etc.

Urban planning developed especially widely in the 3rd century. BC e. During this time, the construction of the largest number of cities founded by the Hellenistic monarchs, as well as renamed and rebuilt local cities, falls. Alexandria became the largest city in the Mediterranean. Its plan was developed by the architect Deinocrates during the reign of Alexander the Great. The city was located on the isthmus between the Mediterranean Sea in the north and Lake. Mareotis in the south, from west to east - from the Necropolis to the Canopic Gate - it stretched for 30 stadia (5.5 km), while the distance from the sea to the lake was 7-8 stadia. According to Strabo's description, "the whole city is crossed by streets convenient for riding and riding, and two very wide avenues, more than a plethra (30 m) wide, which divide each other in half at right angles."

Lying 7 stages from the coast, a small rocky island of Pharos, where a lighthouse was built, was already connected to the mainland by Heptastadium under Ptolemy I - a dam that had passages for ships. Thus, two adjacent ports were formed - the Great Trading Harbor and the harbor of Evnost (Happy Return), connected by a canal to the port on the lake, where Nile ships delivered cargo. Shipyards adjoined Heptastadium on both sides, on the embankment of the Grand Harbor there were warehouses, a market square (Emporium), a temple of Poseidon, a theater, then royal palaces and parks stretched up to Cape Lochiad, including Museion (Temple of the Muses), a library and a sacred site with the tombs of Alexander and the Ptolemies. Adjacent to the main intersecting streets were the Gymnasium with a portico more than a stage (185 m) long, Dikasterion (courthouse), Paneion, Serapeion and other temples and public buildings. To the south-west of the central part of the city, which was called Bruheion, there were quarters that retained the ancient Egyptian name Rakotis, inhabited by artisans, small traders, sailors and other working people of various social and ethnic backgrounds (primarily Egyptians) with their workshops, shops, household brick buildings and dwellings. Researchers suggest that multi-apartment 3-4-storey buildings were also built in Alexandria for the poor, day laborers and visitors.

Less information has been preserved about the capital of the Seleucid kingdom - Antioch. The city was founded by Seleucus I around 300 BC. e. on the river The Oronte is 120 stadia from the coast of the Mediterranean. The main street ran along the river valley, and it and the street parallel to it were crossed by alleys descending from the foothills to the river, the banks of which were decorated with gardens. Later, Antiochus III built a new city on an island formed by branches of the river, surrounded by walls and built in an annular shape, with the royal palace in the center and radial streets radiating from it, bordered by porticos.

If Alexandria and Antioch are known mainly from the descriptions of ancient authors, then the excavations of Pergamum gave a clear picture of the structure of the third historical significance from the capitals of the Hellenistic kingdoms. Pergamum, which existed as a fortress on an inaccessible hill overlooking the valley of the Caik River, gradually expanded under the Attalids and turned into a major trade and crafts and Cultural Center. Consistent with the terrain, the city descended in terraces along the slopes of the hill: at its top there was a citadel with an arsenal and food warehouses and an upper city surrounded by ancient walls, with a royal palace, temples, a theater, a library, etc. Below, apparently, there was an old agora, residential and craft quarters, also surrounded by a wall, but later the city went beyond it, and even lower down the slope a new public center of the city surrounded by a third wall with temples of Demeter, Hera, gymnasiums, a stadium and a new agora, along the perimeter which housed trade and craft rows.

The capitals of the Hellenistic kingdoms give an idea of ​​the scope of urban development, but more typical for this era were small cities - newly founded or rebuilt old Greek and eastern urban-type settlements. The excavated cities of the Hellenistic period Priene, Nicaea, Dura-Europos can serve as an example of such cities. Here the role of the agora as the center of the public life of the city clearly stands out. This is usually a spacious area surrounded by porticos, around which and on the main street adjacent to it, the main public buildings were erected: temples, a bouleuterium, a dicasterion, a gymnasium with a palestra. Such a layout and the presence of these structures testify to the polis organization of the city's population, i.e., they allow us to assume the existence of popular assemblies, a bule, a polis education system, which is also confirmed by narrative and epigraphic sources.

New forms of socio-political organizations

Destruction of policies

The policies of the Hellenistic period are already significantly different from the policies of the classical era. The Greek polis as a form of socio-economic and political organization of ancient society by the end of the 4th century. BC e. was in a state of crisis. The policy hampered economic development, since its inherent autarchy and autonomy prevented the expansion and strengthening of economic ties. It did not meet the socio-political needs of society, since, on the one hand, it did not ensure the reproduction of the civil collective as a whole - the poorest part of it faced the threat of losing civil rights, on the other hand, it did not guarantee the external security and stability of this collective, torn apart by internal contradictions.

