Monuments of ancient Greece. Architecture and sculpture of Ancient Greece

It took several centuries before the Dorian tribes, who arrived from the north in the 12th century BC, by the 6th century BC. created a highly developed art. This was followed by three periods in the history of Greek art:

1) archaic, or ancient period, - from approximately 600 to 480 BC, when the Greeks repelled the invasion of the Persians and, having freed their land from the threat of conquest, were again able to create freely and calmly;

2) classic, or heyday, from 480 to 323 BC. - the year of the death of Alexander the Great, who conquered vast areas, very different in their cultures; this diversity of cultures was one of the reasons for the decline of classical Greek art;

3) Hellenism, or late period; it ended in 30 BC, when the Romans conquered Greek-influenced Egypt.

Greek culture spread far beyond the borders of its homeland - to Asia Minor and Italy, to Sicily and other islands of the Mediterranean, to North Africa and other places where the Greeks founded their settlements. Greek cities were even located on the northern coast of the Black Sea.

The greatest achievement of Greek building art was the temples. The oldest ruins of temples date back to the archaic era, when instead of wood as building material yellowish limestone and white marble began to be used. It is believed that the prototype for the temple was the ancient dwelling of the Greeks - a rectangular structure with two columns in front of the entrance. From this simple building, various types of temples, more complex in their layout, grew over time. Usually the temple stood on a stepped base. It consisted of a windowless room where a statue of the deity was located, the building was surrounded by one or two rows of columns. They supported the floor beams and the gable roof. In the dimly lit interior, only priests could visit the statue of the god, but the people saw the temple only from the outside. Obviously, therefore, the ancient Greeks paid main attention to the beauty and harmony of the external appearance of the temple.

The construction of the temple was subordinated certain rules. The dimensions, proportions of parts and number of columns were precisely established.

Three styles dominated in Greek architecture: Doric, Ionic, Corinthian. The oldest of them was the Doric style, which developed already in the archaic era. He was courageous, simple and powerful. It got its name from the Doric tribes that created it. Today, the surviving parts of the temples are white: the paint that covered them has crumbled over time. Once upon a time, their friezes and cornices were painted red and blue.

The Ionic style originated in the Ionian region of Asia Minor. From here he already penetrated into the Greek regions proper. Compared to Doric, Ionic style columns are more elegant and slender. Each column has its own base - the base. The middle part of the capital resembles a pillow with corners twisted into a spiral, the so-called. in volutes.

During the Hellenistic era, when architecture began to strive for greater splendor, Corinthian capitals began to be used most often. They are richly decorated with plant motifs, among which images of acanthus leaves predominate.

It so happened that time was kind to the oldest Doric temples, mainly outside Greece. Several such temples have survived on the island of Sicily and in southern Italy. The most famous of them is the temple of the sea god Poseidon in Paestum, near Naples, which looks somewhat ponderous and squat. Of the early Doric temples in Greece itself, the most interesting is the temple of the supreme god Zeus, now standing in ruins, in Olympia, the sacred city of the Greeks, where the Olympic Games began.

The heyday of Greek architecture began in the 5th century BC. This classical era is inextricably linked with the name of the famous statesman Pericles. During his reign, grandiose construction work began in Athens, the largest cultural and art center Greece. The main construction took place on the ancient fortified hill of the Acropolis.

A – fragment of the Parthenon, b – clothing, c – fragment of the Erechtheion capital, d – golden comb, e – vase, f – chair, g – table.

Even from the ruins you can imagine how beautiful the Acropolis was in its time. A wide marble staircase led up the hill. To her right, on a raised platform, like a precious casket, there is a small elegant temple to the goddess of victory Nike. Through gates with columns, the visitor entered the square, in the center of which stood a statue of the patroness of the city, the goddess of wisdom Athena; further on one could see the Erechtheion, a unique and complex temple in plan. Its distinctive feature is the portico protruding from the side, where the ceilings were supported not by columns, but by marble sculptures in the form female figure, so-called Caryatids.

The main building of the Acropolis is the Parthenon Temple dedicated to Athena. This temple - the most perfect structure in the Doric style - was completed almost two and a half thousand years ago, but we know the names of its creators: their names were Iktin and Kallikrates.

The Propylaea is a monumental gate with Doric style columns and a wide staircase. They were built by the architect Mnesicles in 437-432 BC. But before entering these majestic marble gates, everyone involuntarily turned to the right. There, on the high pedestal of the bastion that once guarded the entrance to the acropolis, stands the temple of the goddess of victory Nike Apteros, decorated with Ionic columns. This is the work of the architect Callicrates (second half of the 5th century BC). The temple - light, airy, unusually beautiful - stood out with its whiteness against the blue background of the sky.

