"Artemis" from the island of Delos (7th century BC), brought as a gift to the goddess by a certain Nikandra (as follows from the inscription on the statue), is an almost undivided stone block with poorly outlined body shapes. The head is erect, the hair falls symmetrically on the shoulders, the arms are lowered along the body. The feet seem to be mechanically attached to the lumpy mass of long clothes. The origin of such a statue from a primitive ancient xoan is beyond doubt, and only a certain striving for the correct proportionality of the human figure is new here.
Hera of Samos. Marble. Around 560 BC e. Paris. Louvre.
That in this case it is impossible to speak only about the inability to portray a human figure or a lack of skill, is clearly seen in the example of the statue of "Hera" from the island of Samos (first half of the 6th century BC), made about a hundred years after the previous one. The artist who created this statue is. very well conveyed various fabrics - heavy upper and thin underwear, carefully depicted folds, undoubtedly correctly established the proportions of this female figure. However, the statue resembles a tree trunk rather than a living human body; it seems more constrained and deathly than the most conventional of the Egyptian statues. Compared to the art of the Homeric period, there is, of course, a lot that is new, and above all - a strict, clear proportionality and volume of the figure. But such art does not yet pose truly realistic tasks: the artist's task was to create a solemn, frozen statue, an object of worship, a sacred and mysterious image of a deity.
In the statue of the "Goddess with a pomegranate apple" (6th century BC), in contrast to the statue of "Hera", a head, devoid of living expression, like the entire statue, has been preserved. This only makes the general conditional character of this kind of religious sculpture, which closely resembles the analogous art of the Ancient East, becomes clearer. But the folds of clothing, symmetrical curving lines going from top to bottom, the overall sophistication of the silhouette and elegant colors give the statue, for all its mannerisms, a peculiar sense of festivity.
The seated figures of rulers (archons), placed along the road to ancient temple Apollo (Didimeion) near Miletus (in Ionia). These schematic, geometrically simplified statues, similar to boulders with dry lines of clothing folds, were made very late - in the middle of the 6th century. BC. The images of the rulers (the name of one of them - Hares - was preserved in the inscription on the statue) are interpreted as solemn cult images. One can imagine that all the art of Greece could have become like this, if the progressive humanistic and democratic tendency of artistic development had not won in it.
The statues created by artists of this conservative and conventional direction were often colossal in size, also imitating the Ancient East in this sense. Such was, for example, the unpreserved bronze statue of Apollo at Amicles (6th century BC), known from descriptions and images on coins and reaching about 13 m in height. Judging by the description of Pausanias, this Apollo looked like a copper column with his head and hands attached to it.
It would, however, be completely wrong to believe that an abstract worldview prevailed in archaic sculpture and a dead and conventional solemnity prevailed. Along with the tendencies alien to realism, which impeded the living development of art, in archaic monumental sculpture there were tendencies that were more viable and more advanced, and the future lay behind them.
Particularly typical of the archaic period were the upright nude statues of heroes, or, later, warriors, the so-called kuros.
The kouros type developed during the 7th and early 6th centuries. BC. initially, apparently, on the Peloponnesian peninsula. His appearance was of great progressive importance for the further development of Greek sculpture. The very image of a kouros - a strong, courageous hero or warrior - was associated with the development of human civil consciousness; it meant a big step forward from the old artistic ideals. Associated first with the cult of heroes, these statues of the Kuros by the 6th century. BC. they began to associate with even more vital images of ideal warriors - they began to serve as tombstones for warriors and were erected in honor of the winners of Olympic and other competitions, who themselves changed their original meaning of the festivities in honor of the deceased.
This promotion as a hero, along with the gods, also of man - an athlete and a warrior - showed that archaic Greek art, by exalting the best, strongest and most courageous citizens, began to set the task of social education of people, affirming the advanced ethical ideals of its time. Although in the kuros there was no individual, portrait character and no definite experience, they clearly felt the general spirit of harsh masculinity and collected energy, which brought the structure of these statues closer to the ideological content of early Doric architecture.
The general development of the kouros type went in the direction of ever greater fidelity of proportions, overcoming elements of geometric simplification and schematism, and avoiding conventional decorative ornamentation in the interpretation of details. However, until the very end of the 6th century. BC. the frontal and motionless structure of these statues remained, as if turning them off from real space, from real life. This deep contradiction of the very type of the kouros statue - between their social content and the traditional convention of form - could not be resolved by archaic art. This required radical shifts and changes in human consciousness, which took place after the reforms of Cleisthenes and the end of the Greco-Persian wars. The features of the early Doric interpretation of the kouros type are very clearly expressed in the sculptural group of Polimedes of Argos, dedicated to the legendary heroes - Cleobis and Biton. From this group, only one complete statue has survived, the other reached in the rubble. Polymedus, who worked in Argos in the Peloponnese, is one of the first historically accurate names of the masters of Greek art; he lived in the first half of the 6th century. BC.
For "Cleobis" (or Bpton, since it is not known which of them is depicted in the surviving statue), the structure of the human body is sharply and rather roughly emphasized; he is set strictly frontally and is almost symmetrical, except for the fact that his left leg is pushed forward, conventionally depicting the movement of the figure. In this images of a physically developed and well-prepared hoplite fighter, his spiritual qualities (masculinity, fortitude, determination, etc.) are shown in the most primitive and indefinite form.
Another example of an early statue of a kouros is the kouros of the Metropolitan Museum in New York, which is more slender, but no less schematic in its form (in particular, this refers to the geometrized and ornamental execution of the details of the head).
By the middle of the 6th century. BC. the kuros began to become more lively and human, the muscles of the body began to be modeled better, the proportions became more correct. The desire to give expressiveness to the face of the statue led to the addition of the so-called "archaic smile" scheme, which is very often repeated in archaic sculpture. This smile had a completely conventional character, but nevertheless it, apparently, had to express the state of that cheerfulness and self-confidence, which permeated the entire figurative structure of the statue. True, quite often this "archaic smile", overly emphasized and ornamental interpreted, gives the kuros a somewhat mannered appearance (as, for example, in the so-called "Apollo of the Shadow", made in the first half of the 6th century BC).
121 a. The so-called Apollo Ptoyos from the sanctuary of Apollo Ptoyos near Thebes. 6 c. BC e. Marble. Athens. National Museum.
The so-called "Apollo Ptoyos" (from Boeotia) is a good example of a late archaic kuros. More accurate modeling of the form, nobility of proportions and a correct sense of the structure of the human body give this statue an incomparably greater persuasiveness in life; its austere simplicity is much more consistent with the image of the hero than the exaggerated physical strength of the earlier kuros. The traditional scheme of frontal and stationary composition looks all the more unjustified here.
In the statues of the kouros and other works of monumental archaic sculpture, there is an undeniable affinity to the art of Ancient Egypt, which was known in Greece and could serve as an example for Greek artists until the new ideological tasks of Greek democracy finally outgrew the traditions and influence of the art of the Ancient East.
The shackling tendencies of the conventional and abstract solution of the human image in the archaic Greek art especially clearly manifested in those sculptural works where it was necessary to depict movement.
Archerm. Statue of flying Nika from the island of Delos. Marble. First half of the 6th century BC e. Athens. National Museum.
Such works included the statue of the goddess of victory - Nika - from the island of Delos, made in the first half of the 6th century. BC. Ionian (Chios) master Archerm. This statue stood on a tall pillar; the figure loomed against the sky and was designed for only one point of view - in front. Nika was depicted flying; the statue has come down to us severely damaged, but its original appearance can be imagined from the surviving fragment. The movement was depicted fully symbolically: the upper part of the body is given face-to-face, as are the curved, raised wings, and the legs bent at the knees are in profile, without any connection with the motionless torso. Ornamental curls of hair, a conventional archaic smile and bright coloring completed the overall elegant decorative impression of this statue. However, neither the “kneeling run” scheme (as archaeologists called this naive method of depicting movement), nor the general flatness and pattern of the entire figure conveyed real movement.
More often than in round sculpture, but for the most part, movement was also conventionally depicted in archaic reliefs of the 7th century. and the first half of the 6th century. BC.
Jellyfish. Relief of the pediment of the Temple of Artemis on the island of Corfu. Limestone. Around 590 BC e. Corfu. Museum.
For example, the relief on the pediment of the Temple of Artemis on the island of Corfu (first half of the 6th century BC) had such a character, very flat and primitive. In the center of this pediment was a large figure of the flying gorgon Medusa with two symmetrically located lying panthers on either side of her; at the corners of the pediment were depicted the battle of Zeus with a giant and a seated Gaia. Thus, this pediment was not dedicated to a single event, but united various (and data, moreover, on very different scales) figures, connected only by a common decorative concept. Medusa's Kneeling Run depicted her flight along the same lines as in Arkherm's Nick.
