Where was the campaign of the Achaeans. History of ancient greece

Formation of the Mycenaean kingdom. In the middle of the II millennium BC. e. many Achaean tribes of southern Greece were united under the rule of the kings who ruled in the city of Mycenae. The Mycenaean kingdom was formed under the influence of the Cretan state, which was then experiencing its heyday. Many areas of Greece were under the rule of Crete. Many features of the economy, government and culture of Crete were borrowed by the Mycenaeans.

Rice. Mycenae

• Using maps, determine in which part of Greece the Mycenaean kingdom arose. What were the natural conditions of this area?

As in Crete, Mycenae was headed by a king who was also the high priest. He appointed officials and officials with the help of which he ruled the state. The population paid taxes to the king: the farmers gave part of the harvest, and the artisans gave their products. The lowest stratum of society were slaves. As in Crete, there were few of them and they belonged to kings and noble people. The Mycenaean script was based on the Cretan script. Mycenaean artists and artisans used the same plots and techniques as the Cretan masters, and the builders of Mycenaean palaces imitated the grandiose buildings of Cretan architects. There was also much in common between the religions of both states. Some gods of the Achaeans were borrowed by them from the Cretans. This is evidenced by ancient Greek myths, which call Crete the birthplace of the Achaean gods.

"Golden abundant" Mycenae. The Mycenaean kings were famous for their wealth. The Greeks often called the capital of the Mycenaean kingdom "golden abundant" Mycenae. The city was built on a high steep hill near the coast of the Aegean Sea. It was surrounded by powerful walls built of multi-ton stone blocks.

Travelers entered Mycenae through a gate crowned with figures of stone lions. Passing under the powerful arches of the "lion's gate", they found themselves on a street paved with stone slabs leading to the city center. There was a magnificent royal palace. It was decorated with red Cretan columns and cornices, inlaid with multi-colored Phoenician glass. The floor of the palace was paved with polished slabs brought from Crete and colorful mosaics. The walls and ceilings were painted with unusually bright frescoes. Countless treasures were stored in the vast storerooms of the palace.

Rice. Lion's Gate at Mycenae

Greek campaign against Troy. The kings of Mycenae more than once made military campaigns against their neighbors, trying to conquer their lands. They also tried to extend their power to the coast of Asia Minor, where the Trojan kingdom was located. About 1200 B.C. e. The king of Mycenae organized a campaign against the Trojans.

Rice. Fragment of a dagger from Mycenae with a golden pattern

Here is what the myths tell about the causes of the Trojan War. One day the gods gathered for a feast. All the celestials were invited to it, except for the goddess of discord, Eris. She was offended and decided to take revenge. The goddess secretly entered the feast and threw a golden apple on the table, writing on it only one word: "To the most beautiful." Three powerful goddesses saw the fruit and argued: to whom is it intended? One of them was the ukena of Zeus, the patroness of marriage and the family of Hera, the other was his daughter, the goddess of wisdom, Athena, and the third was the goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite. They turned to Zeus, asked to resolve their dispute. But he, not wanting to offend anyone, instructed the Trojan prince Paris to judge them.

The goddesses appeared before the young prince in all their glory and asked to say which of them was more beautiful. Each promised Paris a reward: Hera - power and wealth, Athena - wisdom and glory, Aphrodite said: "I will give you the love of the most beautiful woman in the world."

Rice. Elena. Image on an ancient Greek vase

And Paris did not hesitate to give the apple to Aphrodite. Offended, Hera and Athena hated the prince and the Trojans and decided to destroy the people of Troy.

The most beautiful woman in those days was known as Elena the Beautiful - the wife of the Spartan king Menelaus. Aphrodite inspired her love for Paris, who came to visit the Spartan king. She helped Paris and Helen escape to Troy. Menelaus was enraged and began to call the Achaeans on a campaign to take revenge on the Trojans. Many kings responded to his call. The campaign was led by the brother of Menelaus, the king of Mycenae Agamemnon. Hundreds of ships went to the shores of Troy. The siege of the fortress lasted ten years. Only thanks to the cunning of the Greeks, Troy was captured and destroyed.

The death of the Mycenaean kingdom. In the XII century BC. e. conquerors invaded the Balkan Peninsula from the north. Among them were the Greek tribes of the Dorians. Their culture was less developed than the Achaean, but the Dorians owned the secret of iron processing. These aliens, dressed in animal skins, but armed with iron swords, swept across Greece in a devastating wave, sweeping away everything in their path.

Rice. King Agamemnon. Painting on an ancient Greek vase

The Achaeans, familiar only with copper and bronze, could not resist the onslaught of the Dorians. Mycenae and many other Achaean cities were destroyed and devastated. The population of the defeated cities, escaping, fled to the mountains and islands of the Aegean Sea. Some of the fugitives founded new settlements on the coast of Asia Minor, including on the site of the once devastated Trojan kingdom.

Summing up

In the middle of the II millennium BC. e. on the territory of southern Greece there was an extensive Mycenaean kingdom. A high culture flourished here, many of the achievements of which were borrowed by the Mycenaeans from the Cretans. The Dorians' invasion led to the destruction of Mycenae and to the decline of culture.

Mosaic- an image made of colored stones, ceramic tiles, etc.

Middle of the II millennium BC. e. Formation of the Mycenaean kingdom.

About 1200 B.C. e. Trojan War.

12th century BC e. Dorians invade Greece.

Apple of discord- the cause of any quarrel. (An expression related to the myth of Paris)

Questions and tasks

1. When and where did the Mycenaean kingdom originate?
2. Tell us about the capital of the Mycenaean kings. Why was it called "evil-abundant" Mycenae?
3. Find and name the common features inherent in the Cretan and Mycenaean kingdoms. Give at least six examples.
4. When did the Trojan War start and what were its causes?
5. What caused the fall of the first Greek states? What were the consequences of this?
6. Write down in a notebook the names of the gods found in the paragraph and indicate what patrons they were.

What features of the Cretan civilization were adopted by the Mycenaean civilization?

1. Achaeans conquer Greece. As in Crete, Greece was initially inhabited by a non-Greek population. It is not known what language these people spoke.

At the turn of the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC. e. Achaean Greeks invaded from the north.

The Achaeans were at a lower level of development than the population of Greece they conquered. But time passed, and the Achaeans also learned how to make tools and weapons from bronze. From the 16th century BC e. in Greece, the rise of economy and culture begins. By the name of the Greek Achaeans, scientists called this civilization Achaean. Sometimes it is called Mycenaean after the name of the most powerful of the states - Mycenae (in the Peloponnese).

2. Hard stone Tiryns. The main centers in Greece, as in Crete, were palaces. Archaeologists have unearthed some of them - in Tirinf, Pylos, Mycenae. All of them are smaller than the Cretan ones. Unlike the Cretan ones, almost all the palaces were fortified and were real fortresses. special
but strikes the fortress of Tiryns with its might. Its walls are made of huge stone blocks. The thickness of the walls reached 4.5 m, the height - 7 m.