The Nika Temple stands on a rock ledge. It is slightly turned towards the Propylaea and plays the role of a beacon for processions going around the rock.
Immediately beyond the Propylaea, Athena the Warrior stood proudly, whose spear greeted the traveler from afar and served as a beacon for sailors. The inscription on the stone pedestal read: “The Athenians dedicated from the victory over the Persians.” This meant that the statue was cast from bronze weapons taken from the Persians as a result of their victories.

In the temple there was a statue of Athena, sculpted by the great sculptor Phidias; one of the two marble friezes, a 160-meter ribbon that encircled the temple, represented the festive procession of the Athenians. Phidias also took part in the creation of this magnificent relief, which depicted about three hundred human figures and two hundred horses. The Parthenon has been in ruins for about 300 years - ever since in the 17th century, during the siege of Athens by the Venetians, the Turks who ruled there built a gunpowder warehouse in the temple. Most of the reliefs that survived the explosion were taken to London, to the British Museum, by the Englishman Lord Elgin at the beginning of the 19th century.

At the beginning of our millennium, when Greece was transferred to Byzantium during the division of the Roman Empire, the Erechtheion was turned into a Christian temple. Later, the crusaders, who captured Athens, made the temple a ducal palace, and during the Turkish conquest of Athens in 1458, a harem of the commandant of the fortress was installed in the Erechtheion. During the liberation war of 1821-1827, the Greeks and Turks took turns besieging the Acropolis, bombarding its structures, including the Erechtheion.

In 1830 (after the proclamation of Greek independence), only foundations could be found at the site of the Erechtheion, as well as architectural decorations lying on the ground. Funds for the restoration of this temple ensemble (as well as for the restoration of many other structures of the Acropolis) were given by Heinrich Schliemann. His closest associate V. Derpfeld carefully measured and compared the ancient fragments; by the end of the 70s of the last century he was already planning to restore the Erechtheion. But this reconstruction was subjected to severe criticism, and the temple was dismantled. The building was rebuilt under the leadership of the famous Greek scientist P. Kavadias in 1906 and finally restored in 1922/

As a result of the conquests of Alexander the Great in the second half of the 4th century BC. the influence of Greek culture and art spread over vast territories. New cities arose; largest centers took shape, however, outside Greece. These are, for example, Alexandria in Egypt and Pergamum in Asia Minor, where construction activity was on the greatest scale. In these areas the Ionic style was preferred; An interesting example of it was the huge tombstone of the Asia Minor king Mavsol, ranked among the seven wonders of the world.

It was a burial chamber on high rectangular base, surrounded by a colonnade, a stone stepped pyramid rose above it, topped with a sculptural image of a quadriga, which was controlled by Mausolus himself. After this structure, other large ceremonial funeral structures were subsequently called mausoleums.


, builders unknown, 421-407 BC Athens

, architects Ictinus, Callicrates, 447-432 BC. Athens

In the Hellenistic era, less attention was paid to temples, and they built squares surrounded by colonnades for walks, amphitheaters under open air, libraries, various kinds of public buildings, palaces and sports facilities. Residential buildings were improved: they became two- and three-story, with large gardens. Luxury became the goal, and different styles were mixed in architecture.

Greek sculptors gave the world works that aroused the admiration of many generations. The oldest sculptures known to us arose in the archaic era. They are somewhat primitive: their motionless pose, hands tightly pressed to the body, and gaze directed forward are dictated by the narrow long stone block from which the statue was carved. She usually has one leg pushed forward to maintain balance. Archaeologists have found many such statues depicting naked young men and girls dressed in loosely flowing dresses. Their faces are often enlivened by a mysterious “archaic” smile.

In the classical era, the main business of sculptors was to create statues of gods and heroes and decorate temples with reliefs; to this were added secular images, for example, statues of statesmen or winners at the Olympic Games.

In the beliefs of the Greeks, the gods are similar to ordinary people both in their appearance and way of life. They were portrayed as people, but strong, well-developed physically and with a beautiful face. People were often depicted naked to show the beauty of a harmoniously developed body.

In the 5th century BC. the great sculptors Myron, Phidias and Polykleitos, each in their own way, updated the art of sculpture and brought it closer to reality. Young naked athletes of Polykleitos, for example his “Doriphoros”, rest on only one leg, the other is left freely. In this way it was possible to rotate the figure and create a sense of movement. But standing marble figures could not be given more expressive gestures or complex poses: the statue could lose its balance, and the fragile marble could break. These dangers could be avoided if the figures were cast in bronze. The first master of complex bronze castings was Myron, the creator of the famous “Discobolus”.

