Culture of Ancient Greece: briefly. Features of the culture of Ancient Greece

The buildings and sculptures, poems and thoughts of great philosophers are all components of the "Greek miracle", as scientists call it today.

If you are interested in the culture of Ancient Greece, you can read it briefly in this article. So, what admires even the most inexperienced in the art of man for four thousand years? Let's look at this in more detail.

General information

The ancient period, which is characterized by the rise and flowering of Hellas (as the ancient Greeks called their country), for most art critics is the most interesting. And not for nothing! After all at this time the origin and formation of the principles and forms of almost all genres of contemporary creativity occurred.

In total, scientists divide the history of the development of this country into five periods. Let's look at the typology and talk about the formation of some arts.

The Aegean era

This period is most vividly represented by two monuments - the Mycenaean and Knossos palaces. The latter is better known today as the Labyrinth of the myth of Thesee and the Minotaur. After the archaeological excavations, scientists confirmed the veracity of this legend. Only the first floor is preserved, but there are more than three hundred rooms in it!

In addition to the palaces, the Crete-Mycenaean period is known for masks of the Achaean leaders and Cretan sculptures of small form. The figurines found in the hiding places of the palace are striking in their filigree. Women with snakes look very realistic and elegant.

Thus, the culture of Ancient Greece, the summary of which is presented in the article, originated from the symbiosis of the ancient island civilization of Crete and the coming Achaean and Dorian tribes that settled on the Balkan Peninsula.

The Homer Period

This era differs materially from the previous one. From the 11th to the 9th centuries BC, many important events took place.

First of all, the previous civilization was lost. Scientists suggest that due to the eruption of the volcano. Further from the statehood there was a return to the community structure. Actually, the formation of the society took place anew.

An important point is that, against the backdrop of material decline, the spiritual culture is fully preserved and continued to develop. We can see this from the example of Homer's works, which reflect precisely this crucial era.

The Trojan War dates back to the end of the Minoan period, and the writer himself lived at the beginning of the archaic era. That is, the "Iliad" and "Odyssey" are the only evidence of this period, because apart from them and archaeological finds about it, nothing is known today.

Archaic culture

At this time, there is a rapid growth and the formation of states-policies. The coin begins to be minted, the alphabet is formed and the letter is formed.

In the archaic era, the Olympic Games appear, the cult of a healthy and athletic body is formed.

It was during this period that the culture of ancient Greece was born. A brief message about the development of its genres you can read further.

Classical period

Everything that the culture of ancient Greece fascinates us today (a short summary is in the article) was created precisely in this era.

Philosophy and science, painting and sculpture, oratorical art and poetry - all these genres are experiencing a rise and a unique development. The apogee of creative self-expression was the Athenian architectural ensemble, which still impresses the audience with its harmony and elegance of forms.

Hellenism

The last period of the development of Greek culture is interesting precisely because of its ambiguity.

On the one hand, the Greek and Eastern traditions are unified due to the conquests of Alexander the Great. On the other hand, Rome captures Greece, but the latter conquers it with its culture.

Architecture

The Parthenon is probably one of the most famous monuments of the ancient world. And Doric or Ionian elements, for example, columns, are inherent in some later architectural styles.

In general, the development of this art can be traced through the temples. After all, this type of buildings was invested most of all the forces, means and skills. Even the palaces were valued less than sacrificial places for the gods.

The beauty of the ancient Greek temples is that they were not formidable temples of mysterious and cruel celestials. By internal arrangement, they resembled ordinary houses, only equipped with elegant and richer furnishings. And how is it different, if the gods themselves were portrayed as resembling people, with the same problems, quarrels and joys?

In the future, three orders of columns formed the basis for most styles of European architecture. It is with their help that the culture of Ancient Greece briefly, but very capaciously and durably entered the everyday life of modern man.

Vaso painting

The works of this art are the most numerous and investigated to date. At school, children learn about what the culture of Ancient Greece was like (briefly). Grade 5, for example, is a period of acquaintance only with myths and legends.

And the first monuments of this civilization that the students see are black-and-lacquer ceramics - very beautiful and stylish dishes, the copies of which served as souvenirs, ornaments and collectibles in all subsequent epochs.

Vascular painting has gone through several stages of development. At first they were simple geometric ornaments, known since the Minoan culture. Further, spirals, meanders and other details are added to them.

In the process of becoming vazopis acquires the features of painting. On the vessels appear stories from the mythology and daily life of the ancient Greeks, human figures, images of animals and everyday scenes.

It is noteworthy that the artists managed not only to convey the movement in their paintings, but also to impart personal characteristics to the characters. Thanks to their attributes, individual gods and heroes are easily recognized.

Mythology

The people of the ancient world perceived the surrounding reality a little differently than we used to understand it. Deities were the main force that was responsible for what was happening in human life.

At school it is often asked to make a brief report on the topic "Culture of Ancient Greece", briefly, interestingly and in detail describe the legacy of this amazing civilization. In this case, it is better to begin the story with mythology.

