When reading textbooks and other scientific publications related to history, you can often see the word "Hellenes". As you know, the concept refers to the history of Ancient Greece. This era always arouses great interest among people, since it amazes with its cultural monuments that have survived to our time and are exhibited in many museums around the world. If we turn to the definition of the word, then the Hellenes are the name of the Greek people (as they called themselves). They received the name "Greeks" a little later.

The Hellenes are ... More about the term

So, this name was given to themselves by representatives of the ancient Greek people. Many people hear this term and wonder: who did the Greeks call the Hellenes? It turns out themselves. The word "Greeks" began to be applied to this people by the Romans when they conquered it. If we turn to the modern Russian language, the concept of "Hellenes" is most often used to denote the inhabitants of Ancient Greece, but the Greeks still call themselves Hellenes. Thus, Hellenes are not an outdated term, but quite modern. It is especially interesting that in the history of Ancient Greece there was a period that was called "Hellenistic"

History of the concept

Thus, the main question of who the Greeks called the Hellenes was considered. Now it's worth talking a little about the history of this word, since it plays a big role in the formation of the term. For the first time the name "Hellenes" is found in the works of Homer. A small tribe of Hellenes is mentioned who lived in southern Thessaly. Several other authors, for example, Herodotus, Thucydides and some others, placed them in the same area in their works.

In the 7th century BC. NS. the concept of "Hellenes" is already encountered as the name of an entire nation. This description is found in the ancient Greek author Archilochus and is characterized as "the greatest people of all time."

The history of Hellenism is of particular interest. The Hellenes created many magnificent works of art, such as sculptures, architectural objects, decorative and applied art. Photos of these remarkable cultural heritage sites can be seen in various materials produced by museums and their catalogs.

So, you can go on to consider the very era of Hellenism.

Hellenistic culture

Now it is worth considering the question of what is Hellenism and its culture. Hellenism is a certain period in the life of the Mediterranean. It lasted quite a long time, its beginning dates back to 323 BC. NS. The Hellenistic period ended with the establishment of Roman rule in the Greek territories. It is believed that this happened in 30 BC. NS.

The main characteristic feature of this period is the ubiquitous spread of Greek culture and language in all territories that were conquered by Alexander the Great. Also at this time, the interpenetration of Eastern culture (mainly Persian) and Greek began. In addition to the listed features, this time is characterized by the emergence of classical slavery.

With the beginning of the Hellenistic era, there was a gradual transition to a new political system: there used to be a polis organization, and it was replaced by a monarchy. The main centers of cultural and economic life from Greece moved somewhat to Asia Minor and Egypt.

Chronology of the Hellenistic period

Of course, having designated the Hellenistic era, it is necessary to say about its development and about what stages it was subdivided into. In total, this period spanned 3 centuries. It would seem that by the standards of history this is not so much, but during this time the state has changed noticeably. According to some reports, the beginning of the era is considered to be 334 BC. e., that is, the year in which the campaign of Alexander the Great began. The entire epoch can be conditionally divided into 3 periods:

• Early Hellenism: during this period, the great empire of Alexander the Great was created, then it disintegrated, and
• Classical Hellenism: This time is characterized by political equilibrium.
• Late Hellenism: At this time the occupation of the Hellenistic world by the Romans took place.

Famous monuments of Hellenistic culture

So, the questions were considered about what the term "Hellenes" means, who were called Hellenes, and also what the Hellenistic culture is. After the Hellenistic period, a myriad of cultural monuments remained, many of which are known throughout the world. The Hellenes are a truly unique people who have created real masterpieces in sculpture, architecture, literature and many other areas.

For the architecture of that period, monumentality is especially characteristic. Famous for Hellenism - the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, and others. In terms of sculpture, the most famous example is the statue