	Agessandr(?), 120 BC Louvre, Paris	Agesander, Polydorus, Athenodorus, c.40 BC. Greece, Olympia
IV century BC e., National Museum, Naples	Polykleitos, 440 BC National museum rome	OK. 200 BC e., National museum Naples

Many artistic achievements are associated with the glorious name of Phidias: he supervised the work of decorating the Parthenon with friezes and pediment groups. His bronze statue of Athena on the Acropolis and the 12-meter high gold and ivory statue of Athena in the Parthenon, which later disappeared without a trace, are magnificent. A similar fate befell a huge statue of Zeus seated on a throne, made from the same materials, for the temple at Olympia - another of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

As much as we admire the sculptures created by the Greeks in their heyday, they can seem a little cold these days. True, the coloring that enlivened them at one time is missing; but their indifferent and similar faces are even more alien to us. Indeed, the Greek sculptors of that time did not try to express any feelings or experiences on the faces of the statues. Their goal was to show perfect bodily beauty. Therefore, we admire even those statues - and there are many of them - that over the centuries have been badly damaged: some have even lost their heads.

If in the 5th century BC. sublime and serious images were created, then in the 4th century BC. artists tended to express tenderness and softness. Praxiteles gave the warmth and thrill of life to the smooth marble surface in his sculptures of naked gods and goddesses. He also found the opportunity to vary the poses of the statues by creating balance with the help of appropriate supports. His Hermes, the young messenger of the gods, leans on a tree trunk.

Until now, sculptures were designed to be viewed from the front. Lysippos made his statues so that they could be viewed from all sides - this was another innovation.

In the Hellenistic era, the desire for pomp and exaggeration in sculpture intensified. Some works show excessive passions, while others show excessive closeness to nature. At this time he began to diligently copy the statues of former times; Thanks to copies, today we know many monuments - either irretrievably lost or not yet found. Marble sculptures conveying strong feelings, created in the 4th century BC. e. Skopas.

His largest work known to us is his participation in decorating the mausoleum in Halicarnassus with sculptural reliefs. Among the most famous works of the Hellenistic era are the reliefs of the great altar in Pergamum depicting the legendary battle; a statue of the goddess Aphrodite found at the beginning of the last century on the island of Melos, as well as the sculptural group “Laocoon”. It depicts a Trojan priest and his sons who were strangled by snakes; physical torment and fear are conveyed by the author with ruthless verisimilitude.

In the works of ancient writers one can read that painting also flourished in their times, but almost nothing has survived from the paintings of temples and residential buildings. We also know that in painting, artists strived for sublime beauty.

A special place in Greek painting belongs to paintings on vases. In the most ancient vases, silhouettes of people and animals were painted with black varnish on the bare red surface. The outlines of the details were scratched on them with a needle - they appeared in the form of a thin red line. But this technique was inconvenient and later they began to leave the figures red and paint the spaces between them black. This way it was more convenient to draw the details - they were done on a red background with black lines.

The Balkan Peninsula became the center of ancient Greek culture. Here, as a result of invasions and movements of the Achaean, Dorian, Ionian and other tribes (who received common name Hellenes) a slave-owning form of economy took shape, strengthening various areas of the economy: crafts, trade, agriculture.

The development of economic ties of the Hellenic world contributed to its political unity; the enterprise of the sailors who settled new lands contributed to the spread of Greek culture, its renewal and improvement, and the creation of various local schools in the same vein of pan-Hellenic architecture.

As a result of the struggle of the demos (the free population of cities) against the tribal aristocracy, states are formed - policies, in the management of which all citizens take part.

The democratic form of government contributed to the development public life cities, the formation of various public institutions, for which they built meeting and feast halls, buildings of the council of elders, etc. They were placed in the square (agora), where the most important city affairs were discussed and trade deals were made. The religious and political center of the city was the acropolis, located on a high hill and well fortified. Temples of the most revered gods - the patrons of the city - were built here.

Religion occupied great place in the social ideology of the ancient Greeks. The gods were close to people; they were endowed with exaggerated human advantages and disadvantages. In the myths that describe the life of the gods and their adventures, everyday scenes from the life of the Greeks themselves are guessed. But at the same time, people believed in their power, made sacrifices to them and built temples in the image of their homes. The most significant achievements of Greek architecture are concentrated in religious architecture.

Dry subtropical climate Greece, mountainous terrain, high seismicity, the presence of high-quality timber, limestone, marble, which can be easily processed and modeled in stone structures, determined the “technical” prerequisites for Greek architecture.

During the Hellenistic period, the square received its urban planning completion with porticoes that provided shelter from the sun and rain. The post-beam structure of these building elements was the main object of constructive and artistic developments in ancient Greek architecture.

Stages of development ancient greek architecture:

XIII – XII centuries BC e. – The Homeric period, vividly and colorfully described by Homer’s poems
VII – VI centuries BC e. – archaic period (the struggle of slave-owning democracy against the tribal nobility, the formation of cities - policies)
V – IV centuries. BC e. – classical period(Greek-Persian wars, the era of the flourishing of culture, the decomposition of the union of city states)
IV century BC. – l c. AD – Hellenistic period (the creation of the empire of Alexander the Great, the spread of Greek culture and its flourishing in the colonies of Asia Minor)

1 – temple in anta, 2 – prostyle, 3 – amphiprostyle, 4 – peripterus, 5 – dipterus, 6 – pseudodipterus, 7 – tholos.