Historical events of the end of the 4th - beginning of the 3rd century. BC e. led to the creation of a new form of socio-political organization - the Hellenistic monarchy, which combined elements of eastern despotism - the monarchical form state power, which had a standing army and a centralized administration, and elements of a polis structure in the form of cities with a rural territory assigned to them, which retained internal self-government bodies, but were largely subordinate to the king. The size of the lands assigned to the policy and the provision of economic and political privileges depended on the king; the polis was limited in the rights of foreign policy relations, in most cases the activities of polis self-government bodies were controlled by the tsarist official - the epistat. The loss of foreign policy independence of the policy was compensated by the security of existence, greater social stability and the provision of strong economic ties with other parts of the state. The tsarist government acquired an important social support in the urban population and the contingents it needed for the administration and the army.

On the territory of the policies, land relations developed according to the usual pattern: the private property of citizens and the property of the city for undivided plots. But the difficulty was that land with local villages located on it could be assigned to cities, the population of which did not become citizens of the city, but continued to own their plots, paying taxes to the city or private individuals who received these lands from the king, and then attributed them to the city. On the territory not assigned to the cities, all the land was considered royal.

Socio-economic structure of Egypt

In Egypt, about the socio-economic structure of which the most detailed information has been preserved, according to the Tax Charter of Ptolemy II Philadelphus and other Egyptian papyri, it was divided into two categories: the royal lands proper and the “ceded” lands, which included lands belonging to temples, lands, transferred by the king as a “gift” to his close associates, and lands provided by small plots (clerks) to cleruch warriors. All these categories of land could also contain local villages, whose inhabitants continued to own their hereditary allotments by paying taxes or taxes. Similar forms can also be traced in documents from the Seleucid kingdom. This specificity of land relations determined the multi-layered social structure of the Hellenistic states. The royal house with its court staff, the highest military and civil administration, the most prosperous townspeople and the highest priesthood constituted the upper stratum of the slave-owning nobility. The basis of their well-being was land (city and gift), profitable positions, trade, usury.

The middle strata were more numerous - urban merchants and artisans, royal administrative staff, tax-farmers, clerukhs and kateks, local priesthood, people of intelligent professions (architects, doctors, philosophers, artists, sculptors). Both of these layers, with all the differences in wealth and interests, constituted the ruling class, which received the designation "Hellenes" in the Egyptian papyri, not so much by the ethnicity of the people included in it, but by their social status and education, which opposed them to all "non-Hellenes" : for the poor local rural and urban population - laoi (blacks).

Most of the Laoi were dependent or semi-dependent farmers who cultivated the lands of the king, the nobility and the townspeople on the basis of lease relations or traditional holding. This also included hypoteles - workers in the workshops of those industries that were the monopoly of the king. All of them were considered personally free, but were assigned to the place of their residence, to one or another workshop or profession. Below them on the social ladder were only slaves.

Slavery

The Greco-Macedonian conquest, the wars of the Diadochi, the spread of the polis system gave impetus to the development of slave-owning relations in their classical ancient form, while maintaining more primitive forms of slavery: debt, self-sale, etc. Obviously, the role of slave labor in Hellenistic cities (primarily in everyday life and, probably, in urban craft) was no less than in the Greek policies. But in agriculture, slave labor could not push back the labor of the local population (“royal farmers” in Egypt, “royal people” among the Seleucids), whose exploitation was no less profitable. In the large farms of the nobility on gift lands, slaves performed administrative functions and served as auxiliary labor. However, the increase in the role of slavery in the general system of socio-economic relations led to an increase in non-economic coercion in relation to other categories of workers as well.

Rural population

If the polis was the form of social organization of the urban population, then the rural population united in koma and katoikii with the preservation of elements of the communal structure, which can be traced from the data of Egyptian papyri and inscriptions from Asia Minor and Syria. In Egypt, each koma was assigned a traditional territory; a common "royal" current is mentioned, where all the inhabitants of the coma threshed bread. Names of rural areas preserved in papyri officials, perhaps, originate from a communal organization, but under the Ptolemies they already meant mainly not elected persons, but representatives of the local royal administration. Compulsory liturgy for the repair and construction of irrigation facilities, legalized by the state, also goes back to the communal orders that once existed. There is no information in the papyri about the meetings of the inhabitants of the coma, but in the inscriptions from Fayum and Asia Minor there is a traditional formula about the decisions of the team of comets on a particular issue. According to papyri and inscriptions, the population of Kom in the Hellenistic period was heterogeneous: priests, cleruchs or kateks (military colonists), officials, tax-farmers, slaves, merchants, artisans, day laborers permanently or temporarily lived in them. The influx of immigrants, differences in property and legal status weakened community ties.