Hellenes("Έλληνες). - For the first time with the name of the Hellenes - a small tribe that lived in southern Thessaly in the valley of Enipeus, Apidan and other tributaries of Peneus, - we meet with Homer (Il. II, 683, 684): E., together with the Achaeans and the Myrmidons, are mentioned here as subjects of Achilles, inhabiting the proper Hellas. In addition, we find the name of Hellas as a southern Thessalian region in several later parts of both Homeric poems (Ill. IX, 395, 447, XVI, 595; Od. 1.340, IV, 726, XI, 496). These data from epic poetry about the geographical location of E. are used by Herodotus, Thucydides, Parian Marble, Apollodorus; only Aristotle, based on Il. XVI, 234-235, which mentions "the priests of Dodon Zeus Sella, not washing their feet and sleeping on the bare ground ", and identifying the names of Selles (al. Gells) and Hellenes, transfers ancient Hellas to Epirus. Based on the fact that Epirus Dodona was the center of the most ancient cult of the original Greek gods - Zeus and Dione, Ed. Meyer ("Geschichte des Altertums", II volume, Stuttgart,) believes that in the prehistoric period the Greeks who occupied Epirus were driven from there to Thessaly and carried with them to new lands and former tribal and regional names; it is clear that mentioned in Hesiod Gellopia and Homeric Sellas (Hella) are repeated in the Thessalian Hellenes and Hellas.Later genealogical poetry (starting with Heziod) created the eponym of the Hellenic tribe of Hellene, making him the son of Deucalion and Pyrrha, who survived the great local flood and were considered the ancestors of the Greek people. created in the person of Ellin's brother, Amphictyon, the eponym of Thermopylsko-Delphic amphictyony. units; see also Belokh, "History of Greece", vol. I, pp. 236-217, M.,) that the Greeks recognized a close connection between the union of the amphictyons and the name of E. Union, the Phthiotian Achaeans, identical with the most ancient Hellenes, were located geographically. Thus, the members of the Amphictyon, associating themselves by origin with the Phthiotians, little by little got used to calling themselves Hellenes and spread this name throughout Northern and Central Greece, and the Doryans carried it to the Peloponnese. In the VII century. BC predominantly in the east, the correlative concepts of barbarians and Panhelleins arose: this last name was supplanted by the name of the Hellenes, which had already come into use, which united all the tribes who spoke Greek. language, with the exception of the Macedonians, who lived a separate life. As a national name, the name E., according to the information we have, is found for the first time in Archilochus and in the Gesiod catalog; in addition, it is known that the organizers of the Olympic festival bore the name Gellanodiks already earlier than 580 B.C. ... Aristotle and some representatives of Alexandrian literature mention another, in their opinion, the oldest common ethnic name of the people - Γραιχοί (= graeci = Greeks), under which in historical time the inhabitants of E. were known to the Romans and which then passed through the Romans to all European peoples. In general, the question of the origin of the ethnic names of the Greek people is among the controversial and unresolved to date.

Hellene

The very name Ellen or Ellin dates back to the 8th century BC. And it takes its name from Hellas, or in another way - ancient Greece. Thus, Ellin is a "Greek", or a resident of Greece, a representative of the Greek people, ethnos.

I must say that over time, in the 1st century AD, the word "Ellen" began to denote not only Greeks by nationality, but also representatives of the entire Mediterranean. It began to denote the bearers of Greek culture, language, and even people of a different nationality who were born in Greece or neighboring countries and assimilated there.

Since the conquests of Alexander the Great, Greek culture has spread throughout the then world. Greek customs, customs, the Greek language have penetrated into all countries bordering Greece, and have become, in their own way, international cultural values. That is why the whole world then spoke Greek. And even the Romans, who replaced the Greeks, adopted much of what was rightfully Greek culture.

From all of the above, you can see that the Jews under the word Ellen meant "pagan", no matter what nation he was. If he is not a Jew, then it means he is Ellen (pagan).

The Hellenists of Acts 6: 1

1 In these days, when the disciples multiplied, there was a murmur among the Hellenists against the Jews because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution of needs.
(Acts 6: 1).

As a consequence, the Apostles commissioned the brothers to appoint several persons in charge of meeting the needs of the widows of the Hellenists.

« Murmur»In this text is the translation of the Greek word goggumos which means “grunt; muttering "; Muffled conversation; "Expression of latent dissatisfaction"; "complaint".

« Hellenists»Is a transliteration of the word helleniston, the genitive plural forms of hellenistes. Hellas means Hellas, Greece. In the New Testament, Hellas is used to refer to the southern part of Greece, as opposed to Macedonia in the north.

The word “Hellene,” aka Greek, meant a person who did not belong to the Jewish people, as in Acts 14: 1; 16: 1, 16: 3; 18:17; Romans 1:14.

1 At Iconium, they entered the synagogue of Judah together and spoke in such a way that a great multitude of Jews and Greeks believed.
(Acts 14: 1).

1 He reached Derbe and Lystra. And behold, there was a certain disciple named Timothy, whose mother was a Jewish woman who believed, and his father was Greek.
(Acts 16: 1).

