Irina OLTETSIAN

Seven Wonders of the World:
facts and legends

The canonical list of the seven wonders of the world, traditionally attributed to Philo, is not the only one. There are many similar lists compiled by different authors, each of which was guided by its own considerations.
In some cases, Noah's Ark or the Colosseum in Rome were added to the canonical list - at the discretion of the compilers.
At the same time, the lighthouse in Alexandria is usually not mentioned in the lists.
To understand how the ancients considered their miracles, let us turn to the origins.

List of seven wonders of the world and its authors

Philo is considered to be the author of an ancient treatise entirely devoted to the seven miracles. At least twenty ancient authors bear this name; it is known, however, that in this case we are talking about Philo of Byzantium, who lived in the II century. BC. and who was also called Mechanikos. The author gives a description of seven monuments, but on the fifth treatise breaks off due to damage to the manuscript. However, all monuments are listed in the introduction, there is no uncertainty.
Here are these monuments in the order of their presentation in the treatise:
- Hanging Gardens of Babylon;
- Egyptian pyramids;
- Zeus statue in Olympia;
- Colossus in Rhodes;
- Babylonian walls;
- Temple of Artemis at Ephesus;
- Mausoleum in Halicarnassus.
The treatise does not give a full description of the disappeared miracles. The chapter on the Colossus gives the weight of the materials used, describes the technological processes, the details of the erection of the statue - but all this does not allow to recreate the composition of the monument and its attributes.
We learn about the Hanging Gardens that these are irrigated terraces, but how big were they? The terraces are planted with trees and flowers of various kinds - but which ones? And the characteristic of the statue of Zeus is reduced to the praise of the sculptor Phidias.
It is impossible to obtain reliable data on monuments according to Philo's list; if they had not been additionally described by other ancient authors, we could hardly imagine the appearance of these structures. Sometimes there is completely false information in Philo's description; this is the case with the glittering stones that seem to have lined the pyramids (this is the only assertion that can be verified and which casts doubt on the rest of the story).
From the very first lines of the treatise, it follows that the one who described these miracles had never seen them: “The whole world knows about the glory of the seven wonders of the world, but few have seen them with their own eyes.” Developing this idea, Philo tells about the difficulties of the journey that must be taken for such an acquaintance: “And he who, wandering around the world, having spent years, exhausted by a tedious journey, sees his dream finally come true, will have to part with his life.”
Of course, Philo exaggerates, and such a journey was quite possible. It is very unlikely that he did it, because, if he did, the author of the text would have said it straight out. That is why doubts arose about the authenticity (at least in antiquity) of this work, discovered rather late: its first edition dates from 1640.
Attention is drawn to the fact that in the manuscript of the tenth century, where the text of Philo takes only six pages, there are also miracles known from other ancient sources. Philologists argue that this little work, which is a mere compilation, cannot belong to Philo of Byzantium. An analysis of style and language reveals a late rhetorician (earliest - 4th century AD, more likely - 5th or 6th century). In the introduction, the author addresses the audience, calling them "the listener"; probably the text was intended for public reading - for a kind of conference, which convened in ancient times sophists and rhetoricians.
As already mentioned, in addition to Philo, the famous monuments were described by other Greek and Roman authors, such as Diodorus Siculus, Pausanias, Vitruvius, Pliny the Elder. The first fairly accurate evidence belongs to someone who lived in the 5th century. BC. Herodotus, who described the Egyptian pyramids and the monumental structures of Babylon. The Greek historian eagerly praises these structures, but never once uses the term miracle, from which it follows that in the era of Herodotus, such a concept was not yet born. Note that the Colossus, which appears in the canonical list, was not yet erected in the time of Herodotus - its construction began only in 290 BC.
All the monuments mentioned in Philo's list are described by the Greek poet Antipater from Sidon, who died in the 1st century BC. BC: “The mighty wall of Babylon, along which chariots can roll, and Zeus on the banks of Alpheus, I saw them; as well as the hanging gardens, and the Colossus of Helios, and the bulk of the high pyramids, and the gigantic tomb of the Mausoleum; but when I saw the Temple of Artemis, which rises to the clouds, all other wonders faded.
From the testimony of the poet, we can conclude that in that era the list of miracles was part of the scientific heritage.
A major intellectual center of the Greek world III and II centuries. BC. there was, of course, Alexandria - with its own Museum, where scientists, writers, philosophers lived and worked. Under Musaeus, there was the largest Library in antiquity, the arson of which is erroneously attributed to Caesar. In the Museum, scholars, grammarians, poets composed inventory of knowledge, collected manuscripts and organized the publication of the great texts of the past. This work was accompanied by the creation of catalogs, lists of authors and their works.
Interestingly, the reason for inclusion in the list of wonders of the world was not so much the aesthetic characteristics of the structures, but their unusualness (which, perhaps, was perceived as a consequence of miraculousness). All the monuments mentioned in the lists amaze with their gigantic size, originality, the volume of materials used to create them - or the challenge that they pose to nature.
It is tempting to assume that the idea for the list was born among the erudite who rallied around the Library of Alexandria. The authorship of the list of miracles is sometimes attributed to the veteran Musaeus - the famous Alexandrian poet and grammarian Callimachus (based on the title of one of his works that has come down to us: "Collection, or List of miracles of the whole earth, classified by location"). But this assumption is immediately followed by an objection: how to explain that the list compiled in the capital of Egypt gives preference to the Hellenic world - Rhodes, Halicarnassus, Ephesus - and why Babylon dominates, in which two miracles are concentrated?
If we add to this that the choice of the number seven testifies to mathematical speculations that originated in Babylon, then another hypothesis comes to the fore.
It is well known that Alexander the Great admired Babylon. The monarch intended to make this city his capital; it can be assumed that it was educated people from the environment of the conqueror, who constantly accompanied the sovereign, who developed the first list of miracles.
Perhaps the list of miracles - with the mention of two Babylonian ones - appeared after the division of Alexander's empire in Alexandria. It seems plausible that the subjective choice of the monarch and his entourage became the basis of the tastes rooted in the mass consciousness precisely thanks to the authority of the conqueror of the then Oikoumene - and thanks to the glory of the city founded in Egypt, the intellectual capital of the Hellenistic world.
But heresy is almost always born out of dogma - therefore, the primary list of miracles was not slow to give rise to many options. There are fourteen different lists that are difficult to date and link to any specific authors.
It is interesting to note that some monuments are consistently present in all lists (the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus and the Colossus at Rhodes); others - the pyramids, the statue of Zeus, the temple of Artemis - are rarely excluded. Probably, the motivation for inclusion or exclusion of a particular structure in the list most often had an ideological character or was associated with ethno-cultural preferences. Thus, Roman authors were inclined to count among the wonderful structures erected in the new capital of the world (primarily the Colosseum), and Christian - due to the lack of impressive architectural solutions (the era of the construction of cathedrals was yet to come) - mentioned Noah's Ark.
Sometimes the list was simply replenished, and the sacred washed away the numbers seven no longer gave the authors new options. In some cases, the list of miracles contained up to thirty items.
The case with the lighthouse in Alexandria can be considered very indicative. It was first mentioned in the list of Gregory of Tours (6th century), but it was this monument that from the very beginning aroused universal admiration and received the largest number of visitors.
It is worth noting that people of modern and recent times, no less than the inhabitants of the ancient world, are located to fix records (in the Guinness book or in another way), continue to replenish the list of miracles. The American continent, not originally on the list of masterpieces, tried to get there; New World patriots dubbed the Empire State Building the eighth wonder of the world. And the registration of the most worthy monuments of human culture under the auspices of UNESCO shows that the list continues to grow and the tradition is not interrupted.
Let us return, however, to ancient times and reproduce two versions of the lists proposed by the then connoisseurs of beauty.

Canonical list

(list of Antipater, Philo,
Gregory of Babylon)

List of Gregory Typsky

Hanging Gardens of Babylon

The legend of Semiramis, "the most famous of all known women," has come down to us thanks to the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus, who lived in the 1st century BC. BC.
The queen was allegedly born in Palestine - the fruit of the criminal love of the goddess Derkato and a mortal, "who was going to bring her a sacrifice." Seized with shame, Dercato killed her lover and abandoned the child "in a desert and rocky area." Further, Providence intervenes in this story: the child was picked up and raised by a shepherd.
Years passed, the girl grew, became prettier and in the end "surpassed the beauty of all her friends." Seen and taken as a wife by the governor of Assyria, she appeared at the court of King Nin, the founder of the Assyrian capital of Nineveh. Conquered by the charms of Semiramis, the king forced his satrap to yield his wife to him. Nin dies, and the long reign of Queen Semiramis begins - 42 years long.
Semiramis wished to bury her husband in Palace of the Kings and build a giant terrace over his grave. After that, in an effort to surpass her late husband, she decided to build a city worthy of her greatness. For the construction of Babylon, Semiramis attracts architects and two million workers.
Having completed the construction, the queen goes to conquer the world. Having visited Egypt, Libya, Ethiopia, she even reached India. Then the monarch returned to Babylon and, believing the Egyptian oracle, who predicted her imminent death, gave up the throne to her son and mysteriously disappeared. According to Diodorus, "she turned into a dove and flew away with other doves that settled on the roof of her house."
It is difficult to separate the biography of this woman from the legends. This is explained by the fact that historians relied mainly on Median sources, and the Medes, in turn, got acquainted with the Assyrian-Babylonian culture in the reign of Ramman-Nirari III, married to the Babylonian princess Sammuramat. Archaeologists and historians believed they had found traces of Semiramis in Assyria, where the regent Sammuramat ruled around 830 BC. However, nothing - except the consonance of names - confirms the version, according to which the mysterious Sammuramat is the famous Semiramis.
Already in antiquity, some historians doubted the stories about the conquests of Semiramis. So, the Babylonian priest Beroz, who in the III century. BC. wrote the history of Babylon in Greek, the greatest geographer of the Hellenic world, Strabo, who lived between 60 BC. and 20 AD, and the Hebrew historian of the 1st century. AD Flavius ​​attributed the construction of the Babylonian Wall and the Hanging Gardens to Nebuchadnezzar II, who ruled from 605 to 562 BC.
In 606 BC Nineveh was razed to the ground. On the ruins of the Assyrian monarchy, the Neo-Babylonian kingdom arose. Its founder and destroyer of Assyria, Nabopolassar, was a brave warrior and far-sighted politician. Feeling the approach of old age, he attracted his eldest son, Nebuchadnezzar, to the management.
The reign of this great sovereign was marked by the building of many monuments: Babylon became a vast building site. The city acquired under Nebuchadnezzar that splendor that Herodotus enthusiastically tells about.
Herodotus was struck by the “huge size of Babylon, which was given the shape of a square. The city, divided in the middle by the deep current of the Euphrates, was surrounded by two concentric walls with many loopholes and a hundred bronze gates. The outer wall was 70 meters high and almost 15 meters wide, so that chariots drawn by four horses could freely disperse on it. Inside this space were placed the houses of the inhabitants and the so-called Royal City (about 12 kilometers in circumference), where the royal palace towered. Nebuchadnezzar did not skimp on materials: gold, silver, precious stones, valuable rocks, treasures of the sea ... everything for the Palace.
Nebuchadnezzar, married to a Median princess and knowing how she longed for her native mountains among the Babylonian plains, decided to create artificial mountains covered with rich vegetation. Grandiose arches were erected, and gardens were spread over them, among which cool rooms were placed at different heights. Powerful stone terraces were arranged in such a way that the impression of a perspective of a mountainous area was created. The layer of earth on the terraces was sufficient for the roots of large trees, among which the best species of cedars specially brought from Lebanon attracted attention.
From below it was impossible to see what was happening above. To complete the illusion of hanging gardens, aqueducts distributed water on the terraces, delivered from the Euphrates by means of special hydraulic machines.
The excavations that were carried out in the 20th century, primarily by the German expedition led by Robert Caldway, allow us to imagine Babylon in the 6th century quite accurately. BC. It was a grandiose and systematically built city with a population of at least 200 thousand inhabitants. The walls of Babylon were 18 kilometers long; the length of the inner walls (including the walls of the New City on the right bank of the river) was 8150 meters.
Although the data of archaeologists turned out to be significantly lower than those figures that Herodotus called in his description, the results of the excavations are impressive. The plan of the city had the form of a beveled rectangle, oriented to the cardinal points, with a slight deviation. The city was surrounded by a triple (not double, as Herodotus says) wall and moat. The Euphrates divided it into two halves; the eastern one was old, it contained the Inner City with a temple and a ziggurat. To the north were the palaces of Nebuchadnezzar, the most grandiose of which was considered the southern one.
Babylon had nine gates. The streets, according to assumptions, bore the names of those gods to whom the gates were dedicated. Inside the city was the largest street of Babylon - the Procession Road, crossing the street of Marduk, which led from the southeast towards the main temple of the city. The vast square occupied by the main temple and ziggurat opened onto Marduk Street with grandiose double gates. A huge ziggurat dominated the entire inner city.
During the excavations, only a huge pit from the foundation of this "Tower of Babel" was found. Robert Caldway's reconstruction depicts a ziggurat rising in a huge mass, which is at odds with the traditional idea of ​​\u200b\u200bit as a step pyramid. The height of the Babylonian ziggurat, according to Coldway, is 90 meters. The base is a square with a side of 91.5 meters. The upper tier (temple) had two metal horns - symbols of the solar deity.
The main palace of Nebuchadnezzar was in the old part of the city. He stood on a huge brick terrace, up to 80 meters high. The palace was divided into two parts, eastern and western, and in terms of plan it was a trapezoid of not quite the correct shape. The entrance was from the east, on one of the short sides. Five courtyards, located along the same axis, followed one after the other. The first part, the eastern part, was assigned to the garrison of the palace, the guards. In the northern corner of the trapezoid, apparently, the famous Hanging Gardens were placed.
The western part of the palace was intended for courtiers and employees. The palace center was the third, middle part, with a huge square courtyard, in the middle of which there was a well. The transversely elongated throne room, about 60 meters long, was surrounded by walls about 7 meters thick.
Babylon fell into the hands of Alexander the Great in 331 BC, but the conqueror did not have time to turn the city into the new capital of the empire. Babylon was completely devastated in the 1st century. AD

The secret of the construction of the pyramid of Cheops
still unopened

Of the wonders of the ancient world, only the pyramid of Cheops, built in the first quarter of the third millennium BC, having survived centuries, has survived to this day. The Egyptians did not leave any treatise on the construction of the pyramids.
Herodotus was the first to tell about his journey to the land of the pharaohs. The Greek historian came to Egypt in the 5th century. BC, in an era when only a glimpse of its former greatness was preserved. To understand this new world for him, Herodotus asks everyone he meets, and also turns to local guides. The size of the pyramid of Cheops slew Herodotus, who was born on earth, where temples of other scales were built.
Herodotus tells about the participation in the construction of the pyramid of tens of thousands of people who replaced each other every three months. During the flood season, when the land was flooded with water and the peasants could not work on it, the workers were busy preparing stones.
The duration of the construction work is clearly exaggerated by Herodotus: according to him, it took 30 years to build the pyramid and the road leading to it. However, Cheops reigned for no more than 20 years, and not 50, as the historian claims. He describes the king as a tyrant who doomed the people to starvation, and who did not hesitate to send his daughter to the House of Debauchery in order to finance such an ambitious project.
For centuries, the attitude of travelers, explorers and conquerors to the Egyptian pyramids depended on momentary interests. Caliphs were looking for treasures there, Western adventurers of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance hoped for some profit, some for discovering evidence of the events of the times of Joseph and Moses. Then there were curious minds who took up the "scientific" study of the graves. Ever since Egyptology took its first steps, the pyramids have been the subject of intense research.
The first royal burials were simple mastaba(in modern Arabic - a bench). These were rectangular brick structures with a wide base, sloping walls (about 75°) and a flat roof. The first stone tomb appeared during the third dynasty, it was built by Pharaoh Djoser and had the form of a huge mastaba. A radical new step was taken - the transition to a vertical solution of the architectural problem. The mastaba remained the form of the ground part of the grave of a noble person, but for the king they began to build a stepped pyramid. Apparently, the steps were supposed to facilitate the ascent of the deceased sovereign to the unfading stars. The step pyramid was gradually replaced by the classic - a smooth pyramid with a square base.
The grand scale of construction in the era of the Fourth Dynasty can be judged by the pyramids of Cheops, his son Khafre and Mykerin. Located on the border of the Libyan desert, the pyramids, with their colossal size and geometric simplicity of their form, make a strong impression in our time. Giant triangles, sometimes light, sometimes dark, depending on the lighting, they loom against the backdrop of the desert. The modern dimensions of the pyramids are somewhat smaller than those that they had 4-
5 thousand years ago. The structures have lost their cladding and upper part (both of which have been partially preserved at the pyramid of Khafre).
The Pyramid of Cheops, originally towering at 146.59 meters, has now shortened to 137 meters. The length of the side of the square of the base of the pyramid is 230.35 meters. The weight of this giant is 5,200,000 tons, the volume is 2,600,000 cubic meters.
It is known that Bonaparte calculated that with the help of these stones it is possible to surround France with a wall 3 meters high and 0.3 meters thick. The pyramid of the son of King Cheops, Khafre, is quite comparable to the earlier structure in size. Menkaure built himself a more modest tomb.
From generation to generation, the leaders of the works passed on to each other the secrets of mastery, including those related to the technique of moving colossal monoliths. Neither Herodotus nor later scientists were able to penetrate the secret of transporting and lifting blocks. At the same time, the Greek historian quite accurately indicates that the blocks were mined on the opposite bank of the river.
All the pyramids of the Fourth Dynasty have at their foot on the eastern side a mortuary temple with an entrance hall extended far ahead. The statues of Khafre were installed in just such a room. One of these sculptures, now stored in Cairo, has a height of more than 1.5 meters.
It rarely happens that a civilization turns out to be as shaped by the natural environment as the civilization of the Egyptians. Their land stretches along the banks of the Nile, which flows along a north-south axis, while the sun, as you know, moves steadily across the sky from east to west. Naturally, the Egyptians had ideas about the world as a square plane. The sides of the square face the four cardinal points, and at the corners there are four buttresses that support the vault of heaven. The sun at its zenith emits a beam of rays, which forms a light triangle that floods the earth. This is how a pyramidal shape arises - as a symbol of the space in which the sun makes its way.
In the Egyptian mentality, we are talking about the sensual world, controlled by its creator, the Sun. Thus, the pyramid symbolizes the cosmos, the prism of light that banishes the darkness of chaos.
To the force radiated by the daylight, another power is added. The dead have always been trusted to the land from where the grain grows. Hence the second purpose of the pyramid - it is an artificial mountain that locks in itself the sovereign on his way to the light. The pyramid, sprouting from the depths of the Egyptian religious consciousness, symbolizes the two elements necessary for the development of life - earth and light.
These days on the Giza Plateau, floodlights and loudspeakers are turned on every evening; The Arabic proverb is repeated many times: "The world is afraid of time, and time is afraid of the pyramids." Isn't this the last secret of the Cheops pyramid?