Brief conclusions

So, during the III century. BC e. the socio-economic structure of the Hellenistic society was formed, peculiar in each of the states (depending on local conditions), but which also had some common features.

At the same time, in accordance with local traditions and peculiarities of the social structure in the Hellenistic monarchies, a system of management of the state (royal) economy, a central and local military, administrative-financial and judicial apparatus, a system of taxation, farming and monopolies were formed; the relationship of cities and temples with the royal administration was determined. The social stratification of the population found expression in the legislative consolidation of the privileges of some and the duties of others. At the same time, social contradictions that were caused by this structure were also revealed.

Aggravation of the internal struggle and the conquest of the Hellenistic states by Rome

The study of the social structure of the Eastern Hellenistic states reveals a characteristic feature: the main burden of maintaining the state apparatus fell on the local rural population. Cities, on the other hand, found themselves in a relatively favorable position, which was one of the reasons that contributed to their rapid growth and prosperity.

State of affairs in Greece

Other type social development took place in Greece and Macedonia. Macedonia also developed as a Hellenistic state, combining elements of a monarchy and a polis system. But although the land holdings of the Macedonian kings were relatively extensive, there was not a wide layer of dependent rural population (with the possible exception of the Thracians), due to the exploitation of which the state apparatus and a significant part of the ruling class could exist. The burden of spending on the maintenance of the army and the construction of the fleet equally fell on the urban and rural population. The differences between Greeks and Macedonians, rural residents and townspeople were determined by their property status, the line of estate-class division passed between free and slaves. The development of the economy deepened the further introduction of slaveholding relations.

For Greece, the Hellenistic era did not bring fundamental changes in the system of socio-economic relations. The most noticeable phenomenon was the outflow of the population (mostly young and middle-aged - warriors, artisans, merchants) to Western Asia and Egypt. This was supposed to dull the sharpness of social contradictions within the policies. But the continuous wars of the Diadochi, the fall in the value of money as a result of the influx of gold and silver from Asia, and the rise in prices for consumer goods ruined primarily the poor and middle strata of citizens. The problem of overcoming the economic isolation of the polis remained unresolved; attempts to resolve it within the framework of the federation did not lead to economic integration and consolidation of unions. In the policies that fell into dependence on Macedonia, an oligarchic or tyrannical form of government was established, freedom of international relations was limited, Macedonian garrisons were introduced at strategically important points.

Reforms in Sparta

In all the policies of Greece in the III century. BC e. indebtedness and dispossession of poor citizens are growing, and at the same time, the concentration of land and wealth in the hands of the polis aristocracy. By the middle of the century, these processes reached their peak in Sparta, where most of the Spartans actually lost their allotments. The need for social transformation forced the Spartan king Agis IV (245-241 BC) to come up with a proposal to cancel debts and redistribute land in order to increase the number of full citizens. These reforms, clothed in the form of the restoration of the laws of Lycurgus, aroused the resistance of the ephorate and the aristocracy. Agis died, but the social situation in Sparta remained tense. A few years later, King Cleomenes III came up with the same reforms.

Taking into account the experience of Agis, Cleomenes previously strengthened his position by successful actions in the battle that began in 228 BC. e. war with the Achaean League. Enlisting the support of the army, he first destroyed the ephorate and expelled the richest citizens from Sparta, then carried out a cassation of debts and a redistribution of land, increasing the number of citizens by 4 thousand people. Events in Sparta caused unrest throughout Greece. Mantinea left the Achaean Union and joined Cleomenes, unrest began in other cities of the Peloponnese. In the war with the Achaean Union, Cleomenes occupied a number of cities, Corinth went over to his side. Frightened by this, the oligarchic leadership of the Achaean Union turned to the king of Macedonia, Antigonus Doson, for help. The preponderance of forces was on the side of the opponents of Sparta. Then Cleomenes freed about 6 thousand helots for ransom and included 2 thousand of them in his army. But in the battle of Selassia (222 BC), the combined forces of Macedonia and the Achaeans destroyed the Spartan army, the Macedonian garrison was brought into Sparta, and Cleomenes' reforms were canceled.

The defeat of Cleomenes could not stop the growth of social movements. Already in 219 BC. e. in Sparta, Chilo again tried to destroy the ephorate and redistribute property; in 215, the oligarchs were expelled in Messenia and the land was redistributed; in 210 the tyrant Mahanid seized power in Sparta. after his death in the war with the Achaean Union, the Spartan state was headed by the tyrant Nabis, who carried out an even more radical redistribution of land and property of the nobility, the liberation of the helots and the allocation of land to the perieks. In 205, an attempt was made to cassate debts in Aetolia.

