Ancient civilization and ancient Greece. History of ancient Greece Features of sources on the history of ancient Greece
1. The history of ancient Greece as part of ancient history.
2. Sources on the history of ancient Greece.
3. Historiography of ancient Greece.
Geographical boundaries. When talking about the geographical boundaries of Ancient Greece, they are often compared with the boundaries of the modern state of Greece . However, the geographical boundaries of Ancient Greece differ significantly from the boundaries of the modern Greek Republic. In ancient times, there was no single state called Ancient Greece, and the territory of Greece included the areas that were inhabited by the Greeks, where their cities, colonies or state entities were located. Ancient Greece did not have a strictly fixed territory, and at different historical times the boundaries of its possessions changed. In the 2nd millennium BC. Ancient Greece meant the territory of the island of Crete, the Cyclades archipelago and the Peloponnese. After the great Greek colonization in the VIII-VI centuries. BC. the territory inhabited by the Greeks expanded to include numerous colonies in Sicily, southern Italy (these areas were called “Magna Graecia”), as well as colonies along the shores of the Black Sea.
After Alexander the Great’s campaigns to the East and his conquest of vast lands of the powerful Achaemenid Empire, the Hellenistic states of Alexander the Great’s successors arose, which are also considered as new territories of the ancient Greek world. Thus, at the end of the IV-II centuries. BC. Ancient Greece began to be understood as a vast geographical area stretching from Sicily in the west to India in the east, from the shores of the Aral Sea in the north to Hellenistic Egypt in the south. With the fall of the Hellenistic states, their conquest by the Parthian state in the east and the Roman Republic in the west, the territory of Ancient Greece began to shrink, and in the 1st century. BC. it was included in the Roman Empire in the west and partly the Parthian Empire in the east.
The rugged coastline combined with the mountainous terrain (80% are mountains) explain the impossibility of forming a centralized state in the Balkans: in each small valley there is a separate state, which, at the same time, has a connection with the entire ecumene through the sea.
Inland “harmless” sea, coastal navigation (in summer), maritime civilization in general. Fish is the basis of a healthy diet.
Convenient harbors in Attica and their absence in the Peloponnese, as well as the abundance of fertile land in the Peloponnese and its shortage in Attica explain the different vectors of development of Athens and Sparta. Messenia is especially isolated: on three sides there are mountains Parnon and Taygetos, on the fourth - the Isthmus Isthmus. There are, of course, fertile regions - Thessaly, Arcadia, Boeotia; there is a smaller role of trade, slower social development, therefore the society is more traditional.
The soil is rocky, wheat does not grow, but grapes and olives bear fruit well. It is cheaper to buy bread than to grow it locally, and there is also a product for exchange. Hence the prerequisites for maritime trade (Egypt, Italy, after Colonization - Pontus and more distant areas). The struggle for trade routes is a frequent cause of wars.
There are minerals (clay, marble, iron, copper, silver, wood), which contributed to the development of crafts.
Chronological framework. Greece has been inhabited by people since ancient times (VII millennium BC). The history of Ancient Greece studies the foundations and genesis of primary statehood, the formation and development of an effective economy, social groups and classes that emerged from a single generic mass. These signs of civilization first appeared in the second half of the 3rd millennium BC. on the island of Crete and certain territories of the Peloponnese. This date is associated with the beginning of the actual history of civilization in Greece, and not only in Greece, but in all of Europe. Having spread over vast territories, Greek civilization went through a long path of development. The end of the independent history of ancient Greek statehood is considered to be the fall of the last Hellenistic kingdoms and their conquest in the east by Parthia and in the west by Rome. Rome's conquest of the last Hellenistic state - Ptolemaic Egypt (during the reign of Cleopatra VII) - in the 30s BC. marked the end of the independent ancient Greek civilization. It is with these events that the course “History of Ancient Greece” ends. Since that time, the history of ancient Greek cities and state entities has been studied as an integral part of the course “History of Ancient Rome.”
Periodization of ancient Greek history. In general, the history of Ancient Greece is divided into three large stages:
Stage I: early class societies and the first state formations of the 2nd millennium BC.
Stage 2: the formation and flourishing of policies, slave relations of the classical type, the creation of a high culture. The chronological framework of this stage corresponds to the XI-IV centuries. BC.
Stage 3: the conquest of the Persian Empire by the Greeks, the formation of Hellenistic societies and states. The time period that this stage occupies corresponds to 338 BC. - 30 BC
In general, the formation of ancient Greek society began with the decomposition of the tribal institutions of primitive society. Old norms of behavior and thinking are being replaced by new forms of interaction between people as free citizens. The clan group is divided into various social groups; a rational and cost-effective economy is developing, which provides a fairly constant surplus product; the institution of statehood is emerging, regulating social connections and conditions for transforming the mentality of primitive people towards rational thinking; new moral and moral principles of human behavior are being formed.
The process of formation of the first civilizations took place in parallel in Crete and Balkan Greece. In the scientific literature, one path of development is called Cretan, and the other - Achaean.
Each of the above stages, in turn, is divided into periods. For the history of Crete, and accordingly the Cretan path of development, three Minoan periods are distinguished: Early Minoan (XXX-XXIII centuries BC), Middle Minoan or the period of “old palaces” (XXII-XVIII centuries BC), Late Minoan or period “new courtyards” (XVII-XII centuries BC).
The history of mainland, or Achaean, Greece is also divided into three periods, which are called Helladic: Early Helladic (XX-XXI centuries BC), Middle Helladic (XX-XVII centuries BC), Late Helladic, or Mycenaean ( XVI-XII centuries BC).
The 12th century in the history of Achaean Greece was marked by the Dorian invasion, which led to the death of the class society of the Achaean states. On the territory of Greece, including Crete, again by the 11th century. BC. Primitive communal relations are established, and Greek society is again at the stage of decomposition of tribal relations.
Second phase V The history of Ancient Greece is called the polis stage. It is also divided into three periods: pre-polis, or Homeric (XI-IX centuries BC), archaic (VIII-VI centuries BC) and the polis proper (V-IV centuries BC). ).
The third, Hellenistic, stage in the history of Ancient Greece includes three periods: the eastern campaigns of A. Macedonian and the formation of the system of Hellenistic states (30s of the 4th century BC - 80s of the 3rd century BC .e.); the heyday of Hellenistic (Greek-Eastern) societies and states (80s of the 3rd century BC - mid-2nd century BC); crisis of the Hellenistic system of statehood (mid-2nd century BC - 30s of the 1st century BC).