Perseus killing Medusa. Metope of the "C" temple in Selinunte. 7-6 centuries. BC e. Limestone. Palermo. National Museum.
There have been attempts to overcome the purely external, decorative way of uniting the figures and to show their mutual connection through the unity of action. Such attempts can be seen in the relief metopes of one of the many temples in Selinunte (on the island of Sicily), the so-called "C" temple (first half of the 6th century BC). Along with the reliefs made in a completely flat decorative manner ("The Abduction of Europa"), among the metopes of this temple there are also those where the figures are voluminous and their actions are given clarity, albeit very naively expressed. In the relief "Perseus killing Medusa," Perseus, being admonished by Athena, overtakes the fleeing Medusa and chops off her head with a sword. However, Perseus, Athena, and Medusa, contrary to the natural requirements of the plot situation, turned their faces to the viewer, only their legs were set in profile (and Medusa's "run" is depicted according to the usual scheme). The faces of all three figures are exactly the same. Both in this metope and in the other, where Hercules is depicted carrying dwarf cecrops, the figures are placed strictly vertically, the legs and arms are sharply bent at right angles, as if repeating the angles of the metope.
This conventional method of depicting movement was held for a long time. Back in the middle of the 6th century. BC. it was applied with extraordinary consistency in the metope of one of the treasures at Delphi, where the Dioscuri were depicted abducting bulls. The monotonous repetition of figures following one after another and equally identical groups of bulls walking “in step” turns this relief almost into an ornamental pattern that adorns an architectural structure.
From the second half of the 6th century. BC. in archaic sculpture (including relief), realistic quests began to emerge more clearly and distinctly. They clearly contradicted those conventional and decorative-ornamental schemes, which were so numerous in the early archaic. Their appearance testified to the approach of profound changes in social life and in the artistic culture of Greece.
The most advanced of the late Archaic Greek art schools was the Attic school. Athens, the main city of Attica, already in the late archaic period acquired the significance of the largest artistic center, where masters from all over Greece flocked.
The works of the Attic school of this time are distinguished by a deep sense of the plasticity and volume of the human body; the motives of movement in Attic archaic art are much more real than in Doric. The best, most advanced sculptors of Ionia found application for their searches in Athens, and not in their homeland. The combination of the achievements of the Doric and Ionic schools based on the development of the local Attic tradition is a characteristic feature of the art of Attica.
Athens was free from the one-sided development of other, predominantly agricultural or predominantly commercial, policies, and the process of the formation of a slave-owning policy took place here in the most consistent and organic form. The demos, which very early became an extremely formidable enemy for the aristocracy, was especially important here. In the history of Athens, all specific traits slave democracy of the polis and its culture.
Therefore, by the end of the 6th century. BC. attic art becomes the most progressive; on the basis of his realistic searches, the most fruitful preconditions for the transition to the art of the classics are formed.
There is a very big difference between the Attic sculpture of the first half of the 6th century. BC. and sculpture of the second half of the century testifies to the rapid development of the art of Athens in the archaic period. Fragments of the pediment of the first temple of Athena (Hecatompedon), built in the first half of the century, found on the Acropolis of Athens, speak of the still very conditional and primitive nature of Attic sculpture at that time. These fragments, relating to the scene of the battle of Zeus with the fantastic three-headed monster Typhon, are interesting, in particular, because they have very well preserved coloring. The archaic artist was not embarrassed by Typhon's bright blue beard and the red color of his face or the combination of green, yellow and red hair covering the huge snake tail of the monster (by the way, it fills very well the low angle of the pediment triangle).
In the second half of the 6th century. BC. the most significant features of the Attic school began to appear quite clearly. By this time, the artistic life of Athens had become very intense, which was explained by the rise of the economic power and culture of Attica.
One of the pediment compositions of the second Hecatompedon in Athens, which was rebuilt from the old, Pisistratus, around 530 BC, depicted the battle of the gods with giants and was sharply different from the sculptural decoration of the former temple. In it, the plane carving was finally replaced by a plastic, three-dimensional image of the figures of the characters. The main attention of the master was paid to the expressiveness of the movements of the struggling bodies. The contrast between the ornamental character of the earlier Attic sculpture and the vital concrete features of these new sculptural works of Attica took on a vivid expression here.
Among the fragments of the pediment sculptures of the second Hecatompedon, the group depicting Athena plunging the giant Enceladus to the ground is especially vital. The unfolding of figures in one plane, somewhat artificial and deliberate, as well as the ornamental interpretation of Athena's hair, reminds us that this sculpture does not yet break the framework of archaic art. But in the person of Athena there is already such a clear proportion and spirituality, which Greek art did not know before.
The head of Athena from the pediment of the second Hecatompedon from the group depicting the struggle of Athena with the giant. Marble. Second half of the 6th century BC e. Athens. Acropolis Museum.
Moschophor (a man carrying a calf) from the Acropolis of Athens. Marble. Around 570 BC e. Athens. Acropolis Museum.
One of the highest achievements of the archaic art of Athens at the end of the 6th century. BC. were found on the Acropolis beautiful statues of girls (kor) in smart clothes. These statues were created not only by the artists of Athens, but also by visiting Ionian sculptors who joined the general work on decorating the grown and wealthy city. Among them, "The Girl in the Ash" and famous statue girls, usually simply called "Bark from the Acropolis".
The girl in peplos. Fragment. Marble. 540-530 biennium BC e. Athens. Acropolis Museum.
Bark from the Acropolis in Athens. Marble. End of the 6th century BC e. Athens. Acropolis Museum.
In the first of them, the face is especially good, animated by a clear, as if a little surprised smile. The second, which has well preserved its original coloring, is distinguished by the fidelity and harmony of proportions, the subtlety and grace of a smiling, albeit motionless face. The traditional frontality and stiffness of the pose are combined here with a life-like rendering of the girl's entire appearance. Carefully finished folds of clothes and strands of hair, as if flowing and running in a measured and at the same time varied rhythm, give this statue a festive and joyful, unusually life-affirming structure. Among all the sculptural works that have come down to us from the archaic period, these Acropolis crust carry the most portents of classical art. At the same time, they sort of summed up the development of the artistic language of the archaic. The naive schematism of the art of Homeric Greece was left far behind, but the plastic freedom of classical art was still unattainable. The idea of the value of a person was revealed to a large extent indirectly - in the festive character of the whole, in the graceful silhouette of the figure full of acute feeling.
There are also living features in relief images on Attic tombstones or steles dating back to the end of the 6th and the very beginning of the 5th century. BC. So the stele of Aristion gives a strict and calm image of a citizen-warrior. Aristion is shown in profile, with a spear in his hand. The relief is very flat, but a subtle sense of the ratio of plans and an undoubted knowledge of the structure of the human body allowed the master to achieve a fairly clear materiality and volumetric image.
The foremost masters of the end of the Archaic in many other city-states of Greece generally followed a path close to the achievements of the Attic school and, perhaps, sometimes under the direct influence of the art of Athens. So very close to the principles of the Attic school was found in Boeotia and executed at the very end of the 6th or beginning of the 5th century. BC. Alxenor, a sculptor with Fr. Naxos, a tombstone depicting a man wrapped in a long cloak (himation), standing cross-legged and leaning on a staff; a dog jumps at his feet, trying to attract the attention of the owner. The feeling of spirituality and vital expressiveness of a person's movement brings this thing close to the art of the early classics. But at the same time, some schematism in the modeling of the form and inaccuracies in the transmission of the rakkurs, as well as the clash of the new realistic understanding of composition with the conventions in the interpretation of the form, indicate that the line separating the art of archaism from the art of the classics has not yet been crossed.
Hermes and Charites. Fragment of relief from the island of Thasos. Marble. 470-460 biennium BC e. Paris. Louvre.
How far did the living development of Attic art of the end of the 6th century go? BC. clearly shows the beautiful relief of "Hermes and the Charites", with all its clearly felt archaic features, full of unusually natural and truthful movement and feeling.
Under the undoubted influence of Attic art, experiments arose in the cities of the northern Peloponnese of a more lively interpretation of the traditional statues of the kouros. Keeping all the monumental austerity and frontality of the statue and at the same time trying to give it some movement, these Peloponnesian masters began to set aside and bend one leg of the kouros, bend the arm at the elbow and use other similar techniques that gave a calmly standing figure some animation. An idea of this quest is given by a bronze statue of a young man, made around 500 BC - the so-called "Apollo of Piombino", reproducing the lost statue by the sculptor Kanach, relatively still very little different from the old type of kouros and at the same time touching with its undoubted living truthfulness. As in the "Acropolis crust", we are here on the verge of classical art.