3 Paul wished to take him with him; and he took him and circumcised him for the sake of the Jews who were in those places; for all knew about his father, that he was Greek.
(Acts 16: 3).

17 And all the Greeks, seizing Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, beat him before the judgment seat. and Gallio was not in the least worried about that.
(Acts 18:17).

14 I owe both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, to the wise and to the ignorant.
(Rom 1:14).

In the New Testament the word hellenistes is used only three times [Acts 6: 1; 9:29; 11:20], and means the Jews who spoke Greek. The "Hellenists" in Acts 6: 1 are Greek-speaking Jews who followed Greek customs and came from Greek-speaking countries.

29 He also spoke and competed with the Hellenists; and they attempted to kill him.
(Acts 9:29).

20 And there were some of them Cyprian and Cyrene, who, having come to Antioch, spoke to the Greeks, preaching the gospel of the Lord Jesus.
(Acts 11:20).

They probably represented those nations [Acts 2: 8-11] that were in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, and after the resurrection of Jesus, who were converted to the Lord Jesus Christ.

8 How do we hear each of our own dialects in which we were born.
9 The Parthians, and the Medes, and the Elamites, and the inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and parts of Libya, adjacent to Cyrene, and who came from Rome, Jews and proselytes,
11 Cretans and Arabians, do we hear them in our tongues speaking of the great [works] of God?
(Acts 2: 8-11).

The World History. Volume 1. Ancient World Yeager Oscar

Origin of the Hellenes

Origin of the Hellenes

Resettlement from Asia.

The main and original event in the history of that part of the world, which is called the ancient Semitic name Europe(midnight country), there was an endlessly long-lasting migration of peoples from Asia to it. The previous resettlement is covered with complete darkness: if there was any native population before this resettlement, it was very rare, stood at the lowest stage of development, and therefore was driven out by settlers, enslaved, exterminated. This process of resettlement and permanent settlement in new agricultural lands began to take the form of a historical and rational manifestation of folk life, first of all - on the Balkan Peninsula, and moreover in its southern part, to which a bridge was drawn from the Asian coast, in the form of an almost continuous row of islands ... Really. Sporadic and Cycladic the islands lie so close to each other that, as it were, they lure the immigrant, attract, keep, show him the further path. The Romans named the inhabitants of the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula and the islands belonging to it Greeks(graeci); they themselves later called themselves by one common name - Hellenes... But they adopted this common name already at a rather late era in their historical life, when they formed in their new homeland into a whole people.

Drawing on an archaic Greek black-figure vessel of the 8th century. BC NS. Oriental features are felt in the painting style.

These inhabitants, who moved to the Balkan Peninsula, belonged to Aryan tribe, as is positively proved by comparative linguistics. The same science, in general terms, explains the amount of culture that they carried away from their eastern ancestral home. The circle of their beliefs included the god of light - Zeus, or Diy, the god of the all-embracing firmament - Uranus, the goddess of the earth Gaia, the ambassador of the gods - Hermes and several other naive religious personifications that embodied the forces of nature. In the field of everyday life, they knew the most necessary household utensils and agricultural tools, the most common domestic animals of the temperate zone - a bull, a horse, a sheep, a dog, a goose; they were characterized by the concept of a settled life, a solid dwelling, of a house, in contrast to the portable tent of a nomad; finally, they already possessed a highly developed language, which indicated a rather high degree of development. This is what these settlers came out with from their old places of settlement and what they brought with them to Europe.

Their resettlement was completely arbitrary, not directed by anyone, and had no definite purpose and plan. It took place, no doubt, like the European evictions to America taking place at the present time, that is, they were resettled in families, in crowds, of which, for the most part, after a long time in the new homeland, separate clans and tribes were formed. In this resettlement, as in the modern resettlement to America, not the rich and noble, and not the lowest stratum of the population, the least mobile, took part; the most energetic part of the poor was resettled;