Statue of Zeus

In the heart of Elis, in a valley leaning against a hill covered with pines and shrubs that fill the air with the scent of resin, near the city of Pisa, Olympia is spread. Those who lived here from the end of the II millennium BC. The Greeks deified Zeus and his wife Hera. Later, the Hellenes gathered every four years in Olympia, united by reverence for the gods and a love of sports.
At first, Zeus was considered the god of atmospheric phenomena: he illuminated the sky, covered it with clouds, caused rain and snow, and generated thunder. Then the Greeks created a genealogy for the god. Zeus began to be considered the son of Rhea and Cronus, the child-killing god who devoured his children, fearing that they would rise up against him and condemn him to the same fate that he condemned his father, Uranus. Kron had already swallowed five children, and Rhea did not want to lose her last child. On the advice of her parents, Uranus-Heaven and Gaia-Earth, she retired to the island of Crete and there, in a deep cave, her son Zeus was born. She hid her son from a cruel father, and gave Kron to swallow a long stone wrapped in swaddling clothes.
The mighty Zeus grew up and matured. He rebelled against his father and forced him to return the children he had absorbed into the world. They began to fight with Kron and the titans for power over the world. This struggle was terrible and stubborn. Zeus and his followers won...
The mention of the sculpture of Zeus appeared for the first time in the III century. BC. The Alexandrian poet and grammarian Callimachus composed a poem of 62 verses "Zeus of the Hellenes, the creation of Phidias", in which he described the statue, emphasizing its amazing dimensions. Many, however, noted that the statue of Zeus is much smaller than it seems. Nevertheless, the sculpture of Phidias made an impression on his contemporaries and descendants.
According to the Roman commander Aemilius Paul, he experienced a religious upheaval in 167 BC when he saw the statue of Zeus. Plato's follower Dion (murdered in 353 BC) said of Phidias that the sculptor was able to "explain divine things to an inexperienced crowd of spectators".
Phidias was born around 490 BC. As a child, he studied under the master of Argos. His first creations opened the way for the sculptor to fame; in 447, Pericles recruited him to work on the Acropolis, where the Parthenon was being built.
The enemies of Pericles did not dare to oppose him openly and began to persecute his friends. In 433, Phidias was accused of embezzling part of the gold allocated for the construction of the statue of the Virgin Athena for the Parthenon temple. However, this slander was refuted. On the advice of Pericles, Phidias made the clothes of the statue in such a way that it could be easily removed and weighed. The check confirmed the honesty of the great sculptor.

But the envious did not calm down. Now they accused Phidias of sacrilege: on the shield of Athena, he depicted his patron Pericles and himself as a bald old man who raised a stone above his head. As a result, the sculptor left Athens and went to Olympia. In 437, 20 years after the completion of the construction of a large temple dedicated to Zeus, the Hellenes turned to Phidias with a request to create for them the divine image of the Thunderer.
Greek writer Pausanias, who lived in the II century. AD, left a detailed description of the statue. “God sits on a throne of gold and ivory. He has a golden crown on his head, made in the form of olive branches. In his right hand he holds the Victory, also of gold and ivory; Victory's head is tied with a bandage and topped with a crown. In his left hand is a scepter adorned with flowers made of various metals; a bird sitting on a scepter - an eagle. The mantle of Zeus is inlaid with images of animals and lily flowers. The throne is inlaid with gold and precious stones, ebony and ivory."
The statue was a wooden frame, on which elements of ivory were fixed - to form the face, torso, arms, legs, as well as gold plates - to depict hair, beard, sandals and a mantle that fell from the left shoulder and covered the lower body. The height of the statue was 12.37 meters - without the base; the base itself measured 10 x 6.85 meters and was 1.11 meters high. The throne was 4.5 meters wide, 4 meters deep and about 10 meters high. The height of the head of Zeus is more than 2.5 meters.
Strabo remarked: "It seems that if the god gets up, he will break the roof of the Temple with his head." The throne was richly decorated with Victories, Sphinxes, Graces, Hours, scenes depicting episodes of sports and the struggle of Hercules with the Amazons. The entrance to the throne was blocked by shields painted by Phidias' brother (or nephew), which depicted mythological scenes and political allegories. The stool on which the god's feet rested was decorated with a scene of Theseus' fight with the Amazons and lions. At the base of the statue, Phidias sculpted his favorite cosmic composition: the birth of Aphrodite in the midst of an assembly of the gods, in the presence of the Sun and Moon.
In front of the statue was a shallow pool, with a floor of black marble and a side of white marble: here the rest of the oil that washed the statue flowed down - to protect the wooden frame, more fragile than ivory. Since the light penetrated only through the eastern door of the Temple, the statue of Zeus loomed in the semi-darkness, thereby enhancing the impression.
At the end of the III century. BC. the statue of Zeus was restored by the Messenian sculptor Damophon. The Roman emperor Caligula wanted to move the statue to Rome and replace Zeus's face with his own. However, the gods let the monarch know about their anger, and the project had to be abandoned.
According to some evidence, in 384 AD. the statue could still be seen in the temple; apparently, it disappeared in a fire in 426. According to another version, the statue was transported to Constantinople and died during a fire in 475.

The fate of the other creations of Phidias was no happier; Athena has not been preserved, but her images have come down. The pediment of the Parthenon Temple, on which Phidias depicted the scene of the dispute between Athena and Poseidon, has been preserved in a very damaged form.
In 393, Emperor Theodosius banned the Olympic Games as incompatible with Christianity, and a little over 30 years later he ordered the Temple of Zeus at Olympia and all the luxurious buildings that adorned the place where the games took place to be burned. The ruins were gradually covered by the sand of the Alfea River.
In the 19th century intensive excavations of Olympia began. The expedition of 1829, which managed to clear part of the temple of Zeus, did not bring any information. I had to study the texts to reproduce the cross section of the temple. In addition to the description made by Pausanias, the restorers used coins minted under the emperor Hadrian in 121 and 137, as well as under the emperors Septimius Severus and Caracalla. Since some of the coins show the head of Zeus in profile, while others show the full sculpture, it was possible to get an idea of ​​the style and proportions of the statue.
The study of the statue of Phidias has advanced greatly after the excavation of the workshop of the famous sculptor. Some of the master's tools, fragments of ivory, terracotta matrices, a mass of colorless glass, and other materials were found. Thanks to the matrix, it was possible to restore the female figure of Victory, which Zeus held in his right hand. The attention of archaeologists was attracted by a ladle with the inscription "I belong to Phidias."

The Colossus of Rhodes

The first settlers in Rhodes were from Crete and probably from other parts of Greece. Around 1100 BC these tribes were expelled by the Dorian conquerors, who founded three main cities on the island: Lind, Kameir and Yalis. These three cities quickly prospered - thanks to successful commercial activity.
In the VI century. BC. Rhodes was ruled by tyrants. One of them, Cleobulus, was ranked among the so-called seven wise men of Greece - along with Thales of Miletus, the Athenian legislator Solon and some others (different names appear in different lists).
The heads of the three cities decided to found a new city, simply call it Rhodes, and make it the capital of the island. This work was entrusted to the student and follower of the famous architect Hippodamus of Miletus, who was known as an innovator and specialist in city planning.
The architect of the new Rhodes chose the original system of building layout. In contrast to the orthogonal system, in which the streets intersect at right angles, the streets of the city were built in a spiral and formed a fan around the port. In a few years the city has become one of the largest centers of the Eastern Mediterranean. The money of Rhodes served as a standard for all kinds of exchanges in the region.
During the Greco-Persian wars, the Rhodians took the side of the Persians, then the Greeks. The islanders helped the Athenians defeat Sparta, and in 356 they unexpectedly decided to support the king of Caria, Mausolus, and, becoming allies of the Persians, contributed to the defense of Tire and Phoenicia. Following the principle of supporting the strong, the Rhodians took the side of Ptolemy, one of the commanders of Alexander the Great, in his rivalry with another Diadochi, Antigonus One-Eyed. After the death of Alexander, Ptolemy Lag founded the Lagid dynasty and became king of Egypt. Oddly enough, but it was this circumstance that gave rise to the creation of the famous Colossus.
On Rhodes, Helios was a particularly revered deity. Of the two thousand statues that adorned the city, at least two hundred were erected in honor of this solar deity. The son of Antigonus One-Eyed, Demetrius, was famous for his ability to besiege cities. Hence his nickname Poliorketes - the Conqueror of cities.
This commander, determined to avenge his father, decided to undertake a siege of Rhodes. Having blocked the harbor from the sea, he ordered to build a giant tower of wood and put it on huge skating rinks. As described by Diodorus and
Plutarch, the height of the tower was at least 40 meters, the base area was 30 x 18 meters; the top was slightly smaller. Lined with metal plates, covered with bull skin and clay to protect against fire, this outlandish war machine moved unhindered towards the fortress walls of the city.
The Rhodians were really worried. But they turned out to be as good engineers as they were businessmen; a way out of the threatening situation was found. The Rhodians made holes in the fortress wall and sent streams of water into them. A wonderful war machine ended up in an artificial swamp, from which it could not get out. After a year of unsuccessful siege, Demetrius Poliorketes abandoned this venture and returned to Greece, leaving the siege tower on the spot. The Rhodians sold wood, bronze, and iron at auction and, after gaining a large amount, decided to erect a colossal statue dedicated to Helios. This was at the end of the 3rd century. BC.
The construction was entrusted to Kares of Linda, a student of the famous sculptor Lysippus. The colossus was erected at the entrance to the port - on the very spot where in the 15th century. The Hospitallers built Fort Saint Nicholas. The colossus was not a lighthouse: it was a coastal landmark that indicated to navigators the entrance to the port.
The height of the statue was 31.2 meters. This giant may have had a draped loincloth to reinforce the structure; it is also possible that Helios held a spear in his left hand, which served as a support. Some modern researchers represent the Colossus as a statue-column with obscure human outlines, with arms lowered along the body. According to another version, Helios had a lamp in his right hand - like the modern Statue of Liberty in New York.
The bronze used for ancient statues was an alloy of copper and tin. Because bronze is cold-forged, sculptural elements could be molded from plates on a wood core. From the middle of the 7th century BC. only small bronze figurines were made entirely of metal; for large statues, sheets of various thicknesses were used. In this case, the metal was not forged, but poured into a mold filled with wax - between the core and the shell. The heated wax melted and flowed down the grooves. After that, the coating was removed, and the core was destroyed. The final finish was polished.
If it was necessary to make a very large statue, the sculptor built a wooden core, on which he strengthened the finished profiled sheets. This is how Phidias created the statue of Zeus.
The Colossus of Rhodes had a stone core. Kares began by erecting a huge white marble plinth, 17 meters in diameter. On the plinth he fixed the feet of the future sculpture and cast the feet of the Colossus from bronze sheets using a clay mold. Kares then filled the cavity formed by the sheets with a mixture of mortar and stones. After that, he raised the clay mold to a new level to cast another bronze element - and so on, tier by tier.
Each tier was secured with wrought iron bars embedded in the masonry; the ends were then cut off. The huge bronze and stone tower took 9 years to build and was completed in 281.
In 227 or 225 BC An earthquake shook Rhodes. The colossus could not resist and collapsed. Debris littered the neighborhood. King Ptolemy III of Egypt (a descendant of Ptolemy Lag) allocated a large amount for the restoration of the statue. But the Rhodians, referring to an unknown oracle, abandoned this project.
So, the Colossus stood for only 50-odd years. Its remains lay on the square for almost nine centuries, until the Arab conquest.
In 653 AD Muslims, having mastered Rhodes, decided to benefit from the ruins of the Colossus. They sorted out the wreckage, sent the bronze to Syria and sold it.

Temple of the goddess Artemis at Ephesus

Located on the Ionian coast, in close proximity to the road leading from Lydia, Ephesus in the VIII century. BC. turned into a major financial center. His wealth became the envy of his neighbors. In 560, Ephesus was conquered by the Lydian king Croesus, and later by Alexander the Great. These two lords invested a lot of money in the construction of Artemision - a temple dedicated to the goddess Artemis.
The land on the coast of the Aegean, where the temple was built, gradually went into the sea; The waves washed up on the shore a lot of alluvial soil. Significant efforts were required from archaeologists to sort out the traces of former buildings. The descriptions presented in the ancient texts were clearly not enough.
From the texts of Pliny the Elder, a very vague image of the temple arises, since information about it and about the predecessor temple at the same place is mixed. It is known that there were two temples: the first was built in the 8th century, and the second - in the first half of the 6th century. BC.
Although the temple of Artemis at Ephesus has attracted the interest of historians and archaeologists since the Renaissance, the first excavations were undertaken only in 1863; the found fragments were sent to the British Museum. In the 1960s excavations were carried out by the Austrian Archaeological Institute under the direction of Anton Bammer. Archaeologists managed to uncover the temple of the 8th century. BC.
The building was a rectangle measuring 9.4 x 13.5 meters, surrounded by columns, eight on each side. The main façade was oriented to the west, a technique typical of Asia Minor. Inside the rectangle was a courtyard, and in the center of the courtyard there was a slab measuring 1.75 x 2.45 meters, which served as a plinth for a cult statue or altar.
The construction of the second temple was begun around 560 BC, on a site measuring 60 x 103 meters. The central volume included a vestibule and a hall with a blank back wall. Possibly the western façade had a portico; there was a chapel in the courtyard. Two rows of tall and thin columns surrounded the building.
The construction was made possible thanks to the wealth of King Lydia Croesus. According to Herodotus, most of the temple's columns were donated by this king. This information is confirmed by archaeologists, who found the name of Croesus on separate fragments.
The construction of the temple was led by Kersiphron with his son and Theodore from Samos. Theodore laid charcoal and wool under the foundation. Vitruvius draws attention to the mechanisms that were used to transport large marble blocks. A quarry for the extraction of white marble with a bluish tinge was located at a distance of 12 kilometers from the construction site; wagons delivering the stone risked getting bogged down in the marshy ground.
To avoid this, Kersifron used large wooden wheels, which were fixed on the ends of the blocks; their rise created a new problem, which also received an original solution.
There were also many new things in the forms, style and decoration of the temple. Although the Ionic order had not yet been created, but, according to Vitruvius, many features characteristic of this style were already present in the architecture of the temple. Pliny notes the skill with which the marble elements of decor are processed (flutes and bas-reliefs on pedestals and vestibules of columns). A marble carved border adorned the roof of the temple along its entire length (300 meters along the outer frieze and about 125 meters along the frieze of the courtyard facade).
According to Pliny, the construction took 120 years. The temple was destroyed during a fire, which was arranged by Herostratus, who wanted to become famous for this. According to Strabo, this event took place in 356, on the night when Alexander the Great was born.
Soon the construction of a new temple began - according to the old plan, but in freer forms. According to Strabo, the work was led by Keyrocrates; perhaps this is erroneous evidence, and in fact the architect was Deinocrates, the builder of Alexandria.
Later, Demetrius and Payonius from Ephesus took part in the construction. All of Asia Minor came together to finance this project. The women of Ephesus were selling their jewels; part of the money the city authorities bailed out for the old columns. Alexander the Great, visiting Ephesus in 334, offered to pay all the expenses in order to see his name inscribed on the temple. But the Ephesians diplomatically rejected this proposal, declaring that it was not fitting for one god to glorify another.
The construction of the new temple dates back to 350-250 BC. The base of the temple had an area of ​​72 x 125 meters and a total height of 32 meters. There were 117 columns (according to Pliny - 127). There were three rows of columns on the main facade, and two rows on the side ones. The height of the columns is 18.4 meters, the diameter at the base is 1.72 meters.
Roman coins show the facade of the temple with a raised pediment with three openings - to lighten the weight, as well as to rearrange the statue of the goddess. The yard remained unchanged, the floor was preserved at the same level. The border of the roof was decorated with floral ornaments, and the trunks of the columns were decorated with mythological scenes.
The magic of the monument was also in the wealth of gifts, in the extraordinary atmosphere that surrounded the statue of the goddess. Artemis of Ephesus was often depicted on coins; known and many Roman copies.
The temple was plundered by the Goths in 263 AD, then it was restored and functioned until 394, when, by decree of the Roman emperor Theodosius I, all pagan temples were closed and sacrifices to the gods were prohibited. In 401 Theodosius I ordered the destruction of the temple.
In the 5th century a large church was erected in the courtyard of the temple. For its construction, the remains of a pagan temple were used.