Greek Classical Art (Early 5th - mid 4th century BC)
From the first decades of the 5th century. BC. the classical period of development of Greek culture and Greek art began. For Ancient Greece, this was the period of the highest flowering of drama, political eloquence, architecture, sculpture, monumental painting and vase painting. Highly perfect, consistently realistic and full of a deep sense of beauty, the art of the Greek classics defined a new and most important stage in the development of all world art.
Classical art is the art of the Greek city-state of the flourishing period of its development, associated with the victory of democracy in Athens and other Greek city-states. Reforms of Cleisthenes at the end of the 6th century. BC. approved in Athens the final victory of the demos over the aristocracy - the Eupatrides; as a result of these reforms, the power of the aristocracy was broken and the foundations were laid for the rapid and bright development of the Athenian slave-owning democracy.
By the beginning of the 5th century. BC. there were two most opposite city-states of Ancient Greece: Athens and Sparta. In Athens, the principles of slave-owning democracy were most fully expressed, based mainly on the flourishing of crafts and sea trade. In an agricultural, backward in its own way social development Sparta, the militarily strongest city in Greece, developed a conservative-aristocratic political system that ensured the domination of a close-knit group of warriors-slave-owners - Spartiats - over the mass of disenfranchised agricultural slaves - helots.
Attica ( Ancient Greece).
The rivalry and struggle of Athens and Sparta determined the future paths historical development Greece. But for the history of art, Sparta remained completely sterile, without nominating a single artist to the ranks of the masters who created the art of the Greek classics.
In the first quarter of the 5th century. BC. Greece was invaded by the hordes of the Persian state. The victory of the militias of the united city-states, defending their independence from the formidable conqueror, greatly accelerated the growth of social consciousness of the Hellenes. It was the victory of a free, conscious democracy over eastern despotism. Miltiades - the leader of the Athenians and their allies in the battle of Marathon (490 BC) - perfectly expressed in his speech before the battle the morale that was imbued with every Athenian, indicating that it depends only on them “or put on Athens the yoke of slavery, or to strengthen freedom. " Decisive victories over the Persians - at sea at Salamis (480) and on land, at Plataea (479) - strengthened the consciousness of the strength and importance of Greek society, contributed to the establishment of the basic principles of its worldview and culture. At the same time, the victory over the Persians favored the further economic, flourishing of the poleis, especially Athens.
The center for the development of classical Hellenic culture was mainly Attica, the northern Peloponnese, the islands of the Aegean Sea and partly the Greek colonies in Sicily and southern Italy - the so-called Greater Greece. The cities of Asia Minor (Miletus and others), although they recovered from the defeat perpetrated by the Persians, could no longer play their former leading role in the economic and cultural life of Greece.
During the Greco-Persian wars, the first period of development of classical art began - the early classics, which lasted for about four decades (490 - 450 BC). The artists of that time found new artistic means to create monumental art that embodied the ethical and aesthetic ideals of the victorious slave-owning democracy in their images. The image of a person in all the richness and freedom of his actions, the search for generalized typical images, the construction of a realistic group composition, a new understanding of the synthesis of sculpture and architecture, a decisive appeal to scenes from real everyday life (especially in vase painting) became the most important, main features of this period in the development of the classical Greek art. In the second quarter of the 5th century. BC. (that is, in 475 - 450 BC) the archaic traditions that hindered the development of realistic art (in sculpture and painting) were finally overcome, and the principles of the classics received their complete expression in the creations of such masters as the unknown authors of the Olympic pediments and especially the famous Athenian sculptor Myron. Miron, the oldest among the great masters of the classics, completed the period of creative searches of the early classics, preparing Greek art for an even greater rise in subsequent years - to the mature, or high, classics.
The time of the highest flowering of ancient Greek art - in the "era of Pericles" - lasted about the same four decades - from 450 to 410 BC. Artistic creations of the period of high classics were distinguished by heroic majesty, monumentality and harmony of human images and at the same time by life ease, naturalness and simplicity. During these years, the great masters of Greek art, the sculptors Phidias and Polycletus, the architects Iktinus and Kallikrates, worked. The works of this time in the field of architecture, sculpture, vase painting and monumental painting are excellent examples of the artistic charm that art can achieve, inspired by faith in human perfection, embodying the advanced social aspirations of its era and true to the principles of realism.
By the end of the 5th century. BC. the growing use of slave labor began to negatively affect the prosperity of free labor, causing the gradual impoverishment of ordinary free citizens. The division of Greece into independent and competing cities began to hinder the further development of the slave society. The long and difficult Peloponnesian wars (431 - 404 BC) between the two alliances of cities, headed by Athens and Sparta, accelerated the economic and political crisis of the policies. Classical art by the end of the 5th - beginning of the 4th century. BC. entered its last, third, stage of development.
During this period of the late classics, art developed in the context of the crisis of the Greek slave polis. It has to some extent lost its heroic, civic character, the clear harmony of its monumental images. At the same time, in the art of the great masters of the late classics, new tasks were developed to reveal in the images of art the world of inner feelings of man or the stormy, restless human activity. Their art has become more dramatic and lyrical, more psychologically profound.
Macedonian conquest in the second half of the 4th century BC. put an end to the independent existence of the Greek city-states. It did not destroy the traditions of the Greek classics, but in general, since that time, the development of art has gone along other paths.
Early Classical Art (The so-called "strict calm" 490 - 450 BC)
The heroic era of the Greco-Persian wars and the years immediately following them were the time of the rapid growth of slave policies. In the fight against the Persians, they proved their vitality and strength, and after that they entered the time of their greatest power. A period of widespread construction of public architectural structures began, the creation of monumental sculptures and frescoes, which affirmed the strength and significance of the Greek city-states, the dignity, grandeur and beauty of man. A decisive turning point in the development of art took place.
For some time, the features of archaic convention made themselves felt in vase painting and especially in sculpture. But these were now only vestiges of an archaic tradition that were quickly receding into the past. All Greek art during the first third of the 5th century. BC. was imbued with an intense search for methods of realistic depiction of a person, first of all, a truthful transfer of movement, as well as the creation of a natural group composition free from the principles of decorative symmetry. Realism prevailed in vase painting, and then in sculpture and monumental painting. The range of topics and plots has drastically expanded. The synthesis of sculpture and architecture came to be understood as a free community and complementarity of equal and self-valuable arts.
The monumental and social nature of the architecture of the Greek classics, its close connection with the life of a collective of free citizens, with the state cults of the gods who personified the unity of the polis, found their vivid and strong expression already in the period of the early classics.
The leading role at this time was played by the Doric order. Advanced features Greek architecture of the preceding, archaic period have now received wide and free development. The deep correspondence of the entire figurative structure of the Doric order to the spirit of civil heroism of the 5th century. BC. especially helped to reveal all the artistic possibilities inherent in it.
The peripter became the dominant building type in Greek monumental architecture. The classical type of peripter and the entire system of its proportions were developed precisely during these years.
In terms of their proportions, the temples became less elongated, more solid, in them the disproportion and ponderousness of archaic architectural proportions was overcome. In large temples, the interior - the naos - was usually divided by two longitudinal rows of columns into three parts. In small temples, architects dispensed with internal columns supporting the ceiling of the naos. The use of colonnades with an odd number of columns on the front facades, which hindered the location of the entrance to the temple in the center of the facade, disappeared. The usual ratio of the number of columns of front and side facades has become 6 to 13 or 8 to 17; the number of lateral columns was equal to twice the number of columns of the front facade plus one column.
Plan of the Temple of Poseidon at Paestum.
In the depths of the central part of the naos, framed by internal colonnades, directly opposite the entrance was a statue of a deity. The layout of the temple received a logically clear harmony and monumental solemnity. A strictly thought-out system of arrangement and correlation of all structural elements of the temple led to the creation of an image of a stately, clear and simple.
The architects of the early classics subtly felt the connection of the system of proportions of architectural forms with the absolute scale of the building and with its dimensions in relation to a person and the surrounding landscape. The development of a permanent system of parts of the order and their form took place simultaneously with an increasingly free and varied construction of their proportional ratios. Minor changes in proportions caused corresponding changes in the balance of the carried and bearing parts. Modifying the proportions of all parts of the building, the Architects also modified the whole character of its figurative expressiveness. Therefore, each temple of the classical period combined the principles of the canonical solution worked out by centuries of experience with the moments peculiar to this particular temple. This gave it individual originality and made it a unique work of art. This also achieved the solution of the problem of correlating the temple with environment and his very character was determined, now powerful and majestic, now light and graceful.
This feature of Greek architecture is characteristic of the entire structure of the ancient Greek artistic consciousness. So, for example, Greek tragedy also developed in the traditional and strict forms of theatrical canons. At the same time, for the same playwright, for example Aeschylus or Sophocles, in each drama, in accordance with the nature of the conflict depicted and with the figurative structure of this drama, the ratio of the prologue, epilogue, choral parts, the construction of the poetic speech of the main characters, etc., significantly changed.