Architecture of the Homeric period. The architecture of this period continues the Cretan-Mycenaean traditions. The most ancient residential buildings, built of adobe brick or megaron rubble stone, had a rounded wall opposite the entrance. With the introduction of frames, molded bricks and cut stone blocks of standard sizes, buildings became rectangular in plan.

Architecture of the archaic period. With the growth of cities and the formation of the polis, slave-owning tyranny emerged, based on the support of the free population. arise various shapes public institutions: symposiums, boulevards, theaters, stadiums.

Along with city temples and sacred sites, pan-Hellenic sanctuaries are being built. The planning composition of the sanctuaries took into account the difficult terrain conditions and the very nature of religious ceremonies, which were primarily cheerful holidays with solemn processions. Therefore, temples were placed taking into account their visual perception by the participants in the processions.

The peristyle type of residential building was finally established in the Hellenistic regions. The isolation of the home from external environment. Rich houses had swimming pools, lavishly decorated interiors with paintings, mosaics, and sculptures. In the landscaped courtyard there were cozy places to relax and fountains.

The Greeks built well-equipped harbors and lighthouses. History has preserved descriptions of giant lighthouses on the island. Rhodes and on. Pharos in Alexandria.

The Rhodes lighthouse was a huge copper statue depicting Helios - the sun god and patron of the island - with a lit torch, anointing the entrance to the harbor. The statue was built by the Rhodians c. 235 BC e. in honor of their military victories. Nothing has survived from her; it is not even known how tall she was. The Greek historian Philo calls the figure “seventy cubits,” i.e., about 40 m.

The republican system of Rhodes contributed to the extraordinary flowering of art. To judge the Rhodian sculptural school, it is enough to mention the world famous work “Laocoon”.

Alexandria is the capital of Hellenistic Egypt, part of the empire founded by Alexander the Great. At the end of the 4th century. BC e. the largest scientific center is being organized here - Museion, where prominent Greek scientists worked: mathematician Euclid (III century BC), astronomer Claudius Ptolemy (II century), doctors, writers, philosophers, artists. Under Museion, the famous Library of Alexandria was created. The city stood on the trade routes of the Greeks with the eastern countries: it had large port facilities and convenient bays.

At the northern tip of the island. Pharos, forming a protected harbor in front of the city, at the end of the 3rd century. BC. a lighthouse was built in the form of a high multi-tiered tower with a pavilion, where a bright fire was constantly maintained. According to historians, its height was 150 - 180 m.

During the Hellenistic era, Greek culture penetrated into the most remote corners of the civilized world. Cultural exchange contributed to the extensive conquests of Alexander the Great.

Architecture of Ancient Greece on for a long time determined the direction of development of world architecture. In the architecture of a rare country, the general tectonic principles of order systems developed by the Greeks, details and decoration of Greek temples were not used.

The viability of the principles of ancient Greek architecture is explained primarily by its humanism, deep thoughtfulness in general and detail, and extreme clarity of forms and compositions.

The Greeks brilliantly solved the problem of transitioning purely technical structural problems of architecture to artistic ones. The unity of artistic and constructive content was brought to the heights of perfection in various order systems.

The works of Greek architecture are distinguished by their surprisingly harmonious combination with the natural environment. A great contribution has been made to the theory and practice of construction, to the formation of the environment of a residential building, and to the system of urban engineering services. The foundations of standardization and modularity in construction, developed by the architecture of subsequent eras, have been developed.

Literature

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History of foreign art.– M., “ art", 1984
Georgios Dontas. Acropolis and its museum.– Athens, “Clio”, 1996
Bodo Harenberg. Chronicle of humanity.– M., “ Great encyclopedia", 1996
History of world art.– BMM JSC, M., 1998
Art Ancient world. Encyclopedia.– M., “OLMA-PRESS”, 2001
Pausanias . Description of Hellas, I-II, M., 1938-1940.
"Pliny on Art", trans. B.V. Warneke, Odessa, 1900.
Plutarch . Comparative biographies, vol. I-III, M., 1961 -1964.
Blavatsky V.D. Greek sculpture, M.-L., 1939.
Brunov N. I. Essays on the history of architecture, vol. II, Greece, M., 1935.
Waldgauer O. F. Antique sculpture, Ig., 1923.
Kobylina M. M. Attic sculpture, M., 1953.
Kolobova K. M. The ancient city of Athens and its monuments, Leningrad, 1961.
Kolpinsky Yu. D. Sculpture of ancient Hellas (album), M., 1963.
Sokolov G.I. Antique sculpture, part I, Greece (album), M., 1961.
Farmakovsky B.V. The artistic ideal of democratic Athens, Pg., 1918.