Tomb of King Mausolus at Halicarnassus

In the 5th century BC. Kariya was drawn into the war waged by Persia against Greece. The kingdom of Mausol took the side of the eastern barbarians. The union of Caria with Persia, directed against Athens, developed by the time of the reign of Queen Artemisia I. She accompanied King Xerxes on his campaign to Greece and fought shoulder to shoulder with him at the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC.
Assuming the Carian throne around 377 BC. Mausolus, like Artemisia I, preferred a convenient alliance with Persia to an unreliable reliance on Greece. A dexterous politician, Mausol expanded his realm. He decided to build a new capital - Halicarnassus, and in it a tomb, the famous Mausoleum.
The territory of the city was a well-fortified area on a mountain slope. The streets of Halicarnassus were parallel to each other or intersected at right angles. In the lower part of the city there was a port, to which a large square adjoined. In the middle of the slope was the Mausoleum, and above, along the axis of the palace (of which no trace remained), there was a temple dedicated to Mars. Even higher was another temple dedicated to Venus and Mercury.
The mausoleum, placed inside a rectangular terrace measuring 250 x 100 meters, surrounded by trees, sculptures, etc., was supposed to dominate the port ensemble and the meeting area.
However, the construction that the Mausoleum undertook for its own glorification was not completed by the time of his death in 353. During the conquests of Alexander the Great, in 333, the city was destroyed, but the Mausoleum remained unscathed. Having fallen later into the hands of the Romans (in 189), Halicarnassus lost its power.
In 395 AD the city fell under the rule of the Byzantines, and then the Turks. In 1402, the Crusaders captured the fort built on the site of the Mausoleum Palace and built one of the most powerful Christian fortresses, St. Peter's Castle. For this, materials from neighboring ancient monuments were needed. According to the architect, he had to break these monuments "into a thousand pieces" in order to get lime, or reuse marble as a building material.
The fort remained in the hands of the crusaders until it was taken by Suleiman the Great in 1523. Before the siege of 1522, the Christians decided to fortify the fort. They failed to finish the work, but the Mausoleum was destroyed.
The excavations, begun in the 19th century, continued in 1966. The Danish expedition succeeded in unearthing a section of the Mausoleum and establishing its dimensions. The study of all found fragments, as well as ancient texts, allowed archaeologists to offer several hypotheses for recreating the image of the Mausoleum.
Our knowledge of what the Mausoleum looked like is based mainly on the description of Pliny the Elder contained in his Natural History. Vitruvius mentions the name of Pythia, the author of the Mausoleum, also known from other works, including the temple of Athena in Priene. The Pythian was an adherent of strict geometric forms and was influenced by the Pythagoreanism that was widespread at that time.
The mausoleum, built by Pythia and Satyr, consisted of a powerful rectangular lower part (35.6 x 26.8 meters), above which rose a temple-like gallery with Ionic columns (11 on the long side and 9 on the short side). Above the colonnade was a marble pyramid of 24 steps, crowned with a quadriga with giant figures of the king and queen. The rectangular vault was located under the lower cella; its area was 6.8 x 4.2 meters, height - 3.8 meters. Access to the crypt was walled up. The total height of the Mausoleum to the top of the quadriga was 42.7 meters.
The mausoleum in Halicarnassus is a vivid example of the penetration of Greek culture and architecture to the East (the combination of the Greek peripter with the pyramid). The sculptural decoration of the Mausoleum (reliefs, marble statues between the columns), made by the famous masters Skopas, Leochares, Briaxis and Timothy, belongs to the best examples of Greek art of the middle of the 4th century. BC.
Very few elements of sculptural decoration have been preserved. Their beauty, however, allows us to judge the refinement of the taste of the creators. Marble images of Artemisia and the Mausoleum, which are kept in the British Museum, can serve as confirmation of this.
Stucco friezes adorned not only the facades, but also the podium. One of them, about three meters high, depicted events from the life of the Mausol.

Alexandrian lighthouse

The famous lighthouse was built in Alexandria around 290 BC. The structure was visible from a distance of 50-60 kilometers. Pharos was chosen as the site for construction; the name of this island has become a household name for lighthouses in general.
Starting from the IV century. AD the lighthouse was repeatedly subjected to seismic impacts, but was finally destroyed only in the 14th century.
Many ancient authors, including Strabo, Pliny the Elder, Flavius, spoke enthusiastically about the Lighthouse of Alexandria, but did not give a detailed description of it. The stories of Arab chroniclers allow us to more accurately imagine the architectural appearance of the structure.
The height of this monument is estimated differently by different sources: according to some sources, it was 120 meters, and according to others - 170 meters (including the statue at the top). Due to its fame, the lighthouse was repeatedly depicted throughout the ancient era. Numerous coins, tokens, mosaics, graffiti help clarify our understanding of the lighthouse.
According to one of the versions proposed in 1909 by the German archaeologist Hermann Tiersch, the lighthouse had three floors: at the base there was a square tower 30 meters high, an octahedral 55-meter tower was located above, and above it - Round Tower lower height. At the top was a colossal statue.
The fire at the lighthouse was maintained with the help of a large firebox located on top. Firewood or oil had to be delivered there, and in huge quantities. The lamp device could not be installed; it is unknown if mirrors or lenses were used. The lighthouse was destroyed during earthquakes, but it was restored. The Arabs built a mosque on top.
In 1326, the traveler Ibn Battuta climbed the square (lower) tower; in 1349 he failed to do so. A fort was built on the site of the lighthouse in 1477.
The existence of the ruins of a collapsed lighthouse under water has long been known, but since the Alexandria raid served as a military base, diving was banned for a long time for security reasons. In 1961, Kemal Abu el-Sadat discovered large blocks in the water; on his initiative, the city authorities raised a colossal statue of the goddess Isis. In 1968, the Egyptian government requested UNESCO expertise. Invited English archaeologist Mrs. Forst published a report in 1975, which included a list of discovered finds. Thus, the archaeological value of this site was confirmed.
To protect the fort from storms, the Egyptian government built a breakwater; as a result, many objects were lost. Public opinion stirred up and exploration resumed, but the difficulty still lay in the zone's military significance.
In 1994, at the request of the Department of Egyptian Antiquities, the Alexandria Research Center, funded by the French Institute of Oriental Archaeology, undertook a series of surveys. Hundreds of fragments of the lighthouse, covering an area of ​​more than two hectares, have been confirmed to be stored at a depth of 6-8 meters.
Exploration continued in 1995. For six months, about thirty French and Egyptian divers carried out daily dives, if the sea conditions did not prevent this. The team included archaeologists, Egyptologists, topographers, architects, photographers, artists and restorers.
A topographic map was compiled, to which graphic, photographic and other materials were attached. Thanks to underwater research, objects much older than the lighthouse were discovered. Hundreds of columns with a diameter of 60 centimeters to 2.4 meters, bases, capitals belonging to different eras and made of Aswan granite, marble or local limestone were raised from the water. Some objects belonged to the era of the pharaohs; there were also those on which one could read the name of Ramses II.
Among the finds, elements of urban decor attracted attention: first of all, the so-called Cleopatra's needles- the famous obelisks brought to Alexandria by order of Emperor Augustus in 13 BC for Caesareon - a temple begun by Cleopatra and turned under the principate into a means of glorifying the emperor and his ancestors.
These obelisks have continued to travel into the modern era. One of the needles was installed in 1877 on the banks of the Thames, and the other in 1879 in New York, in front of the Metropolitan Museum. Many statues and architectural fragments raised from the water have been restored and exhibited in various open-air museums.

During excavations at Crete island in Greece, which were held at the beginning of the 20th century under the leadership of archaeologist Arthur Evans and lasted about 30 years, was found impressive in size and significance Knossos palace. It occupied an area of ​​16 thousand square meters and consisted of various palace premises for various purposes, which adjoined and attached to the central rectangular courtyard (52.5 meters in length): in total more than 1.5 thousand rooms communicating with the help of corridors and stairs. Knossos palace was created for several centuries and was completed in 1700 BC. The construction technologies of the Minoans were revolutionary for the people of the Bronze Age. One of the innovations was a series of terraces dug into the hillside, which housed the eastern wing of the palace with a height of 4 floors. Another innovation was the impressive stairs inside the palace. She leaned on pillars made of cedar wood (columns). 3,500 years ago, the Minoans figured out how to build the strongest structure possible by placing columns exactly one below the other. Builders transcended all cultures in the art of lighting using light wells and windows throughout the palace. To control interior lighting and space ancient architects created a unique door system. The palace was also equipped with a well-thought-out underground drainage system. ABOUT diverted not only heavy rainfall, but also the runoff of the most the world's first toilets. Analyzing archaeological finds, wall paintings, surviving frescoes, fragments of products, historians agree that life in the palace was solemn and dynamic. More than a hundred rooms and halls were used for ceremonial receptions, intended for the king and queen. In a palace huge pantries, treasuries, a throne room, a theater, for up to 550 people, halls for ritual performances. The ruins of the palace can be seen on the island of Crete today. Arthur Evans recreated part of the palace- a fragment of a dead culture. The palace is often associated with legends. about King Minos and the labyrinth with imprisoned in it minotaur(half man, half bull).

Delphi. Temple of Apollo. Delphic oracle.

Delphi was a significant, religious, influential city in ancient Greece. He famous Temple of Apollo and Delphic Oracle. Temple of Apollo built on the southern slope of Mount Parnassus at an altitude of 700 meters above sea level in 369 - 339 BC. On the pediment of the temple were carved sayings - " Know thyself”, “Nothing superfluous”, Image of the letter “E”. Inside the temple were: a laurel tree, a sacred spring, white marble Omphal(sacred stone - the center of the earth) with two golden eagles, golden statue of apollo. Predictions and prophecies to Apollo were given by the Pythia (female priestesses), who entered a state of trance due to toxic gases emanating from a break in the rock and the content of ethylene in the stream. They analyzed and interpreted the result (the priests of Apollo were men), and as a result, predictions were given that could be interpreted in two ways. The Delphic oracle existed for over 1000 years. IN Delphi every 4 years in honor of Apollo, the second most important after the Olympics were held - Pythian games. Types of competitions: musical (playing the flute and cithara with and without singing), theatrical, dance, painting competitions, and later athletic and chariot competitions were added. As rewards, the winner was awarded an apple and a laurel wreath. From 394 AD Pythian games not held: banned by the Roman emperor Theodosius I, as pagan.

The first theater in the world in Greece. Unsurpassed acoustics.

It has been delighting viewers for 2.5 thousand years. This is the largest of the surviving ancient theaters. This is the place where to this day lives spirit of the god of drama Dionysius. There was a huge healing center next to the theater, and music was used in healing therapy. The theater was built in 340 - 330 BC. under the direction of architect Polikleitos the Younger. He built a round platform for performances, around which he placed 32 rows of spectator stone seats (later 23 more were added) for 14,000 seats and a two-story skene (stage). The latter was painted in the form of a backdrop for the production, and was also used for the first special effects. The structure of the theater amplifies the sound of the human voice by reflecting the sound off the stone and by using resonators tuned to the right frequencies and embedded in the walls. After archaeological excavations carried out between 1870 and 1926, the theater was reopened. The first performance took place in 1938. This ancient source of inspiration still attracts viewers.

- an ancient Greek bronze statue of the sun god Helios, the patron saint of Fr. Rhodes for the harbor at Lindos. The statue of the Colossus of Rhodes is one of the seven wonders of the world And one of the seven wonders of ancient Greece. The construction of the statue began in 305 BC. under chicken breeding sculptor Hares with money from the sale of siege machines of Demetrius I Poliorket and lasted 12 years. Archaeological excavations have shown that the statue stood on a hill overlooking the bay, where it is now medieval castle. The construction was carried out from the feet up, so an earthen mound was built around the statue. D wooden frame covered with bronze sheets, and stones were poured inside for stability. It took about 200 tons of bronze to make the statue. The statue stood for about 60 years and was destroyed in 224 BC. during an earthquake. In this state, the fragments of the statue lay for more than a thousand years. This statue inspired French sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi to create Statue of Liberty.

Olympic Games in Greece.

Birth of the ancient Olympic Games took place in the 8th century BC. It all started in Olympia in Greece with a 200-meter race in honor of the truce between the two warring cities. After that, the games were held every 4 years in August and were closed in 394 by order of Emperor Theodosius I. As a result of archaeological excavations carried out in Olympia at the end of the 19th century, the ruins of buildings intended for the Olympic Games were found: palestra, gymnasium and stadium. The gymnasium had a large training yard, which was decorated with statues of athletes, and it also kept lists of winners and a list of the Olympics. In the center of the gymnasium courtyard was a palestra - a stone building intended for various kinds of exercises. The stadium was built in 330-320 BC. with dimensions: 212.5 m long and 28.5 m wide. It was equipped with stands and separate places for judges. The stadium's capacity was about 45,000 spectators. The winner of the Olympic Games received a laurel wreath, an olive branch, recognition and respect of the whole people. The names of the winners were used in the Greek calendar and were carved on marble columns set on the banks of the Alpheus River. Thanks to this tradition, the date and name of the first winner is known: 776 BC. e. ; Koreb is a cook from Elis. The tradition of holding Olympic Games was revived at the end of the 19th century thanks to Pierre de Coubertin.

Myth is the lost city of Atlantis.

The myth of the legendary island of Atlantis originated in ancient Greece and was continued in the works of Plato - the dialogues Timaeus and Critias. The myth of Atlantis says that once there was a huge island. He passed by lot into possession the god of the seas Poseidon during the division of the earth between the three god brothers: Zeus, Hades and Poseidon. Initially, a family lived on the island: husband Evnor with his wife Livkippa and daughter Kleito, who became the wife of Poseidon and gave birth to 5 pairs of twins. WITH the eldest son was called Atlant The island was named after him Atlantis. So the people of Atlanta began to live on the island and a highly developed civilization was formed with a large army and navy. But in the end, they began to use the knowledge and achievements of science and culture for evil. Therefore, Zeus was angry with them: in one day and one night, the island of Atlantis disappeared, plunging into the sea. According to the texts Plato, this happened in the X millennium BC. Plato's student, the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, was sure that Atlantis was completely fictional ("Plato is my friend, but the truth is dearer"). For more than two millennia, disputes about reality have not ceased. Atlantis islands and the search for the great lost civilization does not stop. Many archaeologists are trying to find and tie their excavations to Atlantis, but so far accurate evidence has not been presented. Meanwhile, time passes, and the chances of finding the remains of an entire city surviving on the seabed are decreasing.

Parthenon(in translation means virgin temple) - temple dedicated to the goddess Athena. He It was built in the very center of the Acropolis of Athens on a sacred hill 30 meters wide and 70 meters long. It is built entirely from white penteli marble mined nearby. The Parthenon was built from 447 to 438 BC. under the guidance of the architect Kallikrates according to the project of Iktin. Decorated in 438-431 BC. according to Phidias. Many lines of the temple only seem to be straight, in fact there are no straight lines in it. The builders took into account all optical deviations to make the temple look perfect. From whatever point you look at it - all the lines seem straight and parallel. Marble blocks were turned and adjusted to size, the blocks were fastened with brackets and filled with lead. Inside the temple was goddess athena statue— a masterpiece in ivory and gold on a wooden frame. The height of the statue is 12 meters, and the construction took over a ton of gold. The frieze, 157 meters long, depicted the annual procession in honor of Athena. The statue has not survived. is a colossal revelation of architecture, it is a complete fusion of stone with the art of its processing, with geometry, proportion and form. This is an achievement that has not been repeated for a single thousand years.

Wonders of the world in Greece

Temple of Artemis

This magnificent temple was built in honor of the Greek goddess of hunting and wildlife, Artemis.

The temple was located in Ephesus, which is today in Turkey next to the well-known resort of Kusadasi in Russia. *

Although the foundation of the temple dates back to the seventh century BC, the building itself was built in 550 BC. The construction was subsidized by King Lydian Crosus, and the project was designed by the Greek architect Persiphon. The building was decorated with bronze statues created by such sculptors as Phidias, Polycletis, Cresilus and Fradmon. The temple served as a market and a religious institution. For quite a long time, the sanctuary was visited by merchants, tourists, artisans, and kings who brought gifts to the goddess.

On the night of July 21, 356 BC. e., a man named Herostratus set fire to the temple. The Roman historian Plutarch later wrote about this: "the goddess was too busy caring for the birth of Alexander to save the temple." In the next two decades, the temple was rebuilt by archaeologists, and when Alexander the Great conquered Asia, he helped rebuild the ruined temple.

Later, Ephesus was abandoned, and only in the last nineteenth century did excavations begin. Archaeologists discovered the foundation of the temple and several columns, which allowed the restoration to begin.

The foundation of the temple was rectangular in shape, similar to other temples of that time, but unlike them, it was made of marble, with a decorated facade. The columns were 20 m (60 ft) high with an Ionic order and flutes.

There is no confirmation that the statue of the goddess herself was placed in the center of the sanctuary, but there is no reason to reject it.

Early detailed descriptions of the temple helped archaeologists to restore the structure. Many reconstructions, such as H.F. von Erlach, depict a facade with four columns and a porch that never existed. More precisely, reconstructions can only give us an idea of ​​the general appearance of the temple. However, the true beauty lies in the architectural and artistic details that will forever remain unknown.