State of affairs in Egypt

By the end of the III century. BC e. contradictions of the socio-economic structure begin to appear in the Eastern Hellenistic powers, and above all in Egypt. The organization of the Ptolemies was aimed at extracting maximum income from the lands, mines and workshops. The system of taxes and duties was distinguished by detailed elaboration and absorbed most of the harvest, depleting the economy of small farmers. The growing apparatus of the tsarist administration, tax-farmers and merchants further intensified the exploitation of the local population. One of the forms of protest against oppression was leaving the place of residence (anachorsis), which sometimes took on a mass character, and the flight of slaves. Gradually, more active actions of the masses are also growing. The Fourth Syrian War and the hardships associated with it caused mass unrest, first engulfing Lower Egypt and soon spreading to the whole country. If in the most Hellenized regions of Lower Egypt the government of Ptolemy IV managed to quickly achieve appeasement, then unrest in southern Egypt by 206 BC. e. developed into a broad popular movement, and the Thebaid fell away from the Ptolemies for more than two decades. Although the movement in Thebaid had features of protest against the dominance of foreigners, its social orientation is clearly seen in the sources.

The arrival of Rome in Greece and Asia Minor

In Greece, the Second Macedonian War, which lasted more than two years, ended in victory for Rome. The demagoguery of the Romans, who used the traditional slogan of “freedom” of the Greek city-states, attracted the Aetolian and Achaean unions to their side, and above all the propertied sections of citizens, who saw in the Romans a force capable of ensuring their interests without the monarchical form of government odious for the demos. Macedonia lost all its possessions in Greece, the Aegean Sea and Asia Minor. Rome, solemnly declaring at the Isthmian Games (196 BC) the “freedom” of the Greek policies, began to dispose of in Greece, regardless of the interests of the former allies: it determined the borders of states, deployed its garrisons in Corinth, Demetrias and Chalkis, intervened in the internal life of the policies. The "liberation" of Greece was the first step in the spread of Roman domination in the Eastern Mediterranean, the beginning of a new stage in the history of the Hellenistic world.

The next no less important event was the so-called Syrian war between Rome and Antiochus III. Having strengthened its borders with the Eastern campaign of 212-204. BC e. and the victory over Egypt, Antiochus began to expand his possessions in Asia Minor and Thrace at the expense of policies liberated by the Romans from the power of Macedonia, which led to a clash with Rome and its Greek allies Pergamum and Rhodes. The war ended with the defeat of the troops of Antiochus and the loss of Asia Minor territories by the Seleucids.

The victory of the Romans and their allies over the largest of the Hellenistic powers - the kingdom of the Seleucids - radically changed the political situation: none of the Hellenistic states could claim hegemony in the Eastern Mediterranean. Subsequent political history the Hellenistic world is the story of the gradual subjugation of one country after another to Roman domination. The prerequisites for this are, on the one hand, the tendencies of the economic development of ancient society, which required the establishment of closer and more stable ties between the Western and Eastern Mediterranean, and, on the other hand, contradictions in foreign policy relations and the internal socio-political instability of the Hellenistic states. The process of active penetration of the Romans into the East and the adaptation of the eastern economic centers to the new situation began. The military and economic expansion of the Romans was accompanied by the massive enslavement of prisoners of war and the intensive development of slaveholding relations in Italy and in the conquered regions.

These phenomena largely determined the internal life of the Hellenistic states. Contradictions are aggravated at the top of the Hellenistic society - between the layers of the urban nobility, interested in expanding commodity production, trade and slavery, and the nobility associated with the royal administrative apparatus and temples and living at the expense of traditional forms of exploitation of the rural population. The clash of interests resulted in palace coups, dynastic wars, urban uprisings, and demands for complete autonomy of cities from the tsarist government. The struggle at the top sometimes merged with the struggle of the popular masses against tax oppression, usury and enslavement, and then dynastic wars developed into a kind of civil war.

Roman diplomacy played a significant role in inciting the dynastic struggle within the Hellenistic states and in pushing them against each other. So, on the eve of the third Macedonian war (171-168 BC), the Romans managed to achieve almost complete isolation of Macedonia. Despite the attempts of the king of Macedonia, Perseus, to win over the Greek policies through democratic reforms (he announced the cassation of public debts and the return of the exiles), only Epirus and Illyria joined him. After the defeat of the Macedonian army at Pydna, the Romans divided Macedonia into four isolated districts, forbade the development of mines, the extraction of salt, the export of timber (this became a Roman monopoly), as well as the purchase of real estate and marriages between residents of different districts. In Epirus, the Romans destroyed most of the cities and sold more than 150 thousand inhabitants into slavery; in Greece, they revised the boundaries of policies.