Country nature

They found the territory chosen for the settlement not entirely empty and deserted; they met there a primitive population, which was later called pelasgami. Between the ancient names of various tracts of this territory, there are many bearing the imprint of Semitic origin, and it can be assumed that some parts of the territory were inhabited by Semitic tribes. Those settlers who had to enter the Balkan Peninsula from the north stumbled upon a different kind of population there, and things did not go without a struggle everywhere. But nothing is known about this, and it can only be assumed that the initial Pelasgian population of the territory was small. The new settlers, apparently, were not looking for pastures or marketplaces, but for places where they could firmly settle, and now the area south of Olympus, although not particularly rich in large and fertile plains, seemed especially attractive to them. From the northwest to the southeast, the Pindus mountain range stretches along the entire peninsula with peaks up to 2,500 meters, with passes of 1,600–1800 meters; it is the watershed between the Aegean and Adriatic seas. From its heights, facing south, on the left side to the east you can see a fertile plain with a beautiful river - a country that later received the name Thessaly; to the west - a country cut by mountain ranges parallel to the Pingdu - is Epirus with its wooded heights. Further, at 49 ° N. NS. extends the country later called Hellas - actually Central Greece. This country, although there are mountainous and rather wild areas in it, and in the middle of it rises the two-peaked Parnassus, towering 2460 meters, was nevertheless very attractive in appearance; clear sky, rarely falling rains, a lot of variety in the general appearance of the area, a little further away - a vast plain with a lake in the middle, teeming with fish - this is the later Boeotia; mountains everywhere were more abundantly covered with forest at that time than later; there are few rivers and it is shallow; to the west everywhere to the sea - a stone's throw; the southern part is a mountainous peninsula, almost completely separated by water from the rest of Greece - this Peloponnese. This whole country, mountainous, with abrupt climatic transitions, has something in itself that awakens energy and hardens strength, and most importantly, by the very structure of its surface, it favors the formation of individual small communities, completely closed, and thus contributes to the development in them of ardent love for home corner. In one respect, the country has truly incomparable advantages: the entire eastern coast of the peninsula is extremely winding, it has no less than five large bays and, moreover, with many branches - therefore, it is available everywhere, and the abundance of the purple mollusk, which was dearly valued at that time, is in some bays and straits ( for example, Euboean and Saronic), and in other areas, the abundance of ship wood and mineral wealth very early began to attract foreigners here. But foreigners could never penetrate far into the depths of the country, because, by the very nature of the terrain, it was easy to protect it from external invasion everywhere.

The image of the navy on the blade of a bronze sword.

The first Greek civilizations were famous for their belligerence and knowledge of maritime affairs, for which in Egypt these tribes received the general name "peoples of the sea". III century. BC NS.

Phoenician influence

However, at that distant time, the first settlements of the Aryan tribe on the Balkan Peninsula only one the people could interfere with the natural growth and development of the Aryans, namely - Phoenicians; but they did not even think about colonization on a large scale. Their influence, however, was very significant and, generally speaking, even beneficial; according to legend, the founder of one of the Greek cities, the city of Thebes, was the Phoenician Cadmus, and this name really bears a Semitic imprint and means "a man from the East." Therefore, it can be assumed that there was a time when the Phoenician element was predominant among the population. He delivered a precious gift to the Aryan population - the letters, which from this mobile and resourceful people, gradually developing from the Egyptian basis, turned into the present sound letter with a separate sign for each individual sound - in alphabet. Of course, in this type of writing served as a powerful instrument for the further success of the development of the Aryan tribe. Both religious ideas and the rituals of the Phoenicians also had some influence, which is easy to recognize in individual deities of later times, for example, in Aphrodite, in Hercules; in them it is impossible not to see Astarte and Baal-Melkart of the Phoenician beliefs. But even in this area, Phoenician influence did not penetrate deeply. It only excited, but did not fully master, and this was most clearly manifested in the language, which subsequently retained and assimilated only a very small number of Semitic words, and then mainly in the form of trade terms. The Egyptian influence, about which the legends have also survived, was, of course, even weaker than the Phoenician one.

Formation of the Hellenic nation

These contacts with an alien element were important precisely because they found out to the newcomer Aryan population its peculiar character, peculiarities of its life, brought them to the consciousness of these peculiarities and thereby contributed to their further independent development. The active spiritual life of the Aryan people, on the basis of their new homeland, is evidenced by the endless multitude of myths about gods and heroes, in which creative imagination is shown, restrained by reason, and not vague and unbridled in the eastern model. These myths are a distant echo of those great upheavals that gave the country its final appearance and are known as “ the wanderings of the Dorians ".