* - It is southwest of Izmir, south of Bursa, north of Marmaris and east of Pamukkale (there is Cleopatra's pool).

Statue of Zeus in Athens

This is a statue of the god in whose honor the ancient Olympic Games were held. It was located in Olympia, which gave its name to the games. During the games, wars stopped and athletes came from Asia, Syria, Egypt, and Sicily to compete in the Olympics and bow to Zeus.

The statue is located in the ancient city of Olympia, on the west coast of modern Greece, about 150 km. west of Athens.

The magnificent temple of Zeus was conceived by the architect Libon and was built around 450 BC. e. Due to the growing power of ancient Greece, the simple style of the Doric temple seemed too secular and some changes were required. It was decided to erect a majestic statue. The Athenian sculptor Phidias was appointed chief architect for this task.

Within a few years, the temple attracted visitors and worshipers from all over the world. In the first century, the Roman emperor Caligula tried to move the statue to Rome. However, his attempt failed. After the Olympic Games were banned in 391 by Emperor Theodosius, the temple was closed.

Olympia continued to face misfortunes - earthquakes, landslides, fires and floods, as a result of which the temple was significantly damaged. Previously, the statue was moved by wealthy Greeks to the palace of Constantinople. There it remained until it was destroyed by a serious fire in 462. Today only dust is left of the statue...

Phidias began laying the statue around 440 BC. A year earlier, he had developed a technique to prepare vast quantities of gold and ivory for construction. There he sculpted and cut pieces of the statue before they could be assembled into a single piece in the temple itself.

When the statue was completed, there was barely enough room for it in the temple. Strabo wrote: ".. although the temple itself is very large, the sculptor is criticized for not taking into account the actual proportions of the statue to the temple. He showed Zeus seated on the throne, but with his head almost resting on the ceiling, so that we would have the impression that if Zeus gets up, he will rest his head on the roof of the temple.

Strabo was right - this impressive size made the statue so remarkable. The base of the statue was almost 6.5 meters wide and 1 meter high. The statue itself was 13 meters high, the equivalent of a modern 4-story building.

The legs of the throne were decorated with sphinxes and winged figures of Victory. Greek gods and mythical characters also graced the stage (Apollo, Artemis, and the children of Niobius). The Greek Pausanius wrote: “On his head is a wreath of olive branches. His right hand, in which he holds the figure of Victory, is made of ivory and gold ... In his left hand he holds a scepter inlaid with several types of metal, and an eagle perched on scepter.His sandals are made of gold, as is his robe.The throne was adorned with gold, precious stones, ebony, and ivory.

Copies of the statue were also made, including a large prototype in Kuren (Libya). None of them, however, has survived to this day. Early reconstructions, such as those of Erlach, are now considered to be inaccurate.

The Colossus of Rhodes

Only 56 years passed from its appearance to destruction. And yet, the Colossus took its place among other architectural monuments. "Even if it's on the ground, it's a miracle," said Pliny the Elder. The Colossus of Rhodes was not only a giant statue. He was a symbol of the unity of the people who inhabited this Mediterranean island - Rhodes.

This historical monument was located at the entrance to the Mediterranean harbor (Rhodes Island) in Greece.

Ancient Greece consisted of city-states whose power did not extend beyond their borders. On the small island of Rhodes there were three of them: Gialosos, Kamiros and Lindos. In 408 BC. e., these policies were combined into one - Rhodes. The city prospered commercially and had strong economic ties with their main ally, Ptolemy Sotar of Egypt. In 305 BC. e., rivals of Ptolemy, laid siege to Rhodes in an attempt to destroy the Rhodes-Egyptian alliance. The construction of the Colossus took 12 years and was completed in 282 BC. For several decades, the statue stood at the entrance to the harbor, until a strong earthquake destroyed Rhodes in 226 BC. The city was badly damaged, and the Colossus was broken at the knee. The oracle forbade the new montage. Ptolemy's proposal for a reconstruction was rejected. In 654 the Arabs invaded Rhodes and sold the rest of the statue to the Jews.

Let me first disprove the misconception regarding the appearance of the Colossus. It has long been believed that the Colossus stood in front of the harbor of Mandraki, one of many in the city of Rhodes. Given the height of the statue and the width of the harbor entrance, this consideration is impossible. In addition, the Colossus would block the entrance to the harbor. Recent studies say that the Colossus was installed either on the eastern cape of the Mandraki harbor, or even inside it. The project was designed by the sculptor Fodian and the finishing work by Lindos. The base was made of white marble, the legs of the statue were installed first, and then the statue itself. The bronze form was reinforced with iron and stone structures. So that the builders could reach the higher parts of the statue, an earth mound was built around the statue and then removed. Although we do not know the true form and history of the appearance of the Colossus, modern reconstructions of the statue standing upright are more accurate than early drawings. Although this miracle has disappeared, it has inspired contemporary artists such as the French sculptor August Bartholdy, famous for his work "The Statue of Liberty".

Bibliography

For the preparation of this work, materials from the site http://raskopki.narod.ru/ were used.

We are all familiar with Greece in one way or another - someone only read ancient myths, and someone basked on the local beaches and contemplated Athens from the height of the Acropolis. They know in our country both Corfu and Crete - the largest of the Greek islands. It is known about Rhodes that it lies on the border of the Mediterranean and Aegean seas, only 18 kilometers from mainland Turkey; that his face was created by ancient Hellenes, Romans, Byzantines, Ottomans, Italians; that it was once protected by the Ear of Rhodes, one of the "Seven Wonders of the World" ... Nevertheless, this is enough for the desire to make friends with the legendary island, isn't it?

Rhodes Island - wonder of the world

Ear of Rhodes - the sixth of the most famous "Seven Ancient Wonders". He has long been resting on the seabed, but his image is present everywhere on Rhodes and attracts travelers from everywhere. And, I must say, it attracts for good reason.

That miracle was created by the local master Haret in 285 BC. It portrayed the patron of the island - the sun god Helios - and at the same time served as a beacon, for which the bronze giant held a bowl of fire in his hands. As most researchers assure, the Kolos reached a height of 70 cubits (37 meters). Folk retellings depict him as a figure who leaned with both legs on opposite sides of the entrance to the harbor so that the ships sailed between the legs. However, at that time the height of the sculpture had to be 500 meters, and this is an incredible architectural feat. Although ... Why not? By that time island of Rhodes was one of the largest cultural centers in Europe, and the exceptional talents of the local masters of the past are evidenced by numerous sculptural masterpieces, the crown of which is the statue of Nike of Samothrace. Pliny wrote that only in the city of Rhodes there were about a hundred "small ears" ...

And in 226 BC, an earthquake occurred on the island, and the bronze lighthouse sunk into oblivion. Unlike the city of Rhodes, it was never rebuilt. By the way, hundreds and thousands of years ago, such earthquakes happened here more than once, so interesting parallels arise with the legend that the island “surfaced from the sea abyss”.

Now, in place of the Kolos, there are only columns on which statues of graceful deer stand. Ferries with tourists sail between them, just as ancient galleys with heroes of myths once passed between the feet of Kolos. Ultra-modern yachts against the backdrop of tall fortifications - this is the first impression for the guests of the island, which awaits them in the harbor of the city of Rhodes.

Under the ancient sun

The elements have not threatened either the Rhodians or the guests of the island for a long time. At the same time, Helios does not turn his radiant face away from this fabulous land, and the sun gives them its rays almost all year round. Therefore, if in ancient times the islanders preferred philosophy and art, today they are more engaged in tourism - sincerely speaking, this is more profitable ... As for the "Russian-speaking" presence, we can console you - tourists from the CIS still treat Rhodes "without fanaticism ". Or maybe it's a pity...

In the northern part of the island are scattered summer resorts known throughout the world. By the way, in clear weather from the coast you can see the Turkish Marmaris without binoculars - this is a question of climate and location. The nature of the island is "cultivated" very delicately. Already two meters from the modern highway, the landscape of Rhodes surprises with its "ancient" inviolability. Beaches are everywhere along the coast. Despite the significant influx of tourists, many of them seem wild, so it's easy to imagine yourself a pioneer. And some are convenient for those who like to sunbathe and swim in the “suit of Adam and Eve”.

There are fifty villages here, one more picturesque than the other. In them, artisans make original carpets, various ceramics - for example, exact copies of antique amphoras.

Visiting restaurants and traditional taverns does not leave anyone indifferent, and above all those who love fish dishes and Greek gastronomic exoticism. What can we say about local wines worthy of decorating the table of Dionysus himself!

There are hotels for every taste and budget, including truly exquisite ones. But feel the true flavor islands of rhodes You can only in cozy family hotels, which are many on the coast.

Fans of outdoor activities are offered water activities "in assortment": windsurfing, scuba diving, boat racing, yachting. However, you can just soak up the sun, watching the athletes and the beautiful "Aphrodites" who walk along the shore ...

Reflections of eternity on stone

Partly thanks to these "goddesses", partly through the ability of the Greeks to preserve and increase the cultural heritage - the ancient history of the island does not seem to be purely a museum, but is organically woven into the canvas of modern life.

In ancient times, Rhodes was famous for its wealth and militant fleet, so that it even overshadowed the glory of Athens. The Athenians could not stand this and in the 5th century BC they plundered three local independent cities - Lindos, Kamir and Ialyssos. The islanders rallied, strengthened themselves in a single city-state of Rhodes and, thanks to trade, began to prosper again. And over time, they found themselves between a rock and a hard place - Persia and Alexander the Great - so they went on an adventure and made peace with a third force, Rome. In 304 BC, the city had to endure a long siege by the continental Greeks. They did not take the city of Rhodes and left their artillery here. Having sold iron, the townspeople used the proceeds to build a monument, which became one of the Seven Wonders of the World - the statue of Helios.

Rhodes remained at the pinnacle of prosperity until it partially lost its independence in favor of Rome. After the death of Caesar, his rival Cassius destroyed the Rhodian fleet and filled Rome with the treasures of the island ...

Later, many powerful rulers were seduced by its wealth, fought for it, and then decorated it with temples, palaces, theaters ... The majestic and beautiful ancient ruins of the city of Lindus enchant the eye. Now high above the new quarters lie the stones of the old man of the city. Inside the fortress, near the first turn, you can see an antique high relief of a ship carved on a rock…

After the 2nd century, the island was engulfed in waves of anarchy against the background of the decline of the Roman and Byzantine empires, and over time it was resented by the Crusades.

At the beginning of the 11th century, the crusaders of the Order of St. John established themselves on the island and ruled it for two hundred years, receiving the name of the Knights of Rhodes. Then new city walls were brought down, and a fortress around the medieval part of the city of Rhodes - even Suleiman the Great considered them threatening. The fortress has been preserved, and today it is the largest settlement of its kind in the Mediterranean. The city of the crusaders wraps the newcomer in a romantic veil. No wonder dozens of films about the Middle Ages were filmed here.

The Ottoman Turks also left a mark here. True, not the best. 1522 city Rhodes could not withstand their siege. During the Muslim domination, only Turks and Jews lived in it, and the Greeks lived outside. The witness since then is the Chora Mosque. Directly opposite is the Islamic library of the 18th century, where the rarest manuscripts and Qurans decorated with miniatures are kept. Even older are the Turkish baths, located next to Arionos Square. Here and now you can wonderfully take a steam bath. Here is satisfaction for the spirit, mind and body according to Ottoman customs.

You can see the evidence of eras with your own eyes in an original way - from the back of a donkey. These inhabitants of Rhodes symbolize stubbornness and perseverance. However, they also have other features - diligence, patience and unpretentiousness, which are absolutely useful for both animals and people at the crossroads of tourist routes. For vacationers islands of rhodes donkeys are wonderful helpers in exotic walks, because they help to almost physically transport yourself to any era, of which there are so many in the history of the island. Where you will probably meet "eared guides" is in the ancient city of Lindosi (the ascent to the Acropolis is quite steep). Getting down from the donkey and stepping a few steps from the majestic temple of Apollo through the small Odeon, which in Hellenic times was probably used for rhetoric lessons, you find yourself in the Byzantine church, which the Turks once turned into a mosque ... So is the whole of Rhodes, where different, often contrasting cultures intertwined into a beautiful wreath.

We fly to the smell of roses

When Rhodes rose from the sea, the patron of arts and admirer of harmony, Apollo, was fascinated by its beauty and blessed the wonderful land. Of course, roses are directly related to this beauty. In their image, there is also the origin of Rhodes, confirmed not at all by myths, but by real history and nature. It seems that the name of the island is derived from the local name for the rose. The region has always been called the "island of roses" and these flowers were minted on its coins. Beautiful and proud culprits of this and today congratulate the guests - mountain roses cover the slopes of the Rhodes hills.

Well, what could be more divine than the flight of a moth - a creature that comes into this world through mysterious reincarnations and makes it more beautiful? One of the most unusual baits Rhodes- Valley of the Moths. Here, a small melodious stream twists in the reflections of the bright sun and creates lakes along its course, very similar to pearls. And powerful plane trees grow on both sides. It is these trees that hide the secret of those almost magical actions over the Valley. The smell of their resin, and not at all the legendary roses, attracts myriads of red-winged night moths here. During the day, amazing insects doze on plane trees, bushes and boulders. One unexpected movement or exclamation - and they take off, enveloping you in a pink cloud. The brilliance of the most expensive gems, hidden from life in a deep chest, cannot be equated to such a spectacle!

A year after staying in Rhodes, this magical island is remembered by the traveler as something gentle, seductive and mystical - like a moth! It was this creature that became a symbol of the region - so light and transient ... But eternal ...

Holidays in Greece - the ancient island of Rhodes

Holidays in Greece - the ancient island of Rhodes

Holidays in Greece - the ancient island of Rhodes

Alexandria, or Foros luminous lighthouse

In 332-331 years. BC e. Alexander the Great founded the capital of Hellenistic Egypt - Alexandria. Here is the famous Musseion of Alexandria, one of the main scientific and cultural centers of the ancient world, and with it the less famous Library of Alexandria, which has almost 700 thousand books. Alexandria was the richest city of its time, so many wonderful buildings were erected in it, to which the Lighthouse of Alexandria belongs on the rocky island of Foros near the Nile Delta.
The construction and use of lighthouses began with the development of navigation. At first, lighthouses had nothing to do with modern structures; in bad weather, large fires were lit on the high banks. Much later, people began to build artificial structures. One of the seven wonders of the ancient world is the Lighthouse of Alexandria, or the Lighthouse of Foros, built in 283 BC. e. The construction of this giant took only 5 years, which is remarkable in itself.
The main building materials for the lighthouse were limestone, marble and granite. The lighthouse consisted of three towers placed one on top of the other. The height of the lighthouse, according to some sources, was 120 m, but according to others - 130 - 140, according to some modern publications - ISO m.
The base of the lower tower was square, with a side length of 30.5 m. The lower tower, 60 m high, was built of stone slabs, decorated with elegant sculptural work. The middle, octagonal tower, 40 m high, was lined with white marble slabs. The upper tower, a round lantern with a dome mounted on granite columns, was crowned with a huge (8 m) bronze statue of Poseidon, the patron saint of the seas.
At the top of the tower, in a voluminous bronze bowl, charcoal was constantly smoldering, with the help of a complex system of mirrors, the reflection of the coals was reflected for 100 miles, indicating the location of the harbor. A shaft ran through the entire lighthouse, around which a ramp and stairs spiraled up. Donkey-drawn wagons rode up the broad, gently sloping ramp to the top of the lighthouse. Fuel for the lighthouse was delivered through the mine.
In addition to its main function, the lighthouse served as an excellent observation post. The system of metal mirrors was also used to survey the sea space, making it possible to detect enemy ships long before they appeared off the coast. There was also a weather vane, clocks and astronomical instruments.
The lighthouse erected on the island of Foros, in its size and complex reflective system, was the only structure of this type. He stood for about 1500 years, serving as a light. The lighthouse suffered twice from earthquakes, it was restored, but still strong sea winds finally destroyed the old walls. Later, a medieval fortress was erected on the ruins of the lighthouse. The stone remains of the "wonder of the world" were built into Kite Bay, where they are to this day. The name of the island has become a symbol; the word "foros" began to mean "lighthouse", from which the modern word "fara" was formed.
In 1961, while exploring coastal waters, scuba divers found statues, sarcophagi, and marble boxes. In 1980, an international group of archaeologists discovered the remains of the Foros lighthouse on the seabed.

The Colossus of Rhodes

The island of Rhodes is located in the eastern part mediterranean sea, in the archipelago of the Southern Sporades. It is one of the centers of the Aegean culture. Numerous works of ancient art of the island of Rhodes have survived to this day, and one of them is the statue of Helios - the Colossus of Rhodes.
In the III century. BC e. the island of Rhodes was attacked. The troops were led by the commander Demetrius. Despite special siege engines - the last word in military technology - he failed to defeat the Rhodians. The troops retreated, leaving on the shore a huge iron-covered siege tower with rams and a swing bridge, catapults, a landing platform - a heliopolis, which was set in motion by 3400 soldiers. This heliopod - also a kind of wonder of the world - instead of destruction brought the city unexpected financial benefits and worldwide fame. Enterprising merchants bought a massive metal geleoyaolid from the Rhodians for fabulous money - 300 talents. With the proceeds from the sale of the tower, the islanders erected a statue of Helios, the patron saint of Rhodes. This one of the seven wonders of the world was erected in 292-280. to me. e, in memory of the successful defense of the island.
The statue of a young man reaches a height of 36 meters. It was installed on the trading square between the sea and the city gates, on a bulk hill 7 meters high, lined with white marble. The statue of Helios is so large that Pliny the Elder, who saw it, was struck by the fact that few people could wrap their hands around the thumb of the statue. The young man's mighty legs were slightly apart, the palm of his right hand was put to his eyes, in his left he held a veil falling to the ground. The fledgling leaned back, the young man peered into the distance. The Holon was adorned with a Jena made of divergent and side beams. It was an image of the god Helios, the patron saint of rays. It was believed that the island was raised from the bottom of the earth by the command of a god.
The author of the statue was a representative of the Rhodes Skoda, the sculptor Hares, a student of Disippus. The construction of the giant statue consisted of three massive stone pillars that served as supports for the legs of the statue and the cover. At the level of the shoulders and in the belt, the pillars were connected by iron transverse beams. Presumably, the cross section of the iron bars at the level of the statue's ankle was approximately 4.5 square meters. inches. Above and below this point, the cross section gradually decreased. Pillars and beams served as the basis of the iron frame, which was covered with chased bronze sheets 1.6 mm thick.