Architecture and sculpture of Ancient Greece

Cities of the ancient world usually appeared near a high rock, and a citadel was built on it, so that there would be a place to hide if the enemy penetrated the city. Such a citadel was called an acropolis. In the same way, on a rock that towered almost 150 meters above Athens and had long served as a natural defensive structure, an upper city gradually formed in the form of a fortress (acropolis) with various defensive, public and religious structures.
The Athenian Acropolis began to be built up in the 2nd millennium BC. During the Greco-Persian Wars (480-479 BC) it was completely destroyed; later, under the leadership of the sculptor and architect Phidias, its restoration and reconstruction began.
The Acropolis is one of those places “about which everyone insists that they are magnificent and unique. But don't ask why. No one can answer you...” It can be measured, even all its stones can be counted. It's not that big of a deal to get through it from end to end - it only takes a few minutes. The walls of the Acropolis are steep and precipitous. Four great creations still stand on this rocky hill. A wide zigzag road runs from the bottom of the hill to the only entrance. This is the Propylaea - a monumental gate with Doric style columns and a wide staircase. They were built by the architect Mnesicles in 437-432 BC. But before entering these majestic marble gates, everyone involuntarily turned to the right. There, on the high pedestal of the bastion that once guarded the entrance to the acropolis, stands the temple of the goddess of victory Nike Apteros, decorated with Ionic columns. This is the work of the architect Callicrates (second half of the 5th century BC). The temple - light, airy, unusually beautiful - stood out with its whiteness against the blue background of the sky. This fragile building, looking like an elegant marble toy, seems to smile itself and makes passers-by smile affectionately.
The restless, ardent and active gods of Greece resembled the Greeks themselves. True, they were taller, could fly through the air, take on any form, and turn into animals and plants. But in everything else they behaved like ordinary people: got married, deceived each other, quarreled, made peace, punished children...

Temple of Demeter, builders unknown, 6th century. BC. Olympia

Temple of Nike Apteros, architect Kallikrates, 449-421 BC. Athens

Propylaea, architect Mnesical, 437-432 BC. Athens

The goddess of victory Nike was depicted as a beautiful woman with large wings: victory is fickle and flies from one opponent to another. The Athenians depicted her as wingless so that she would not leave the city that had recently won a great victory over the Persians. Deprived of wings, the goddess could no longer fly and had to remain in Athens forever.
The Nika Temple stands on a rock ledge. It is slightly turned towards the Propylaea and plays the role of a beacon for processions going around the rock.
Immediately beyond the Propylaea, Athena the Warrior stood proudly, whose spear greeted the traveler from afar and served as a beacon for sailors. The inscription on the stone pedestal read: “The Athenians dedicated from the victory over the Persians.” This meant that the statue was cast from bronze weapons taken from the Persians as a result of their victories.
The Erechtheion temple ensemble was also located on the Acropolis, which (according to its creators) was supposed to link together several sanctuaries located on different levels, - the rock here is very uneven. The northern portico of the Erechtheion led to the sanctuary of Athena, where a wooden statue of the goddess was kept, supposedly falling from the sky. The door from the sanctuary opened into a small courtyard where the only sacred olive tree on the entire Acropolis grew, which rose when Athena touched the rock with her sword in this place. Through the eastern portico one could get into the sanctuary of Poseidon, where he, having struck the rock with his trident, left three furrows with gurgling water. Here was also the sanctuary of Erechtheus, revered on a par with Poseidon.
The central part of the temple is a rectangular room (24.1x13.1 meters). The temple also contained the tomb and sanctuary of the first legendary king of Attica, Cecrops. On the south side of the Erechtheion is the famous portico of the caryatids: at the edge of the wall, six girls carved from marble support the ceiling. Some scholars suggest that the portico served as a tribune for respectable citizens or that priests gathered here for religious ceremonies. But the exact purpose of the portico is still unclear, because “portico” means vestibule, and in this case the portico did not have doors and from here it is impossible to get inside the temple. The figures of the portico of the caryatids are essentially supports that replace a pillar or column; they also perfectly convey the lightness and flexibility of the girlish figures. The Turks, who at one time captured Athens and, due to their Muslim beliefs, did not allow images of humans, did not, however, destroy these statues. They limited themselves to only cutting off the girls' faces.