History Sources Dr. Greece.
Herodotus and his History. The purpose of Herodotus’s work is stated in the first book: “... so that past events do not fall into oblivion over time and the great and amazing deeds of both Hellenes and barbarians do not remain in obscurity"(I, 1). And he succeeded - on the history of the Scythians, for example, “History” is the main source. Herodotus sets himself the task of establishing the truth (VI, 82). Herodotus reports everything that is said. From several points of view, he chooses the most plausible one in his opinion. VII 152 says that " I am obliged to convey everything that they tell me, but I am not obliged to believe everything».
Cicero called Herodotus the father of history in his essay On the Laws. Herodotus is the first in the triad Herodotus-Thucydides-Xenophon. History itself (Greek: “research”) originated even before Herodotus, in the 6th century. in Miletus (Helanik and others), where there was the greatest need for it (the class struggle is strong here). Strabo: history originated as a genre of fiction. Logos is opposed to epic. Aristotle (Poetics, IX) cites Herodotus as an example of a historian.
Vocabulary, syntax and style of Herodotus. It is customary to call it novelistic, but this is not a sign of its ahistoricity: the logographer Hellanicus has a much more “scientific” style, but his work is simply a dry transcription of mythical stories. Influence of folklore (the tale of Candaules and Gyges) and the Ionian tradition (the Milesian tale). There are “typical heroes in typical circumstances.” Herodotus is aphoristic and loves to joke. “History” is intended for oral reading (there are corresponding phrases, see Lurie). Although he is a Dorian, he writes his work in the Ionian dialect so as not to fall out of tradition.
Composition. The division of the “History” into 9 books according to the names of the muses belongs to the Alexandrian grammarians. Labor consists of “logoi”, which are then combined into a single whole. But each logos is a complete work. Herodotus consistently describes the countries conquered by the Achaemenids (from Cyrus to Xerxes) - therefore, for example, the Assyrian logos was excluded from the final edition. Jacobi and Lurie believe that the plan for the History was not initially thought out, but developed as material accumulated. There are a lot of digressions, but there is a storyline. The entire work is divided into 2 parts: up to V 27 - a detailed ethno-geographical introduction, then - the main part (1. Ionian uprising 2. Campaign of Darius 3. Campaign of Xerxes).
Argumentation. Herodotus uses rationalistic arguments on an equal basis with mythological ones, being critical of both.
Herodotus' bias. Pro-Athenian orientation, because a) Athens is Greece’s second homeland and b) Halicarnassus, like Athens, is a trading city.
Herodotus' sources: personal observations, Hecataeus of Miletus (quotes him without citing him) and other logographers, translators' stories, legends and other motley material. All the heterogeneous material of the “History” is united by the theme of the Greco-Persian Wars, or (more broadly) by the theme of the struggle between the West and the East, freedom and slavery.
"History" of Thucydides as a historical source.
The life time of Thucydides himself is not known exactly (456-396). Strives to move away from everything subjective and give an objective picture of events (Stratanovsky). Refers to logographers (Hellanicus – I 97, 2), but at the same time opposes himself to them (... not as pleasing to the ear, but closer to the truth– I, 21).. Written from approximately 420 until death (400/396). He began writing in Thrace, being expelled from Athens (because he allowed the Spartans to capture Amphipolis), after the war he was rehabilitated and returned to his homeland. The work is not finished (Xenophon later continued with his “Greek History”, but it turned out worse). Source primarily for the period 431-411. (Peloponnesian War), indirectly - the history of Greece from the beginning.
Structure. 8 books. Each book is divided into chapters. They contain sub-chapters. The first book is the history of Greece from the beginning and before the war, the other 7 are about the war.
Method. What is new in relation to Herodotus is a very careful collection and analysis of data. No mythologies (which is natural, since it can be considered a contemporary). Anything that is in doubt is discarded. Considers not only military actions, but also the internal situation in cities. For the first time - attention to social contradictions, etc.
Extremely objective. Depth of thought and excellent awareness (I took part myself). Shows the horrors of war. In general, the work of Thucydides is a heap of thoroughly verified factual information, no mythology or anything like that. That is why it is of great value as a source.
Thucydides sees the cause of the war in the excessive strengthening of Athens, which does not satisfy Sparta. He considers the Greek chronology (according to the Olympiads from the first in 757) to be incorrect, since there is no reason to consider the date of the first game correct. Time is counted by solar years (winter and summer; so-called “logical chronology”), but is not entirely consistent. Uses references to archonships and other events to establish an exact date.
Everything that directly reflects the historical process and on the basis of which an idea of the past of human society, of its material and spiritual life is created, be it a tool, a weapon, the ruins of a building, an inscription - all this is historical sources.
Sources, as is known, are divided into written and material.
- Material sources .
On the territory of Greece, the Aegean Sea and a number of other Mediterranean countries, remains of ancient Greek settlements have been preserved. They attract the attention of researchers. Scientists and archaeologists carried out excavations in many places. As a result, many tools, weapons, jewelry, and works of art were collected. These material monuments play a very important role in the study of other Greece.
Many ruins of ancient Greek buildings have been preserved: fortress walls, temples, public buildings, residential buildings, etc.
Archival monuments are valuable because they allow one to obtain information about agriculture and crafts of antiquity.
Archival research 19th – 20th centuries discovered for historical science the most ancient Cretan period in the history of ancient Greece. Until the 70s of the 19th century. only the history from the 8th to the 4th centuries BC was known. Archaeologist Heinrich Schliemen carried out excavations where, according to legend, the city of Troy was located.
Research was continued in English. Archaeologist Evans, who carried out excavations on the island of Crete. He discovered the culture of the population of Crete, existing in the 3rd - 2nd thousand BC.
WITH 30 years Greek and America archaeologists discovered and studied the ruins of a large palace on the southwestern coast of the Peloponnese, on the site of the ancient city of Pylos.
IN 70s Zh.I. Cousteau examined the ruins of ancient settlements located on the seabed, near the coast of Crete and Santoria (another Fera).
Consequences of archaeological excavations:
Thanks to the use of archival material, it became possible to write a detailed history of the Greek colonization of the Northern Black Sea region and the Bosporan kingdom;
A new branch of archiology has also developed - underwater archeology;
A part of the Greek city of Phanagoria that settled in the sea was explored.