The massacre with Macedonia and Epirus, interference in the internal affairs of the Greek policies caused open protests against Roman domination: the uprising of Andris in Macedonia (149-148 BC) and the uprising of the Achaean Union (146 BC), brutally suppressed by the Romans. Macedonia was turned into a Roman province, the unions of the Greek policies were dissolved, and an oligarchy was established. The mass of the population was taken out and sold into slavery, Hellas fell into a state of impoverishment and desolation.

War between Egypt and the Seleucid Kingdom

While Rome was busy subjugating Macedonia, a war broke out between Egypt and the Seleucid kingdom. In 170, and then in 168 BC. e. Antiochus IV made campaigns in Egypt, captured and besieged Alexandria, but the intervention of Rome forced him to abandon his intentions. Meanwhile, an uprising broke out in Judea, caused by an increase in taxes. Antiochus, having suppressed him, built the fortress of Acre in Jerusalem and left a garrison there, power in Judea was assigned to the "Hellenists", the Jewish religion was prohibited, and the cult of Greek deities was introduced. These repressions caused in 166 BC. e. a new uprising that developed into a popular war against the rule of the Seleucids. In 164 BC. e. The rebels, led by Judas Maccabee, took Jerusalem and laid siege to Acre. Judas Maccabeus appropriated the rank of high priest, assigned priestly positions regardless of nobility, and confiscated the property of the Hellenists. In 160 BC. e. Demetrius I defeated Judas Maccabee and brought his garrisons into the Jewish cities. But the struggle of the Jews did not stop.

After the invasion of Antiochus in Egypt, there was an uprising in the nomes of Central Egypt, led by Dionysus Petosarapis (suppressed in 165), and an uprising in Panopolis. At the same time, dynastic wars began, which became especially fierce at the end of the 2nd century. BC e. The economic situation in the country was very difficult. A significant part of the land was empty, the government, in order to ensure their cultivation, introduced a forced lease. The life of most of the Laoi, even from the point of view of the royal administration, was a beggarly one. Official and private-legal documents of that time testify to the anarchy and arbitrariness that reigned in Egypt: anachoresis, tax evasion, seizure of foreign lands, vineyards and property, appropriation of temple and state revenues by private individuals, enslavement of the free - all these phenomena have become widespread. The local administration, strictly organized and, under the first Ptolemies, dependent on the central government, turned into an uncontrollable force interested in personal enrichment. From her greed, the government was forced by special decrees - the so-called decrees of philanthropy - to protect farmers and artisans associated with them in order to get their share of the income from them. But decrees could only temporarily or partially stop the decline of the Ptolemaic state economy.

Further advancement of Rome into Asia and the collapse of the Hellenistic states

Having pacified Greece and Macedonia, Rome launched an offensive against the states of Asia Minor. Roman merchants and usurers, penetrating the economy of the states of Asia Minor, more and more subordinated the domestic and foreign policy of these states to the interests of Rome. Pergamum found itself in the most difficult situation, where the situation was so tense that Attalus III (139-123 BC), not hoping for the stability of the existing regime, bequeathed his kingdom to Rome. But neither this act, nor the reform that the nobility tried to carry out after his death, could prevent a popular movement that swept the whole country and was directed against the Romans and the local nobility. For more than three years (132-129 BC), the rebellious farmers, slaves and the underprivileged population of cities under the leadership of Aristonicus resisted the Romans. After the suppression of the uprising, Pergamon was turned into the province of Asia.

Instability is growing in the state of the Seleucids. Following Judea, separatist tendencies are also manifested in the eastern satrapies, which begin to orient themselves towards Parthia. An attempt by Antiochus VII Sidet (138-129 BC) to restore the unity of the state ended in defeat and his death. This led to the falling away of Babylonia, Persia and Media, which came under the rule of Parthia or local dynasts. At the beginning of the 1st century BC e. Commagene and Judea become independent.

A vivid expression of this crisis was the sharpest dynastic struggle. For 35 years, 12 applicants have changed on the throne, often two or three kings ruled simultaneously. The territory of the Seleucid state was reduced to the limits of Syria proper, Phenicia, Coele-Syria and part of Cilicia. Large cities sought to obtain complete autonomy or even independence (tyranny in Tire, Sidon, etc.). In 64 BC. e. The Seleucid kingdom was annexed to Rome as the province of Syria.