(Ruins of the mausoleum today)

mausoleum in Halicarnassus

In Halicarnassus, the capital of a small Carian state in Asia Minor, one of the most grandiose monuments of Greek architecture of the late classics was created.
Halicarnassus was a major trading port, well fortified by nature itself. Along the harbor ran the market square, then up through the center of the meanders. and its border was laid a wide street, “in the middle of which was erected the Mausoleum, built on such a grandiose scale that it was listed among the seven wonders of the world,” Vitruvius wrote.
The tomb was erected for Mausolus in the 4th c. to ir. x Queen Artemisia. Mausolus was a cruel and incredibly wealthy ruler; he introduced tax after tax, extracting income from everything, for example, from funeral rites or hair.
For the first time in Greek architecture, namely in the architecture of the Halicarias Mausoleum, all three famous styles were combined - Greek, Ionic, Corinthian. The lower floor was supported by 15 Doric columns, the inner columns of the upper floor were Corinthian and the outer ones Ionic. Strict geometry was observed in the Mausoleum, massive simplicity, full of inner strength, was combined with decorativeness, lightness of forms and smooth lines.
The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus is a three-tiered structure. The first tier was encircled by a white marble relief ribbon. A mortuary temple with an area of ​​​​5000 square meters was placed here. meters and a height of about 20 meters. The second tier was formed by a slender marble colonnade, and the third by a pyramidal roof, also marble. The building was crowned with a four-horse chariot (quadriga), which was ruled by marble Mausolus and Artemisia. The solemn building reached 10-50 meters in height. The tombs were surrounded by statues of lions and galloping horsemen.
The mausoleum was built by the architects Satyr and Pythius, and the sculptural composition was entrusted to several masters, including.
of whom the great Scopas was, Fragments of the frieze of the tomb of Mausolus, depicting the battle of the Greeks with the Amazons - "Amazopomachia" have been preserved. Scientists believe that this is the work of Sko-pas or his workshop.
For nineteen centuries the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus stood. The destruction began with the fact that at first it was slightly damaged by an earthquake, then the king's tomb was demolished by the logoiists, who built a stone monastery-fortress out of the stone.
At the present time, the statues of Mausolus and Artsmisia, as well as other decorations of the Mausoleum, are kept in the London Museum. The memory of the Halicarpas Mausoleum was preserved in many structures of this kind, which were subsequently erected in pa.wbTX cities of the Middle East.
The statue took 12 years to build. Great was the admiration of the Rhodians when the construction embankment was dismantled and they saw the god of the Sun. The rumor about this wonder of the world spread quickly, but, unfortunately, the life of the statue turned out to be very short, it did not stand even for half a century. In 224 BC. e. the statue was destroyed by a strong earthquake, the figure broke above the knees, the torso fell to the ground, the head and shoulders rested on the hill. The Rhodians and their neighbors tried to raise the defeated giant. The Egyptian king sent skilled craftsmen, but, unfortunately, the statue could not be restored. For almost 1000 years, a split statue lay on the shore of the bay, which became a landmark of Rhodes. Only in 977 did the Arab governor sell it to an enterprising merchant for melting down. The ear was cut into pieces, and the costly bronze was taken away on 900 camels.

Zeus statue in Olympia

The ancient Greek city of Olympia, located in the northwestern part of the Peloponnese, was a religious center where the supreme god Zeus was worshiped, and the venue for the Olympic Games dedicated to him. It was the greatest cultural center of Ancient Greece. Architectural ensemble Olympia was formed mainly in the 7th-4th centuries, BC. e. Magnificent temples of the gods were erected here, in one of which there was one of the seven wonders of the world - a huge and beautiful statue of Zeus.
The statue of Zeus was created by the brilliant ancient Greek sculptor Phidias (presumably 500-430 BC). It was not only the greatest sculptor, but also a talented architect, painter, thinker. According to ancient authors, Phidias in his sculptural images managed to convey the superhuman greatness of the gods. Such was, obviously, the statue of Zeus, created for the temple at Olympia. The statue was at the end of a huge hall, which was 64 meters long, 28 meters wide and about 20 meters high. 14-meter Zeus sat on a throne made of gold, ivory, ebony and precious stones. On the throne, Phidias reproduced many plots and.) Hellenic mythology, embodied the figures of quite real people. The statue of Zeus itself is made of gold and ivory. Precious records were skillfully fastened on a special wooden frame. Head and nude to the waist figure. Zeus were carved from ivory. The head of Zeus was decorated with a golden wreath of olive branches - a sign of the peacefulness of the formidable god. In one hand, the god held a golden statue of the winged goddess of victory Nike, the other leaned on a scepter, ending with the figure of an eagle. The cloak thrown over his shoulder, the hair and beard of Zeus were carved from gold. The statue seemed alive: Zeus was about to rise from the throne.
Subsequently, the statue of Zeus was transported to Constantinople in the palace of Emperor Theodosius II. In the 5th century the palace burned down, and with it the flames destroyed the ingenious creation of Phidias. The statue of Zeus is gone.

Temple of Artemis at Ephesus

In the VI century. BC h. The ancient Greek city of Ephesus reached unprecedented prosperity. The city was founded in the XII century. BC e. on the western coast of Asia Minor, Kariy. The patroness of the city was Artemis - the daughter of Zeus and Leto, the sister of the golden-haired Apollo. Artemis was the goddess of fertility, the patroness of animals and hunting, the protector of chastity and the guardian of women in childbirth, as well as the goddess of the moon. It is quite natural that the townspeople decided to build a majestic temple in honor of their patroness. However, this intention also had practical implications. Zefestsy conducted large usurious operations - they borrowed money at high interest rates - so the elders hoped that the new structure would increase the turnover of the "bank" of Artemis.
The well-known architect Harsiphron from Knossos worked on the drafting and construction of the temple. He proposed to build a marble temple, which would encircle a double row of columns. The proposal was accepted, but the question arose - where to get the marble? The case helped. One day the shepherd Pixodorus was tending his flock on the green hills near Ephesus. Two sheep decided to find out the relationship. Bowing their heads, they rushed towards each other, but missed. And one of them hit a rock with a running start. So much so that a fragment of dazzling whiteness flew off from it. The further fate of the rams is unknown, but their battle turned out to be historical. The bewildered shepherd picked up a stone, carefully examined it, and suddenly, leaving his flock, hastened to the city. The jubilant townspeople greeted the shepherd, dressed him in expensive clothes, and the unknown Pixodorus became a celebrity - the Gospel, which means “bringing the good news.
The construction of the temple dragged on for 120 years. One of the reasons for such a long construction was that they decided to build the temple near the mouth of the Kaistra River, where there was very swampy soil. It was believed that the marble temple in this place would weaken the earthquakes that often occurred on the coast of Asia Minor. The soil was sprinkled with crushed coal, which was carefully compacted.
Marble columns were transported from the quarries, located 12 kilometers from the place of laying the temple. The wheels of the wagons withered in the swampy earth. Then Harsifron proposed an ingenious way to level the soil. Iron rods were hammered into the ends of the column, reinforced with tin, and wheels of such a size were planted on these axles on both sides of the column that the stone column hung on iron axles. Then they attached long poles, harnessed the bulls. The column, turned into a kind of wheel, rolled along the muddy road.
Under Harsiphrons, a temple building was erected and a colonnade was installed. But the building was still far from being completed. The construction was continued by the son of Harsiphron, the architect Metagen. He managed to finish the upper part of the temple. With great difficulty, the beams were dragged with ropes but on an inclined plane to the height of the temple. In the future, even more difficult work lay ahead; it was necessary to place the architrave on the top of the column so carefully as not to damage its capital. Like his father, Metagen wittily solved the difficulty that arose: sandbags were placed on top of the column, beams were carefully lowered on them, under their weight the sand gradually spilled out, and the beams smoothly fell into place.
Metagenes also did not have time to complete the construction of the temple, and this fell to the lot of the architects Paeonites and Demetrius. B 550 BC I., when a light and elegant white marble building with magnificent decoration opened up to the eyes of contemporaries, it aroused surprise and admiration.
The sanctuary was huge, 100 feet long and 55 meters wide. Around it were two rows of stone columns up to 18 meters high. According to Pliny the Elder, there were 127 of them. The gable roof was not made of tiles, as in ancient temples, but of marble slabs.
Almost 200 years have passed. B 356 BC e. a resident of Ephesus, Herostratus, overwhelmed by the ambitious idea of ​​perpetuating his name at any cost, set fire to the shrine of the cities of Asia Minor. This happened on the night of the birth of Alexander the Great. The temple was badly damaged; wooden structures were burned, floor beams and columns cracked. The inhabitants of Ephesus decided to restore the temple and collected their savings and jewelry for its restoration. They were supported by residents of other cities of Asia Minor. A. Macedonsky offered to pay for the past and future expenses for the reconstruction of the temple, but on the condition that an inscription was carved in the temple, paying tribute to his merits. The Ephesians motivated their refusal by the fact that it is fitting for a "god" ke to erect temples to other gods.
The restoration of the Temple of Artemis was undertaken by the architect Cheirocrates. During the work, he made some change: he raised the stepped base so that the temple towered above the buildings that had grown around it over the past centuries.
From the inside, the temple was lined with marble slabs. In the main hall stood a statue of Artemis 15 meters high, covered with gold ornaments and jewels. Outstanding Greek sculptors and painters took part in the artistic design. The relief for the altar near the temple was carved by the famous Athenian sculptor Praxiteles, the relief on one of the columns was made by another famous sculptor Skopas. Rumors about the incomparable beauty, harmony, grandeur and wealth of the restored temple spread throughout the ancient world. Not surprisingly, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus has become one of the marvels of the overhang.
Archaeologists interested in the Temple of Artemis found nothing at the site of construction. In 263, the temple of Artemis was sacked by the Goths. It was finally destroyed by swampy soil, which gradually swallowed up the building, and the Kaistra River, which covered the remains of the structure with sediment. It took archaeologists and architects decades to recreate the original appearance of one of the wonders of the world.

Hanging Gardens of Babylon in Babylon

The ruins of Babylon are located 90 kilometers from Baghdad. Although the ancient city ceased to exist long ago, the ruins that can be seen today testify to its former grandeur.
In the 7th century to i. J. Babylon was the largest and richest city of the Ancient East. There were many amazing buildings in Babylon, but the hanging gardens of the royal palace, gardens that became a legend, were most striking.
The legend connects the creation of the famous gardens with the name of Semiramis, the queen of Assyria, at least Diodorus and other Greek historians tell about the same.
Semiramis - Shammuramat - a historical person, but her life is legendary. According to legend, the daughter of the goddess Derketo Semiramide grew up in the desert, in a flock of doves. Then the shepherds saw her and gave her to the caretaker of the royal herds, Simmas, who raised her as her own daughter. The royal commander Oannes saw the girl and married her. Semiramide was amazingly beautiful, smart and brave. She charmed the gift, who took her away from the governor. Oannes took his own life, and Semiramis became queen. After the death of her husband, she became the heir to the throne, although they had a son, Nnn. It was then that her abilities in the peaceful administration of the state manifested themselves. She built the royal city of Vavilov with powerful walls and towers, with a magnificent bridge over the Euphrates and an amazing temple of Bel. Under her rule, a convenient road was laid through the seven ridges of the Zagros chain to Lydia, where she also built the capital of Ekba-tanu with a beautiful royal palace, and led the water to the capital through a tunnel from distant mountain lakes. The courtyard of Semiramis shone with splendor. Pinius was bored with an inglorious life, and he organized a conspiracy against his mother. The queen voluntarily handed over power to her son, and herself, turning into a dove, flew away from the dEorn with a flock of doves. Since that time, the Assyrians began to revere her as a goddess, and the dove became a sacred bird for them.
However, the famous "hanging gardens" were not laid out by Semiramis and not even during her reign, but later, in honor of another, alas, not the legendary zheshtsipy. They were built by order of Nebuchadnezzar for his beloved wife Amytis, an Indian princess who longed for the green hills of Media in dusty Babylon. This king, who destroyed city after city and even entire states, built a lot in Babylon. He turned the capital into an impregnable stronghold and surrounded himself with unparalleled, even in those days, luxury.
Nebuchadnezzar built his palace on an artificially created platform, raised to the height of a four-tier structure. Hanging gardens were laid out on the bulk terraces resting on the vaults. The vaults were supported by powerful high columns located inside each floor. The terrace platforms were a complex structure. At their base lay massive stone slabs with a layer of reeds covered with asphalt. Then came a double row of bricks connected with plaster. Even higher - lead plates for water retention. The terrace itself was covered with a thick layer of fertile earth, in which large trees could take root. The floors of the gardens rose in ledges and were connected by wide canopy stairs covered with pink and white stone. The height of the floors reached 50 cubits (27.75 m) and provided enough light for the plants.
Ox-drawn carts brought trees wrapped in wet matting, seeds of rare plants, herbs and bushes to Babylon. Gradually amazing gardens grew and beautiful flowers bloomed. To irrigate the greenery day and night, hundreds of slaves brought water from the Euphrates in leather bags.
Magnificent gardens with rare trees, beautiful fragrant cysts and coolness in sultry Babylonia were truly a wonder of the world. In June 323 BC. e. Alexander the Great spent his last days in the chambers of the lower tier of these sadozes.
The Hanging Gardens were destroyed by the constant floods of the Euphrates, which rises to 3-4 meters during the flood. Ancient Babylon has long ceased to exist, but the legend of the unique gardens of the city lives on today.

Egyptian pyramids

Pyramids are timeless and the most mysterious and mysterious of what is left to us from our ancestors. They rise among the hot sands of the Libyan desert and stretch from modern Cairo to the Fayum Canal.
The oldest pyramid of Pharaoh Djoser was erected about five thousand years ago. The height of the pyramid is 60 meters. The builder of the first pyramid Im was an architect, doctor, astronomer, writer, adviser to the pharaoh, for many centuries was considered the greatest sage of antiquity, in later times he was deified, and temples and statues were erected in his honor.
The pyramids served the pharaohs, according to their religion, as a ladder by which they ascended to heaven. Therefore, the most ancient pyramids were stepped, while the later ones had smooth walls. Why the pyramids were originally built with stairs, and then without, is still a mystery.
Archaeologists have counted 80 pyramids, but not all of them have survived to this day. The most famous of them are the three large pyramids near Giza: Cheops (Khufu), Khafrep (Khafra) and Mekerin (Melkaur).
The largest pyramid is the pyramid of Cheops, built in the XXVIII century. BC e. architect Hemuin. Initially, it rose to 147 meters, but due to the applied sands, its height decreased to 137 meters. Each side of the square base of the pyramid is 233 meters, or, to be ton, one side is 20 centimeters longer than the others, that is, an error of only 0.0009. The area of ​​the pyramid is more than 50 thousand square meters. The Pyramid of Cheops consists of an almost continuous stone masonry, the interior rooms occupy no more than 3-4% of the total area.
The pyramid consists of two million three hundred thousand cubic limestone blocks with smoothly polished sides. According to Napoleon, the stone blocks from the three pyramids of Giza would be enough to encircle the whole of France with a wall three meters high and 30 centimeters thick. It was calculated that each block weighs basically 2.5 tons, and the heaviest one weighs 15 tons. The total weight of the pyramid is about 5.7 million tons. The stones are laid without binding material and are held by their own weight. The blocks are so carefully fitted one to the other that the gap between them is no more than five millimeters.
Such skillful work of stonemasons, which requires precision, not a primitive, but a complex set of tools, as well as the use of heavy equipment, is surprising to modern man. After all, oyaa was made mainly with stone tools, without the use of sophisticated technical equipment. Researchers who tried to find out how the ancient builders were able to erect such a grandiose structure, and even not just erect, but give it the correct geometric shape, were at a standstill. Sometimes, as with megalithic structures, the opinion is expressed that the pyramids, these colossal structures, were built by ... aliens.
Among the many assumptions made about the construction of the pyramids, more or less reasonable ones have finally appeared. Now it is believed that the pyramids were most likely built in this way. On the right bank of the Nile in the quarries near Memphis, thousands of people were engaged in the extraction of white fine-grained limestone. The boundaries of the future block were marked in the rock, then a deep ditch was hollowed out along these boundaries, and wedges of dry wood were hammered into it, which were poured with water. The tree swelled, increasing in volume, the cracks widened, and, in the end, the monolith separated from the rock. The stone block was then processed on site with tools made of stone, copper and wood until it took on the shape of a standard cube. In the vicinity of Aswan, there are still ancient quarries, on the territory of which many ready-made unused blocks were found. As it turned out, these are defective blocks.
The processed blocks were transported by boats to the left bank of the Nile, then they were transported along a specially laid road, the construction of which took 10 years. This construction, according to Herodotus, was only a little simpler than the construction of the pyramids. Then, at the foot of the future pyramid, the front side was carefully polished, using stone and sand for this.
The pyramid was erected on a bedrock limestone massif, cleared of alluvial sand and grace, Herodotus claims that the construction of the pyramid lasted 23 years. During the burden of the annual floods of the Nile, the peasants were involuntarily released from agricultural work, so their piles were used in construction. According to rough estimates, 100 thousand people worked continuously on the construction of the pyramid every three months. The English archaeologist Flinders Petrie believes that 100,000 builders, working for three months about a year, could build the great pyramid in less than 20 years.
To raise the blocks, the Egyptians built a sloping mound of brick and stone with an elevation angle of about 15 °. As the pyramid was built, the mound was lengthened. Diodorus Siculus claimed that the stone was dragged along these mounds on wooden saias. Indeed, archaeologists have discovered the remains of such sleighs. Modern researchers believe that to reduce friction, the track was constantly wetted with water, so that the skids easily glided through the mud. Then, with the help of wooden levers, the blocks were installed in place. When the construction was completed, the sloping embankment was leveled, and the surface of the pyramid was covered with lined blocks.
The pyramids are the most famous architectural structure in the world. From an engineering point of view, these primitive buildings, mountains built by people, However, the goal was achieved - the pyramids became eternal monuments that survived millennia.