2. Inscriptions, ostraca and papyri .
The vast majority of inscriptions are in ancient Greek, but during excavations on the island of Crete, as well as Mycenae and Pylos, inscriptions were discovered in a special script, which was called linear. Upon closer examination, it turned out that there are 2 types. Apparently, it is written in 2 different languages. The more ancient one, found in Crete, is called Linear A. It is written in the language of the most ancient inhabitants of Crete. The second letter, found not only in Crete, but also in Mycenae and Pylos, Linear B, is written in one of the ancient dialects of the Greek language.
Sometimes valuable materials are provided by short inscriptions (notes) on clay pots - sharps.
In addition to inscriptions on stones, wood, and metal, papyri are an important source. They were preserved in dry places and date back to the Hellenistic era and later times. These are financial reports, promissory notes, private letters, government letters, etc. In addition, papyri were found on which artistic and historical works were written. The most famous of the works is Aristotle's work "The Athenian Polity", which was considered lost.
Resolutions of Hellenistic rulers, financial reporting documents, decrees are a valuable source for studying the economy of Hellenistic states, and also contain information about their political system and life in the 3rd - 1st centuries. BC.
3.Coins.
The study of coins provides a large amount of information both on economics, culture and ideology.
4. Written sources .
These sources are varied - these are the works of Greek historians, playwrights, poets, speeches of orators, poems and myths.
Ch. written sources on the history of Greece are the works of ancient historians.
At the beginning, works considered historical combined several genres: historical, geographical, ethnographic; they also included myths. These first works contained descriptions of the then known circle of lands, individual regions of the Greek world, genealogies and very briefly covered the events of the time close to them or did not touch upon them at all. The authors of these works were called lotographers (in Greek “logos” - word and “grapho” - write). They lived in the 6th-5th centuries. BC. In their writings there is no scientifically critical assessment of the material, but there is already a rational approach to explaining individual events of mythological time. Representatives of lotographers:
A) Hecataeus, who wrote "Earth Description" and "Genealogy" and
B) Hellanicus, who wrote an essay on the history of Athens and several “Genealogies”
A work of historical character:
IN) Herodotus“History” is dedicated to the Greco-Persian wars. Herodotus also described those countries and peoples that he visited himself or about which he learned something, in his opinion, worthy of mention.
G) Thucydides"History" is dedicated to the Peloponnesian War. But it was not possible to finish the work, because... the author died.
The genre of historical prose became widespread in the 4th century. BC e.
D) Xenophon left several historical works, one of them - “Greek History”, continues the work of Thucydides. But unlike the latter, Xenophon was not a supporter of Athenian democracy. This work is dedicated to the latest events of the Peloponnesian War. But the essay was weak, because... imbued with the desire to describe the superiority of Sparta and its political system over Athens. Other works of Xenophon - “Memoirs of Socrates”, “Domostroy”, “On Income”, etc. contain important information on the foreign policy history of Greece, its economy, social political and cultural life. These works are easy and simple.
E) Filisov Aristotle, the work "The Athenian Polity". He studied the political structure of states of that time. He wrote 158 polities, i.e. descriptions of the political structure of individual states. Only the Athenian Polity has reached us.
G) historian Polybius wrote “General History”, of which only 1/3 has reached us. He studied the events, established the causal relationship of the phenomena and was accurate in his descriptions. He depicted the era when Rome captured the Mediterranean, the struggle of the Hellenistic states with Rome.
AND) Diodorus Siculica."Historical Library"
TO) Plutarch“Comparative Life Descriptions,” where he first described the biography of a famous Greek figure, then the biography of a Roman figure similar to him. At the end, he compared these individuals and talked about their similarities and differences.
K) In addition to the works of famous historians, some historical works have been preserved, whose authors are unknown. These include pseudo-Xenophon's "Athenian Polity". This book provides a critical analysis of the system of Athenian slave-owning democracy. The author of Politia is an opponent of Athenian democracy. He criticizes it from the point of view of an aristocrat or oligarch. Nevertheless, he quite rightly points out a number of dark sides of the Athenian state, such as its attitude towards its allies.
M) Homer"Iliad" and "Odyssey"
N) the speeches of the speakers played a big role. The speeches were judicial and political. Judicial speeches are very important Lisia, which characterize trade, especially bread, and describe the activities of merchants of that time.
O) works of ancient geographers. Especially a lot of information is contained in the works of the geographer Strabo. In his work “Geography” he talks about the life and history of various countries, their nature.
P) Pausanias in the “Description of Hellas” he depicts ancient monuments, while producing various legends and reporting events unknown from other sources.
Related information.
Every historical science studies its subject by examining historical facts. Fact is the starting point of scientific research that seeks to restore the historical realities of the past. Historical facts are preserved for us by historical sources, which scientists use to reconstruct the past. The historical source is all the monuments of the past, that is, all the surviving evidence reflecting the past life and activities of a person. A historical source is inevitably secondary to the fact it testifies to. In particular, the volume of information and the objectivity of a written source are always influenced by both the material in which it is recorded and the position and personal attitude towards the events of its compiler. This often leads to distortion of information, to the fact that many surrounding circumstances hide the historical truth, and this does not allow direct use of information gleaned from a historical source, without critical selection.
Historical sources differ in the content of evidence of the past and the nature of the information:
1) real sources are various monuments of material culture (remains of buildings, tools and weapons, household items, coins, etc.);
2) written sources are all kinds of works, including literary works of the era under study, inscriptions of various contents that have reached us;
3) linguistic sources are data from the ancient Greek language (vocabulary, grammatical structure, onomastics, toponymy, idioms, etc.); their dialects and Koine (common Greek language) tell a lot about the people;
4) folklore sources are monuments of oral folk art (tales, songs, fables, proverbs, etc.), which have come down to us thanks to the fact that they were subsequently written down;
5) ethnographic sources are customs, rituals, beliefs, etc., which were preserved in the form of remnants in later eras.
However, sources on the history of Ancient Greece have a number of features, which directly affects the ability to comprehensively and fully restore historical realities. The main problem of classical studies is the scarcity of the source base (compared to materials from later historical periods). It should also be noted that ethnographic sources played a relatively small role in the study of the ancient world, since none of the modern researchers could directly observe ancient society. However, ethnographic data can be used as comparative historical material when studying the origin of myths, rituals, customs, etc.
In addition, the relatively limited amount of evidence of the past is unevenly presented both across different eras and regions, and across types of sources. This fully applies to the most important written sources for a historian. Many stages of ancient Greek history, spanning several centuries, are poorly reflected in written monuments, which provide basic information about the life of society in the past. In fact, not a single era of ancient Greek history has complete and comprehensive coverage in the sources, and for certain very long periods in the hands of historians there is very meager and fragmentary evidence.