Kingdom of Pontus and Mithridates

In the 1st century BC e. the center of resistance to Roman aggression was the Pontic kingdom, which, under Mithridates VI Evpator (120-63 BC), extended its power to almost the entire Black Sea coast. In 89 BC. e. Mithridates Evpator started a war with Rome, his speech and democratic reforms found the support of the population of Asia Minor and Greece, ruined by Roman usurers and publicans. By order of Mithridates, 80 thousand Romans were killed in Asia Minor in one day. By 88, he occupied almost all of Greece without much difficulty. However, Mithridates' success was short-lived. His arrival did not improve the life of the Greek policies, the Romans managed to inflict a number of defeats on the Pontic army, and the subsequent social measures of Mithridates - cassation of debts, division of lands, granting citizenship to meteks and slaves - deprived him of support among the wealthy sections of citizens. In 85, Mithridates was forced to admit defeat. He twice more - in 83-81 and 73-63. BC e. he tried, relying on anti-Roman sentiments, to stop the penetration of the Romans into Asia Minor, but the alignment of social forces and the trends of historical development predetermined the defeat of the Pontic king.

Subjugation of Egypt

When at the beginning of the 1st c. BC e. the possessions of Rome came close to the borders of Egypt, the Ptolemaic kingdom was still shaken by dynastic strife and popular movements. About 88 BC e. an uprising broke out again in Thebaid, only three years later it was crushed by Ptolemy IX, who destroyed the center of the uprising -. In the next 15 years, unrest took place in the nomes of Central Egypt - in Hermopol and twice in. In Rome, the question of the subjugation of Egypt was repeatedly discussed, but the Senate did not dare to start a war against this still strong state. In 48 BC. e. Caesar, after an eight-month war with the Alexandrians, limited himself to annexing Egypt as an allied kingdom. Only after the victory of Augustus over Antony did Alexandria come to terms with the inevitability of submission to Roman domination, and in 30 BC. e. The Romans entered Egypt almost without resistance. The last major state collapsed.

Consequences of the invasion of Rome and the collapse of the Hellenistic states

The Hellenistic world as a political system was absorbed by the Roman Empire, but the elements of the socio-economic structure that developed in the Hellenistic era had a huge impact on the development of the Eastern Mediterranean in subsequent centuries and determined its specifics. In the era of Hellenism, a new step was taken in the development of productive forces, a type of state arose - the Hellenistic kingdoms, combining the features of an eastern despotism with a polis organization of cities; there have been significant changes in the stratification of the population, internal socio-political contradictions have reached great tension. In II-I centuries. BC e., probably for the first time in history, the social struggle took on such diverse forms: the flight of slaves and the anachoresis of the inhabitants of the coma, uprisings of tribes, unrest and riots in cities, religious wars, palace coups and dynastic wars, short-term unrest in nomes and long-term popular movements, in which involved different segments of the population, including slaves, and even slave uprisings, which, however, were of a local nature (about 130 BC, an uprising in Delos of slaves brought for sale and uprisings in the Lavrian mines in Athens around 130 and in 103/102 BC).

During the Hellenistic period, ethnic differences between Greeks and Macedonians lose their former significance, and the ethnic designation "Hellenes" acquires social content and extends to those segments of the population who, according to their social status, can receive education according to the Greek model and lead an appropriate lifestyle, regardless of their origin. This socio-ethnic process was reflected in the development and dissemination of a single Greek language, the so-called Koine, which became the language of Hellenistic literature and official language Hellenistic states.

Changes in the economic, social and political spheres affected the change in the socio-psychological image of a person of the Hellenistic era. The instability of the external and internal political situation, the ruin, the enslavement of some and the enrichment of others, the development of slavery and the slave trade, the movement of the population from one locality to another, from rural settlements to the city and from the city to the chorus - all this led to a weakening of ties within the civil collective of the policy, community ties in rural settlements to the growth of individualism. The policy can no longer guarantee the freedom and material well-being of a citizen, personal ties with representatives of the tsarist administration, the patronage of those in power begin to acquire great importance. Gradually, from one generation to another, a psychological restructuring takes place, and a citizen of the policy turns into a subject of the king, not only in formal position, but also in political convictions. All these processes in one way or another influenced the formation of the Hellenistic culture.

A new period in Greek history was the campaign to the East of the famous ruler Alexander the Great. As a result of numerous wars, a huge power appeared, the borders of which stretched from Egypt to modern Central Asia. It was at this time that the era of Hellenism began. It should be understood as the spread of Greek culture throughout all the territories conquered by

What can be said about Hellenism?

Due to the fact that there was a merger of Greek and local cultures, Hellenism appeared. This mutual enrichment influenced the preservation of a single culture in several states even after the collapse of the empire.

What does Hellenism mean? It should be noted right away that it is violent, since the formation of this culture occurred as a result of numerous wars. Hellenism contributed to the unification ancient Greek world with the ancient Eastern, earlier they developed in different directions. As a result, a powerful state appeared with a single socio-economic structure, political structure and culture.