A monument built around 490 BC was a transitional monument from the late archaic to the early classics. the temple of Athena Afaya on the island of Aegina. Its dimensions are small. The ratio of the columns is 6 to 12. The columns are slender in proportion, but the entablature is still prohibitively heavy. The temple was built of limestone and covered with painted plaster. The pediments were decorated with sculptural groups made of marble (now located in the Munich Glyptotek). The location of the temple at the top of a high coastal slope clearly shows how Greek architects knew how to connect strict Doric architecture with the surrounding natural space.
Temple “E” in Selinunte (Sicily) also had a transitional character. It differed from the temple on the island of Aegina in its excessive elongation of proportions (the ratio of columns is 6 to 15). Its columns are squat and often spaced; the entablature is very high, its height is almost half the height of the column. In general, with its heavy power, it resembles the temples of the 6th century. BC, although the processing of details, the division of forms are already distinguished by greater clarity and severity of execution.
Typical features of the early classics architecture were most fully embodied in the temple of Poseidon in Paestum (Great Greece) and in the temple of Zeus in Olympia (Peloponnese).
Temple of Poseidon at Paestum ( southern Italy). Second quarter of the 5th century BC e.
Temple of Poseidon at Paestum. Internal view.
Temple of Poseidon at Paestum, built in the second quarter of the 5th century. BC, well preserved. Full of austere grandeur, powerful and somewhat heavy, it rises on a three-tiered base. The low stylobate, low but wide steps emphasize the impression of calm, balanced strength. The columns (ratio 6 to 14; see the drawing with the plan of the Temple of Poseidon at Paestum) are comparatively massive; strong entasis creates a feeling of elastic tension of the column, as if lifting the ceiling with an effort. The entire colonnade stands out against the background of a shaded space; deep horizontal shadows from far protruding abacus fall on the columns, emphasizing the line of collision between the bearing and the carried parts. All the main elements of the architectural composition are sharply expressed, the architectural details only reveal the basic relations of the architectural system, and this also enhances the impression of concentrated power.
The temple was designed to be perceived from different distances. From a distance, the temple with its relatively low columns seems somewhat smaller than in reality, and at the same time very compact and austere in form. Close up, the dimensions of the columns, large in comparison with a person, become clear and the overall dimensions of the temple are palpable; details (including more frequent than usual flutes), becoming well visible, set off the massive proportions and size of the building. The contrast of impressions from distant and close points of view contributes to the growth of a sense of power and greatness of the entire structure as it approaches. This technique of juxtaposing multiple points of view is extremely characteristic of the principles of the architecture of the classics. The Greek architect of the classical era has always strived to create an architectural image focused on human perception, taking into account and organizing the path of movement of the viewer.
Temple of Zeus at Olympia, built between 468 and 456 BC. architect Libon, had the significance of a general Hellenic sanctuary and was the largest temple in the entire Poloponnese. The temple is almost completely destroyed, but on the basis of excavations and descriptions of the ancient authors of its general form can be reconstructed quite accurately.
It was a classic Doric peripter (the ratio of the columns is 6 to 13), built of hard limestone (shell rock), which made it possible to achieve almost hammered precision and purity of parts. The proportions of the temple were distinguished by severity and clarity. Their severity was softened by their festive character. The temple was decorated with large sculptural groups on the pediments. The metopes of the outer frieze, as in most temples of the early classics, were devoid of sculptural decorations. 3а with an outer colonnade over the porticos of the pronaos and the opisthodom, sculptural compositions were placed on the metopes of the triglyph frieze, six on each frieze. The plots of these reliefs were closely related to the public purpose of the temple, which was the center of a vast architectural ensemble Olympia - the sacred center of all-Hellenic sports. On the pediments were depicted the legendary chariot competition of Pelops and Oenomai and the battle of the Greeks (Lapiths) with the centaurs, on the metopes - the exploits of Hercules. Inside the temple from the middle of the 5th century. BC. housed a statue of Zeus made of gold and ivory by Phidias.
Thus, in the temple of Zeus at Olympia, the synthesis of architecture and sculpture characteristic of classical Greece has already found its embodiment, which will be discussed in detail later, when describing the Parthenon, and the principles of the architectural classics were finally approved.
A very important part of Greek art during the classical period was vase painting, in which the realism of the classics was vividly expressed.
The heyday of the city-state was also the heyday of the arts and crafts of various types of applied and decorative arts. The leading place among them continued to be kept by ceramics decorated with highly artistic painting.
Vase painting was imbued with the traditions of folk art craft with its sense of the artistic value of every thing created by the creative labor of man. Although the best vases made by the largest and leading artists, for the most part, were intended for cult offerings or served to decorate festive feasts, it was the lively and constant connection with the folk art of potters and master draftsmen that determined their high artistic perfection.
In the period of the early classics, the realistic tendencies of the advanced vase painters of the late archaic developed rapidly and profoundly, becoming dominant in the years of the Greco-Persian wars. The red-figure technique at this time completely supplanted the black-figure technique. It made it possible to realistically depict volume and movement, build any rakkurs, naturally and freely model the human body.
The artistic worldview of the classics, based on a deep interest in the surrounding life and in a real person, quickly expanded the range of possibilities of a realistic image contained in the red-figure technique. Instead of the flat silhouette of black-figure vase painting, artists began to build three-dimensional bodies, taken in the most diverse and lively turns and rakkurs. This free and convincing transfer of movement, far from the conventional play of black spots and lines scratched on black lacquer, was complemented by the greater naturalness of the reddish color of clay, which was now used to depict human figures, since it was incomparably closer to the idea of a tanned naked body than shiny black varnish color. The black lines of the drawing on the light background of clay now conveyed the muscles and details of the body, making it possible to realistically reproduce the structure of the human body and its movement. This gave a powerful impetus to the development of the art of drawing.
The masters of red-figure vase painting sought not only to concretely depict the body and movement of a person - they came to a new, realistic understanding of composition, constantly painting complex scenes of mythological and everyday content. In some respects, the development of vase painting has outstripped the development of sculpture. There are many realistic discoveries in vase painting, similar to the discoveries of sculpture in the second quarter of the 5th century. BC, appeared already in last years 6 c. and in the first decades of the 5th century. BC, that is, in the period after the reforms of Cleisthenes and during the war years.
The composition of the vase painting of the early classics became more and more complete and holistic, it was naturally limited by the inner surface of a flat bowl or the side surface between the handles of the vase. Within the limits of the surface of the vase allotted for the composition, the vase painters with exceptional freedom and observation conveyed the most diverse scenes of everyday life, as well as the heroic events of myths and Homeric epics. Traditional mythical plots were reinterpreted, saturated with new motives gleaned from life.
The most prominent masters of vase painting of this time were Euphronius, Duris and Brig, who worked in Athens. All of them were characterized by the desire for naturalness of the image. But the degree of novelty, that is, liberation from archaic convention and the conquest of realistic freedom, was not the same for them.
The oldest of these masters, Euphronius (who worked at the very end of the 6th century BC; later became the owner of a workshop where other draftsmen worked), was associated with archaic patterning and ornamentation more than others.
Euphronius. Theseus at Amphitrite. Kilik painting. Around 500-490 BC e. Paris. Louvre.
In vases painted by Euphronius, depicting Theseus by Amphitrite or getters playing cottab, the desire for too free and complex rakkurs and movements, in the absence of a still developed method of realistic drawing, led to the conditional flatness of some details; Purely decorative elements also occupy a lot of space in Euphronius: patterns on clothes, etc.
Later, in the first quarter of the 5th century. BC. masters learned to find such artistic means of depicting movement, which could, without destroying the integrity of the surface of the vessel, give a feeling of three-dimensional spatiality of the drawing, and this led to the final overcoming of the archaic principle of flatness of the image. True, vase painting throughout the 5th century. BC. She operated mainly with graphic means of images, without pursuing her own pictorial tasks (for example, the transmission of chiaroscuro). For some time, only elements of elegance, a sophisticated linear contour, which, to some extent, still played a purely decorative role, remained from the archaic. It is precisely such echoes of archaic art that are found in some of the works of Duris, one of the most remarkable draftsmen of the early classics.
Duris Eoss with Memnon's body. Kilik painting. Around 490-480 BC e. Paris. Louvre.
In the vases, the drawings of which were executed by Duris, one can feel the dependence of his artistic techniques on the nature of the plot; more elegance and ornamental rhythm in drawings on mythological themes ("Eos with the body of Memnon"), more simplicity and easy freedom in drawings on themes of everyday life ("School scene"). The ease and virtuosity of the artist's construction of any complex pose, any real gesture (for example, in the image of a sitting teacher) are striking.
Brig. The consequences of the revelry. Kilik painting. Around 480 BC e. Würzburg. University.