Heinrich Schliemann
In addition, in many sources that have reached us, information on a number of issues is presented in a very complex or veiled form. Therefore, the analysis of the source and the interpretation of ancient history on their basis inevitably causes an ambiguous and often controversial assessment of the objective realities and subjective phenomena in the life of the society of Ancient Greece.
REAL SOURCES
Archaeological discoveries of the 19th and 20th centuries played a huge role in the development of classical studies. German archaeologist G. Schliemann(1822–1890) in the second half of the 19th century. discovered the ruins of the legendary Troy, and then the majestic ruins of Mycenae and Tiryns (fortress walls, ruins of palaces, tombs). The richest material about previously unknown pages of the past, which were considered artistic fiction, fell into the hands of historians. So it was opened mycenaean culture, predating the culture of the Homeric era. These sensational finds expanded and enriched the understanding of the most ancient period of history and stimulated further archaeological research.
The largest archaeological discoveries were made in Crete. Englishman A. Evans(1851–1941) excavated the palace of the legendary ruler of Crete, King Minos, in Knossos. Scientists have discovered other ancient settlements on Crete and neighboring islands. These discoveries showed the world a unique Minoan culture first half of the 2nd millennium BC. e., an earlier culture than the Mycenaean one.
Systematic archaeological research, carried out both on the Balkan Peninsula (in Athens, Olympia, Delphi) and the islands of Rhodes and Delos, and on the Asia Minor coast of the Aegean Sea (in Miletus, Pergamon), gave historians a huge number of diverse sources. All leading European countries and the United States founded archaeological schools in Greece. They turned into centers of ancient studies, in which they not only improved methods of excavation and processing of archaeological material, but also developed new approaches to the study of the stories of Ancient Greece.
Russian scientists did not stand aside either. After the establishment of the Imperial Archaeological Commission in Russia in 1859, a systematic study of Greco-Scythian antiquities in the Northern Black Sea region began. Archaeologists began excavating burial mounds and Greek colonies. (Olvia, Chersonese, Panticapaeum, Tanais, etc.). A number of sensational discoveries were made that adorned the exhibitions of the Hermitage and other major Russian museums. Later, when the research was headed by the Institute of Archeology of the USSR Academy of Sciences, they were joined by scientists and students from the country's leading historical universities.
Arthur Evans
As a result of almost a century and a half of archaeological research, the most diverse and sometimes unique sources fell into the hands of antiquists, revealing many previously unknown or unfamiliar things in the history of Ancient Greece. But archaeological finds alone (remains of fortresses, palaces, temples, works of art, ceramics and utensils, necropolises, tools and weapons) cannot provide a complete picture of the historical processes of the development of society. Material evidence of the past can be interpreted in different ways. Therefore, without supporting archaeological material with data from other sources, many aspects of ancient history threaten to remain blank spots in our knowledge of the past.
WRITTEN SOURCES
All written monuments are the most important historical sources that allow us to reconstruct the course of specific events, find out what worried people, what they strived for, how relations were built in the state at the public and personal levels. Written sources are divided into literary, or narrative, and documentary.
The earliest that have come down to us literary sources are epic poems Homer"Iliad" and "Odyssey", created at the beginning of the 8th century. BC e. The Homeric epic differs significantly from the mythological and epic works of the peoples of the Ancient East, since, thanks to the presence of secular, rational aspects, it contains very valuable information. Homer's works lay the foundations of historical tradition and historical worldview. The memory of the thousand-year era of the Cretan Mycenaean civilization with its events, and above all with the hostilities of the Trojan War, outgrew the framework of myth and became a historical landmark that defined in the collective memory of the Hellenes not only mythological, like most peoples, but also historical time. Therefore, the social system, morals, customs, etc. are reflected in artistic images vividly and reliably. At the same time, Homer has a widely represented mythological picture of the world. The world of the gods depicted by the poet (their images, functions) became the basis for the Greek Olympian religion.
An important epic source is the didactic poem of the Boeotian poet Hesiod(turn of the 8th–7th centuries BC) “Theogony.” In the story of the origin of the gods, the poet paints a picture of the development of the world, reflecting the religious and mythological ideas of Greek society of the archaic era. In this epic, mythological tales about the ancient past already merge with the description of real history contemporary to the author. In the poem “Works and Days,” the poet gives realistic pictures of the life of peasants of his time. Hesiod's didactic epic asserts that a just order is necessary not only for the world of gods, but also for the world of people.
By the 7th century BC e. the intensive development of the Greek world left no room for the heroic epic. The most complete reflection of the era of the formation of a new, urban society and the emergence of an active personality are various genres of lyrics. In elegies and iambic Tyrtea from Lacedaemon, Solona from Athens, Theognis from Megara reflected the complex life of society, permeated with acute political conflicts, in which it is difficult for a person to find peace and happiness. The new self-awareness of the individual was reflected in poetry Archilochus and especially in the works of the Aeolian poets Alcaea And Sappho.
In addition to works of art, you can learn about the life of Ancient Greece from historical works, official certificates of various types. The first documentary records were made back in the 2nd millennium BC. e. in Achaean society. With the advent of the alphabet and the approval of policies, documentary evidence becomes much more numerous. Thus, from the fusion of the historical perception of the world in poetic creativity with official documentary records in ancient Greece, a historical tradition arose. It was reflected in a special prose genre, the development of which ultimately led to the formation history as a science.
The emergence of Greek historical prose dates back to the 6th century. BC e. and is associated with the activities of the so-called logographers. Describing stories from distant mythological antiquity, tracing the genealogy of ancient heroes and the history of the cities they founded, they were close to the epic poets. But these were already historical works. Describing the legendary past, logographers introduced documentary materials, geographical and ethnographic information into the text. And although in their works myth and reality are intricately intertwined, an attempt at a rationalistic rethinking of the legend is already clearly visible. In general, the works of logographers mark a transitional stage from myth with its sacred history to logos with its scientific study of the past.
The first historical work was created Herodotus from Halicartas (c. 485–425 BC), who was called the “father of history” in antiquity. During the political struggle, he was expelled from his hometown. After that, he traveled a lot, visited Greek policies on the Mediterranean and Black Seas, as well as a number of countries of the Ancient East. This allowed Herodotus to collect extensive material about the life of his contemporary world.