As already mentioned, Hellenism is a kind of synthesis of different elements of culture. It can be viewed from several perspectives. On the one hand, the emergence of Hellenism was influenced by the development of the ancient Greek society, as well as the crisis of the Greek polis. On the other hand, ancient Eastern societies, namely their conservative and sedentary social structure, played a role in its formation.

Causes that influenced the emergence of Hellenism

The need to merge several cultures arose due to the fact that the Greek policy began to gradually slow down historical progress, having exhausted all its possibilities. That is why discord began to arise between different classes, a social struggle between the oligarchy and democracy. Fragmentation caused wars between individual cities. And so that the history of the state did not stop, it was necessary to rally the warring parties.

However, this is not the only reason for the emergence of a new culture. The era of Hellenism arose in connection with the crisis of the ancient Eastern socio-political systems. In the IV century BC. the ancient Eastern world, which had already become part of the Persian Empire, was not going through the best period. Due to the stagnant economy, it was impossible to develop vast empty lands. In addition, the kings of Persia did not give permission for the construction of new cities, did not support trade, and did not put into circulation large stocks of currency metal lying in their cellars. And if Greece in the IV century BC. suffered through the fault of the excessive activity of the political system, overpopulation and limited resources, the reverse situation was observed in the Persian monarchy.

In this regard, the task arose of a kind of unification, synthesis of different systems that are able to complement each other. In other words, there was a need for a culture like Hellenism. This happened after the collapse of the state built by Alexander the Great.

Merging different elements

What spheres of life were covered by the synthesis of the components inherent in the Greek and Eastern states? There are several different points vision. Some scholars understood Hellenism as the unification of several elements inherent in culture and religion. Domestic historians described this merger from the position of combination and interaction of economic, class-social, political, cultural spheres. In their opinion, Hellenism is a progressive step that greatly influenced the fate of ancient Greek and ancient Eastern societies.

Synthesis of elements in different regions progressed differently. In some states it was more intense, in others - less. In some cities, an important role was assigned to elements inherent in Greek culture, in others, ancient Eastern principles dominated. Such differences arose in connection with the specific historical features of societies and cities.

Development of Hellenistic society

The Hellenistic period affected state formations of various sizes, starting from Sicily and Southern Italy and ending with northwestern India (from the southern borders to the first rapids of the Nile River). In other words, classical Greece and the East were part of Hellenistic society. Only India and China were not included in this territory.

There are several regions that were characterized by common features:

1. Egypt and the Middle East.
2. Balkan Greece, western territory of Asia Minor, Macedonia.
3. Great Greece with the Black Sea.

The most characteristic elements inherent in Hellenism manifested themselves in full in Egypt and the Middle East. In this regard, these regions can be considered the area in which classical Hellenism dominated.

Greece, like other regions, had mainly differences in the socio-economic, political and cultural spheres. It can be said that in Ancient Greece there was no synthesis at all. However, for some reason, it is argued that these territories also entered the system of Hellenistic countries.

Development of culture and science

The culture of Hellenism influenced the disappearance of the gap characteristic of the classical period between technology and science, practice and theory. This can be seen in the work of Archimedes, who discovered the hydraulic law. It was he who made a huge contribution to the development of technology, designing combat throwing vehicles along with defensive weapons.

The creation of new cities and advances in areas such as navigation and military technology contributed to the rise of some sciences. Of these, mathematics, mechanics, astronomy, geography can be distinguished. Euclid also played a significant role in this. He became the founder of elementary geometry. Eratosthenes determined the true dimensions of the globe, proved that our planet rotates around its axis and moves around the sun. Successful development took place both in natural science and in medicine.

The rapid development of science and culture has led to the need to store information. In this regard, libraries were built in some cities.

Speaking about what features of Hellenism can be distinguished, it should be said about the development of a new branch - philology. Much attention began to be paid to grammar, criticism and other things. Schools have played a huge role. Literature became more diverse, but it still continued to yield to classical elements. Epos and tragedies became more reasonable, as erudition and virtuosity of style, as well as sophistication, came to the fore.

What happened in philosophy?

The philosophy of Hellenism also acquired some differences. Decreased faith in gods. New cults began to appear. Civil ideals gradually faded into the background, giving way to individualism. Instead of community, indifference arose, indifference to those issues that were connected with the national identity of a person. It was the social position that became the determining factor in people's lives. The philosophy of the Hellenistic era was developed thanks to the formation of several schools: Cynics, Skeptics, Stoics, Epicureans and Peripatetics.

Philosophers began to gradually abandon the idea of ​​the cosmos. More attention was paid to a person from the position of a certain self-sufficient unit. Social and civic ideals receded into the background.