3. Golden rich Mycenae. The center of the most powerful state was Mycenae. On a high hill there was a palace surrounded by powerful walls with gates.

Archaeologists also unearthed burials, in which they discovered fabulous riches. The Greeks of that time, like the inhabitants of the countries of the Ancient East, believed that after death people continue to live in another world. In the graves of the Mycenaean kings, there were many things made of gold, silver, ivory: jewelry, dishes, weapons. No wonder the Greeks in their myths called Mycenae rich in gold.

But the most surprising finds were golden masks. They covered the faces of the dead and were probably their portraits. Looking at the masks, we can imagine what these kings looked like.

4. Palace in Pylos. The palace at Pylos is well preserved. The most interesting find made during excavations in

Pylose, archive. At that time clay tablets were used for writing. Since Pylos died in a fire, these tablets were burned, became very hard and well preserved.

Thanks to the Pylos tablets, we learned about the economy and political structure of the states of Achaean Greece. Many slaves worked in the palace economy, among which there were more women. Many slaves are recorded with their children. For example, one tablet says: “Women spinners 37, girls 26, boys 16.” Peasants were required to pay taxes and perform various duties in favor of the palace. Officials followed. Metal was especially carefully taken into account, because it was of great importance in economic life.

5. States of Achaean Greece. In their structure, they resembled states in the Ancient East. At the head of each state was a king. Next came the priests and numerous officials. The next step in this pyramid was occupied by villagers.

They did not take any part in the administration of the state. At the lowest level were slaves employed in various jobs in the palace economy.

6. Culture of Achaean Greece. The documents from the Achaean archives mention the gods in which the Greeks later believed: Zeus, Poseidon, Dionysus and some others.

Although the wall paintings of the palaces have much in common with the Cretan ones, there is one important difference: preparations for war, chariot rides, and battles are most often depicted here. The abundance of bloody scenes of war and hunting is striking. The military theme is the most favorite for the Achaeans.

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7. Warriors and wars. The Mycenaean kings sought to seize other people's wealth and for this they made campaigns. If they were lucky, they returned home with a rich
bullish. Noble Achaeans fought on chariots, bronze shells protected them from enemy attacks. And ordinary warriors were foot soldiers, they were protected only by leather breastplates.

The Achaeans gradually became a great power. They carried on a brisk trade and were engaged in piracy. In the 14th-13th centuries BC. e. they founded a number of settlements on the coast of Asia Minor and on neighboring islands.

The largest and most famous war waged by the Achaeans was the Trojan War.

The king of Mycenae Agamemnon created an alliance of Achaean states, which made a sea voyage against Troy, a city in the northwest of Asia Minor. After a long siege, the Greeks captured and destroyed the city.

It used to be believed that the Trojan War was a myth. But the long-term archaeological excavations of Troy confirmed the reality of this war. True, scientists argue about its dating. Most likely, Troy died in a fire around the middle of the 13th century BC. e.

Remember which powers of the Ancient East constantly waged wars of conquest.

8. Dorian conquest. Soon the Achaean palaces also perished. Not far from the Achaeans, in the north of the Balkan Peninsula, various tribes lived. At the end of the 13th century BC. e. a huge mass of these tribes rushed south to Greece. On their way, the aliens captured and destroyed many palaces and settlements. The Mycenaean civilization perished.

The main part of the tribes then returned back, but the tribe of the Greek Dorians settled in the Peloponnese.

The myth of the Trojan War

The Trojan War started over the apple. Somehow, the goddess of discord, Irida, was not invited to the wedding feast. The goddess was angry and decided to take revenge. She threw a golden apple with the inscription "to the most beautiful" to the feasters. Three goddesses immediately argued among themselves - Hera, Athena and Aphrodite. Zeus ordered them to judge Paris - the son of the Trojan king Priym. Hera promised Paris power over all of Asia, Athena - the glory of a hero, and Aphrodite promised love to the most beautiful of women. And Paris gave the apple to her. At that time, everyone considered Elena, the wife of the Spartan king Menelius, to be the most beautiful. Aphrodite helped Paris kidnap Helen and take her with him to Troy.

Menelaus and his brother, the powerful king of Mycenae Agamemnon, fell into a terrible rage, having learned about the escape of Elena. They gathered many Greek heroes, boarded ships and sailed to Troy to take revenge on the Trojans for their offense and return Helen. Troy was great and mighty, its walls impregnable. The heavy siege of Troy by the Achaeans lasted nine years. Many feats were accomplished over the years by both the Greeks and the Trojans. Either the Greeks approached the very walls of Troy, or the Trojans pushed them to the sea. Aphrodite helped the Trojans, and Hera and Athena helped the Greeks. How to take Troy, came up with Odysseus - the most ingenious of the Greeks.

The Greeks boarded ships and sailed off the coast of Troy. On the shore they left a huge wooden statue of a horse. Several Greek warriors hid inside the statue.

Achaeans, one of the main Greek tribes in Thessaly (Northern Greece), in the Peloponnese (from the Achaeans the name Achaia is the northern region of the peninsula) and some islands of the Aegean Sea ... Modern Encyclopedia

Achaeans- Achaeans, one of the main Greek tribes in Thessaly (Northern Greece), the Peloponnese (from the Achaeans the name Achaia is the northern region of the peninsula) and some islands of the Aegean Sea. … Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

One of the main ancient Greek tribes that lived in Thessaly from the beginning. 2nd millennium BC e. and in the Peloponnese. The states of the Achaeans: Mycenae, Pylos, etc. Participated in the Trojan War. In the 12th century BC e. forced out by the Dorians to M. Asia, to Cyprus and others ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

One of the main ancient Greek tribes that lived in Thessaly from the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. e. and in the Peloponnese. The states of the Achaeans: Mycenae, Pylos, etc. Participated in the Trojan War. In the XII century. BC e. forced out by the Dorians to Asia Minor, Cyprus and ... encyclopedic Dictionary

Achaeans- (Greek Achaioi) one of the main Greek tribes. According to legend, they descended from Achaea, the son of Xuthus; Achaeus, having armed the detachments in Attica, subjugated the Pelasgians of Argolis and Laconia; according to another version, Achaeus returned to his homeland in Thessaly, from where he ... ... Antique world. Dictionary reference.