Herodotus’ stay in Athens, where he became close to the leader of the Athenian democracy Pericles, had a great influence on the formation of his own historical concept. In his work, which is commonly called “History,” Herodotus described the course of the war between the Greeks and Persians. This is a genuine scientific work, since already in the first lines the author formulates the scientific problem that he is trying to explore and substantiate: “Herodotus the Halicarnassian presents the following research in order ... so that the reason why the war arose between them is not forgotten.” To reveal this reason, Herodotus turns to the prehistory of events. He talks about the history of the ancient eastern countries and peoples that became part of the Persian state (Egypt, Babylonia, Media, Scythians), and then about the history of the Greek city-states, and only after that begins to describe military operations. To find the truth, Herodotus critically approaches the selection and analysis of the sources involved. And although the degree of reliability of the information collected by the historian varies and some episodes in the treatise are in the nature of fiction, most of the information from the “History” is confirmed by other sources, and primarily by archaeological discoveries. However, Herodotus’s thinking is still traditional: the pattern in history for him is the divine power that rewards good and punishes evil. But the main merit of Herodotus is that through his works a source appeared in the hands of scientists, where the core of the events described is historical time and consciously introduced historicism.
The principle of historicism, first used by Herodotus, was developed and made dominant in the scientific treatise by his younger contemporary, the Athenian. Thucydides(c. 460–396 BC). He was born into a noble family, took part in the Peloponnesian War, but due to the fact that he could not protect the city of Amphipolis from the Spartans, he was expelled from Athens. In exile, where he spent almost two decades, Thucydides decided to describe the history of the Peloponnesian War.
The historian is interested in all the events of which he was a contemporary. But in order to find historical truth, Thucydides conducts a strict critical selection of historical sources, using only those that contain reliable information: “I do not consider it my duty to write down what I learned from the first person I met, or what I could have assumed, but recorded events , which he himself witnessed, and what he heard from others, after as accurate as possible research into each fact taken separately.” To do this, he visited the scenes of events, talked with eyewitnesses, and got acquainted with documents. This approach to the facts allows him, when presenting the course of history, to no longer explain current events by the intervention of the gods, but to find the objective causes of events and the reasons that caused them, which helps to identify the patterns of historical events. For him, the direct connection between successes in military operations and the stability of the internal political situation in the state is clear. History, according to Thucydides, is made People, acting in accordance with their “nature”. Their interests, aspirations and passions are stronger than laws and treaties.
Thucydides played a decisive role in establishing scientific knowledge of the past. He developed a critical method for analyzing historical sources and was the first to identify patterns of historical development. For all subsequent generations of researchers, Thucydides laid the foundation for understanding the meaning of historical development and human actions. His work is a most valuable historical source, which covers the events described as objectively as possible.
The genre of historical research was further developed in the 4th century. Thucydides’ unfinished “History”, which ended with a description of the events of 411 BC. e., continued literally from the last phrase in his “Greek History” Xenophon from Athens (c. 445–355). But in his presentation of the material, more clearly than in Thucydides, the personal position of the author, who came from a wealthy family, received an aristocratic upbringing and was a student of Socrates, is manifested. A supporter of the Spartan government, Xenophon was critical of Athenian democracy. This explains a certain bias in the presentation of the material. In addition, Xenophon does not use the sources he uses critically enough, sometimes interpreting events to suit his own predilections, and also paying great attention to individuals, without trying to reveal the objective causes of historical events. However, his "Greek History", describing events from 411 to 362 BC. e., remains the most important source for the study of the complex era of intense struggle between the policies and the crisis of the classical Greek polis.
Xenophon was not only a historian. A number of his treatises reflected his political preferences. In the essay “On the State System of the Lacedaemonians,” he idealizes the Spartan order, and in the “Cyropedia,” dedicated to the education of the founder of the Persian state, Cyrus the Elder, he is sympathetic to the idea of a monarchical structure of the state. Interesting information about the Persian state, its mercenary army and the life of peoples in the territory of Asia Minor is contained in the treatise “Anabasis” (“Ascent”). It tells about the participation of Greek mercenaries, including Xenophon, in the internecine struggle for the Persian throne on the side of Cyrus the Younger.
Of great interest from the point of view of the development of philosophical thought and characteristics of Athenian life is the treatise “Memories of Socrates,” which records the conversations of the famous philosopher with his students. Xenophon’s views on the most appropriate methods of farming are reflected in the work “Economy” (or “Domostroy”), and proposals on how to improve the financial situation of the Athenian state are reflected in the work “On Income”. In general, Xenophon’s numerous treatises contain diverse and valuable, but not always objective information about the most diverse aspects of the life of Greek society of his time.
The main merit of Herodotus, Thucydides and Xenophon was the spread of interest in history in Greek society and the establishment historical approach to past events. Some, like Xenophon and also Cratappus, or the "Oxirhenian historian", directly continued the studies of Thucydides, imitating the great historian with varying degrees of success. Others, like Ephorus, Theopompus and Timaeus, came “to history” from oratorical schools. But the result was the appearance of a large number of treatises on the history of Athens, Sicily and Italy, Persia, the reign of King Philip II, etc. They had a huge influence not only on the formation of historical consciousness in Greek society (these works were widely used by scientists of subsequent eras), but and on the establishment of historical traditions in neighboring societies.
An important source for the classical era is the ancient Greek dramaturgy - works by the tragedians Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides and the comedian Aristophanes. As citizens of the Athenian polis, they took an active part in the political events of their time, which was directly reflected in their poetic works. The uniqueness of this type of literary source lies in the fact that here reality is presented through artistic images. But since during this period the Greek theater actively participated in the formation of the polis system of values and democratic morality, the literary images were not the fruit of idle fiction or the interpretation of legendary mythological plots, but were an expression of the dominant civil worldview, objective assessments and judgments of Athenian society.
Playwright Aeschylus(525–456 BC) was a contemporary of acute internal political clashes during the formation of Athenian democracy and the Greek struggle for freedom during the Greco-Persian Wars. A participant in the main battles of the Greeks with the conquerors, he expressed the patriotic sentiments of the Hellenes in the tragedy “The Persians,” written about real historical events. Even in the works of Aeschylus on mythological subjects (the trilogy “Oresteia”, “Chained Prometheus”, “Seven against Thebes”, etc.) there are constantly allusions to modern events and all the actions of the characters are assessed from the position of a civic ideal.
A poet and playwright serves as an example of an honest citizen Sophocles(496–406 BC). In his tragedies “Oedipus the King”, “Antigone”, “Ajax” and others, he raises such important issues as the morality of power, the place of wealth in life, and attitudes towards war. But, despite the objective expression of public sentiment, Sophocles’ views are largely traditional, which brings him closer to Herodotus. He sees in events a manifestation of the divine will, before which a person must humble himself. People will suffer inevitable punishment if they dare to violate the world order established by the gods.