Erechtheion, builders unknown, 421-407 BC. Athens

Parthenon, architects Ictinus, Callicrates, 447-432 BC. Athens

In 1803 Lord Elgin, English ambassador in Constantinople and collector, using permission Turkish Sultan, broke out one of the caryatids in the temple and took it to England, where he offered it to the British Museum. Interpreting the firman of the Turkish Sultan too broadly, he also took with him many of the sculptures of Phidias and sold them for 35,000 pounds sterling. Firman stated that “no one should prevent him from taking away a few stones with inscriptions or figures from the Acropolis.” Elgin filled 201 boxes with such “stones”. As he himself stated, he took only those sculptures that had already fallen or were in danger of falling, ostensibly in order to save them from final destruction. But Byron also called him a thief. Later (during the restoration of the portico of the caryatids in 1845-1847), the British Museum sent to Athens a plaster cast of the statue taken away by Lord Elgin. The cast was subsequently replaced with a more durable copy made from artificial stone, made in England.
At the end of the last century, the Greek government demanded that England return its treasures, but received the answer that the London climate was more favorable for them.
At the beginning of our millennium, when Greece was transferred to Byzantium during the division of the Roman Empire, the Erechtheion was turned into a Christian temple. Later, the crusaders, who captured Athens, made the temple a ducal palace, and during the Turkish conquest of Athens in 1458, a harem of the commandant of the fortress was installed in the Erechtheion. During the liberation war of 1821-1827, the Greeks and Turks took turns besieging the Acropolis, bombarding its structures, including the Erechtheion.
In 1830 (after the proclamation of Greek independence), only foundations could be found at the site of the Erechtheion, as well as architectural decorations lying on the ground. Funds for the restoration of this temple ensemble (as well as for the restoration of many other structures of the Acropolis) were given by Heinrich Schliemann. His closest associate V. Derpfeld carefully measured and compared the ancient fragments; by the end of the 70s of the last century he was already planning to restore the Erechtheion. But this reconstruction was subjected to severe criticism, and the temple was dismantled. The building was rebuilt under the leadership of the famous Greek scientist P. Kavadias in 1906 and finally restored in 1922.

"Venus de Milo" Agessander(?), 120 BC. Louvre, Paris

"Laocoon" Agessander, Polydorus, Athenodorus, c.40 BC. Greece, Olympia

"Hercules of Farnese" ca. 200 BC e., Nat. museum, Naples

"Wounded Amazon" Polykleitos, 440 BC. National museum rome

The Parthenon - the temple of the goddess Athena - is the largest structure on the Acropolis and the most beautiful creation of Greek architecture. It stands not in the center of the square, but somewhat to the side, so that you can immediately take in the front and side facades and understand the beauty of the temple as a whole. The ancient Greeks believed that the temple with the main cult statue in the center represented the house of the deity. The Parthenon is the temple of Athena the Virgin (Parthenos), and therefore in its center there was a chrysoelephantine (made of ivory and gold plates on a wooden base) statue of the goddess.
The Parthenon was erected in 447-432 BC. architects Ictinus and Callicrates from Pentelic marble. It was located on a four-level terrace, the size of its base was 69.5 x 30.9 meters. The Parthenon is surrounded on four sides by slender colonnades; gaps of blue sky are visible between their white marble trunks. Entirely permeated with light, it seems airy and light. There are no bright designs on the white columns, as is found in Egyptian temples. Only longitudinal grooves (flutes) cover them from top to bottom, making the temple seem taller and even slimmer. The columns owe their slenderness and lightness to the fact that they taper slightly towards the top. In the middle part of the trunk, not at all noticeable to the eye, they thicken and this makes them seem elastic, more able to withstand the weight of stone blocks. Ictinus and Callicrates, having thought through each the smallest detail, created a building that amazes with its amazing proportionality, extreme simplicity and purity of all lines. Placed on the upper platform of the Acropolis, at an altitude of about 150 meters above sea level, the Parthenon was visible not only from anywhere in the city, but also from numerous ships sailing to Athens. The temple was a Doric perimeter surrounded by a colonnade of 46 columns.