Closer to the beginning of the second quarter of the 5th century. BC. Compositions are becoming more numerous and more perfect, consciously setting the task of an organic connection of a vital natural image with the form and rhythmic structure of the vessel. The masters of vase painting began to realize more and more clearly that the architectural beauty of the forms of the vessel should never be destroyed by the image, that their close connection should serve to their mutual benefit. This is a drawing by Bryg (circa 480 BC) adorning the bottom of a wine bowl in the Würzburg Museum. By the way, the very theme of the last drawing is directly related to the purpose of the vessel: a kind-hearted girl supports the tilted head of a young man who has abused wine. The owner of the cup, draining it, had the opportunity to contemplate at its bottom this humorous reminder of the need to know the measure of all things. The two standing figures are perfectly inscribed in the round bottom of the bowl, and at the same time they are distinguished by an unusually bold and simple construction of a three-dimensional shape. A deep respect for the value and beauty of real human life made it possible for Brig to fill even such a prosaic topic with genuine grace.
Brig was a brave pioneer of new paths, and his discoveries played a crucial role in the formation of the realistic principles of the classics. Compared to Euphronius, Brig took a big step forward in his work. His drawings, very diverse in themes, genre and mythological, are not only distinguished by vital spontaneity and natural simplicity, but also solve many problems of dramatic construction of action. His vase, dedicated to the Trojan War, is distinguished by the genuine pathos of the image of the battle, which reminded Brig's contemporaries of the events of the Greco-Persian wars.
Brig. Taking Troy. Kilik painting. Around 490-480 BC e. Paris. Louvre.
The lesser dependence of vase painters on the constraining archaic tradition and their direct connection with artistic craft led to the fact that the realistic character of the artistic culture of the early classics was reflected in vase painting not only earlier, but also in a wider appeal to everyday life than it could have been in monumental sculpture. It can even be assumed that the masters of monumental sculpture used the experience of the leading masters of vase painting, who at the beginning of the 5th century. BC. ahead of sculptors precisely in the field of transmission of human action and movement.
Very interesting is the depiction of the sculptor's workshop on the bowl of an unknown master of the 480s, full of deep seriousness and respect for work. True, it shows an artistic craft that is more respected due to the value of its products. The sculptor's work is described in great detail and accurately: craftsmen are working around the furnace for casting bronze, a finished statue is being mounted, tools and bronze reliefs are hung. But the setting is given only by these objects - the artist does not depict the walls on which they hang: in vase painting, as in sculpture or monumental painting, the environment surrounding a person was not of interest to the artist, who showed only people - their actions, expressive meaningfulness, the expediency of their movements and actions. Even the tools with which a person acts and the fruits of his labor were shown only in order to understand the meaning of the action - things, like nature, occupied the artist only in their relation to man. This explains the absence of landscape in Greek vase painting - both early and high classics. Man's attitude to nature, to its forces and phenomena was conveyed through the image of man himself, through his reaction to the phenomenon of nature.
Pelika with a swallow. Late 6th - early 5th century BC e. Leningrad ,. Hermitage.
Thus, the lyrics of the coming spring are embodied on the red-figured "vase (pelik) with a swallow" (late 6th - early 5th centuries BC; State Hermitage) in the image of a boy, youth and adult who saw the messenger of spring - a flying swallow. Three figures, different both in their constitution and in their postures, are connected by one action and form an integral and lively group. The common feeling that unites these people looking up at the swallow is expressed in the inscriptions that accompany each figure and are linked in a short dialogue. The young man who first saw the swallow says: "Look, swallow"; his senior interlocutor confirms: "True, I swear by Hercules"; the boy exclaims joyfully, concluding the conversation: "Here it is - already spring!"
In the second quarter of the 5th century. BC. Greek vase painting acquires an unprecedented strict and clear harmony, but at the same time it loses to some extent that direct sharpness and brightness that distinguished the works of the first vase painters of classical art - Duris or Brig. But vase painting of this time, as well as monumental painting, it is more expedient to consider together with the art of the Age of Pericles - the art of high classics.
In the northern part of the Peloponnese, in the Argos-Sikion school, the most significant of the Doric schools, the sculpture of the emerging classics developed mainly the task of creating a calmly standing human figure. Deeply reworking old Doric traditions in the light of new artistic tasks, the largest master of the Agelad school already at the beginning of the 5th century. BC. tried to solve the problem of reviving a calmly standing figure. Shifting the center of gravity of the body to one leg allowed Agelada and other masters of this school to achieve the free naturalness of the posture and gesture of the human figure. The consistent development by the Argos-Sikion masters of an elaborate system of proportions, revealing the real beauty of a perfect human body, was also of great importance.
The Ionian trend, in the same striving to master the vital persuasiveness of the image of a person, went its own way, in accordance with its old traditions. The Ionic masters paid particular attention to the image of the human body in motion.
However, the distinction between these two directions in the classical period was not significant. The progressive masters of both directions, although they followed different paths, had a common goal - the creation of a realistic image of a perfect person. Already in the 6th century. BC. The Attic school synthesized the best aspects of both directions: by the middle of the 5th century. BC. it most consistently affirmed the basic principles of advanced realistic art associated with the flourishing of Athens, and acquired the significance of the leading center of all Hellenic art. Main city Attica - Athens - by the middle of the 5th century. BC. gathered and united the best artistic forces of Hellas to create monuments and architectural structures that praised the dignity and beauty of the Athenian, and with it the entire Greek people (or rather, free citizens of the Greek city-states).
An important feature of Greek sculpture of the classical period was its inextricable connection with social life, which was reflected both in the character of the image and in its place on the city square.
Greek sculpture of the classical period had a public character, it was the property of the entire collective of free citizens. It is therefore natural that the development of the social and educational role of art, the disclosure of a new aesthetic ideal in it, was most fully reflected in the monumental sculptural works associated with architecture or standing in squares. But at the same time, it was precisely in such works that the profound breakdown of the entire structure of artistic principles, which was accompanied by the transition from the archaic to the classics, was reflected with particular clarity. The new social ideas of the victorious democracy came into sharp collision with the conventionality and abstraction of archaic sculpture.
The contradictory, transitional nature of some sculptural works of the early 5th century. BC. clearly stands out in the pediment groups of the temple of Athena Aphaia on the island of Aegina (about 490 BC).
The pediment sculptures of the Eginsky temple were found at the beginning of the 19th century. in a badly damaged state and then restored by the famous Danish sculptor Thorvaldsen. One of the most probable variants of reconstruction of the pediment composition was proposed by the Russian scientist V. Malmberg. The composition of both pediments was built on the basis of strict mirror symmetry, which to some extent gave the painted sculptural groups, which appeared against the colored background of the pediments, features of ornamentation.
On the western pediment was depicted the struggle of the Greeks and Trojans for the body of Patroclus. In the center was the figure of Athena, standing motionless, strictly frontal, as if deployed on the plane of the pediment, impassively calm and as if invisibly present in the middle of the battle. Her participation in the ongoing struggle is shown only by the fact that her shield is facing the outside towards the Trojans and her feet are turned in the same direction. It is only from these symbolic hints that one can guess that Athena acts as the protector of the Hellenes. Except for the figure of Paris in a high curved helmet and with a bow in his hands, it would be impossible to distinguish the Greeks from their enemies, so the figures are mirrored on the left and right half of the pediment.
Yet in the figures of the warriors there is no longer archaic frontality, their movements are more real, the anatomical structure is more correct than was usual in archaic art. Although the entire movement unfolds strictly along the plane of the pediment, it is quite vital and concrete in each individual figure. But on the faces of the fighting soldiers and even the wounded, the same conventional "archaic smile" is given - a clear sign of connectedness and convention, poorly compatible with the depiction of intensely fighting heroes.
In the Aeginian pediments, the still chilling inertness of the old archaic canons manifested itself. Compositional unity was achieved by external, decorative means, the very principle of combining architecture and sculpture was here, in essence, still archaic.
Hercules from the eastern pediment of the temple of Athena-Afaya on the island of Aegina. Marble. 490-480 biennium BC e. Munich. Glyptotek.
True, already in the eastern pediment of the Aeginsky temple (preserved much worse than the western one), an undoubted step forward was made. Comparison of the figures of Hercules from the eastern pediment and Paris from the western one clearly shows the great freedom and truthfulness in the depiction of a person by the master of the eastern pediment. The movements of the figures here are less subordinate to the plane of the architectural background, more natural and free. The comparison of the statues of wounded soldiers on both gables is especially instructive. The master of the eastern pediment has already seen the discrepancy between the "archaic smile" and the state of the warrior.
Western pediment of the temple of Athena Aphaia. Reconstruction.
A wounded warrior from the eastern pediment of the temple of Athena-Afaya on the island of Aegina. Marble. Around 490-480 BC e. Munich. Glyptotek.