Tragedies Euripides(480–406 BC) “Medea”, “Petitioners”, “Electra”, “Iphigenia in Tauris” and others introduce the social sentiments of that era, and not only the democratic ideals of the Athenians, their exaltation of friendship and nobility , but also with a negative attitude towards the Spartans, wealth, etc. An important place in the tragedies of Euripides is occupied by showing the everyday life of ancient Athens, including family relationships, in particular between husband and wife.
An interesting source on the political history of Athens are comedies Aristophanes(c. 445 – c. 385 BC). His work falls on the difficult period of the Peloponnesian War for Athens, and in his plays “Acharnians”, “Horsemen” and “Peace” he affirms the idea of peace, expressing the anti-war sentiments of the Athenian peasants, who bear the greatest burdens of the war. Both shortcomings in the life of the Athenian state (“Wasps,” “Women in the National Assembly”) and newfangled scientific and philosophical theories (“Clouds”) were subjected to caustic satire. The works of Aristophanes are a response to all important events in the life of the Athenian polis. They very accurately reflect the real life and mood of Greek society, which are poorly traced from other sources.
An indispensable historical source is philosophical and rhetorical works. At the end of the 5th - first half of the 4th century. BC. The intense political life and creative spiritual atmosphere in the city policies contributed to the development of science and the desire to comprehend the diversity of social life. An outstanding philosopher was Plato(427–347 BC). His treatises “State” and “Laws” are of great interest to historians, where the author, in accordance with his socio-political views, proposes ways for a fair reorganization of society and gives a “recipe” for an ideal state structure.
Disciple of Plato Aristotle(384–322 BC) tried to explore the history and political structure of over 150 states. Of his works, only “The Athenian Polity” has survived, where the history and government structure of the Athenian polis is systematically described. Extensive and varied information was gleaned from numerous sources, both those that have come down to us (the works of Herodotus, Thucydides) and those that have been almost completely lost (like the Attida - Athenian chronicles).
Aristotle
Based on the study of the life of Greek city-states, Aristotle created a general theoretical work “Politics” - on the essence of the state. His provisions, based on Aristotle's analysis of the real processes of the historical development of Hellas, predetermined the further development of political thought in ancient Greece.
Texts are a kind of historical source speeches by speakers. Written for delivery in a national assembly or in court, they are, of course, polemically sharpened. Political speeches Demosthenes, judicial speeches Lisia, solemn eloquence Isocrates and others contain important information about various aspects of the life of Greek society.
Oratory had a huge influence both on the development of social thought in Greece and on the stylistic features of written texts. For the sake of the laws of rhetoric, the main thing in speech gradually becomes not the accuracy and truthfulness of the presentation, but the external attractiveness and polemical tendentiousness of the speech, in which historical objectivity is sacrificed to the beauty of form.
Indispensable historical evidence is epigraphic sources, i.e. inscriptions made on a hard surface: stone, ceramics, metal. Greek society was educated, and therefore quite a variety of inscriptions have reached us. These are state decrees, articles of agreements, construction inscriptions, inscriptions on the pedestals of statues, dedicatory inscriptions to the gods, gravestone inscriptions, lists of officials, various business documents (invoices, lease and mortgage agreements, deeds of purchase and sale, etc.), inscriptions during voting in the national assembly, etc. (over 200 thousand inscriptions have already been found). Multi-line inscriptions and inscriptions of several words are of great value, since they relate to all aspects of the life of the ancient Greeks, including everyday life, which was practically not reflected in literary sources. But the main thing is that the inscriptions were made in most cases by ordinary citizens and express their worldview. The first to publish Greek inscriptions in 1886 was the German scientist A. Bockh. The latest collection of Greek historical inscriptions to date was published in 1989 by R. Meiggs and D. Lewis.
SOURCES OF THE HELLENISM ERA
During the Hellenistic era narrative sources (i.e. narrative) acquire new features. During this period, the Greek historian Polybius(c. 201 - c. 120 BC) the first “General History” was written. In his youth he was actively involved in activities
Achaean League and after the defeat of Macedonia, along with other representatives of the Achaean nobility, he was taken to Rome as a hostage. There he became close to the pro-Hellenic consul Scipio Aemilianus and soon also became an admirer of Rome. In an effort to understand the reasons for the rise of Rome, Polybius studied state archives, met with participants in the events, and traveled. The 40 books (the first five books have been completely preserved) of the General History describe historical events in the Mediterranean from 220 to 146 BC. e. Carefully selecting facts, Polybius strove for historical truth in order to show the pattern of Rome gaining worldwide dominance. Based on the study of historical processes, he created an original theory of historical development, in which there is a pattern of degeneration of the main forms of the state - from tsarist power to democracy.
Another major historian of this period was Diodorus Siculus(c. 90–21 BC). His “Historical Library” (out of 40 books, books 1–5 and 11–20 have reached us, and only fragments of the rest) described in detail the history of the Mediterranean states, including the history of classical Greece. Diodorus pays special attention to the economic development of Hellenistic states and the socio-political struggle between their rulers. Despite some chronological inaccuracies, his work, based on reliable sources, is of great historical value.
Essays contain important information Plutarch(c. 45 – c. 127), primarily biographies of the largest Greek and Roman politicians and Hellenistic kings, as well as various information from the socio-political and cultural life of ancient society. The facts used to highlight the activities of outstanding personalities of the Hellenistic period are more reliable compared to data from earlier eras.
Interesting information, the authenticity of which is confirmed by archaeological excavations, was left by a Greek historian Pausanias(II century) in the ten-volume “Description of Hellas”. This work, based on the author’s observations and other sources, contains a detailed description of architectural monuments (temples, theaters, public buildings), works of sculpture and painting. In his presentation, Pausanias uses not only historical information, but also myths.
The era of Hellenism with its contradictions, when the cultures of East and West, rational and irrational, divine and human were closely intertwined, also influenced historical science. This was most clearly manifested in the work Arriana(between 95 and 175 II.) “Anabasis”, dedicated to the description of the campaigns of Alexander the Great. On the one hand, it tells in detail about the real events and military actions of the commander, and on the other hand, various miracles and signs are constantly mentioned, which give historical reality a fantastic look and raise Alexander to the level of a deity.
The romantic tradition of perception of the personality of Alexander the Great is also characteristic of other historians: Pompey Trogus (late 1st century BC), whose works were translated by Justin (2nd–3rd centuries), and Curtius Rufus (1st century).