One of the main ancient Greek tribes, which originally lived in Thessaly (Northern Greece) and settled at the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. e. also the Peloponnese and some islands of the Aegean. In the 17th and 16th centuries. BC e. A. developed early class ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

- (Axaioi) the common name of other Greek. tribes at Homer. English scientists M. Ventris and J. Chadwick determine the dialect of the Greek they deciphered. Cretan-Mycenaean texts of linear writing B as Old Achaean (close to the Arcadian Cypriot dialect and ... ... Soviet historical encyclopedia

Achaei, Άχαιοί, 1. people on the northeastern coast of Pontus Euxinus. Ov. ex Pont. 4, 10, 27; 2. the people in Thyotis (Thessaly, Hdt. 7, 132. Liv 32, 32), to whom the city Άλός belonged; 3. one of the main tribes ... ... Real Dictionary of Classical Antiquities

Achaeans- ah eytsy, ev, unit. h. ah eyts, ah eyts, creative. n. ah eytsem ... Russian spelling dictionary

Achaeans- common name other Greek tribes at Homer. The name A. is reflected in the Cretan-Mycenaean texts in a form close to acc. her Hittite name. akhiyav and egypt. akivasha … Ancient world. encyclopedic Dictionary

Books

• Sevastopol, Chikin Arkady Mikhailovich, Shigin Vladimir Vilenovich, The history of Sevastopol is interesting and diverse. Already in the VI century. BC e. Achaean Greeks appeared on the Sevastopol land, who founded the ancient Chersonese. In 1783, ships entered the Akhtiar Bay ... Category: Historical guides Series: Historical guide Publisher: Veche,
• Sevastopol, Chikin A., Shigin V., The history of Sevastopol is interesting and diverse. Already in the VI century. BC e. Achaean Greeks appeared on the Sevastopol land, who founded the ancient Chersonese. In 1783, ships entered the Akhtiar Bay ... Category:

early Greeks

About 1600 Minoans of Crete.

Their highly developed and artistic civilization extended to southern Greece and most of the islands of the Aegean.

Boar tusk helmet.
XIII century BC

The main territory of the future Hellas was inhabited at that time by the Pelast tribes, related to the Thracians of the northeast of the Balkans, speakers of one of the Indo-European languages. The predominant part of the population of Crete were "Minoans" (this conditional name, established in modern antiquity, as well as the term "Minoan culture", is derived from the name of King Minos, the protagonist of ancient Cretan legends).

The emergence of the first states in Crete dates back to the beginning of the 2nd millennium. The period of prosperity of the Minoan civilization lasted until the middle of the 15th century. During this time, the island was covered with a network of paved roads with guard posts.

In the administrative system of the Minoan state, a decisive role was assigned to members of the ruling house, who acted as military leaders and governors in the Cretan cities and overseas possessions.

The Cretans possessed a developed industry, conducted maritime trade with Egypt, Asia Minor and the islands of the eastern Mediterranean. To protect their trade from the then widespread piracy, they kept warships. Undoubtedly, they borrowed the basics of shipbuilding from Egypt, but, being rich in timber, they built their ships according to the Phoenician model - consisting of a keel, a set and a sheathing. The ships were rowing, with an Egyptian type sail.

Around 1400 FALL OF CRETE.

The island was devastated by an invasion from the mainland; possibly part of the migrating Achaeans (Indo-Europeans) from Central Europe.

A number of sources point to a volcanic catastrophe that unexpectedly undermined the power of the Minoan state, followed by an invasion of Crete by other peoples.

Around 1400-1200 AKHEANS GO TO THE SEA.

Under pressure from subsequent waves of migration, the Achaeans, together with other Mediterranean peoples, gave rise to the very movement of the "peoples of the sea" that so seriously affected the Mediterranean coast of the Middle East.

Ancient Greece: 1 - a helmet with faceplates covering almost the entire face, with a hole for breathing and speech; 2 - a warrior-rider, armed with a spear and a sword in a sling across his chest. He is protected by a helmet, military cloak and leather cuirass. The warrior's horse has no saddle, no horseshoes, no other vestment or protection; 3 - a warrior in a short sleeveless tunic, with a spear and a sword; 4 - archer; 5 - a warrior in a cuirass reinforced with metal strips; on a sling across the chest - a metal sword in a sheath; 6-8 helmet samples

The semi-legendary story of this war, handed down to posterity by Homer, can be considered the beginning of the history of Greece. The campaign of the Achaean Greeks against the city of Troy (Ilion) - the capital of a small, but very strategically important kingdom of the Luvian and Franco-Phrygian tribes, which lay at the entrance to the Dardanelles on the peninsula of Asia Minor - Troad. After a long and stubborn siege, partly described in Homer's Iliad, the city was taken, plundered and destroyed.

1100-600 AD UNION OF GREECE.

Various peoples who migrated to Greece, to the islands of the Aegean Sea and the western coast of Asia Minor, gradually formed a relatively homogeneous Greek people known to history. However, despite all their cultural homogeneity, the mountainous, island and peninsular geography of Greece led to its political fragmentation into many tiny, independent, energetic states. Much of the energy of the Greeks was absorbed by the process of great colonization, which in a sense was a continuation of the migratory impulses that first brought them to Greece. In addition to a love of wandering, they were driven here by the interests of trade and the demographic pressure caused by the rapid growth of the population. This colonization had important military consequences: firstly, the Greeks became a maritime people; secondly, the enterprising Greeks found ample opportunity to maintain a high standard of combat skill overseas; and thirdly, from the experience of battle and observation, the Greeks learned much about the strength and weakness of the barbarians and civilized peoples of the Mediterranean and the Near East.

Sparta. 1000-600 AD BC

About 1000 FOUNDATION OF SPARTA.

The early military development of this small city, located in the middle of the Peloponnesian peninsula, was indistinguishable from other Greek cities in the interior of the country.

SPARTA (Laconia, Lacedaemon) is one of the most famous and powerful city-states of Ancient Greece, famous for its army, which never retreated before the enemy. An ideal policy, Sparta was a state that did not know unrest and civil strife and played a leading role in the political life of the Greek state.

In this amazing country there were neither rich nor poor, so the Spartans called themselves a "community of equals." Although the formidable Sparta was known in all corners of Ancient Greece, few could boast that they had been to the land of Lacedaemon and knew the life and customs of this country well. The Spartans shrouded their state in a veil of secrecy, not allowing either strangers to come to them or their citizens to leave the boundaries of the community. Even merchants did not come to Sparta - the Spartans did not buy anything and did not sell anything.

Circa 700. LYCURGUS TESTAMENT.

Under this semi-legendary leader, Sparta became and forever remained a fully militarized society, constantly maintained in combat readiness. From an early age, a citizen of Sparta had only one goal in life - military service. The state was the army, and the army was the state. The consequence of this was the arrival of the best trained soldiers in Greece and, perhaps, the best in all the history of the world - for its size and time - a small army. In its structure, armament and tactics, the Spartan army differed slightly from the armies of other Greek city-states; it was predominantly infantry-spearmen in protective weapons, recruited from free-born citizens of the upper and middle classes. The fundamental differences were a more perfect individual military skill, a much higher organization, a stricter order, the maneuverability of individual formations and iron discipline, which glorified the Spartans throughout Greece.

About 700-680 BC FIRST Messenian War.

Sparta conquered the rich Messenian valley and became the dominant state in the southern Peloponnese.

About 640-620 years. SECOND Messenian War.