It is necessary to abandon all the benefits of civilization

A huge role in the formation of Hellenism was played by who represented the school of Cynics. He didn't write books, he just lived. The philosopher, by his own example, tried to show how important it is to follow the true, in his opinion, ideals. He argued that civilizations and all human inventions do not contribute to happiness, they are harmful. Wealth, power, fame - all these are just empty words. He lived in a barrel and walked in rags.

Happiness should be without vanity

The philosophy of Hellenism gained a lot thanks to Epicurus, who was the founder of the "Garden" school. For study, he chose the problem of human happiness. Epicurus believed that the highest pleasure can be obtained only if the aspirations related to vanity are abandoned. According to him, it is necessary to live imperceptibly, as far as possible from passions, in serene detachment.

Sayings of the Stoics

The philosophy of the Hellenistic era reached its peak. The school of stoicism played a huge role in shaping the social worldview. She also dealt with the problem of human happiness. The following was argued: due to the fact that various troubles still cannot be avoided, one must get used to them. That was the salvation, according to the Stoics. It is necessary to properly organize your inner world. Only in this case, no external problems can unbalance. It is necessary to be above external irritants.

Conclusion

Hellenism played a very important role in the development. All the achievements of this period became the basis of aesthetic ideas that appeared along with other eras. Greek philosophy became fundamental in the development of medieval theology. Mythology and literature continue to be popular today.

Characteristics of the Hellenistic period

The final stage of ancient Greek culture was the Hellenistic period (323-146 BC), or the period of Hellenism, as it is commonly called. The emergence of this period is associated with the beginning of the campaigns of Alexander the Great ($IV$ century BC), and the end - with the conquest of the Hellenistic states by Ancient Rome in the $I$ century BC. e. (Egypt was the last to be captured). The victory of Sparta over Athens in the Peloponnesian War marked the beginning of the end of an entire era. The Greeks almost ceased to participate in the life of the state, and this could not but weaken the confederation of the Greek policies.

Hellenic culture at this time as a whole retains its high level. However, the main feature of the Hellenistic era is the active expansion of Greek culture in all areas of the Hellenistic world. As a result of this process, many tribes and peoples living in this territory began to join all the achievements of Ancient Greece in the field of literature, fine arts, and science.

Remark 1

The peculiarity of this period lies in the fact that, spreading over a vast territory, elements of Greek culture interacted with local, mainly Eastern cultural traditions.

The formation of a common Greek language (Koine) played a significant role in the spread of Greek education.

In the era of Hellenism, philosophy, mathematics, and the natural sciences continued to develop. The further development of materialism and atheism was greatly influenced by the natural-scientific views and general philosophical views of Epicurus.

Hellenistic period art

The hallmarks of art, which was designed to visually convince of the superiority of the Hellenic culture, are pomp and luxury. In sculpture and painting, under the influence of Eastern cultures, new genres appear, there is an increase in realistic searches, an expansion of the themes of art. As an example, we can cite the attempts of the Greeks, under the influence of Iranian and Egyptian art, to create the image of an absolute ruler, which was certainly new for Greek culture.

Architecture remains the main form of art in the Hellenistic period. New cities and numerous shopping centers are being built very quickly, policy planning schemes are being developed, involving division into quarters and the design of city centers, where social facilities should appear:

• city ​​Council,
• people's assembly,
• basilica (judicial-administrative building),
• temples,
• gymnasium,
• schools.

In architecture, one can find the influence of the art of Mesopotamia, represented by an organic alloy of architecture, plastics and color. This is the Pergamon altar dedicated to Zeus, in which the design of the basement is unusual for ancient Greek architecture. Another monumental building - the Pharos lighthouse in Alexandria, which stood for one and a half thousand years, is one of the seven wonders of the world. The grandeur of this building is one of the main features of the ancient Greek architecture of that time.

From the Egyptian and Persian culture, the Greeks adopted the tradition of deifying the monarch. The statues of emperors in the temples were erected on the site of the statues of athletes, which was especially evident in the work created by the architects Pytheas and Satyr of Halicarnassus around 353 BC. Mausoleum, which is also one of the "seven wonders of the world."

In the art of the Hellenistic era, genre sculpture is widely represented. An example is the work of the sculptor Boef "Boy with a goose", "Old fisherman".

Decorative sculpture also began to be used, which was widely used as decoration for gardens and parks.

Remark 2

The art of the Hellenistic era was characterized by individualism, a decrease in philosophical and social motives, cosmopolitanism, the predominance of themes glorifying rulers, domestic, love stories, exaggerated attention to the external forms of works of art, the triumph of realism. The significance of the Hellenistic culture can hardly be overestimated, since it had a significant impact on the culture of Rome, and then the entire world culture.