Rapid development is associated with the Hellenistic era book culture. Books of various contents connected the individual experience of man with the life of the vast inhabited world that had opened up to the Greeks. Numerous scientific treatises on various areas of human knowledge and works of fiction contain enormous information about the knowledge, acquired experience, everyday life, and the characters of the people of that era. Treatises on economics are of great interest to historians: the pseudo-Aristotelian “Economics” (late 4th century BC) and the “Economics” of the Epicurean philosopher Philodemus (1st century BC).
“Geography” contains reliable and valuable information Strabo(64/63 BC – 23/24 AD). The writer traveled a lot and supplemented his observations with information gleaned from other scientists: Eratosthenes, Posidonius, Polybius, etc. Strabo talks in detail about the geographical location of countries and regions, climate, the presence of minerals, and the peculiarities of the economic activities of peoples. He has many excursions into the past, but most of the information relates to the Hellenistic era.
In the field of natural science literature, noteworthy works Theophrastus(Theophrastus, 372–287 BC) “On Plants” and “On Stones,” which not only provides extensive information on botany and mineralogy, but also provides interesting information on agriculture and mining. In his treatise “Characters,” Theophrastus presented various types of people and described their behavior in various situations.
Of the works of fiction, the playwright's domestic comedies most accurately reflect the era. Menander(343–291 BC), as well as epigrams and idylls (bucolics) of the poet Theocritus(III century BC).
We have received a huge amount inscriptions, which contain a wide variety of information on almost all spheres of life of Hellenistic society. They were published in publications of various types (for example, in “Inscriptions of Greece”, in thematic collections of legal inscriptions, historical inscriptions, etc.). Of great interest are the economic documents of the temple of Apollo on the island of Delos, the decrees of the rulers and manumisi- acts of manumission of slaves. For the study of individual areas, collections of documents by region are important. So, in 1885–1916. V.V. Latyshev prepared a collection of Greek and Latin inscriptions from the Northern Black Sea region (three volumes out of four planned by the author were published).
In the Hellenistic era appeared texts on papyri (there are more than 250 thousand of them), created mainly in Ptolemaic Egypt. They contain a wide variety of information: royal decrees, economic documents, marriage contracts, religious texts, etc. Thanks to the papyri, the multifaceted life of Egypt is better known than the life of other Hellenistic states.
They give a lot of information about the history of the Hellenistic states archaeological excavations And coins.
Modern historians have numerous and varied sources that allow them to fully explore all aspects of the life of ancient Greek society.
Monuments of ancient writing in Russian translations
Andokid. Speeches. St. Petersburg, 1996.
Apollodorus. Mythological library. M., 1993.
Apollonius of Rhodes. Argonautica. Tbilisi, 1964.
Aristotle. Athenian polity. M., 1937.
Aristotle. History of animals. M., 1996. T. 1–4.
Aristotle. Essays. M., 1975–1984. T. 1–2.
Aristophanes. Comedy. M., 1983.
Arrian. Alexander's march. St. Petersburg, 1993.
Archimedes. Essays. M., 1973.
Athenaeus. Feast of the Wise: Books 1–8. M., 2003.
Achilles Tatius. Leucippe and Clitophon;
Long. Daphnis and Chloe;
Petronius. Satyricon;
Apuleius. Metamorphoses, or the Golden Ass. M., 1969.
Heliodor. Ethiopia. Minsk, 1993.
Herodotus. Story. M., 2004.
Gigin. Myths. St. Petersburg, 1997.
Hippocrates. Selected books. M., 1994.
Homer. Iliad. L., 1990.
Homer. Odyssey. M., 1984.
Greek orators of the second half of the 4th century. BC e.: Hyperides, Lycurgus, Dinarchus, Aeschines // Bulletin of ancient history. 1962. No. 1–4; 1963. No. 1.
Demosthenes. Speeches. M., 1994–1996. T. 1–3.
Diogenes Laertius. About the life, teachings and sayings of famous philosophers. M., 1986.
Diodorus Siculus. Historical Library: Greek Mythology. M., 2000.
Euripides. Tragedies. M., 1998–1999. T. 1–2.
Isocrates. Speeches // Bulletin of ancient history. 1965. No. 3, 4; 1966. No. 1–4; 1967. No. 1, 3, 4; 1968. No. 1–4; 1969. No. 1, 2.
Cornelius Nepos. About famous foreign commanders. M., 1992.
Xenophon. Anabasis. M., 1994.
Xenophon. Memories of Socrates. M., 1993.
Xenophon. Greek history. St. Petersburg, 1993. Xenophon. Cyropedia. M., 1993.
Curtius Rufus Q. History of Alexander the Great. M., 1993.
Fox. Speeches. M., 1994.
Lucian. Selected Prose. M., 1991.
Menander. Comedy. M., 1964.
Pausanias. Description of Hellas. M., 1994. T. 1–2.
Pindar. Bacchylides. Odes. Fragments. M., 1980.
Plato. Collected works. M., 1990–1994. T. 1–4.
Pliny the Elder. Natural Science; About art. M., 1994.
Plutarch. Table conversations. L., 1990.
Plutarch. Comparative biographies. M., 1994. T. 1–2.
Polybius. General history. St. Petersburg, 1994–1995. T. 1–3.
Polyene. Stratagems. St. Petersburg, 2002.
Sophocles Dramas. M., 1990.
Strabo. Geography. M., 1994.
Theophrastus. Characters. M., 1993.
Philostrat. Paintings;
Callistratus. Description of the statues. Tomsk, 1996.
Frontinus Sextus Julius. Tricks of War (Strategems). St. Petersburg, 1996.
Thucydides. Story. M., 1993.
Khariton. The Tale of Chaerea and Callirhoe. St. Petersburg, 1994.
Aelian Claudius. Motley stories. M., 1995.
Aeschylus. Tragedies. M., 1989.
Anthologies, anthologies, etc.
Alexandria poetry. M., 1972.
Antique fable. M., 1991.
Antique democracy in the testimony of contemporaries. M., 1996.
Antique literature: Greece: Anthology. M., 1989. T. 1–2.
Antique hymns. M., 1988.
Antique rhetoric. M., 1978.
Anthology sources on the history, culture and religion of Ancient Greece. St. Petersburg, 2000.
Greek epigram. St. Petersburg, 1993. Ancient Greek elegy. St. Petersburg, 1996.
Interstate Relations and diplomacy in antiquity: Reader. Kazan, 2002. Part 2.