"Aphrodite and Pan" 100 BC, Delphi, Greece

"Diana the Huntress" Leochard, c.340 BC, Louvre, Paris, France

"Resting Hermes" Lysippos, IV century. BC BC, National Museum, Naples

"Hercules Fighting the Lion" Lysippos, c. 330 BC Hermitage, St. Petersburg

"Atlas Farnese" c.200 BC, Nat. museum, Naples

The most famous masters participated in the sculptural design of the Parthenon. The artistic director of the construction and decoration of the Parthenon was Phidias, one of the greatest sculptors of all time. He is responsible for the overall composition and development of the entire sculptural decoration, part of which he performed himself. The organizational side of the construction was handled by Pericles, the largest statesman of Athens.
The entire sculptural design of the Parthenon was intended to glorify the goddess Athena and her city - Athens. The theme of the eastern pediment is the birth of Zeus's beloved daughter. On the western pediment the master depicted a scene of a dispute between Athena and Poseidon for dominance over Attica. According to the myth, Athena won the dispute and gave the inhabitants of this country an olive tree.
The gods of Greece gathered on the pediments of the Parthenon: thunderer Zeus, the mighty ruler of the seas Poseidon, the wise warrior Athena, the winged Nike. The sculptural decoration of the Parthenon was completed by a frieze, which depicted a solemn procession during the festival of the Great Panathenaia. This frieze is considered one of the pinnacles of classical art. Despite all its compositional unity, it amazed with its diversity. Of the more than 500 figures of young men, elders, girls, on foot and on horseback, not one repeated the other; the movements of people and animals were conveyed with amazing dynamism.
The figures of the sculptural Greek relief are not flat, they have volume and shape human body. They differ from statues only in that they are not processed on all sides, but seem to merge with the background formed by the flat surface of the stone. Light colors enlivened the Parthenon marble. The red background emphasized the whiteness of the figures, the narrow vertical projections that separated one slab of the frieze from the other stood out clearly in blue, and the gilding shone brightly. Behind the columns, on a marble ribbon encircling all four facades of the building, a festive procession was depicted. There are almost no gods here, and people, forever imprinted in stone, moved along the two long sides of the building and united on the eastern facade, where a solemn ceremony took place to present the priest with a robe woven by Athenian girls for the goddess. Each figure is characterized by its unique beauty, and together they accurately reflect true life and customs ancient city.

Indeed, once every five years, on one of the hot days of mid-summer, a nationwide celebration took place in Athens in honor of the birth of the goddess Athena. It was called the Great Panathenaia. Not only citizens of the Athenian state, but also many guests took part in it. The celebration consisted of a solemn procession (pump), the bringing of a hecatomb (100 head of cattle) and a common meal, sports, equestrian and musical competitions. The winner received a special, so-called Panathenaic amphora, filled with oil, and a wreath made from the leaves of the sacred olive tree growing on the Acropolis.

The most solemn moment of the holiday was the national procession to the Acropolis. Riders on horses moved, walked statesmen, armored warriors and young athletes. Priests and nobles walked in long white robes, heralds loudly praised the goddess, musicians filled the still cool morning air with joyful sounds. Along the zigzag Panathenaic road, trampled by thousands of people, sacrificial animals climbed the high hill of the Acropolis. The boys and girls carried with them a model of the sacred Panathenaic ship with a peplos (veil) attached to its mast. A light breeze fluttered the bright fabric of the yellow-violet robe, which was carried as a gift to the goddess Athena by the noble girls of the city. For a whole year they wove and embroidered it. Other girls raised sacred vessels for sacrifices high above their heads. Gradually the procession approached the Parthenon. The entrance to the temple was made not from the Propylaea, but from the other, as if so that everyone would first walk around, examine and appreciate the beauty of all parts of the beautiful building. Unlike Christian churches, ancient Greek ones were not intended for worship inside them; the people remained outside the temple during religious activities. In the depths of the temple, surrounded on three sides by two-tiered colonnades, the famous statue of the Virgin Athena, created by the famous Phidias, stood proudly. Her clothes, helmet and shield were made of pure sparkling gold, and her face and hands shone with the whiteness of ivory.

Many book volumes have been written about the Parthenon, among them there are monographs about each of its sculptures and about each step of gradual decline since the time when, after the decree of Theodosius I, it became Christian temple. In the 15th century, the Turks turned it into a mosque, and in the 17th century, into a gunpowder warehouse. It was turned into final ruins by the Turkish-Venetian war of 1687, when it got there artillery shell and in one moment he did what all-consuming time could not do in 2000 years.

Architectural monuments of ancient Greece – part world heritage humanity, attractions that attract the attention of tourists. The ruins of ancient temples are scattered throughout the Peloponnese and the Aegean islands.

Unfortunately, time was not kind to religious buildings. Ancient temples themselves are refined and delicate, earthquakes are frequent in Greece, and local Herostrati tried to seek glory for themselves by setting fire to them. Christianity, which replaced paganism, did not really care about the memory of pagan ancestors. Muslim rule in the territory of modern Greece did not greatly contribute to preserving the heritage of antiquity.

Only after the liberation wars early XIX and the beginning of the 20th century, Greece occupied territory remotely close to the ancient borders. Attention to the architectural heritage of antiquity was paid only from the second quarter of the XIX century. The study, excavations, restoration and conservation of monuments begins.

The pearl of Greece is, of course, Athens. In addition to the Acropolis with the temples of the Parthenon, the Erechtheion with the portico of the caryatids, the temple of Nike Apteros, in the city and the surrounding area there are many living witnesses of antiquity - the propylaea, the temple of Hephaestus (Theseion), the monument of Lysicrates (334 BC). Tower of the Winds – built in 44 BC. weather station - bears the features not of Greek democracy, but of Roman imperial architecture.