The Dorian Wandering and Its Influence

This era of resettlement is usually dated to 1104 BC. e., of course, is completely arbitrary, because for such events it is never possible to definitely indicate either their beginning or end. The external course of these migrations of peoples in a small space is presented in the following form: the Thessalian tribe, which settled in Epirus between the Adriatic Sea and the ancient sanctuary of the Dodonian oracle, crossed the Pindus and took possession of a fertile country stretching to the sea in the east of this ridge; the tribe gave its name to this country. One of the tribes pressed by these Thessalians reached south and defeated the Minians at Orchomenes and the Cadmeans at Thebes. In connection with these movements, or even earlier, their third people, the Dorians, who settled on the southern slope of Olympus, also moved southward, conquering a small mountainous area between Pindus and Eta - Doridu, but he was not satisfied with it, because it seemed too small to this numerous and warlike people, and therefore he settled even further south of the mountainous peninsula Peloponnese(i.e. the island of Pelops). According to legend, this seizure was justified by some kind of rights of the Dorian princes to Argolis, a region in the Peloponnese, rights that passed to them from their ancestor, Hercules. Under the command of three leaders, reinforced on the way by the Aetolian crowds, they invaded the Peloponnese. The Aetolians settled in the northeast of the peninsula on the plains and hills of Elis; three separate crowds of Dorians, for a certain period of time, take possession of the rest of the peninsula, except for the mountainous country Arcadia lying in the center of its mountainous country, and thus found three Dorian communities - Argolis, Laconia, Messinia, with some admixture of the Achaean tribe conquered by the Dorians, who originally lived here. Both the victors and the vanquished - two different tribes, not two different peoples - formed here some semblance of a small state. Part of the Achaeans in Laconia, who did not like their enslavement, rushed to the Ionian settlements of the northeastern coast of the Peloponnese near the Corinthian Gulf. The Ionians displaced from here moved to the eastern outskirts of Central Greece, to Attica. Soon after, the Dorians tried to move north and penetrate Attica, but this attempt failed, and they had to be content with the Peloponnese. But Attica, not particularly fertile, could not bear too much overcrowding. This led to new evictions across the Aegean Sea, to Asia Minor. The settlers occupied the middle strip of the coast there and founded a known number of cities - Miletus, Miunt, Priene, Ephesus, Colophon, Lebedos, Eritra, Theos, Clazomenes, and tribesmen began to gather for annual festivities on one of the Cyclades islands, Delos, which the legends of the Hellenes point to as the birthplace of the sun god Apollo. The shores to the south of those occupied by the Ionians, as well as the southern islands of Rhodes and Crete, were inhabited by settlers of the Dorian tribe; areas to the north - by the Achaeans and others. The name itself Eolis this area received precisely from the variegation and diversity of its population, for which the island of Lesvos was also a well-known collection point.

During this period of stubborn tribal struggle, which laid the foundation for the subsequent structure of individual states in Greece, the spirit of the Hellenes found expression in heroic songs - this first flower of Greek poetry, and this poetry was already very early, in the 10th – 9th centuries. BC e., reached the highest stage of its development in Homer, who managed to create two large epic works from separate songs. In one of them he glorified the anger of Achilles and its consequences, in the other - the return of Odysseus home from distant wanderings, and in both of these works he brilliantly embodied and expressed all the youthful freshness of the distant heroic period of Greek life.

Homer. Late Antique bust.

The original is at the Capitol Museum.

Nothing is known about his personal life; only his name is faithfully preserved. Several significant cities in the Greek world challenged each other for the honor of being called Homer's homeland. Many can be confused by the expression "folk poet" often used in relation to Homer, and yet his poetic works were already created, apparently, for a select, noble audience, for gentlemen, so to speak. He is perfectly familiar with all aspects of the life of this upper class, whether he describes a hunt or single combat, a helmet or another piece of equipment, a subtle connoisseur of the matter is visible in everything. With amazing skill and knowledge based on keen observation, he draws individual characters from this higher circle.

The throne room of the palace in Pylos, the capital of the legendary Homeric king Nestor.

Modern renovation

But this upper class, described by Homer, was not at all a closed caste; at the head of this estate was the king, who ruled a small area in which he was the main landowner. Below this class was a layer of free farmers or artisans, who for a time turned into warriors, and they all had their own common cause, common interests.

Mycenae, the legendary capital of King Agamemnon, reconstruction of the original view and plan of the fortress:

A. Lion's Gate; B. barn; C. wall supporting the terrace; D. platform leading to the palace; E. the range of burials found by Schliemann; F. palace: 1 - entrance; 2 - room for guards; 3 - entrance to the propylaea; 4 - western portal; 5 - northern corridor; 6 - southern corridor; 7 - western passage; 8 - large courtyard; 9 - staircase; 10 - throne room; 11 - reception hall: 12-14 - portico, large reception hall, megaron: G. foundation of the Greek sanctuary; N. back door.

Lion's Gate at Mycenae.