After a long struggle, Sparta recaptured the Messenian Valley and enslaved the surviving inhabitants.

IT WAS the liberation wars of Messenia against Sparta. During the first Messenian War, the Spartans, who had the best military organization, captured the eastern part and the southern coast of Messenia. The vanquished had to give Sparta half of the harvest. The second Messenian war is called the uprising of the Messenians under the leadership of Aristomenes against the rule of Sparta. The rebels made an alliance with some cities of Arcadia and inflicted a number of attacks on the Spartans. To suppress the uprising, Sparta was forced to ask for help from other Greek policies. During a long war, Sparta managed to defeat the Messenians, who were turned into disenfranchised members of the Spartan community - helots. Part of the Messenians moved to the island of Sicily, where they captured the city of Zankloy, later renamed Messana (now Messina).

1. Greece in the early Helladic period (until the end of the 3rd millennium BC). The creators of the Mycenaean culture were the Achaean Greeks, who invaded the Balkan Peninsula at the turn of the 3rd-2nd millennium BC. e. from the north, from the region of the Danube lowland or from the steppes of the Northern Black Sea region, where they originally lived. Moving further south across the territory of the country, which later began to be called by their name, the Achaeans partly destroyed, and partly assimilated the indigenous pre-Greek population of these areas, which later Greek historians called the Pelasgians *. In the neighborhood of the Pelasgians, partly on the mainland, and partly on the islands of the Aegean Sea, two more peoples lived: Lelegs and Carians. According to Herodotus, all of Greece was once called Pelasgia**. Later Greek historians considered the Pelasgians and other ancient inhabitants of the country to be barbarians, although in reality their culture was not only not inferior to the culture of the Greeks themselves, but initially, apparently, in many respects surpassed it. This is evidenced by archaeological sites of the so-called early Helladic era (second half of the 3rd millennium BC),

* The Pelasgians were, apparently, a people related to the Minoans, and, like them, were part of the Aegean language family.
** The Greeks called themselves Hellenes, and their country - Hellas. However, both of these names in this meaning appear in written sources only at a relatively late time - not earlier than the 7th century. BC e.

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open in different places in the Peloponnese, Central and Northern Greece. Modern scholars usually associate them with the pre-Greek populations of these areas.

At the beginning of the III millennium BC. e. (the period of the Chalcolith, or the transition from stone to metal - copper and bronze), the culture of mainland Greece was still closely connected with the early agricultural cultures that existed on the territory of modern Bulgaria and Romania, as well as in the southern Dnieper region (zone of the "Trypillian culture"). Common to this vast region were some motifs used in the painting of pottery, such as spiral motifs and the so-called meander. From the coastal regions of Balkan Greece, these types of ornament also spread to the islands of the Aegean Sea, were assimilated by Cycladic and Cretan art. With the onset of the Early Bronze Age (mid-III millennium BC), the culture of Greece begins to noticeably outstrip other cultures of southeastern Europe in its development. It acquires new characteristics that were not previously characteristic of it.

Among the settlements of the early Helladic era, the citadel in Lerna (on the southern coast of Argolis) stands out. The citadel, located on a low hill near the sea, was surrounded by a massive defensive wall with semicircular towers. In its central part, a large (25x12 m) rectangular building was discovered - the so-called house of tiles (fragments of tiles that once covered the roof of the building were found in large numbers during excavations). In one of its premises, archaeologists have collected a whole collection (more than 150) of seal impressions pressed into clay. Once upon a time, these clay "labels", apparently, sealed vessels with wine, oil and other supplies. This interesting find indicates that there was a large administrative and economic center in Lerna, which in part already anticipated the later palaces of the Mycenaean time in its character and purpose. Similar centers existed in some other places. Their traces have been found, for example, in Tiryns (also southern Argolis, near Lerna) and in Akovitika (Messenia in the southwest of the Peloponnese).

Along with the citadels, in which, apparently, representatives of the tribal nobility lived, in Greece of the early Helladic era there were also settlements of another type - small, most often very densely built-up villages with narrow passageways-streets between rows of houses. Some of these villages, especially those located near the sea, were fortified, while others lacked any defensive structures. Examples of such settlements are Rafina (east coast of Attica) and Zigouries (northeastern Peloponnese, near Corinth). Judging by the nature of archaeological finds, the bulk of the population in settlements of this type were peasant farmers. In many houses, special pits were opened for pouring grain, coated with clay from the inside, as well as large clay vessels for storing various supplies. At that time, a specialized craft was already emerging in Greece, represented mainly by such industries as pottery and metalworking. The number of professional artisans was still very small, and their products provided mainly local demand, only an insignificant part of them found a market outside the community. So, during the excavations of Rafina, a blacksmith shop was opened, the owner of which, obviously, supplied local farmers with bronze tools.

The available archaeological data suggest that in the early Helladic time, at least from the second

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half of the III millennium BC. e., in Greece the process of formation of classes and the state had already begun. In this regard, the already noted fact of the coexistence of two different types of settlements is especially important: the citadel of the Lerna type and the communal settlement (village) of the Rafina or Ziguries type. However, the early Helladic culture did not have time to become a real civilization. Its development was forcibly interrupted as a result of the next movement of tribes across the territory of Balkan Greece.

2. Invasion of the Achaean Greeks. Formation of the first states. This movement dates back to the last centuries of the 3rd millennium BC. e., or the end of the Early Bronze Age. Around 2300 BC e. the citadel of Lerna and some other settlements of the early Helladic time perished in the flames of a fire. After some time, a number of new settlements appear in places where they did not exist before. In the same period, certain changes are observed in the material culture of Central Greece and the Peloponnese. For the first time, ceramics made using a potter's wheel appear. Its examples are the "Minian vases" - monochrome (usually gray or black) carefully polished vessels, reminiscent of metal products with their shiny matte surface. In some places, during the excavations, the bones of a horse were found, previously, apparently, unknown within the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula. Many historians and archaeologists associate all these changes in the life of mainland Greece with the arrival of the first wave of Greek-speaking tribes, or Achaeans *. If this assumption is to some extent justified, then the turn of the III-II millennium BC. e.** can be considered the beginning of a new stage in the history of ancient Greece - the stage of the formation of the Greek people. The basis of this long and very complex process was the interaction and gradual merging of two cultures: the culture of the newcomer Achaean tribes who spoke various dialects of the Greek or, rather, proto-Greek language, and the culture of the local pre-Greek population. A significant part of it was, apparently, assimilated by the newcomers, as evidenced by the numerous words borrowed by the Greeks from their predecessors - the Pelasgians or Lelegs, for example, the names of a number of plants: "cypress", "hyacinth", "narcissus", etc.

The formation of civilization in mainland Greece was a complex and controversial process. In the first centuries of the II millennium BC. e. there is a clear slowdown in the pace of socio-economic and cultural development. Despite the emergence of such important technical and economic innovations as the potter's wheel and a wagon or a war chariot with horses harnessed to it, the culture of the so-called Middle Helladic period (XX-XVII centuries BC) is on the whole noticeably inferior to the culture that preceded it.