The motive of the wounded soldier's movement was recreated in strict accordance with the truth of life. To some extent, the sculptor has mastered here not only the transmission external signs movements, but also by depicting the inner state of a person through this movement: vital forces slowly leave the athletic body of a wounded warrior, the arm with the sword, on which the reclining warrior rests, slowly bends, the legs slide along the ground, not giving more reliable support to the body, the powerful torso gradually falls lower and lower. The rhythm of the leaning body is emphasized in contrast by a vertically placed shield.
Mastering the complex and contradictory richness of the movements of the human body, which directly conveys not only the physical, but also the mental state of a person, is one of the most important tasks of classical sculpture. The statue of a wounded soldier from the eastern pediment of the Eginsky temple was one of the first attempts to solve this problem.
For the destruction of the shackling conventions of archaic art, the appearance of sculptures dedicated to specific historical events, which clearly embodied the social and moral ideals of the victorious slave-owning democracy, was extremely important. With their relative small number, they were a particularly striking sign of the growth of the social, educational, civic content of art, its realistic orientation.
The mythological theme and plot continued to dominate in Greek art, but the cult and fantastically fabulous side of the myth passed to the second Alans, almost disappeared. The ethical side of myth has now come to the fore, the disclosure in mythological images of the strength and beauty of the ethical and aesthetic ideal of modern Greek society, the figurative embodiment of the ideological tasks that excite it. A realistic rethinking of mythological images, which led to the reflection of modern ideas in them, was carried out by Greek artists of the classical period, as well as by the great Greek tragedians of the 5th century. BC. - Aeschylus and Sophocles.
Under these conditions, the emergence of individual works of art directly addressing the facts real story, although sometimes assuming a mythological connotation, was deeply logical. Thus, Aeschylus created the tragedy "Persians", dedicated to the heroic struggle of the Greeks for freedom.
The sculptors Critias and Nesiot created in the early 470s BC. a bronze group of Tyranicides - Harmodius and Aristogiton, - instead of the archaic sculpture taken away by the Persians, depicting the same heroes. For the Greeks of the 5th century. BC. images of Harmodius and Aristogeiton, who killed in 514 BC. the Athenian tyrant Hipparchus, and at the same time the victims, were an example of selfless valor of citizens, ready to give their lives to protect civil liberties and the laws of their hometown ( In fact, Harmodius and Aristogeiton were guided by the interests of not the democratic, but the aristocratic party of Athens in the 6th century. BC, but in this case it is important for us how the Athenians of the 5th century imagined their social role. BC.). The composition of the group that has not survived to this day can be restored from ancient Roman marble copies.
In "Harmodia and Aristogiton", for the first time in the history of monumental sculpture, the task was set to build a sculptural group, united by a single action, a single plot. Indeed, for example, the archaic sculpture "Cleobis and Biton" by Polimedes of Argos can be considered only conditionally as a single group - in fact, these are just two statues of kouros that stood side by side, where the relationship of the heroes was not depicted. Harmodius and Aristogiton are united by a common action - they strike the enemy. The movement of the figures, made separately and set at an angle to each other, converges at one point at which an imaginary opponent stands. The unified direction of movement and gestures of the figures (in particular, the hand brought up to hit by Harmodius) creates the necessary impression of the artistic integrity of the group, its compositional and plot completeness, although it should be emphasized that this movement is interpreted in general still very schematically. The faces of the heroes were also deprived of expression.
According to the information that has come down to us in ancient Greek sources, the leading masters who determined the decisive turn of sculpture in the 70s and 60s. 5 c. BC. to realism, were Agelad, Pythagoras of Regia, Kalamides. To some extent, an idea of their work can be drawn from Roman copies of Greek statues of this time, and most importantly, from a number of surviving original Greek statues from the second quarter of the 5th century. BC, made by unknown masters. The general picture of the development of Greek sculpture until the middle of the 5th century. BC. can be imagined with sufficient clarity.
Runner. Bronze statuette from Olympia. First quarter of the 5th century BC e. Tubingen. University.
The concept of Greek art of the 70s - 60s. 5 c. BC. also give small bronze figurines that have survived to our time. Their significance is especially great because the bronze Greek originals, with rare exceptions, have been lost and they have to be judged by far from accurate and dry Roman marble copies. Meanwhile, it was for the 5th century. BC. the widespread use of bronze as a material for monumental sculptures is characteristic.
One of the most consistent innovators of the initial period of the early classics was, apparently, Pythagoras of Regia. The main goal of his work was a realistic depiction of a person in natural life movement. So, according to the description of the ancients, his statue "Wounded Philoctetes" is known, which amazed his contemporaries with a truthful transmission of human movements. The statue of "Hyacinth" or (as it was called before) "Eros Soranzo" (State Hermitage, Roman copy) is attributed to Pythagoras of Regia. The master depicted the young man at the moment when he was watching the flight of the disc thrown by Apollo; he raised his head, the weight of his body shifted to one leg. The depiction of a person in a holistic and unified movement is the main artistic task that the artist set himself, resolutely rejecting the archaic principles of a strictly frontal and motionless statue, consistently and deeply developing the features of realism accumulated in the art of the late archaic. At the same time, the movements of the "Hyacinth" are still somewhat sharp and angular; some stylistic features, for example, in the treatment of hair, are directly related to archaic traditions. In this statue, new artistic tasks are boldly and sharply set, but a harmonious and consistent system of a new artistic language corresponding to these tasks has not yet been fully created.
Realistic vitality, the indissoluble fusion of the philosophical and aesthetic principles in the artistic image, the heroic typification of the image of a real person - these are the main features of the emerging art of the classics. The social and educational significance of the art of the early classics was inseparably and naturally merged with its artistic charm, it was devoid of any elements of deliberate moralization. A new understanding of the tasks of art was reflected in a new understanding of the image of a person, in a new criterion of beauty.
Delphic charioteer. Bronze. Around 470 BC e. Delphi. Museum.
The birth of a new aesthetic ideal is especially clearly revealed in the image of the "Delphic charioteer" (second quarter of the 5th century BC). The Delphic Charioteer is one of the few authentic ancient Greek bronze statues that have come down to us. It was part of a large sculptural group that has not come down to us, created by a Peloponnesian master close to Pythagoras of Regia. Severe simplicity, calm greatness of the spirit are poured in the whole figure of the charioteer, dressed in long clothes and standing in a strictly motionless and at the same time natural and lively pose. The realism of this statue lies primarily in the sense of the significance and beauty of a person, which permeates the entire figure. The image of the winner in the competition is given in a generalized and simple manner, and although individual details are made with great care, they are subordinated to the general strict and clear structure of the statue. The Delphic Charioteer expresses in a rather definite form the classical concept of sculpture as a harmonious and vitally convincing depiction of the typical features of a perfect man, shown as every free-born Hellene should be.
The same realistic typification of the human image was completely transferred by the masters of the early classics to the images of the gods. "Apollo of Pompeii", which is a Roman replica of a Greek (Northern Peloponnesian) statue of the second quarter of the 5th century. BC, differs from the archaic "Apollo" not only in the incomparably more realistic modeling of body shapes, but also in a completely different principle of the compositional solution of the figure. All the weight of the body is transferred here to one left leg, the right leg is slightly pushed to the side and forward, the shoulders are slightly turned in relation to the hips, the head is slightly bent to one side; the hands of a beautiful youth, as the god of the sun and poetry is depicted here, are given in a free and unconstrained movement. At first glance, these seemingly minor changes during this period of accumulation of realistic
While Mykonos is thundering with its idle parties, its neighbor is a small Delos island differs in silence and tranquility.
Business with, in some sources - Delos, is considered the birthplace of the Olympic gods Apollo and Artemis, and therefore in ancient times this island was revered on a par with Olympus or Delphi. In addition, in ancient times, Delos was cultural, economic and shopping center ancient Greeks.
As for the modern island of Delos, it is practically empty - its only inhabitants are historians, archaeologists and tourists, and even then, for a while: it is strictly forbidden to stay on the island overnight. In fact, the island has long been transformed into open air museum.
But, even in spite of the desolation of Delos, the island is still visited by many boats and yachts - the tourist interest in these places not only has not decreased, but, on the contrary, has increased significantly! Excursion ferries depart from Mykonos every day (except Mondays), bringing numerous tourists to this island.
Delos is practically made up of monuments ancient architecture- you will be convinced of this as soon as you enter the harbor. In general, the island is available for viewing ancient city with the ruins of pagan temples and altars, an antique theater and a museum.
There are ruins in front of the harbor Ermaiston Square, on which altars and chapels were placed. Behind the square you will see Agora Delos – main square on which is located Temple of Apollo worshiped by the islanders. In this sanctuary was kept long ago statue of the god Apollo and Treasury of Dilos League, all members of which kept their gold, valuable items and other relics here.