Molchanov A. A., Neroznak V. P., Sharypkin S. Ya. Monuments of ancient Greek writing. M., 1988.
Fragments early Greek philosophers. M., 1989. Part 1.
Reader on the history of the Ancient World: Hellenism: Rome. M., 1998.
Reader on the history of Ancient Greece. M., 1964.
Hellenic poets of the 8th–3rd centuries. BC e. M., 1999.
The data from written sources is largely supplemented by numerous material monuments that have survived to this day from all periods of the history of Ancient Greece. The discovery of physical monuments through excavations, their preservation, restoration and study constitute the subject of archaeology. The study of archaeological monuments provides historians with numerous information on the history of crafts, art, trade and political relations, the history of everyday life and religion. For the most part, we do not find this information in written sources.
Archaeological sites are the remains of ancient cultures that are found during excavations. These include the ruins of ancient cities and settlements, the tools and household items found in them, as well as ancient graves, where, in addition to the dead, various objects were placed.
Archaeological studies have shown that in most cases the ancient Greek city consisted of an acropolis (kremlin) with temples and public buildings, and a lower city, which, along with residential and craft quarters, included a main square (agora), which served as a place of public meetings and a market .
Excavations of residential areas of Greek cities have yielded interesting information about the social and economic status of their inhabitants. The study of the agora in many cities brought especially significant results: usually in this square the Greeks placed statues of honored citizens and steles with the texts of laws and regulations. During excavations, many remains of these steles and statues were found.
Very interesting are the tools of the ancient Greeks discovered during excavations of cities and villages, usually quite primitive, which was due to the use of slave labor. Archaeological research also introduced us to the development of various crafts among the Greeks. Now many details of ancient metallurgy are clear - mining of ore, smelting of metal, manufacturing of metal products by forging and casting. Ceramic production is also known in detail thanks to the excavations of numerous large and small ceramic kilns and the finds of a mass of various pottery products: vessels, tiles, water pipes, terracotta figurines and other clay products.
Drawings on expensive dishes and on clay tablets introduce us to other Greek crafts (weaving, leatherworking, etc.), as well as to the labor of Greek peasants. Some vase paintings indicate the plight of the slave in Greek society. Lead weights and images of scales on vases that have survived to this day enrich our understanding of Greek trade, the significant development of which is evidenced by numerous finds of handicrafts and coins in various areas of the ancient world.
The history of many wars that took place in ancient times was vividly described by ancient historians. The weapons of Greek hoplites found by archaeologists - helmets, armor, shields, leggings, remains of swords and spears - allow the modern reader to more clearly understand the events that took place.
The monuments of art, sculpture and architecture are especially diverse, testifying to the significant cultural level of ancient society.
A large number of archaeological sites were found during excavations of ancient cemeteries - necropolises. Since the ancient Greeks believed in an afterlife, they put the things they needed in the graves of the dead: a child - his toys, a warrior - his weapons, a woman - her jewelry. Particularly interesting are the tombstones, which often featured relief portraits of the deceased and carved out the names of the deceased, sometimes with poetic epitaphs.
The peculiarity of archaeological sites is that they are silent sources, they are things, not stories. The archaeologist is therefore in a more difficult position than the historian working with the text of ancient authors or inscriptions. But at the same time, archaeological sources have a great advantage: they are objective witnesses of ancient life, while every story of an ancient historian more or less bears the stamp of subjective assessments, bias, and class limitations.
Due to the great importance of material monuments, without which a correct understanding of Greek history is impossible, we consider it absolutely necessary to acquaint the reader with the results of excavations of the most important Greek centers, as well as ancient cities of the Northern Black Sea region.
The history of Ancient Greece has an extensive source base. These are, first of all, written sources. From the Crete-Mycenaean era, tablets written in syllabaries A (in Crete) and B (in Balkan Greece) have been preserved. Syllabary A has not yet been deciphered, but syllabic B was deciphered in 1953 by the English scientist M. Ventris. These plates are business reporting documents. An important source is Homer's poems "Iliad" and "Odyssey". Each poem consists of 24 books. In the Iliad, Homer gives a detailed description of the military actions of the Greeks and Trojans during the Trojan War, the structure of the military camp and weapons, the control system, the appearance of cities, the religious views of the Greeks and Trojans, and everyday life. In the poem "Odyssey" Homer characterizes economic activities, the life of the royal palace and estate, the relationship between the powerful and the poor, customs, and particulars of everyday life. For the archaic era, important sources are the poems of Hesiod and the Greek lyricists (Archilochus, Theognis, Solon, Alcaeus, Sappho and others). Modern scientists, with the help of their works, try to solve issues of the specifics of social psychology of the archaic period. History emerges as a science in Greece. The historical works of Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, which have come down to us in full, and fragments of the works of other historians provide a holistic, although sometimes subjective, picture of the events that took place in the archaic and, mainly, classical periods. The works of late writers of Hellenistic and Roman times are of great importance: Diodorus Siculus, Strabo, Plutarch, Pausanias, Athenaeus, Aulus Helius and many others. They brought to us the ancient tradition, most of which was lost. Written sources also include the speeches of Greek orators, scientific and philosophical works, and the works of tragedians and comedians. As a result of excavations, inscriptions on hard materials (stone, metal, ceramics) were found. These inscriptions are dedicated to various aspects of the social, religious and private life of the Greeks. Working with this category of sources requires special professional training. Of great importance for the study of the history of Ancient Greece are the physical monuments that are discovered as a result of archaeological excavations. Since the 30s of the 19th century, archaeological excavations have been carried out in Greece. From the very beginning, scientists from different countries (France, England, Germany, USA and others) took part in them. The largest archaeological excavations were carried out in Athens, Olympia, Delphi, Delos, and on the western coast of Asia Minor (Turkey). The remains of remarkable architectural monuments were uncovered, numerous household items and monuments of art were found, the finds of Greek ceramics were especially significant in quantitative terms. Excavations were carried out in almost all places where the Greeks lived: in Southern Italy and Sicily, Southern France, and the Black Sea region. In the Northern Black Sea region, which was part of the Russian state, domestic archaeologists conducted excavations. As a result of G. Schliemann's excavations in Mycenae in the 70s of the 19th century, Mycenaean Greece was discovered. A. Evans' excavations at Knossos on Crete in 1900 led to the discovery of the Minoan civilization. Excavations actively continued throughout the 20th century. Particularly significant were the excavations of the Greek scientist S. Marinatos on the island of Thera, which discovered the remains of the oldest city in Europe, which died as a result of a volcanic eruption 3.5 thousand years ago.