*This name is largely arbitrary. For the first time it appears only in the Homeric epic, that is, almost a thousand-plus years after the alleged Greek invasion of the southern regions of the Balkan Peninsula.
** However, some researchers attribute the first appearance of Greek-speaking tribes in the Peloponnese and Central Greece to an earlier one (middle or even the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC) or, conversely, to a later one (XVII-XVI centuries BC). e.) time. There is also no complete unity of opinion on the question of the ancestral home of the Greeks. Most scientists place it in the northern part of the Balkan Peninsula or even further north - on the Danube Plain. However, there is another opinion, according to which the Greeks came to the Balkans from Asia Minor. The final answer to this question depends on the solution of the broader and more complex problem of the settlement of Indo-Europeans throughout Eurasia.

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tour of the early Helladic era. In the settlements and burials of this time, metal items are relatively rare. On the other hand, tools made of stone and bone reappear, which indicates a certain decline in the productive forces of Greek society. Monumental architectural structures like the already mentioned "house of tiles" in Lerna are disappearing. Instead of them, nondescript adobe houses are built, sometimes rectangular, sometimes oval or rounded on one side. The settlements of the Middle Helladic period, as a rule, were fortified and located on hills with steep steep slopes. Apparently, this time was extremely turbulent and disturbing, which forced individual communities to take measures to ensure their safety.

A typical example of a Middle Helladic settlement can be considered the ancient settlement of Malti-Dorion in Messenia. The entire settlement was located on the top of a high hill, surrounded by a ring defensive wall with five passages. In the center of the settlement, on a low terrace, stood the so-called palace (probably the house of the tribal leader) - a complex of five rooms with a total area of ​​130 square meters with a hearth-altar made of stone in the largest of the rooms. Close to the "palace" adjoined the premises of several craft workshops. The rest of the settlement consisted of houses of ordinary community members, usually very small, and warehouses built in one or two rows along the defensive wall. A rather large free space was left between the wall and the central terrace, most likely used as a cattle corral. The very layout of Malti, the monotony of its residential development testify to the still undisturbed internal unity of the tribal community that lived here. The absence of clearly expressed social and property differences in the Achaean society of the Middle Helladic period is also evidenced by the burials of this period, the vast majority of which are standard, with very modest accompanying inventory.

Only at the end of the Middle Helladic period did the situation in Balkan Greece begin to gradually change. A period of prolonged stagnation and decline was replaced by a period of new economic and cultural upsurge. The process of class formation interrupted at the very beginning resumed. Within the Achaean tribal communities, powerful aristocratic families stand out, settled in impregnable citadels and thus sharply isolated from the mass of ordinary fellow tribesmen. Great wealth is concentrated in the hands of the tribal nobility, partly created by the labor of local peasants and artisans, partly captured during military raids on the lands of neighbors. In various regions of the Peloponnese, Central and Northern Greece, the first and still rather primitive state formations arise. Thus, the preconditions for the formation of another civilization of the Bronze Age were formed, and starting from the 16th century. BC e. Greece entered a new, or, as it is usually called, Mycenaean, period of its history.

3. Formation of the Mycenaean civilization. In the early stages of its development, the Mycenaean culture was very strongly influenced by the more advanced Minoan civilization. The Achaeans borrowed many important elements of their culture from Crete, for example, some cults and religious rites, fresco painting, plumbing and sewage, styles of men's and women's clothing, some types of weapons, and finally, a linear syllabary. All this does not mean, however, that the Mycenaean culture was just a minor peripheral variant of the culture of Minoan Crete, and the Mycenaean settlements in the Peloponnese and in other places

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takh were simply Minoan colonies in a foreign “barbarian” country (A. Evans adhered to this opinion). Many characteristic features of the Mycenaean culture allow us to believe that it arose on local Greek, and partly also pre-Greek soil and was successively associated with the most ancient cultures of this region, dating back to the Early and Middle Bronze Age.

The earliest monument of the Mycenaean culture are the so-called shaft graves. The first six graves of this type were discovered in 1876 by G. Schliemann within the walls of the Mycenaean citadel. For over three millennia, shaft graves have harbored truly fabulous wealth. Archaeologists have recovered from them many precious things made of gold, silver, ivory and other materials. Massive gold rings, carved diadems, earrings, bracelets, gold and silver utensils, magnificently decorated weapons, including swords, daggers, shells made of gold leaf, and, finally, completely unique golden masks that hid the faces of the buried* were found here. Many centuries later, in the Iliad, Homer will call Mycenae "rich in gold", and recognize the Mycenaean king Agamemnon as the most powerful of all the Achaean leaders who took part in the famous Trojan War. Schliemann's finds gave visible evidence of the truth of the words of the great poet, which many had previously treated with distrust. True, Schliemann was mistaken in believing that he managed to find the grave of Agamemnon, who was villainously murdered by his wife Clytemnestra after returning from a campaign against Troy: the shaft graves he discovered date back to the 16th century. BC e., while the Trojan War took place, apparently, already in the XIII-XII centuries. Nevertheless, the enormous riches discovered in the graves of this necropolis show that even at that distant time Mycenae was the center of a large state. Buried in these magnificent tombs, the Mycenaean kings were warlike and ferocious people, greedy for other people's riches. For the sake of robbery, they undertook long campaigns by land and sea and returned to their homeland, burdened with booty. It is unlikely that the gold and silver that accompanied the royal dead to the afterlife fell into their hands through a peaceful exchange. It is much more likely that it was captured in the war. The warlike inclinations of the rulers of Mycenae are evidenced, firstly, by the abundance of weapons in their tombs and, secondly, by the images of bloody scenes of war and hunting, which adorn some of the things found in the graves, as well as stone steles that stood on the graves themselves. Particularly interesting is the lion-hunt scene depicted on one of the inlaid bronze daggers. All signs: exceptional dynamism, expression, accuracy of drawing and extraordinary thoroughness of execution - indicate that before us is the work of the best Minoan jewelers. This wonderful work of art could have come to Mycenae along with

* The burials of another Mycenaean necropolis discovered by Greek archaeologists at the foot of the citadel near the so-called "voice of Clytemnestra" are not so rich, although many valuable and rare items were found in them, including vessels made of gold, silver and rock crystal, bronze swords and daggers, golden diadems, beads made of amber and semi-precious stones, and even one funeral mask made of electron (an alloy of gold and silver). The presence of two royal necropolises in such close proximity to each other can be explained as follows: in one of them, the lower one, or, as it is conventionally called, circle B, kings from an older dynasty that ruled in Mycenae from the end of the 17th century were buried. . BC e., while in the upper necropolis, or circle A, they buried the kings of another, later dynasty, which pushed the first one out of power.