Seven wonders of the world. Left to right, top to bottom:
The Pyramid of Cheops
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
Zeus statue in Olympia
mausoleum in Halicarnassus
The Colossus of Rhodes
Alexandrian lighthouse.

Most people know that there are Seven Wonders of the World, but only a few can name them. The first list that mentioned the Seven Wonders of the World (of the Ancient World) was originally based around the masterpieces of the second century BC. The first mention of the idea of ​​highlighting the most impressive structures is found in the writings of Herodotus as early as the 5th century BC.
Decades later, Greek historians wrote about the greatest monuments of the time, and then came the "Collection of Wonders of the World." All we know about the collection is its name, since it was lost with the destruction of the Library of Alexandria. The final list of the Seven Wonders was formed during the Middle Ages.
The list included seven of the most impressive monuments of the Ancient World. Today, archaeological research is uncovering some of the mysteries that have surrounded the history of the Wonders of the World for centuries. For their builders, the Seven Wonders of the World were the personification of religion, mythology, art, power and science. For us, they represent the ability of people to create structures of incredible beauty and structure, one of which, the Egyptian pyramids, has survived to this day. During most of the millennia known as the Middle Ages, most Europeans lived in small, isolated states; travel was difficult and dangerous; and knowledge of other countries was limited, often determined by the priests. The great civilizations of Greece and Rome were long gone, but some of their glory was still remembered. Travelers brought tales of incredible civilization in the East that sparked the European imagination.
Not so long ago, it was decided to highlight the new wonders of the world that exist today. The decision was dictated by the fact that the previous exhibits (almost all) were destroyed and lost, and the objects created after that deserved to be mentioned no less. This is how the new 7 wonders of the world appeared (the photo is available on the site). Modern wonders of the world are no less mysterious and interesting than their predecessors. The history of their creation is also shrouded in gloomy and incredible details that can capture the imagination of a person. Another decision was to highlight 7 natural wonders - these are unusual natural phenomena that are worthy of inclusion in this list, and are known on a global scale.
7 wonders of the world in the photo cannot convey the full effect of their contemplation in person - photographs, even the best ones, are incapable of such actions. Therefore, of course, it is better to visit the places where the masterpiece you are interested in is located - and you will remember the impressions received for the rest of your life.
HOW THE 7 WONDERS OF THE WORLD WERE CHOSEN
There were so many wonders to choose from. The task of compiling a list that was supposed to include only the seven wonders of the world was begun around the 5th century BC.
We all know about the difficulties that existed at that time associated with travel. It was possible to move only on camels or horses, in fact, without the opportunity to have a normal rest - but the choice of 7 wonders of the world (we can’t imagine the photo, because the camera was not invented then, but we’re sure it was fun) was such an important thing that people made these sacrifices, and withstood long weeks and months in the saddle to inspect the available different countries miracles that claim to be world-class. Despite all the difficulties along the way, great people like Herodotus, Callimax, etc., were able to carry out scientific research at a good level, fixing data in documents, supplementing them with facts and evidence, images of miracles, etc. But, all this, including a list of 7 wonders of the world, "photos" (in the sense of drawings of miracles), etc., burned down in a fire in the Library of Alexandria.
Of course, it was a huge loss, so in the Middle Ages they set about compiling a new list, which, according to the compilers, should have included the most amazing seven wonders of the world. Almost everyone is familiar with this list - it included the pyramids of Egypt, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes, etc. It is interesting that at the time of compiling the list, most of the 7 wonders of the world (photo attached) had already been destroyed, and the compilers were guided exclusively by the preserved ancient scrolls, etc. .
PYRAMIDS OF EGYPT

The pyramids of Egypt served as tombs for their dead kings. In the center of the ritual complex of the building are the Egyptian pyramids, according to the beliefs of the ancient Egyptians, they had magical powers, in which the mummified pharaoh could achieve eternal life.
The first step that led to the creation of the Egyptian Pyramids complex was the Pyramid of Djoser, built shortly after Egypt became a unified land (around 3000 BC). The pyramids of Egypt became known mainly due to the Pyramid of Cheops, located in Giza, which was discovered centuries later. The Egyptian pyramids were distinguished by unique technological features, and it is still not entirely clear how they were built.
The true evolution in which the Egyptian pyramids developed can be traced from the most ancient prehistoric tombs to the splendor of the Giza plateau.
THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES

Travelers in New York Harbor can see a wonderful sight. Before them appears a huge statue of a woman in clothes, standing on a small island in the harbor, holding a book and a torch, rushing into the sky. The statue is almost one hundred and twenty feet from the feet to the crown. It is sometimes called the "Modern Colossus", but more often it is called the Statue of Liberty.
The Colossus of Rhodes, which the Statue of Liberty so reminds us of, is an ancient creation of the ancients, located on the island of Rhodes. The Colossus of Rhodes was a statue standing along the banks of the strait, one foot was on one side, the other on the second. According to the project, ships were supposed to float between the legs of the statue.
Unfortunately, the Colossus of Rhodes turned out to be “weak in the legs”, because of the earthquake, his legs gave way, and the huge statue collapsed into the water. For a long time there were remains of his legs, which served as proof of his existence, but they have not survived to this day either. The Colossus of Rhodes today has become a symbol of a massive, but ill-conceived project at the base, which can easily collapse.
TEMPLE OF ARTEMIS OF EPHESSIA

The Temple of Artemis of Ephesus today is the remains of columns and meager fragments lying on the ground, and this is all that remains of the seventh wonder of the world. According to Strabo, the temple of Artemis of Ephesus was destroyed at least seven times, and rebuilt the same number of times. Archaeological finds testify to at least four restorations of this temple, dating back to the 7th century BC. Chersiphon and Metagenes erected a two-winged temple in the 6th century BC. and, according to Herostratus, it was burned - the next majestic structure, built entirely of marble, appeared in 334 BC, and was completed in 250 BC. The temple of Artemis of Ephesus was admired even by Alexander the Great, who paid for the continuation of the work. Skopas and Praxiteles also worked there, and Chirocrates was responsible for the design.
The Hellenistic temple was built on a podium, which was reached by a 13-step staircase. A double colonnade surrounded the outer and inner space (105 x 55 m). The relief columns were the work of Scopas, and Praxiteles worked on the design of the altar. Unfortunately, as we have already said, the temple of Artemis of Ephesus has not been preserved.
HANGING GARDENS OF BABYLON

Curiously, however, one of the world's most impressive sights is not even mentioned by Herodotus: the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
They indicate that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were built by King Nebuchadnezzar, who ruled the city for 43 years, starting from 605 BC. There is a less credible alternative story that the gardens were built by the Assyrian queen Semiramis during her five-year reign beginning in 810 BC.
This was the peak of the city's power and influence, when King Nebuchadnezzar built an amazing array of temples, streets, palaces and walls, which included the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
According to legend, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were built to surprise and please Nebuchadnezzar's wife, Amitis. Amitis, the daughter of the king of Media, married Nebuchadnezzar to create an alliance between the nations. She came from a green, sunny country, and the sun-dried terrain of Mesopotamia seemed depressing to her. The king decided to recreate his homeland by creating artificial mountains with gardens. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon got their name not because they hung like a cable or rope. The name comes from an inaccurate translation of the Greek word, which means not only "hanging", but "overhanging", as is the case with a terrace or balcony.
MAUSOLEUM OF HALICARNASSUS

In 377 BC, the city of Halicarnassus was the capital of a small kingdom along the Mediterranean coast of Asia Minor. It was in this year that the ruler of this land died and left control of the kingdom to his son, Mausolus. Mausolus continued the expansion of the territory begun by his father, reaching the southwestern part of Asia Minor. Mausolus, with his queen, ruled Halicarnassus and the surrounding territories for 24 years. Mausolus, although he was a local resident, spoke excellent Greek and admired the Greek way of life and government.
Then, in 353 BC. Mausolus died, leaving his queen alone, who was also his sister (It was the local custom for rulers to marry their own sister), heartbroken. As a tribute to him, she decided to build the most magnificent Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, which became his tomb. Soon the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus became a famous building, and now the name of Mausolus is associated with all the majestic tombs, since it was from his name that the word "mausoleum" appeared. The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus was so beautiful and unique that it became one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
Not so long ago, a couple of years ago, regular elections were held, where new 7 wonders of the world were determined. We invite you to talk in more detail.
MODERN WONDERS OF THE WORLD

The new list includes the following miracles:
- The Great Wall of China - in our humble opinion, it should be included in all such lists where new wonders of the world are mentioned. The wall is a truly incredible object, on which a lot of funds, materials, and human lives have been spent. Striking in its size, the design is admired when we only think about the state of the art that existed then.
- Petra - this object was also rightfully included in the new 7 wonders of the world, since it is a whole city, completely carved into the rocks. The skill of the workers is surprising even by modern standards, and if again we remember that the city is several thousand years old, then we can say with confidence that this is a real miracle.
- The statue of Christ - known to us from the Brazilian TV series, a tall structure crowning a hill in Rio. Considering the new 7 wonders of the world, we believe that it would be possible to choose something else, more worthy, but this is only our personal opinion.
– Machu Picchu is an Indian city that has survived to this day, and is a monument of the ancient Inca civilization. The new wonders of the world put it in one place with the Chinese wall and the Egyptian pyramids, and we tend to agree with them - indeed, there is something to see here.
- Chichen Itza are buildings that have become a monument to another great civilization - the Maya. Here, ancient sculptures, buildings, inventions have been preserved, almost in perfect condition that have survived to this day. Even some pieces of furniture were found here. Our verdict is that the modern wonders of the world must include this city.
- The Roman Colosseum is a place where gladiator battles took place, soaked in blood and scary stories, the last breaths of people and animals. The new wonders of the world include the Colosseum, not just because of its beauty, but because of its history, participation in ancient works, stories and narratives.
- Taj Mahal - fanned with a romantic halo, a temple built in memory of probably one of the most famous love stories in the world, it deserves to be included in the modern 8 wonders of the world solely because of its history.
- The pyramids of Egypt - they were included in the new 8 wonders of the world, because the Egyptians were offended by the fact that their "miracle" was not included in the list of the best. It was decided to respect the request, because the truth is, the design deserves admiration.

Early slave states in the Aegean

The beginning of the II millennium is the emergence of a class society and state in Crete, and then in other countries of the Aegean basin. These were the first centers of slave-owning civilization in Europe, which had a great influence on the further development of Greece.

ancient Aegean world

natural conditions

Despite the fact that the Aegean region covers areas located on two continents and many islands - there are several hundred of them - geographically and historically it is to a certain extent a single whole. The Aegean region in ancient times was divided into four regions: the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula (mainland Greece), the island world, Crete and the narrow coastal strip of Asia Minor. Mainland Greece, in turn, is divided into three parts: Northern, Middle and Southern (Peloponnese). It is separated from the rest of the Balkan Peninsula by the spurs of the Balkan Range, which also enter the territory of Greece, where mountains occupy the largest part of the surface. The most important part of northern Greece is the fertile Thessalian valley, irrigated by the river Peneus. Through the narrow passage of Thermopylae, the path leads to Central Greece, which includes a number of more or less significant valleys surrounded by mountains, and the Attica peninsula. From the east, the island of Euboea adjoins Central Greece.

Peloponnese from all sides, with the exception of the Isthmus of Corinth (Istma), is washed by the waters of the Aegean and Ionian Seas and their bays. Here, as in Central Greece, the country consists of many regions, mostly isolated by mountains.

The mountains in Greece - their height rarely exceeds 2 thousand meters - were not an insurmountable obstacle for man, but in ancient times they nevertheless contributed a lot to the disunity of individual regions. In addition, in Greece there were neither large rivers, nor the possibility of creating an extensive irrigation system, characteristic of many ancient Eastern countries. The western shores of mainland Greece are comparatively little indented. They are mostly steep and mountainous. But on the east coast, the sea formed a winding coastline.

If the mountains separated the tribes of the Aegean basin, then the islands connected them with each other. Sailors in the Aegean never lost sight of the land, even if their path lay from the coast of Europe to the coast of Asia Minor. With the usual clear and cloudless weather here, the islands, located, as a rule, no further than 50 km from each other, never disappeared from the sailors' field of vision. This contributed to the development of navigation and all crafts related to the sea.

A special area of ​​the Aegean was the coast of Asia Minor with convenient numerous shallow bays, bays and estuaries. Vast plains with fertile soil adjoined the coast.

The climate of the coasts of the Aegean, with the exception of numerous mountainous regions, can be defined as subtropical; only in the northern part of mainland Greece does it become moderate. Summers are hot and dry here. Snow, even in winter, rarely falls and usually melts immediately. In winter, when south and southwest winds blow from the warm Mediterranean Sea, most of the annual precipitation falls. Therefore, the growing season falls on late autumn, winter and spring, when precipitation falls; fast, intermittent rivers, usually dry up in summer, cannot supply sufficient moisture to fields and orchards.

There is little fertile land in Greece. Rains wash away the soil from the slopes of the mountains, and only the coastal plains and valleys inland are covered with red earth and yellow earth soils characteristic of the subtropical zone. In the floodplains, the soils are alluvial (alluvial), sometimes waterlogged. In ancient times, Greece was covered with extensive forests and thickets of thorny bushes.

Due to the arid climate and the lack of suitable land, agriculture, as the main branch of the economy, developed only in a few regions of the country. Bread in mainland Greece during the development of a slave society was usually not enough, and it had to be imported from other countries even then. The conditions were more favorable for the cultivation of horticultural crops. Among them, the first place was occupied by oilseeds and grapes.

An important role in the economic life of the ancient Greeks was played by fishing and cattle breeding - mainly the breeding of small cattle (goats and sheep), especially in the central and mountainous regions of the country. Cattle, and later horses, were bred mainly in Thessaly.

The country is rich in various natural resources: excellent marble, excellent clay; from metals, silver, copper, lead, and later iron were mined here, and gold was mined on the island of Thasos. Gold was also mined in Thrace (on the territory of modern Bulgaria). But some metals were not enough or were negligible (tin), and they had to be imported.

Periodization of the ancient history of the Aegean region.

In the Greek epic and myths, the vague traditions of the ancient Greeks about their distant past, about the power of the Cretan king Minos, about Mycenae, abundant in gold, about the ten-year Trojan War and other legendary events, have been preserved. The excavations of Troy, Tiryns and Mycenae, and later Knossos (Crete) and hundreds of other large and small settlements on the coast and islands of the Aegean Sea, which began in the 70s of the last century, convincingly proved that Greek legends, despite the fabulous shell, retained a grain of historical truth and are the legacy of the really existing in the II, and partly in the III millennium BC. e. rich and vibrant Aegean culture.

The history of the Aegean basin in the III and II millennia BC. e. It is customary to divide into three large periods: early, middle and late. In view of the fact that in different areas of the Aegean the nature of local cultures is not quite the same, it became necessary to single out the Minoan (i.e. Cretan), Helladic (i.e. mainland Greek) and other cultures; accordingly, such periods as the early Minoan, early Helladic, etc. began to be designated. The chronological framework of the three periods, despite the difference in these local cultures, is approximately the same for the entire Aegean. The early period covers almost the entire third millennium (up to about 2200-2100), the middle period covers the first half of the second millennium (until 1600), and the late period covers the second half of the same millennium up to the turn of the 12th and 11th centuries. BC e. The Late Helladic period is often also called the Mycenaean, after the largest center in the area at that time, Mycenae.

The Early Minoan and Early Helladic periods are the time of the Eneolithic and the appearance of bronze, the Middle Minoan and Middle Helladic belong to the beginning of the Bronze Age, and the Late Minoan and Late Helladic - to the time of its heyday and the appearance of the first iron products.

Ancient Crete

Early Minoan period (XXX-XXII centuries BC)

Crete is a narrow island located almost equidistant from Europe, Asia and Africa. The island, 2.50 long and 12 to 57 km wide, is divided by isthmuses into three parts: eastern, central and western. The latter part was sparsely populated until the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. Almost the entire island is covered with mountain ranges and their spurs, accessible only to pedestrians and beasts of burden. A small fertile plain exists only in the south of the central part of the island.