On the opposite side of the Agora is temple of artemis- another patroness of the island. And if you go around it, you will stumble on Column Hall, Portico of Antigone and on Agora Theophrastus, built in the 2nd century BC.
Behind the Portico is located Archaeological Museum of Delos, which contains artifacts found during excavations on the island, household items of the ancient Greeks and other exhibits.
The largest and well-preserved monument on the island is considered Italian Agora- a square built several centuries later than the main Agora of Delos. Many years ago, behind this square, there was a beautiful sacred lake, which, however, dried up over time. And if you move from the square to the west, then you will see the famous Make way for Lviv that used to be decorated with nine huge statues these animals. Unfortunately, only five marble statues dating back to the 7th century have survived to this day. BC e.
As we said earlier, you can get to Delos with an excursion from other islands, for example, Mykonos. Going on the road, be sure to take water, comfortable shoes, hats and sunscreen - you will have to walk a lot under the hot sun. The prospect, of course, is not the most rosy, but, believe me, in the evening over a cup of coffee you will enthusiastically tell your friends about the beautiful Delos, which is downright breathtaking!
There is an island in the Aegean Sea called Delos, which the Greeks considered a sacred place for a long time. According to Greek mythology, Zeus sinned with the goddess Latona and she became pregnant with twins from him. Upon learning of this, the lawful wife of Zeus, Hera, put a curse on Latona and she wandered all over Greece for a long time in search of shelter, but could not find it. Zeus found a way out of this situation and arranged a refuge for his beloved - a floating island attached to the seabed with two diamond columns. Poseidon helped the goddess, showing her the way and, turning into a she-wolf, she arrived here, where she gave birth to her children: Artemis and Apollo. And since this one is nothing remarkable island gave Latona shelter, she promised him that beautiful temples would be erected here, and Delos himself would be revered.
Although this is a legend, but, nevertheless, it reflects the true picture of what happened in this place. Archaeologists have found here the ruins of many valuable monuments of architecture and culture: the temples of Apollo, Dionysus, Triton, Hera, Artemis. The houses of Dionysus (named after the mosaic on the floor) and dolphins, the Agora of Theophrastus, the Portico of Antigone, the Hall of Columns and the famous lion's road, which is best preserved (of the nine marble statues, five survived).
Now no one lives on this island, and it itself is a large museum right in the open air.
An area of only a few square kilometers.
The history of the island consists of two parts - mythological and chronological.
According to ancient Greek myths, Delos is the birthplace of two inhabitants of Olympus, including Apollo, the god of light, who personified the Sun and patronized the arts and muses, the son of Zeus and his beloved Leto.
Leto came to Delos against her will, pursued by the jealous wife of Zeus - the Hero. Not having caught up with Leto, Hera flew into a rage and put a curse on her, forbidding her to step on solid ground (in the understanding of the Greeks - the mainland). And Delos was then a floating island, and it was carried across the seas. Upon learning of the curse, Zeus ordered the god of the water element Poseidon to create an island so that Leto would take refuge on it and be relieved of the burden. With a blow of a trident, Poseidon raised the island to the surface of the sea: hence its name - Delos (invisible). Near the Sacred Lake, Leto gave birth to Apollo and Artemis. When Apollo appeared, the entire island of Delos was flooded with streams of sunlight. Then his twin sister Artemis was born - the eternally young goddess of hunting and fertility, the patroness of all life on Earth, the goddess of the Moon.
In ancient times, the island had a different name - Ortigia, people lived on it from the 3rd millennium BC. e.
At the beginning of the X century. BC e. the Ionians arrived there. The island attracted people with its beauty and solitude, and since the 7th century. BC e. it turned into a cult place for people united in the union of islands - the Delos amphiktyony, the center of which was the temple of Apollo, which stood on the slope of Mount Kinf.
In the VI century. BC e. the power over the island already belonged to the Athenians. They performed an elaborate ritual of sacred cleansing of the island, turning it into one large sanctuary. In 478 BC. e., taking advantage of the fact that the cult of the island spread to other islands of the Aegean Sea, the Athenians make a clever political move: they create the Delian (or First Athenian) sea alliance under the auspices of the gods guarding the island, subjugating most of the Greek islands to the power of Athens and achieving domination of the sea ...
In 315 BC. e. the island of Delos was captured by Macedonia. The invaders were wise enough to grant the island partial independence without forgetting to tax it. This is how it began new period prosperity and prosperity.
In the II century. BC e. Ancient Greece is influenced by Rome. After the victory of Rome over the Greeks at the Battle of Corinth in 146 BC. e. the Romans take possession of Delos. They support the cult of the gods on the island, and it still flourishes.
Delos's decline was sudden. In 89 BC. e. the First Mithridates War began between the Roman Republic and the Pontine Kingdom of Mithridates VI Eupator (132-63 BC). In 87 BC. e. Pontic commander Menophanes captured Delos, burned everything that burned, destroyed temples and houses, and killed 20 thousand inhabitants or sold them into slavery. This was revenge for Delos' support of Rome.
The inhabitants of the island in groups returned to their native ashes, restored houses and places of worship of the gods. It was all in vain: in 69 BC. e. Aegean pirates landed on the island and plundered it completely. In the same 1st century. BC e. new trade routes appeared along the Aegean Sea, and Delos lost its significance. This turned out to be the last straw, and the island fell into desolation.
By the will of the gods or simply as a result of tectonic activity, the island of Delos was in the very center of the Aegean Sea, and whoever owned it controlled the main sea routes in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The ruins of numerous buildings on the island of Delos vividly confirm the fact that the ancient Greeks did not consider it sacrilege to combine the sanctuary and the stock exchange in one building.
For two thousand years, the island of Delos remained almost uninhabited, it was visited only by smugglers and antiquities traders in search of prey. It was also used as a quarry, for many centuries exporting stones from the buildings of Delos to the neighboring islands.
Only in 1877, regular excavations began on the island, and French archaeologists discovered a temple site surrounded by large trading establishments and a residential area, as well as a large number of inscriptions and monuments of architecture and art. Thanks to the efforts of these specialists, today we can judge the former splendor of Delos.
The most striking thing is that the richest city at that time on Delos, with its large port and slave market, did not have fortress walls: it was protected only by the sanctity of the place, until a generation of those who did not arouse sacred awe at this place.
The ship, approaching Delos, found itself in a port that stretched for almost a kilometer, with two lighthouses, a "scallop" of breakwaters and a long breakwater.
Only around the sanctuary of Apollo was a wall, and even then it was not high. A wide road with colonnades lined up on both sides ran to it from the harbor. But they were inferior in size to the more majestic colonnade, facing the sea and built by the Macedonian king Philip V (238-179 BC).
The main building on the sacred site is the Temple of Apollo. To the side are two more smaller temples - the Temple of the Athenians and the Limestone Temple. Also to the side is the sanctuary and temple of Artemis: as archaeologists found out, it was erected on the basis of even more ancient sanctuaries. To the northeast of the temple, there are five more small temples in an arc. Archaeologists suggest that these are treasuries where offerings to the gods were kept.
A very unusual building stands to the east of the Temple of Apollo, called the "Portico of the Bulls". This building is longer than all others, almost 70 m. One can only guess about its purpose, but, probably, it served to perform ritual dances: in the traditions of the ancient Greeks, a lot of performers were invited for this.
The colonnade with two wings, built by the Macedonian king Antigonos Gonatos (319-239 BC), seems to be no less long.
In the VI century. BC e. the inhabitants of the island of Naxos presented to the sanctuary a colossal marble statue of Apollo. A huge pedestal of this monument with a dedicatory inscription has survived to this day, and next to it there are two large fragments of the statue itself.
On the other hand, several statues of lions from Naxos marble have survived, probably also a gift from the inhabitants of Naxos. Of the nine statues, six have survived: five were found during excavations and returned to the pedestals, the sixth was taken to Venice in the 17th century. The statues lined up to the north of the sanctuary, forming the Lions Terrace.
In the II century. BC e., in the heyday of trade, on Delos began to build agoras - commercial farmsteads that combined a temple, a stock exchange and an inn. These are very large and imposing buildings, judging by the foundations of two of them.
A unique basilica with 44 columns has been erected between the sanctuary and the harbor. Also found were the ruins of the buildings obligatory for the ancient Greek city: a stadium, a gymnasium (sports hall), an amphitheater.
Foreign merchants who constantly visited Delos built their temples on the island: the ancient Egyptian goddess Isis, the sanctuary of the Syrian gods, Kabirion, dedicated to the mystery cult of the Samothrace gods.
Delos included in the list World heritage UNESCO.
general information
Location: South of the Aegean Sea.Archipelago: Cyclades.
Administrative affiliation: Periphery South, Decentralized Administration of the Aegean Islands, Greece.
Founding of temples: VII century. BC e.
Language: Greek.