Ancient Greek pantheon included a lot of gods, demigods and heroes, but the main were twelve Olympians. The names of some of them were already known during the time of the Mycenaean civilization. They are mentioned on clay tablets with linear writing. It is noteworthy that at this stage they had female and male counterparts of the same character. For example, there was Zeus-he and Zeus-she.

Today we know about the gods of Ancient Greece thanks to the monuments of fine art and literature that have remained in the centuries. Sculptures, frescoes, figurines, plays and stories - all this was reflected in the world view of the Hellenes.

Such views have survived their time. The artistic culture of Ancient Greece, in short, had a primary influence on the formation of many European schools of various arts. The artists of the Renaissance revived and developed the ideas of style, harmony and form, known even in classical Greece.

Literature

Many centuries separate our society from the society of ancient Hellas, besides, in fact, only the crumbs from what has been written have come down to us. "Iliad" and "Odyssey", probably - the most popular works, thanks to which the culture of Ancient Greece is known. Summary (about Odyssey and his adventures) can be read in any reader, and the exploits of this wise man impress the society so far.

Without his advice, there would be no victory for the Achaeans in the Trojan War. In principle, both poems form the image of the ruler of the island of Ithaca in perfect light. Critics perceive him as a collective character, which contains many positive features.

Creativity Homer refers to the eighth century BC. Later writers, such as Euripides, introduced a completely new stream into their works. If the relationship between heroes and gods, as well as the crooks' machinations and their interference in the lives of ordinary people, was the main thing before them, now everything is changing. The tragedies of the new generation reflect the inner world of man.

The culture of Ancient Greece, briefly speaking, in the classical period tries to penetrate deeper and answer most of the eternal questions. This "study" involved such areas as literature, philosophy, and visual arts. Speakers and poets, thinkers and artists - all tried to realize the versatility of the world and transmit the received wisdom to the descendants.

Art

The classification of art is based on the elements of the vases. The Greek (Achaean-Minoan) period is preceded by the Crete-Mycenaean, when a developed civilization existed on the islands, and not on the Balkan Peninsula.

Actually the culture of Ancient Greece, a brief description of which we give in the article, is formed at the end of the second millennium BC. The most ancient monuments were temples (for example, the temple of Apollo on the island of Fehr) and the painting of vessels. For the latter, the ornament is in the form of the simplest geometric figures. The main tools of artists of this era were a ruler and compasses.

In the archaic period, which began around the seventh century BC, art becomes more developed and bold. There is a Corinthian black-and-lacquer ceramics, from Egypt the poses of people depicted on vessels and bas-reliefs are borrowed. There is a so-called archaic smile at the sculptures, which are becoming more and more natural.

In the classical era, there is a "simplification" of architecture. Doric style is replaced by Ionic and Corinthian. Instead of limestone, marble is being used, and structures and sculptures are becoming more airy. This civilizational phenomenon ends with Hellenism, the heyday of the empire of Alexander the Great.

Today in many institutions the culture of Ancient Greece is studied - briefly for children, more complete for teenagers and deeply for researchers. But even with all the desire, we do not completely cover the material left to us by the representatives of this sunny people.

Philosophy

Even the origin of this term is Greek. Ellinov was marked by a strong love of wisdom. Not for nothing in the whole ancient world, they were considered the most highly educated people.

Today we do not remember any of the scholars of Mesopotamia or Egypt, we know units of Roman researchers, but the names of Greek thinkers are all heard. Democritus and Protagoras, Thales of Miletus and Pythagoras, Socrates and Plato, Epicurus and Heraclitus all contributed immensely to the world culture, enriched the results of their experiences with civilization so much that we still use their achievements.

Pythagoreans, for example, absolutized the role of numbers in our world. They believed that with their help you can not only describe everything, but even predict the future. The Sophists mostly paid attention to the inner world of man. Good was defined by them as what is pleasing, and evil as a thing or event that causes suffering.

Democritus and Epicurus developed the doctrine of atomism, that is, that the world consists of scanty elementary particles, whose existence was proved only after the invention of the microscope.

Socrates turned the attention of thinkers from cosmology to the study of man, and Plato idealized the world of ideas, considering it to be the only real one.

Thus, we see that the peculiarities of the culture of Ancient Greece, briefly, were reflected through the prism of the philosophical outlook on modern human life.

Theater

Those who have visited Greece, for a long time remember the amazing feeling that a person experiences while in the amphitheater. His magic acoustics, which even today seems like a miracle, has been winning hearts for thousands of years. This structure, which is not one dozen rows, the scene is located in the open air, and the viewer, sitting at the farthest point, is able to hear how the coin falls on the stage. Is not it a miracle of engineering?

The content of the plays was no less interesting. Now known in Italy, the comedy of masks originates from the classical Greek theater. Mechanisms that allow to move scenery with blocks and cargoes were called "the god from the car", they shocked the audience with their inexplicability.

Thus, we see that the culture of Ancient Greece, briefly described above, formed the basis of modern art, philosophy, science and social institutions. If it were not for the ancient Hellenes, it is not known what would be the modern way of life.