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military booty captured by the Achaeans during the next pirate raid to the coast of Crete, or, according to another assumption, was made in Mycenae themselves by a Cretan jeweler who clearly tried to adapt to the tastes of his new owners (plots of this kind are almost never found in the Minoan art of Crete).

The heyday of the Mycenaean civilization can be considered the XV-XIII centuries. BC e. At this time, its distribution zone goes far beyond Argolis, where, apparently, it originally arose and developed, covering the entire Peloponnese, Central Greece (Attica, Boeotia, Phokis), a significant part of Northern (Thessaly), as well as many of the islands Aegean Sea. A uniform culture existed throughout this vast territory, represented by standard types of dwellings and burials. Some types of ceramics, clay cult figurines, ivory items, etc. were also common to this entire zone. Judging by the materials of the excavations, Mycenaean Greece was a rich and prosperous country with a large population scattered over many small towns and villages.

The main centers of Mycenaean culture were, as in Crete, palaces. The most significant of them were discovered in Mycenae and Tiryns (Argolis), in Pylos (Messenia, southwestern Peloponnese), in Athens (Attica), Thebes and Orchomenus (Boeotia), and finally, in northern Greece in Iolka (Thessaly). The architecture of Mycenaean palaces has a number of features that distinguish them from the palaces of Minoan Crete. The most important of these differences is that almost all Mycenaean palaces were fortified and were real citadels, reminiscent of their external appearance.

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overlooking castles of medieval feudal lords. The powerful walls of the Mycenaean citadels, built from huge, almost untreated stone blocks, still make a huge impression on those who saw them, testifying to the high engineering art of the Achaean architects. The famous Tiryns citadel can serve as a magnificent example of Mycenaean fortifications. First of all, the monumental dimensions of this structure are striking. Raw blocks of limestone, in some cases reaching a weight of 12 tons, form the outer walls of the fortress, the thickness of which exceeded 4.5 m, while the height only in the surviving part reached 7.5 m. In some places vaulted galleries with casemates were built inside the walls , in which weapons and food supplies were stored (the thickness of the walls here reaches 17 m). The entire system of defensive structures of the Tiryns citadel was carefully thought out in order to protect the defenders of the fortress from any unforeseen accidents. The approach to the main gate of the citadel was arranged in such a way that the enemy approaching them was forced to turn to the wall, on which the defenders of the fortress were, with their right side, not covered by a shield. But even once inside the citadel, the enemy stumbled upon the inner defensive wall that protected its main part - the acropolis with the royal palace. In order to get to the palace, he had to overcome a narrow passage that runs between the outer and inner walls and is divided into two compartments by two wooden gates. Here he inevitably fell under the destructive crossfire of throwing weapons, which the defenders of the citadel brought down on him from all sides. So that the besieged inhabitants of the citadel would not suffer from a lack of water, in its northern part (the so-called lower city) a

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There is an underground passage ending about 20 m from the walls of the fortress at a source carefully hidden from the eyes of the enemy.

Among the actual palace buildings of the Mycenaean period, the well-preserved palace of Nestor * in Pylos (Western Messenia, near Navarino Bay), discovered in 1939 by the American archaeologist C. Bledgen, is of greatest interest. With a certain resemblance to the palaces of Minoan Crete (it manifests itself mainly in the elements of interior decoration - columns of the Cretan type thickening upwards, in wall paintings, etc.), the Pylos Palace differs sharply from them in its clear symmetrical layout, which is completely uncharacteristic of Minoan architecture. The main premises of the palace are located on the same axis and form a closed rectangular complex. In order to get inside this complex, it was necessary to sequentially pass the entrance portico (propylaea), a small courtyard, another portico, a vestibule (prodomos), from which the visitor got into a vast rectangular hall - a megaron, which is an integral and most important part of any Mycenaean palace. In the center of the megaron was a large round hearth, the smoke from which escaped through a hole in the ceiling. Four wooden columns stood around the hearth, supporting the ceiling of the hall. The walls of the megaron were painted with frescoes. In one of the corners of the hall, a large fragment of a painting depicting a man playing the lyre has been preserved. The floor of the megaron was decorated with multi-colored geometric patterns, and in one place, approximately where the royal throne should have been, a large octopus is depicted. Megaron is the heart of the palace. Here the king of Pylos feasted with his nobles and guests. Official receptions were held here. Outside, two long corridors adjoined the megaron. The doors of numerous pantries opened in them, in which several thousand vessels were found for storing and transporting oil and other products. Judging by these finds, the Pylos Palace was a major exporter of olive oil, which was already highly valued in the neighboring countries of Greece at that time. Like Cretan palaces, Nestor's palace was built with the basic requirements of comfort and hygiene in mind. The building had specially equipped bathrooms, plumbing and sewerage. But the most interesting find was made in a small room near the main entrance. The palace archive was kept here, numbering about a thousand clay tablets inscribed with signs of a linear syllabic script, very similar to that used in the already mentioned documents from the Palace of Knossos (the so-called letter B), although the texts from Pylos written in this script belong to more late period (late 13th c. BC e.). The tablets are well preserved due to the fact that they fell into the fire of the fire that destroyed the palace. It was the first archive found on the territory of mainland Greece.

Among the most interesting architectural monuments of the Mycenaean era are the majestic royal tombs, called "tholos", or "domed tombs". Tholos are usually located near palaces and citadels, being, apparently, the place of the last rest of the members of the reigning dynasty, as in earlier times the shaft graves. The largest of the Mycenaean tholos - the so-called tomb of Atreus - is located in Mycenae near

* The name "Palace of Nestor" is as conditional as the "Palace of Minos" at Knossos. Nestor, according to Homer, is the old and wise king of Pylos, one of the main participants in the campaign against Troy.

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the southern slope of the hill on which the citadel stood. The tomb itself is hidden inside an artificial mound. In order to get into it, you need to go through a long stone-lined corridor - dromos, leading into the depths of the mound. The entrance to the tomb is blocked by two huge stone blocks (one of them, the inner one, weighs 120 tons). The inner chamber of the tomb of Atreus is a monumental room, round in plan, with a high (about 13.5 m) domed vault. The walls and vault of the tomb are made of superbly hewn stone slabs and were originally decorated with gilded bronze rosettes. Connected to the main chamber is another side chamber, somewhat smaller, rectangular in plan and not so well finished. In all likelihood, it was here that the royal burial, plundered in antiquity, was placed.

4. Socio-economic structure. The construction of such grandiose buildings as the tomb of Atreus or the citadel of Tiryns was impossible without the widespread and systematic use of forced labor. In order to cope with such a task, it was necessary, firstly, to have a large mass of cheap labor, and secondly, a sufficiently developed state apparatus capable of organizing and directing this force to fulfill the set goal. Obviously, the lords of Mycenae and Tiryns had both. Until recently, the internal structure of the Achaean states of the Peloponnese remained a mystery to scientists, since in solving this issue they could rely only on archaeological material obtained through excavations. After the two English linguists M. Ventris and J. Chadwick managed to find the key to understanding the signs of linear syllabic writing on the tablets from Knossos and Pylos in the 50s, historians had another important source of information at their disposal.