The Temple of Hera in Paestum (5th century) and the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens (Theseion) are the two most fully preserved monuments. Basically, the monuments of Ancient Greece are picturesque ruins.

We know about most temples only from mentions of ancient historians and meager results of excavations.
Other monuments of Ancient Greece - amphitheaters - have survived much more. Carved into the mountain slopes, they were more resistant to destruction and amaze with their excellent acoustics. Amphitheaters in Epidaurus, Delphi, Athens, now empty, were once as crowded as cinemas and supermarkets are now. Theaters at that time were also religious, not entertainment, buildings. They were dedicated to the gods, and the performances on stage were worship services.

Byzantine civilization left fortification monuments in Greece - the ancient fortress in Thessaloniki, the fortress of Mystras, the Venetian fortress of Methoni and religious ones - the temple of the Virgin Mary Ekatondapiliani (IV century) on the island of Paros, the temple of Demetrius in Arta (IX century), the temple of Panagia in Thessaloniki (1028) , Kapnikeria in Athens (XI century), Temple of St. Sophia on a rock above the sea in Monemvasia. You can admire the 14th-century paintings in the Monastery of Christ the Savior in Verria.

You can also see modern buildings: the Cathedral of St. St. Andrew the Apostle in Patras was built from 1908 to 1974, the Cathedral of Nektarios of Aegina on the island of Aegina in 1994. All of them are worthy successors of the majestic Ancient Greek architecture.

Perhaps in no other country in the world will you find as many ancient monuments as in Greece: the famous Acropolis of Athens and the rotating Temple of Apollo in Delphi, the Theater of Dionysus and the Temple of Zeus, the Tower of the Winds, the Perama Cave and much more...

The white stone ruins here have preserved the memory of the birth of civilization for centuries, turning legends and myths into history. RT has compiled a list of the most interesting attractions that are worth visiting for anyone who decides to travel to this amazing country.

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A unique architectural monument, the palace of King Minos, is located on the island of Crete. Legends about this palace have been circulating since ancient times. Visitors have the opportunity to observe a labyrinth of more than a thousand rooms, the walls of which are decorated with frescoes and drawings.

The Athenian Acropolis is an incredibly beautiful hillside building in the center of Athens. It is known that the first temples and buildings appeared in the archaic period. The Greek government has repeatedly carried out restorations to return the place to its original appearance.

The Theater of Dionysus, located on the Acropolis hill, is one of the oldest theaters in the world. It was here that the works of the greatest representatives of ancient Greek literature and drama were first presented to the audience: Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes.

The Temple of Nike Apteros is a striking example of classical Greek architectural art. From the site on which the temple is located, you can enjoy a beautiful and impressive panorama of Athens.

The city of Delphi is located in the region of Phocea, on the southwestern slope of the famous Mount Parnassus, near the Gulf of Corinth. In Ancient Greece, the city was a major trade and financial center.

Olympion, or the Temple of Olympian Zeus, is the largest temple in Greece. Its construction began from the 6th century BC. e. until the 2nd century AD e. This monument of ancient Greek architecture is located in Athens, near the Acropolis and the city center. If you believe the legends, the temple was built on the site of the sanctuary of the mythical Deucalion, who was considered the forefather of the entire people of Greece.

Hadrian's Arch was built in the 2nd century AD. in honor of the Roman Emperor Hadrian. Ancient architects placed it on the line of the road that connected the Acropolis area and Olympion and went in a south-easterly direction.

The uniqueness of the Panathenaic Stadium lies in the fact that it is the only stadium in the world whose walls are made of white marble. It was here that the first Olympic Games took place in 1896.

The Temple of Hephaestus in Athens is one of the best preserved ancient temples in the world. All the columns, pediments, and most of the roof have survived to this day.

In ancient times, the Temple of Apollo was of great importance for the culture of Ancient Greece. It was here that the Delphic Oracle was located - a great oracle, where even Alexander the Great himself came to ask for a prophecy.

The Temple of Hephaestus (Hephaestion), or Thesseion, gave rise to many legends associated with its name. According to one version, the temple was dedicated to the son of Zeus and the god of fire Hephaestus, the patron of blacksmithing. According to another version, the temple was named Tesseion - in honor of Theseus, the famous hero of ancient Greek mythology.

Delphi is the most popular among the sacred sites of Ancient Greece. The town is located at the foot of Mount Parnassus - the place where Apollo lived surrounded by muses. Since ancient times, many people specially traveled here from afar to find out the predictions of the famous oracle of Apollo and look into the future.

The huge book depository, built in 132 AD, is impressive in its size. By building the library, Emperor Hadrian gave the Athenians a new cultural center with lecture halls and a lush garden.

The Tower of the Winds is the oldest meteorological monument, its height is 12 meters and its diameter is about 8 meters.