The courtyard of the palace at Mycenae. Modern renovation.

An important feature of everyday life during this time is the absence of a closely-knit class, and there is no separate class of priests; various strata of the people were still in close contact with each other and understood each other, which is why these poetic works, even if they were originally intended for the upper class, soon became the property of the entire people as the true fruit of their self-awareness. Homer learned from his people the ability to curb and artistically moderate their imagination, just as he inherited from him the tales of his gods and heroes; but, on the other hand, he managed to clothe these legends in such a vivid artistic form that he forever left the stamp of his personal genius on them.

We can say that since the time of Homer, the Greek people have become clearer and clearer to imagine their gods in the form of separate, isolated personalities, in the form of certain creatures. The chambers of the gods on the impregnable summit of Olympus, the highest of the gods Zeus, the great deities closest to him - his wife Hera, proud, passionate, quarrelsome; the dark-haired god of the seas Poseidon, who bears the earth and shakes it; god of the underworld Hades; Hermes is the ambassador of the gods; Ares; Aphrodite; Demeter; Apollo; Artemis; Athena; god of fire Hephaestus; a motley crowd of gods and spirits of the depths of the sea and mountains, springs, rivers and trees - this whole world, thanks to Homer, was embodied in living, individual forms that were easily assimilated by the folk idea and easily clothed by poets and artists emerging from the people in tactile forms. And all that has been said applies not only to religious ideas, to views on the world of gods ... And people are exactly the same definitely characterized by the poetry of Homer, and, opposing characters, draws poetic images - a noble youth, a royal husband, an experienced elder, human images: Achilles, Agamemnon, Nestor, Diomedes, Odysseus forever remained the property of the Hellenes, like their deities.

Warriors of the Mycenaean time. Reconstruction by M.V. Gorelik.

This is approximately how the heroes of the Homeric epic should have looked. From left to right: a warrior in the armor of a charioteer (after a find from Mycenae); infantryman (according to the drawing on the vase); cavalry (after painting from the Pylos Palace)

The domed tomb at Mycenae, excavated by Schliemann and named by him "the tomb of the Atrides"

Such a literary heritage of the entire people, which the Iliad and The Odyssey became in a short time for the Greeks, before Homer, as far as we know, had never happened anywhere else. It should not be forgotten that these works, mainly transmitted orally, were pronounced, not read, which is why, it seems, and still one can still hear and feel the freshness of living speech in them.

The situation of the lower classes of society. Hesiod

It should not be forgotten that poetry is not reality, and that the reality of that distant era was very harsh for most of those who were neither tsar nor nobleman. Strength then replaced the right: little people lived badly even where the tsars treated their subjects with paternal gentleness, and the noble stood up for their people. The common man endangered his life in a war that was fought over a case that did not directly and personally concern him. If he was kidnapped everywhere by a sea robber, he would die as a slave in a foreign land and he would not return to his homeland. This reality, in relation to the life of ordinary people, was described by another poet, Hesiod - the exact opposite of Homer. This poet lived in a Boeotian village at the foot of Helikon, and his "Works and Days" taught the farmer how he should act during sowing and harvest, how to cover his ears from the cold wind and harmful morning fogs.

Warrior vase. Mycenae XIV-XVI1I centuries BC NS.

Harvest festival. Image from a black-figure vessel of the 7th century. BC NS.

He ardently rebelles against all noble people, complains about them, claiming that in that Iron Age it was impossible to find any government on them, and very aptly compares them, in relation to the lower stratum of the population, with a vulture that carries off a nightingale in its claws.

But no matter how well-founded these complaints, nevertheless, a big step forward was already made in the fact that as a result of all these movements and wars, certain states with a small territory, urban centers, states with certain, albeit harsh for the lower stratum, legal orders.

Greece in the 7th-6th centuries BC NS.

Of these, in the European part of the Hellenic world, which was given the opportunity for quite a long time to develop freely, without any external, foreign influence, two states rose to the highest importance: Sparta in the Peloponnese and Athens in Central Greece.

A depiction of plowing and sowing on a black-figure vase from Vulci. VII century BC NS.

The general picture of the life of the Hellenes around 500 BC This is how Hellenic colonization was formed in central Greece, in a brisk and convenient place for relations with neighboring countries, a new state that grew from a completely different basis than Sparta, and was rapidly moving along the path

Book III THE HISTORY OF THE HELLINS AFTER THE VICTORY AT PAYMENTS Zeus of Otricoli. Antique marble