As it turned out, almost all of these tablets are "accounting" accounts, which were kept from year to year in the economy of the Pylos and Knossos palaces. These concise records contain the most valuable historical information, making it possible to judge the economy of the palace states of the Mycenaean era, their social and political structure. From the tablets we learn, for example, that at that time slavery already existed in Greece and the labor of slaves was widely used in various sectors of the economy. Among the documents of the Pylos archive, a lot of space is occupied by information about the slaves employed in the palace economy. Each such list indicated how many female slaves there were, what they did (they mention grain millers, spinners, seamstresses and even bathhouse attendants), how many children they had: boys and girls (obviously, these were the children of slaves born in captivity), what they received rations, the place where they worked (it could be Pylos itself or one of the towns in the territory subject to it). The number of individual groups could be significant - up to more than a hundred people. The total number of female slaves and children known from the inscriptions of the Pylos archive should have been about 1,500 people. Along with working detachments, which include only women and children, detachments consisting only of male slaves appear in the inscriptions, although they are relatively rare and numerically, as a rule, small - no more than ten people in each. Obviously, there were more female slaves in general, from which it follows that slavery at that time was still at a low stage of development.

Along with ordinary slaves, the Pylos inscriptions also mention the so-called "God's servants and slaves." Usually they rent land in small plots from the community (damos) or from private individuals, from which it can be concluded that they do not have their own land.

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was and, consequently, they were not considered full members of the community, although they were not, apparently, slaves in the proper sense of the word. The very term "God's servant" probably means that the representatives of this social stratum served in the temples of the main gods of the Pylos kingdom and therefore enjoyed the patronage of the temple administration.

The bulk of the working population in the Mycenaean states, as in Crete, were free or, rather, semi-free peasants and artisans. Formally, they were not considered slaves, but their freedom was of a very relative nature, since they were all economically dependent on the palace and were subject to various duties, both labor and in kind, in its favor. Separate districts and towns of the Pylos kingdom were obliged to provide a certain number of artisans and workers of various professions at the disposal of the palace. The inscriptions mention masons, tailors, potters, gunsmiths, goldsmiths, even perfumers and doctors. For their work, artisans received payment in kind from the palace treasury, like officials in the public service. Absence from work was recorded in special documents. Among the artisans who worked for the palace, blacksmiths occupied a special position. Usually they received from the palace the so-called talasiya, i.e., a task or a lesson (the inscriptions specifically note how many blacksmiths in each individual locality have already received talasiya, and how many are left without it). A special official, who was obliged to supervise the work of the blacksmith, handed him an already weighed piece of bronze, and at the end of the work he accepted the products made from this bronze. Very little is known about the social status of the blacksmiths and the artisans of other professions appearing in the tablets. Probably, some of them were considered "people of the palace" and were in constant service either in the palace itself or in one of the sanctuaries associated with it. So, in some of the Pylos tablets, “the blacksmiths of the mistress” are mentioned (“the mistress” is a common epithet for the supreme goddess of the Pylos pantheon). Another category of artisans, apparently, were free community members, for whom work for the palace was only a temporary duty. Craftsmen who were involved in public service were not deprived of personal freedom. They could own land and even slaves like all other members of the community.

Documents from the archives of the Pylos Palace also contain important information about the land tenure system. An analysis of the texts of the tablets allows us to conclude that all the land in the Pylos kingdom was divided into two main categories: 1) the land of the palace, or state, and 2) the land that belonged to individual territorial communities. State land, with the exception of that part of it that was under the direct control of the palace administration, was distributed on the basis of conditional holding, that is, on condition that one or another service was performed in favor of the palace, between dignitaries from among the military and priestly nobility. In turn, these

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the holders could lease the received land in small plots to some other persons, for example, the already mentioned “God's servants”. The territorial (rural) community, or damos, as it is usually called in the tablets, used the land belonging to it in approximately the same way. The main part of the communal land was apparently divided into allotments with approximately the same yield. These allotments were distributed within the community itself among its constituent families. The land left after the partition was again leased out. Palace scribes with the same zeal registered in their tablets plots of both categories. It follows that the communal lands, as well as the lands that belonged directly to the palace, were under the control of the palace administration and were exploited by it in the interests of the centralized state.

In the documents of the Knossos and Pylos archives, the palace economy of the Mycenaean era appears to us as a widely branched economic system, covering almost all major industries. The private economy, although, apparently, it already existed in the Mycenaean states, was in fiscal (tax) dependence on the "public sector" and played only a subordinate, secondary role under it. The state monopolized the most important branches of handicraft production, such as blacksmithing, and established the strictest control over the distribution and consumption of scarce raw materials, primarily metal. Not a single kilogram of bronze, not a single spearhead or arrowhead could escape the vigilant gaze of the palace bureaucracy. All metal, which was at the disposal of both the state and private individuals, was carefully weighed, taken into account and recorded by the scribes of the palace archive on clay tablets. The centralized palace or temple economy is typical of the oldest class societies that existed in the Mediterranean and the Middle East during the Bronze Age. We encounter diverse variants of this economic system in the III-II millennium BC. e. in the temple cities of Sumer and Syria, in dynastic Egypt, in the Hittite kingdom and the palaces of Minoan Crete.

5. Organization of public administration. Based on the principles of the strictest accounting and control, the palace economy needed a developed bureaucratic apparatus for its normal functioning. Documents from the Pylos and Knossos archives show this apparatus in action, although many details of its organization remain unclear due to the extreme laconicism of the texts of the tablets. In addition to the staff of scribes who served directly in the palace office and archives, the tablets mention numerous officials of the fiscal department who were in charge of collecting taxes and supervising the performance of various kinds of duties. So, from the documents of the Pylos archive, we learn that the entire territory of the kingdom was divided into 16 tax districts, headed by governors-koreters. Each of them was responsible for the regular receipt of taxes from the district entrusted to him to the palace treasury (the taxes included primarily metal: gold and bronze, as well as various types of agricultural products). Subordinate to the coreter were lower-ranking officials who managed individual settlements that were part of the district. In the tablets they are called "basilei". Basilei supervised production, for example, the work of blacksmiths who were in the public service. The coreters and basilei themselves were under the vigilant control of the central government.

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The palace constantly reminded the local administration of itself, sending messengers and couriers, inspectors and auditors in all directions.