Ethnic composition: Greeks.
Religion: Greek Orthodox Church.
Currency unit: euro.
Numbers
Area: 3.43 km 2.Length: 4.5 km.
Width: 1.3 km.
Population: 14 (2001).
Population density: 4 people / km 2.
Length of antique port facilities: 800 m.
Sanctuary of Apollo: length - 30 m, width - 14 m, number of columns - 6 × 13.
Bykov portico: length - 67 m, width - 10 m.
Highest point: 113 m above sea level m. - the city of Kintos (Kinf).
Climate and weather
Mediterranean.Hot dry summers, warm humid winters.
Average January temperature: + 12 ° C.
Average temperature in July: + 25 ° C.
Average annual rainfall: 370 mm.
Relative humidity: 75%.
Economy
Service sector: travel, transport, trade.sights
Cult
Ruins of the Temple of Hera (late 6th - early 5th century BC), the Temple of the Athenians (420 BC), the Temple of Apollo (late 5th - early 3rd century BC), temples of Zeus Kinthios and Athena Kinthia (III century BC), the basilica (about 210 BC), the temple of Artemis (II century BC), the sanctuary of the Syrian and Egyptian gods (II century BC). BC), the Temple of Isis (II century BC), synagogues (150-128 BC).
Architectural
Ruins of the Lion Road (Terraces of Lions, VII century BC), porticoes of the Naxos (VII century BC), the pedestal of the sculpture of Apollo (VI century AD), the Minoan fountain (VI century BC) BC), the portico of the Bulls (about 315 BC), the portico of Philip V of Macedon (about 200 BC), the Column Hall (mid-3rd century BC). theater (3rd century BC), porticoes of the Horns (mid-3rd century BC), residential buildings (houses of the Trident, Dolphins, on Kholm, Dionysus and Masks, 3rd - early 1st century BC). BC), agora of Theophrastus (Beirut Poseidoniasts, late 2nd century BC) and Italics (2nd century BC), trading buildings and moles (2nd century BC).
Other
The bottom of the Sacred Lake (dried up).
Curious facts
■ The rite of sacred cleansing of the island was carried out by order of the tyrant Pisistratus, who ruled in Athens. Supporting the cult of the sacred island of Delos, he forbade burying anyone on it in that part of the island that is visible from the Temple of Apollo. Moreover, he commanded to transfer the remains of all the dead, along with the funeral gifts from Delos to the neighboring island of Renia, and bury them in a common grave, which archaeologists have found in our time. This explains the fact that on the island of Megalos-Rheumataris, between Delos and Renia, the goddess of the underworld Hecate was worshiped.■ The repeated sacred cleansing of the island was carried out by the Athenians in 426 BC. BC: the authorities forbade giving birth on the sacred island: this is available only to the gods. Women who were about to give birth were transported to the neighboring island of Rhenia, where they gave birth to offspring.
■ The greatest dissatisfaction of the allies of Athens with the union of the islands, which later provoked its disintegration, was the transfer of the general union treasury by the Athenians from Delos to Athens in 454 BC. e.
■ During the period of Athenian rule, Delia was widely celebrated - a holiday that was celebrated every five years in honor of Apollo, Artemis and Leto. Supporting the cult of Delos, the Athenians decorated their best ship every year, loaded sacrificial animals and gifts on it, and sent them to Delos with the sacred embassy-theoria. On the island he was greeted by girls who sang hymns and the geranos dance, depicting the liberation of the Athenian youths and girls from the Cretan labyrinth by Theseus. Until the return of the ship, it was forbidden to carry out death sentences. That is why in 399 BC. e. delayed the execution of Socrates.
■ In the IV - early I century. BC e. Delos was the most important center of the slave trade in the Mediterranean: according to the chronicles, up to 10 thousand slaves were sold and bought in its market during the day. This accumulation of slaves led to uprisings, the largest took place at the end of the II century. BC e.
■ The Temple of Apollo in Delos served not only as a religious and political center, but also carried out financial transactions, lending money to both individual clients and entire states.
■ The oldest finds on Delos were made in 1946, when a treasure of items made of gold, ivory and bronze was found. Some objects with reliefs of people and animals belong to the Mycenaean era (1400-1200 BC).
■ An impluvium pool built in the middle of the courtyard, into which rainwater flowed from the rooftops, is characteristic of the residential buildings of Delos. There was a large reservoir under the pool for storing the collected moisture.
■ The sacred lake is drained local residents specifically to avoid an epidemic, as the water in the lake deteriorated and it became life-threatening to drink it.
■ And today the island remains practically uninhabited, there are only guards and caretakers - a dozen people. In accordance with the rules for visiting the island, tourists can view Delos only during the day, it is prohibited to stay overnight.
According to Greek mythology, Apollo was born on this tiny island in the Cyclades archipelago. The Sanctuary of Apollo attracted pilgrims from all over Greece, and Delos was a thriving trading port. The island has preserved traces of the successive civilizations of the Aegean world from the 3rd millennium BC. before the early Christian period. The archaeological sites of Delos, varied and very closely concentrated, form the image of a large multinational Mediterranean port.
Reference: 530
Insert year: 1990
Criteria: (II) (III) (IV) (VI)
Central zone: 350.6400
Detailed description
Delos Island keeps traces of its existence ancient civilization third century BC. During the Paleochristian era, the island was the seat of the Cyclades Diocese, which ruled the islands of Mykonos, Syros, Kythnos and Kea. From the 7th century BC until the pirates of Athenodorus sacked the island, Delos was one of the main Panhellenic sanctuaries. Festivities on Delos, held every four years in May, included hymn and equestrian competitions, music and dance competitions, theatrical performances and feasts. It was one of major events throughout the Greek world.
Delos is a very small island, stretching only 5 kilometers from north to south and about 1.3 kilometers from east to west. It was here that Apollo, the son of Zeus and Leto, was born. Like Delphi, Delos was one of the main sanctuaries of Apollo, the titan god, in fact one of the main gods of the Greek pantheon.
On the island, which was once the place of existence of ancient human settlements (rare in the Neolithic era and more numerous in the Mycenaean period), everything was associated with the sanctuary of Apollo, the center of the Ionic amphictyony. The primacy in the amphictyony was contested alternately by the peoples from Naxos, Paros, as well as the Athenians, who won a victory during the reign of Pisitratus (about 540-528 BC). For the first time, they performed a ritual purification of a sacred place. In 454, the treasures of the Delos Confederation, which replaced the amphictyon, were transported to Athens. A second "cleansing" of the island was undertaken by the Athenians in 426, and at the same time a law was passed prohibiting birth or death on Delos. Pregnant women or terminally ill women were transported to the island of Rinia. This decision, taken on religious grounds, was in fact politically motivated. In 422 BC. in an attempt to consolidate the power of Athens over the island, most of the inhabitants of Delos were deported. Except for short periods of time, their exile lasted until 314, when Delos regained its independence and again became the center of the island confederation, which was controlled by the Lagids of Egypt and later the Macedonians. Delos developed into a very important cosmopolitan port in the Mediterranean Sea, which flourished in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, when the population reached 25,000.
In 166 BC. the inhabitants of Delos were again forced to leave the island, now by order of the Roman Senate, which decided to end trade activities in Rhodes by creating a free port on Delos. This marked a turning point in history, marking the end of an era of religious and political priorities and the beginning of a period of economic prosperity that preceded the development of diplomatic and trade relations, reflected in the directives of the late 3rd century BC. in favor of the wealthy patrons of the sanctuary. The great era of the development of sea trade ended only in 69 BC, after the plundering of the island by the pirates of Athenodoros, which ended a series of disasters on the island. Abandoned by the inhabitants in the 6th century and subsequently conquered in turn by the Byzantines (727), Slavs (769), Saracens (821), Venetians, Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem, Ottoman Turks, Delos turned into a quarry. The columns of his temples burned down in the furnaces, and the walls of the houses lay in ruins.
Today, the island's landscape is represented only by ruins, systematically cleared from the ground since 1872. In an area of potential archaeological work of 95 hectares of land, 25 of them have been excavated. The main areas of excavation are located in the northeast of the coastal zone (Sanctuary of Apollo, Agora of Roman merchants, Agora of the Delians); in the area of the Sacred Lake (Agora of Theophrastus, Agora of the Italians, the famous road Lvov, House of the Berite Poseidoniasts); in the area of Mount Kinf (Sanctuary of foreign gods, Temple of Hera) and in the area of the theater, the ruins of which were covered with lush vegetation.
The island of Delos remains one of the most important sites in the Aegean Sea, attracting the attention of archaeologists. Delos had a significant influence on the development of architecture and monumental arts during the Greco-Roman period. Its importance has become even more evident since the 15th century, as its famous archaeological sites played an important role in the development of modern ideas about the art of Ancient Greece.