The settlement of Crete began since the Neolithic, but close ties between the inhabitants of different areas are established only at the end of the early Minoan period. Until the middle of the II millennium, Crete did not know the invasions of foreign tribes, and the Minoan culture, as far as can be judged from the available data, developed independently for about one and a half thousand years. But external connections undoubtedly existed and exerted a certain influence on the development of the culture of ancient Crete.

The main occupations of the inhabitants were fishing, cattle breeding and partly agriculture. During the eight centuries covering the early Minoan period, the use of metals, mainly copper, gradually spread in Crete. Local residents at that time used copper daggers, axes, and knives. The use of metal tools led to an improvement in the processing of stone vessels and the development of other branches of craft. Pottery has undergone a significant evolution; the firing technique improves, painting on ceramics appears and develops, although the vessels were still made by hand. Under Egyptian influence, the first seals carved in stone appear; on one of these seals there is an image of a boat. Of the external connections—apparently quite rare—we could trace only connections with Egypt.

The population of Crete still lived in a primitive communal system. In any case, property and social differences were not in any way significant. This is evidenced by the uniformity of burials, the remains of collective houses and collective round tombs with a diameter of 4 to 13 m.

Middle Minoan period (XXI - XVII centuries BC)

In the first half of the 2nd millennium, the economic and social development of Crete moved far ahead. A characteristic feature of this time is the spread of bronze. Bronze chisels, many large and small axes and axes, chisels, thin staples, daggers, spearheads, and long swords were found in various places. The widespread use of bronze opened the way to a general rise in production. The construction of large buildings, sometimes with several floors, is developing. The first palaces appear at Knossos, Phaistos and Mallia;
The palace of Knossos was rebuilt three times at this time, at the end of the period a palace was built in Agia Triada. The struggle for dominance between the individual centers of Crete, which lasted about two centuries, ended in the victory of Knossos. The tangible result of this victory was the great road laid from north to south and equipped with guard posts, going from Knossos to Festus and further to the harbor of Como. The discovery of the oldest four-wheeled cart in Europe dates back to the beginning of the Middle Minoan period (in the village of Pale Kastro). Introduced at the same time, the potter's wheel underwent major improvements at least twice during this period. The Cretan craftsmen also mastered the technique of making faience, the use of which quickly spread.

The fine arts are making great strides. The abundance of beautiful palace frescoes made in a realistic manner testifies to the progress of original local art. Even in the painting of clay vessels, a transition is noticeable from simple geometric ornaments to vivid images, first of plants, and then of animals. Already at the beginning of the Middle Minoan period, a type of multi-colored painting of vessels arose, called kamares, after the name of the settlement, near which the first vessels with such an ornament were found in a cave. This kind of painting has become widespread in Crete and beyond. Increasingly, various seals and carved stones are found.

The most important invention of this time is writing. It arose first as a pictographic (pictorial) writing, but soon acquired the form of hieroglyphs, in many respects similar to Egyptian ones. The oldest examples of Cretan writing are drawings carved on seals and marks on stone blocks from which palaces were built. By the end of the Middle Minoan period, ink came into use. In connection with the spread of writing, hieroglyphs were gradually simplified. At the end of the period, Linear A appears, so called conditionally, in contrast to the somewhat later, also Linear, letter B. Unfortunately, Linear A has not yet been deciphered, and therefore we are deprived of the opportunity to determine the specific historical features of the development of ancient Crete.
The significant growth of the productive forces, along with the strengthening of property inequality, gives reason to believe that it was during the Middle Minoan period that Cretan society, at least in the leading, "palace" centers, became a class society. The palaces of Knossos and Phaistos, judging by the capital nature of the buildings, the abundance of luxury items, the wealth of frescoes, and finally, the use of writing to account for products and for the needs of management, undoubtedly were the location of the rulers of the early slave states. The construction of a road connecting Knossos with Phaistos apparently indicates some kind of political unification of these centers. The absence of any significant number of imported things indicates that the first Cretan states undoubtedly arose as a result of the gradual internal socio-economic development of the Cretan society, and not as a result of any external influence.

Late Minoan period (XVI - XII centuries BC)

The period from about 1600 to 1100 (the so-called late Minoan) is characterized by the maximum development of Cretan culture; it also covers the time of its gradual decline up to the final collapse. In the XVI century. the population of Crete was probably more numerous than at any time in the subsequent period of antiquity. A network of roads with guard posts is being laid throughout the island. At the same time, palaces, decorated with an unprecedented luxury until that time, were expanding. By this time, the best monuments of Cretan architecture and art, such as the “throne room”, the relief of the “king-priest”, frescoes depicting processions, figurines depicting the fight with bulls, etc., belong to this time. A characteristic feature of this time is the growth of the wealth of the nobility. The excavated private house of the Knossos rich man, the so-called "South House", was two-story. It was a building with a portico, columns, a sacred platform, a cellar and a pantry in which various bronze tools were found. During this period, the family tombs of the nobility, made in the rocks, expand and take on the appearance of luxurious tombs. The clothes of noble persons and priests depicted in the frescoes are distinguished by elegance.
All this was due primarily to a further rise in production, especially noticeable in shipbuilding. Judging by the images on the seals, the former boats are now turning into relatively large deck ships; one of the seals shows the carriage of a horse loaded onto a ship. At this time, lively relations were established between Crete and Egypt, Syria, and especially Mycenaean Greece. In a number of places in Crete, copper ingots have been found in the shape of an ox skin, which may have served as money. Their weight (29 kg) corresponds to the later Greek unit of weight - talent.

At this time, a new linear letter appears, the so-called linear letter B. Apparently, in the first half of the 15th century. BC e. Crete was conquered by the Greek tribe of the Achaeans. The documents from Knossos, written in Linear B, are in Greek. However, in other areas of Crete, until the end of the late Minoan period, a clearly non-Greek Linear A script continues to be used. Obviously, the domed tomb in Agios Theodoros, built on the model of domed tombs known to us from excavations in Asia Minor and Mycenae, also dates back to the time of the Achaean domination.
In the XIV-XII centuries. BC e. the gradual decline of the Cretan culture is noticeable, which lasted until the new, Dorian conquest of Crete, which apparently took place at the turn of the 12th and 11th centuries. By this time, external relations were almost completely interrupted, trade was fading, handicrafts were found less and less during excavations. Instead of vivid realistic images, highly stylized images of plants and marine animals now appear in the ornamentation of clay vessels.

Knossos palace

The most outstanding monument of Cretan architecture is Nnossky Palace, about Greek myths, it was called a labyrinth (this word comes from the term labris - "double ax", a favorite image in Cretan art). According to these legends, in the depths of the palace lived a half-man, half-bull - the Minotaur, to which the city of Athens annually sent 7 young men and the same number of girls to be eaten. The Minotaur was killed, the legend says, by the Athenian hero Theseus, the son of the boy Aegeus. Apparently, the myth of Theseus reflected the dependence of Attica on Knossos at the beginning of the late Minoan period. Knossos Palace, with a total area of ​​​​about 16 thousand square meters. m, representing a complex conglomeration of hundreds of different rooms, seemed to the Achaean Greeks a building from which one could find a way out. The word "labyrinth" has since become synonymous with a room with a complex system of rooms and corridors.
Archaeological excavations have established that the palace was built at the beginning of the Middle Minoan period and then expanded many times. During the heyday of the Minoan culture, the palace had two or three floors, not counting the basements, which contained cellars, workshops, food stores, weapons, and dungeons. The ceremonial premises of the palace consisted of large and small "throne" halls and rooms for religious purposes. Clay vessels from the late Minoan period. From Gurnia, Palekastro and Knossos. Crete. 16th century BC e. The alleged female part of the palace contained a reception room, bathrooms, a treasury, and various other rooms. A wide sewer network of clay pipes of large and small diameters was laid in the palace, serving the pools, bathrooms and latrines. More than 2 thousand clay tablets with various records were found in the palace. The rich decoration of some rooms, a huge number of products made of precious metals, highly artistic wall paintings, frescoes, spacious warehouses - all this indicates that the palace was the seat of the kings - the rulers of Knossos and all of Crete.

Socio-economic relations

In the first half of the II millennium BC. the leading Cretan societies were no doubt already divided into classes. "Such gigantic buildings as the palace of Knossos during its heyday and similar, although smaller, palaces in Phaistos, Mallia and Agia Triada, convincingly prove the existence of a state apparatus, an organ of violence of the ruling class. This is evidenced by the presence of dungeons-prisons in Knossos, Cretan a hieroglyph denoting hand fetters, images of armed Negroes, apparently palace guards, and finally, the presence of a large centralized palace economy with a developed accounting system.All this could not have arisen in the conditions of a primitive communal system.With the level of development of productive forces that existed at that time, Cretan society did not could be anything other than slave-owning.
Such huge buildings as the Palace of Knossos, at that time, could hardly have been erected without the use of a significant amount of slave labor. The mention in the Greek myth of Theseus, of the annual deliveries of young men and women to Crete, may have been a distant memory of the tribute by slaves paid to Crete by subject tribes. The Knossos documents contain clear indications of the existence of fairly significant groups of slaves at that time. The name of one of the groups of Cretan slaves, the Mnoites, which has come down to us in the writings of later ancient authors, is put by some researchers in connection with the name of the legendary Cretan boy Minos.
All available evidence suggests that slavery already existed in Minoan Crete. However, the level of development of slavery at that time was apparently not very high. There were no large irrigation systems here, as in many ancient Eastern despotisms. The plots of land, apparently, were not large. The craft has reached high level, which in many cases suggests a deep personal interest of the producer in the quality of the product of his labor; such direct producers had to be personally free people.

We have very little information about the forms of ownership in ancient Crete. The abundance of seals, which were sometimes branded with pithoi (large clay vessels for storing food), probably testifies to the significant development of private property relations, but the seals could also belong to official limes serving this huge royal household. In the late Minoan period, already serious property stratification is noticeable; the houses of the rich, their grandiose tombs, the wide external relations of Crete, and finally the use of precious metals in trade, all point to the development of private property. The vast palace economy, apparently, was serviced by many hundreds of slaves, free artisans and farmers in the order of duties.

Cretan culture

One of the most important achievements of the Minoan culture was writing, which consistently went all the way from pictographic through hieroglyphic to linear writing. If hieroglyphic Cretan writing may have depended to some extent on Egyptian writing, then Linear writing was as idiosyncratic as the entire Minoan culture. As already indicated, the original Linear A then developed at Knossos and mainland Greece into Linear B (15th-12th centuries). In Cyprus, on the basis of this linear script, the Cypriot-Minoan script (XV-XI centuries) and, finally, the Cypriot syllabic script (VII-IV centuries BC) were created. Acquaintance with the Cypriot syllabary greatly facilitated the deciphering of Linear B.

The spread of writing in Crete, as far as one can judge, was closely connected with the needs of large palace households. The writings were found mainly on long, narrow clay tablets resembling palm leaves in their outlines. Very many such tablets have been found; a considerable number of inscriptions have come down to us on seals, vessels and some other items. Undoubtedly, an even greater number of inscriptions were made on less resistant materials, for example, on palm leaves, possibly on papyrus, etc. The use of ink noted above also testifies in favor of a relatively widespread use of writing.

As a result of long-term efforts of a number of scientists, Linear B has now basically been deciphered, which makes it possible to read over 2 thousand Knossos, about 1 thousand Pylos (found during excavations of Pylos in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese) and about a hundred other tablets with signs this letter. Linear B consists of 88 characters representing vowels and syllables; moreover, in this letter there were many signs for concepts. The counting system was decimal. The language of the inscriptions read turned out to be Greek, only slightly different from the language of the ancient epic of the Greeks. It follows that the Greek language is much older than previously thought, since the Knossos tablets were compiled in the middle of the 2nd millennium, 600 years before the estimated time of the epic. The deciphering of Linear B irrefutably proves that already at that time Knossos was ruled by Greek-speaking Achaeans, who adapted Linear A to the Greek language.
Minoan art was also peculiar. From the simplest dotted and linear ornaments through bright multi-colored complex geometric figures, Cretan artists gradually moved to a realistic depiction of flora and fauna. The frescoes on the walls of the palaces, especially at Knossos, can safely be put on a par with the best works of art of the ancient world. Minoan artists of the middle of the II millennium BC. e. they skillfully reproduced even the appearance and details of the dress of participants in magnificent processions, noble women, etc. It is thanks to the realistic manner of the Cretan masters that works of fine art of that time acquire for us the importance of the most important historical source. Despite the presence of religious themes in Cretan art, it had a more secular character than Egyptian or Babylonian.

The historical significance of the Minoan culture as a whole is determined by the fact that a class society and state arose in Crete five centuries earlier than in other areas of the Aegean. In the first half and in the middle of the 2nd millennium, both the material and spiritual culture of Crete influenced the tribes of mainland Greece and contributed to their faster development. The achievements of the Cretan culture were adopted and further developed by the Achaeans.

Mycenaean Greece

Early Helladic period (XXX - XXII centuries BC)

III millennium BC. e. in the history of mainland Greece is characterized by the increasing spread of metals. The early Helladic tribes were already familiar with their processing: in Ziguri (south of Corinth) the tip of a bronze dagger was found, in Gerea (Arcadia) - a golden object; silver was sometimes used for pins. Burials of that time were usually collective; they were housed in narrow well-shaped and rock-cut graves. Settlements are usually located on the hills. There are no traces of the property and social stratification of these tribes. Only in the region of Tiryns, in the most ancient layers, the foundation of a large round building was unearthed, which, possibly, was the hut of a tribal leader. Obviously, the early Helladic tribes lived in a primitive communal system.

Around 2500, the so-called Dimini culture arose in Thessaly, akin to the cultures of the Danube tribes, and in particular the Tripoli culture. It is characterized by defensive walls that were built around the settlements, and a rectangular house with a megaron (Megaron was called at a later “Homeric” time the central room in Greek houses. It was a rectangular room on pillars with a hole in the roof).

The bearers of this culture, apparently, were the ancestors of some of the Greek tribes. This culture, coexisting with the early Helladic, gradually spreads south as far as Crete.
The early Helladic tribes obviously spoke a language that did not belong to the Indo-European. Ancient Greek included a large number of words with stems ending in -nt (-nf) and -se, which are absent in other Indo-European languages. These words, along with such geographical names as Corinth, Tirinth, Olynthus, include the names of many plants: hyacinth, narcissus, cypress and many others. Apparently, all this is a heritage in the Greek language, received from the early Helladic, pre-Greek tribes that inhabited mainland Greece in the III millennium BC. e. The early Helladic tribes were related to the most ancient population of Asia Minor, since similar geographical names are also found here. Samples of ceramics characteristic of this period were also found in the most ancient layers of Troy, as well as in Crete.

The ancient Greeks called the pre-Greek population of the country Pelasgians, Carians or Lelegs. These tribes have inhabited the Aegean since the Neolithic period. They, apparently, did not belong to the peoples of the Indo-European family of languages.
Between 2200 and 2000 BC e. the southern part of the Balkan Middle Helladic Peninsula was subjected to a devastating invasion. (XXI - XXII BC). A wave of Greek tribes (the Greeks themselves later called themselves Hellenes) poured into the Aegean from the north. During excavations in many settlements, the Early Helladic layer is separated from subsequent ones by a layer of ash; other early Helladic settlements were generally abandoned by their inhabitants. It is customary to call the conquerors minias, since the objects characteristic of them (gray dishes) were first found in Orchomenus in Boeotia, where, according to Greek legends, the legendary minias lived. Gray Minyan utensils were made of well-kneaded clay, which, after firing, acquired a dark or light gray color. Minian gray pottery, contemporary with the above-mentioned Cretan Kamares type pottery, dates from the first centuries of the 2nd millennium.

The beginning of the Middle Helladic period coincides in time with the appearance of the Hittite tribes in the central and eastern parts of Asia Minor, who spoke a language that belonged to the Indo-European family. The Minii seem to have brought the Greek language with them.

In general, ancient sources quite accurately indicate the boundaries of the settlement of individual Hellenic tribes throughout almost the entire 2nd millennium BC. e. until the beginning of the next invasion - the resettlement of the Dorians. The data of ancient writers are confirmed by the study of the distribution areas of various Greek dialects. Three main groups of Greek tribes - Ionians, Achaeans and Aeolians - settled on the territory of mainland Greece: the Ionians lived in Attica and in the northeastern part of the Peloponnese, the Achaeans occupied almost the entire Peloponnese, the Aeolians settled in Thessaly and Central Greece, with the exception of Attica. For almost the entire second millennium, the Achaean tribes, who lived in the most fertile regions and were closer to the most ancient - pre-Greek centers of culture (primarily to Crete), developed much faster than other Greek tribes; they were the first to create a class society and state and spread throughout the Aegean. The Achaeans, in particular, created the Mycenaean kingdom, which played an important role in the history of ancient Greece.
The tribes of the Middle Helladic culture were mainly engaged in agriculture and cattle breeding. Wheat, barley, millet, leeks, peas, beans, lentils and pots of acorns were found in their villages, probably used for food. In many Minyan houses there are lamps in which olive oil served as a combustible material. Bones of bulls, sheep, goats and donkeys were also found, which indicates the development of cattle breeding. Minis were also engaged in fishing. At Phylakopi, on the island of Melos, a vase from the 18th or 17th century was found. BC e., which shows a line of people walking along the stream, holding a fish in each hand.

Minin ceramics, unlike the early Helladic vessels, were already made on the potter's wheel. During the five centuries of the Middle Helladic period, ceramics went through a significant development path. Later Minian pottery, which coexisted, however, with sulfur, is distinguished by its yellow color, which was probably due to the improvement of pottery kilns and an increase in firing temperature. For the first time, some Cretan influence is noticeable on the ornaments of yellow Minin dishes. There are a lot of clay vessels in Minyan houses; along with rough-finished kitchen utensils, thin-walled vessels, huge pithoi - vessels for storing food, elegant goblets are found during excavations; special vessels for water, wine, olive oil, etc. were also found.

Frequent finds of battle bronze axes, ornaments made of precious metals and, more rarely, metal utensils testify to a significant progress in the technique of metal processing compared to the early Helladic culture.

The Minyan tribes still lived in the conditions of a primitive communal system. Their burials, known to include several hundred, were carried out in the so-called box graves. The body of the deceased was usually placed in a crouched position, as it were, in a stone box made of limestone slabs; little inventory was placed in the graves. Yet, judging by household items, there are already some differences in the property status of individual families.

Late Helladic period (XVI - XII centuries BC)

The Late Helladic period lasted from about 1600 to 1100 BC. e. In the history of mainland Greece, this time is also called Mycenaean, after the main center of culture of that period - Mycenae. The number of archaeological sites is very large. The most prominent monuments come from the Peloponnesian centers of this culture: Mycenae, Tiryns and Pylos. However, Late Helladic objects are found in large quantities throughout the Eastern Mediterranean, up to Egypt and Ugarit (Phoenicia). Large centers of Mycenaean culture are characterized by monumental architectural structures (palaces, fortress walls, huge tombs), a large amount of precious metals, highly artistic handicrafts, many things brought from the countries of the East and even the Baltic states (amber). But the bulk of the settlements - and at least a hundred of them have been excavated - in terms of their inventory and, consequently, the way of life of the inhabitants, does not differ much from the same settlements of the previous period. But in the main centers of Mycenaean culture, in particular in Mycenae themselves, a constant, sometimes amazingly fast evolution of material culture is noticeable.

The most indicative for this time is the change in the forms of burials; throughout the 3rd and 2nd millennia there are 5 main groups of burials: pit, box, shaft, chamber and domed. Pit graves are oval or rectangular depressions in the ground, usually rocky; clay bowls were placed on the body of the deceased; these burials are characteristic of the Early and Middle Helladic time, but are also found in the late period.
The box graves described above are also simultaneous pit burials. The inventory of both these groups of graves is exceptionally poor, which may be explained by the low level of development of productive forces in the early periods, and for the subsequent time also by the fact that ordinary people were buried in such graves.

The next most important monument of Mycenae are the shaft tombs. These rectangular, somewhat elongated tombs were carved into soft rock to a depth of 0.5 to 3-4 m; they represent a further development of pit and box burials. The inventory of these tombs amazes with an abundance of gold items. They also found many items made of bronze and silver. Amber, ostrich yaipas and other clearly imported objects were found in the graves. Artistic works in these tombs testify to the influence of Cretan art, although the subject matter of the images differs significantly from the Cretan one. Minyan pottery was also found in the tombs. The tombs are located among the Middle Helladic graves. Obviously, these were the burial places of the rulers.

The fourth type of burials are chamber tombs built inside the hills. The entrance to the burial chamber led through an open corridor, the dromos. The chambers are family crypts. Their inventory consists of weapons, tools, ornaments, household items, etc. Such tombs were found not only in Mycenae, but throughout the entire territory of the Mycenaean culture. These tombs are considered the tombs of aristocratic families.

The last group of burial structures is the domed tombs of the Late Helladic period, which are large (up to 14 m in diameter) masonry structures; their height is approximately equal to the diameter of the base. Architecturally, these tombs are a further development of chamber tombs; they are also provided with a dromos. Several dozens of such tombs have been found, including 9 in the Mycenae region. Most of these tombs were plundered in antiquity, however, the complexity of their construction and the inventory preserved in some tombs give the right to consider them the burial places of kings, who are conditionally called the kings of the “dynasty of domed tombs”.

Mycenae

Mycenae are located in the Peloponnese, halfway between Corinth and Argos. The Mycenaean Hill has been inhabited since the beginning of the 3rd millennium. Due to its convenient position in the center of a small but fertile plain, the presence of a water source - Perseus and, finally, the inaccessibility of the hill for the enemy, the settlement gradually expanded. In the Middle Helladic period, a defensive wall was built around the top of the hill and houses were built on the neighboring hills. At the western slope of the hilltop there was a cemetery with shaft tombs.
During the period when the shaft tombs were being built, Mycenaean society was on the rise. The richness of the inventory of shaft tombs testifies to the significant development of productive forces during the transition to the Late Helladic period. The widespread use of bronze, the abundance of precious metals and their generous use is a clear indication of the separation of handicraft from agriculture that has already taken place and the long accumulation of labor skills among Mycenaean artisans. The presence of things of foreign origin testifies to ties, possibly trade, with distant countries. The totality of finds in shaft tombs gives grounds to consider the Mycenaean society of that time as a class society. The slave-owning society arose in Mycenae as a result of internal development. All archaeological evidence testifies to the local roots of the Mycenaean culture.

At the beginning of the XV century. BC e. in Mycenae, apparently, the above-mentioned "dynasty of domed tombs" came to power, lasting at least until 1300 BC. e. At this time, the influence of Cretan art is most noticeable. As stated earlier, it follows inevitably from the decipherment of Linear B that it was at this time that the Achaeans conquered Knossos. The winners, of course, brought home not only many objects of Cretan art, but, possibly, Cretan artisans. At the same time, Mikon's ties with other countries are expanding significantly. In El-Amarna (Egypt), for example, 19 Mycenaean vases were found - apparently a gift to Pharaoh Akhenaten. A large number of Mycean ceramics have been found in Tros and Miletus (the western coast of Asia Minor), on the island of Cyprus, and even in Ugarit (Phoenicia).
In the XIV century. BC e. there is considerable construction in Mycenae. The Mycenaean Acropolis (Kremlin) is being expanded and strengthened, Cyclopean walls with the so-called Lion's Gate are being built. At the top of the hill a new palace is being built with a megaron, a throne room, and a sanctuary. The walls of the palace are painted with highly artistic frescoes. At that time, shaft tombs were also surrounded by a stone fence. Many of the new houses currently being excavated have been built on the adjacent hills. In art, the struggle against Cretan influence is noticeable; Cretan floral and marine motifs become more and more conventional and finally give way to a linear ornament with many ribbons and spirals.

By this time, the creation of a network of roads connecting Mycenae with the Argolis and Corinthian bays. The remains of bridges, cobblestone embankments, etc., that have survived to this day, show that all these road structures were built according to a single plan. The presence of a developed road network indicates that Mycenae at that time was the capital of some small, centralized state. Finds of Mycenaean ceramics outside mainland Greece are becoming, one might say, a mass phenomenon. Especially many such finds were made on the islands of the Aegean Sea and in the southern part of Asia Minor. The Mycenaean type domed tomb was found in Colophon (Asia Minor coast). This was the time of the greatest flourishing and spread of the Mycenaean culture.
In the middle of the late Helladic period, the weakening of Mycenae begins. Residents, apparently, expected attacks. Excavations show that all water sources were brought to the northern gate of the acropolis, and in its northeastern corner a deep underground cistern was built, into which the waters of the Perseus spring poured. At the same time, the defensive structures of Tiryns are being rebuilt. In the XIII century. BC e. cut ties with Egypt.

Based on the calculations of ancient authors, the war of the Achaeans, led by the king of Mycenae Agamemnon, against Troy, described in the Greek epic, the Iliad, should be dated to the beginning of the 12th century. (1194-1184 BC). Archaeological evidence indicates that during these years the Achaeans were in contact with the northwestern coast of Asia Minor and that Troy was destroyed around this time. The Iliad, in poetic form, reflected, apparently, a military clash between the Achaeans and the Trojans that really took place.

Other centers of Mycenaean culture

Structures similar to the Mycenaean ones have been found at Tiryns, Pylos, Thebes, and some other places. The Tiryns Palace, excavated in the last century, was located at a distance of about 15 km from Mycenae. It was also built on a steep hill and surrounded by almost impregnable walls. The interior layout of this palace is similar to the Mycenaean. And here there is a megaron, and the walls are covered with frescoes in the Mycenaean style.

Somewhat later, a palace was built at Pylos (Messenia). Not far from Pylos is a domed tomb. In the upper layers of the Pylos Palace, even at the beginning of the excavations, many economic documents were found - clay tablets with signs of linear writing B. The Pylos Palace burned down or was burnt at the beginning of the 12th century. BC e.
Traces of the Mycenaean culture have also been found in Lakonika (the southeastern part of the Peloponnese). Its main center in the late Helladic period was Amikles; the cemetery of local rulers was located near the modern village of Vafio. A large number of art objects were found in the tombs, including two fine golden goblets. In Central Greece, larger settlements were opened in Thebes, Athens and a number of other places. By the end of the Late Helladic period, there are traces of irrigation facilities on Lake Copaid in Boeotia.

The palaces, with their large complexes of monumental buildings, were only islands in a sea of ​​villages, so to speak, of a village type, the inhabitants of which lived in conditions little different from previous times. Several such settlements have been excavated in mainland Greece alone. tens. In Koraku, Evtresis and many other villages, no monumental buildings were found, there are no imported things, very few handicrafts, with the exception of clay vessels.
The state of productive forces in the late Helladic time.
Mycenaean time - the heyday of the Bronze Age. A wide variety of tools, weapons, vessels, ornaments, etc. were made from bronze. Bronze ingots, axes, knives, rings, nails, door hinges, etc. were found in the Mycenae region. Other metals were used in a somewhat smaller volume. Pewter was used to make kitchen utensils; even earthenware vessels were made in imitation of metal patterns. In Nemea, north of Mycenae, the remains of a copper mine were found. Some scholars suggest that the source of Mycenae's wealth is the development of copper deposits. Gold and silver were relatively widely used for the manufacture of all kinds of jewelry. However, such jewelry was expensive and worn only by the rich.

Contrary to long-held belief, Mycenaean Greece was also familiar with iron, which, however, was used only for luxury items. Several iron rings, pendants, buttons were found in the layers of that time; An iron harp was discovered in Tiryns. Only at the end of the Late Helladic period was mastered the technique of melting iron, following the model of melting copper, but still at rather low temperatures: in the slags of the Mycenaean time, the percentage of iron content is very high.

The main branch of production was, undoubtedly, agriculture and related cattle breeding. During this period, they continued to sow wheat and barley, planted peas, beans, lentils. Storerooms with pithoi filled with grain were found in many houses. A special granary was discovered at Mycenae. The significant development of oilseeds and winemaking is evidenced by the materials of excavations of houses near the Mycenaean Acropolis, conditionally called by archaeologists the houses of the “olive oil merchant” and “wine merchant”. In the first of them, 39 tablets were found with inscriptions in Linear B, which took into account the income and consumption of olive oil.

Cattle were bred at this time; there are data on the breeding of sheep and pigs. In one of the shaft graves, an image of a horse was found, which was then harnessed only to war chariots. Donkeys and mules were used to transport goods. A number of indirect data - a significant increase in population, the use of a large number of people on large buildings, the development of handicrafts - leads to the conclusion that labor productivity in agriculture should have increased significantly by this time.

Great shifts have taken place in the craft. Construction of palaces, defensive walls, tombs, roads, etc. urgently demanded new tools of production. Mycenaean builders used several types of chisels, drills, various hammers and saws; axes and knives were used for woodworking. In Mycenae, a whorl and weights from looms were found.

The large size of the Mycenaean buildings speaks of the rather high knowledge of builders, the long-term labor skills of masons, the great skill of stone carvers and a number of other workers. Huge stone blocks weighing sometimes tens of tons, from which the defensive walls of the Tiryns Palace were built, were delivered from a quarry located a dozen kilometers from Tiryns. Stones for buildings were first processed with heavy hammers, then they were cut with a bronze saw. The use of a system of counterweights and brackets and the installation of downpipes required rather complex calculations. Characteristic is the uniformity of precisely developed methods of masonry walls throughout the territory of the distribution of the Mycenaean culture.

Late Helladic potters made dishes of various sizes - from small goblets to huge vessels. The clay was well cleaned, the walls of the vessels were made thin, the surface of the vases was often polished, and the firing was of high quality. In Ziguri, a large warehouse of ceramics was found, in which there were several hundred bowls, dishes, jugs, etc. The presence of such large stocks of dishes in a small settlement located far from large centers indicates a significant development of pottery.

The totality of all these data shows that handicraft has already separated from agriculture and has become an independent branch of production. Most of the artisans worked at the palaces of local rulers and were engaged in the production of weapons, construction, and luxury goods. Others, such as potters, produced consumer goods.

Domestic trade was less developed than foreign trade. In addition to tin, exclusively luxury goods were imported into Mycenaean Greece. For comparison, we recall that at that time in Crete there were already copper ingots, shaped like an ox skin and probably playing the role of money.

Public relations

After the key to reading more than 3 thousand Knossos and Pylos tablets with signs of Linear B, which for half a century was a mystery to researchers, was found, it becomes possible to give a general picture of the social relations of Mycenaean and late Minoan society.

The tablets represent an archive mainly of the royal and temple economy. Apparently, a significant part of the persons mentioned in the texts are slaves. In very many cases, the place of origin of the slaves is indicated, usually these are some Greek settlements, but in Pylos there were slaves from Knossos. Children of slaves are also taken into account in the tablets. On special occasions, quite a large number of boys and girls are listed donated to temples of various Greek gods. In general, judging by the data of the tablets, most of the slaves belonged to the temples. Mentioned in the inscriptions are slaves engaged in cattle breeding and crafts; many were planted on the ground and were required to supply the temples with a certain amount of food. The Pylos tablets contain much information about the doela. This term probably corresponds to the Greek doula, meaning slaves. The group of persons called by this term has many hundreds of people. Thus, the Pylos tablets fully confirm the slave character of the Greek societies of the Mycenaean period.

Agrarian relations, judging by the same texts, were roughly as follows. Part of the farmers owned land; others are referred to as tenants. Land tenants paid in kind for their plots. It has been pointed out above that many temple slaves were also planted on land apparently belonging to the temples. Along with this, the tablets also speak of royal sites, denoted by the term temenos, which is also found in the Homeric epic. Obviously, the stratification of the free agricultural population was already significant.

Quite a lot in both the Pylos and Knossos tablets speaks of artisans. Most often, blacksmiths are listed, who are given the metal, probably in ingots, and who hand over the finished product; blacksmiths receive food for this; they are also given slaves. The tablets sometimes refer to significant quantities of metal products; in one inscription 217 axes are mentioned, in another 50 swords, in the third 462 pairs of wheels. Blacksmiths, like farmers, received certain tasks, but were exempted from food supplies. Fabrics, white and colored, and clothes were produced by slave women, who also handed over a certain amount of finished products.

Relatively little is said in the tablets about the ruling slave-owning class; basilei are mentioned - the term used to designate tribal leaders ("kings") in Homeric poems. However, they still played a relatively modest role. The texts mention priests and some other categories of nobility.

Land ownership relations, the existence of significant temple holdings, and the composition of the dominant slave-owning class, in which the priests apparently played a large role, make the society of the Mycenaean period more similar to the societies of some early eastern slave states than to the later slave-owning societies of Greece.

Fall of Mycenaean culture

In the XIII century. BC e. there are more and more distinct signs of the weakening of Mycenaean society; external links are gradually decreasing; in Mycenae themselves, only defensive construction is being carried out. Soon comes the final fall of the Mycenaean culture. Archaeological excavations show that construction stopped completely at this time; no data on external relations; even local ceramics are becoming incomparably smaller. The same pattern of decline is observed in Tiryns. Only in Athens, as was found out by relatively recent excavations, in the XIII and XII centuries. BC e. there is an intensive defensive construction. In Athens, the walls of the acropolis were fortified, the system of defensive structures was expanded and a passage was dug to a water source to a depth of 30 m below the level of the acropolis.

These activities were carried out in the face of a common threat to the entire Mycenaean world. Such a threat, apparently, was the invasion of the tribes of the Dorians. Along with the Ionians, Achaeans and Aeolians, the Dorians were one of the main groups of ancient Greek tribes. According to ancient authors, the resettlement of the Dorians began 80 years after the fall of Troy, therefore, at the very end of the 12th century. Don. e. Archaeological evidence confirms that the fall of Mycenae took place in the last third of the 12th century BC. e. It seems certain that Mycenaean society fell under the blows of the Dorians.

When analyzing the reasons for the fall of the slave-owning Mycenaean culture, it is usually indicated that the Dorians had weapons made of iron and that the power of Mycenaean society was undermined by the long Trojan War. This explanation is far from sufficient. The decline of Mycenaean culture begins at least a century before the Dorians migrated. The evidence from the Pylos inscriptions proves that there were masses of cruelly exploited slaves and landless in Pylos. It was precisely this reason that was to decisively weaken the resistance of the slave-owning Mycenaean society in the face of the Dorian tribes, who did not yet know acute class contradictions. In addition, the early slave-owning Mycenaean societies developed only in a few centers of the Peloponnese and, possibly, Central Greece; the bulk of the surrounding population still lived in conditions close to the conditions of the previous period and, probably, were also subjected to the exploitation of Mycenaean and other slave owners. All these circumstances predetermined the collapse of the Mycenaean culture.

Despite the rapid decline of the early slave societies of Mycenaean Greece, they played a rather large role in the further development of Greek culture, which inherited much from the societies of the late Helladic period. The local population was not destroyed by the Dorians; culture of the Greek tribes of the 1st millennium BC. e. many of its roots go back to the Mycenaean period.