Who set in motion all this complex mechanism and directed its work? The tablets of the Mycenaean archives give an answer to this question. At the head of the palace state was a man called "vanaka", which corresponds to the Greek "(v)anakt", i.e. "lord", "ruler", "king". Unfortunately, the inscriptions say nothing about the political functions and rights of the Vanakt. Therefore, we cannot judge with certainty what character his power had. It is clear, however, that the Vanakt occupied a special privileged position among the ruling nobility. The land allotment belonging to the king - temen (one of the documents of the Pylos archive mentions it) - was three times larger than the land allotments of other senior officials: its profitability is determined by the figure of 1800 measures. At the disposal of the king was numerous servants. In the tablets, the “royal potter”, “royal fuller”, “royal gunsmith” are mentioned. Among the officials of the highest rank subordinate to the king of Pylos, one of the most prominent places was occupied by the lavaget, that is, the governor or commander. As the title itself shows, his duties included commanding the armed forces of the Pylos kingdom. In addition to vanakt and lavaget, other officials are mentioned in the inscriptions, denoted by the terms “telest”, “eket”, “damat”, etc. The exact meaning of these terms remains unknown. However, it seems quite probable that this circle of the highest nobility, closely connected with the palace and constituting the closest environment of the Pylos vanakt, included, firstly, the priests of the main temples of the state (the priesthood generally enjoyed very great influence in Pylos, as in Crete), secondly, the highest military ranks, primarily the leaders of the war chariot detachments, which in those days were the main shock

strength on the battlefield. Thus, the Pylos society was like a pyramid built according to a strictly hierarchical principle. The upper step in this hierarchy of estates was occupied by the military-priestly nobility, headed by the king and the military commander, who concentrated in their hands the most important functions of both an economic and a political nature. Directly subordinate to the ruling elite of society were numerous officials who acted locally and in the center and together constituted a powerful apparatus for the oppression and exploitation of the working population of the Pylos kingdom. The peasants and artisans who formed the basis of this entire pyramid did not take any part in the administration of the state *. Lower than they were the slaves,

*There is an opinion according to which the term “damos” (people) found in the tablets of the Pylos archive denotes a popular assembly representing the entire free population of the Pylos kingdom. More likely, however, is another interpretation of this term: damos is one of the territorial communities (districts) that make up the state (cf. the later Athenian demos).

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employed in various jobs in the palace economy.

6. Relationships of the Achaean kingdoms. Trojan War. The decline of the Mycenaean civilization. The decipherment of Linear B could not solve all the problems of the socio-economic and political history of the Mycenaean era. Many important questions still remain unanswered. We do not know, for example, what kind of relations existed between the individual palace states: did they constitute, as some scholars think, a single Achaean power under the auspices of the king of Mycenae - the most powerful of all the rulers of Greece at that time - or did they lead a completely separate and independent existence? The latter seems more likely. It is hardly coincidental that almost every Mycenaean palace was surrounded by powerful defensive walls, which were supposed to reliably protect its inhabitants from the hostile outside world and, above all, from their closest neighbors. The cyclopean walls of Mycenae and Tiryns testify to the almost continuous enmity of these two states, which divided the fertile plain of Argos between them. Greek myths tell of the bloody strife of the Achaean rulers, of the stubborn struggle for supremacy waged by the rival dynasties of Central Greece and the Peloponnese. One of them tells, for example, that the seven kings of Argos went on a campaign against Thebes - the richest of the cities of Boeotia - and after a series of unsuccessful attempts and the death of some of them, they took and destroyed the city. Excavations have shown that the Mycenaean palace in Thebes was indeed burned and destroyed in the 14th century. BC e. long before other palaces and citadels perished.

The tense relations that existed between the Achaean states throughout almost their entire history do not exclude, however, that at certain moments they could unite for some kind of joint military enterprises. An example of such an enterprise is the famous Trojan War, about which Homer narrates. According to the Iliad, almost all the main regions of Achaean Greece took part in the campaign against Troy, from Thessaly in the north to Crete and Rhodes in the south. The Mycenaean king Agamemnon was elected leader of the entire army with the general consent of the participants in the campaign. It is possible that Homer exaggerated the true scale of the Achaean coalition and embellished the campaign itself. However

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the less historical reality of this event is now almost no one in doubt*. The Trojan War was only one, although, apparently, the most significant of the manifestations of the military and colonization expansion of the Achaeans in Asia Minor and the Eastern Mediterranean. During the XIV-XIII centuries. BC e. numerous Achaean settlements (they are indicated by large accumulations of typically Mycenaean ceramics) appeared on the western and southern coasts of Asia Minor, the islands adjacent to them - Rhodes and Cyprus - and even on the Syro-Phoenician coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Everywhere in these places the Mycenaean Greeks seize the trade initiative from the hands of their Minoan predecessors**. Crete itself, as we have already said, was even earlier (in the 15th century) colonized by the Achaeans and became the main springboard in their advance to the East and South. Successfully combining trade with piracy, the Achaeans soon become one of the most prominent political forces in the Eastern Mediterranean. In documents from the capital of the Hittite kingdom, Bogazkeya, the state of Ahkhiyava (probably one of the Achaean states in the western part of Asia Minor and on the adjacent islands) is put on a par with the strongest powers of that era: Egypt, Babylon, Assyria. These documents show that the rulers of Ahkhiyava maintained close diplomatic contacts with the Hittite kings. Even at the turn of the XIII-XII centuries. detachments of Achaean miners, who came from Crete or from the Peloponnese, took part in the raids of the coalition of "peoples of the sea" on Egypt. In the Egyptian inscriptions telling about these events, along with other tribes, the peoples of Ekevesh and Denen are mentioned, which may correspond to the Greek Ahiva and Danaoi - the usual names of the Achaeans in Homer. The colonial expansion of the Achaean states also covered a part of the Western Mediterranean, basically the same areas that would be mastered by the Greeks much later, in the era of the Great Colonization. Excavations have shown that a Mycenaean settlement existed at the site

*However, it should be borne in mind that none of the archaeologists, including Schliemann and Bledgen, has yet been able to prove that the Achaean Greeks were really responsible for the death of Troy. The Mycenaean ceramics found during the excavations of the Trojan settlement could have got there through ordinary trade contacts. Troy Vila itself, which Bledzhen and after him many other historians and archaeologists identify with Homeric Troy, bears little resemblance to the city of King Priam described in the Iliad. It is hard to believe that the huge army of Agamemnon, gathered from all over Greece, spent so much time and effort on the siege of this small village, which consisted of several dozen nondescript adobe houses, as ancient poets tell about it.
** The reasons for the special interest of the Mycenaean states in trade with the population of Cyprus, Syria and Asia Minor can be understood by an interesting find made underwater near Cape Gelidonium (southern coast of Turkey). Here the remains of an ancient ship with a large load of bronze ingots were discovered, apparently intended for one of the Achaean palaces of the Peloponnese or Central Greece. No less sensational discovery was made in 1964 in Greece itself during excavations at the site of the ancient Theban citadel of Cadmea. In one of the rooms of the palace that once stood here, archaeologists found 36 stone cylinders of Babylonian origin. On 14 of them, cuneiform seals were found with the name of one of the kings of the so-called Kassite dynasty, which ruled in Babylon in the 14th century. BC e. This find clearly shows that during this period the rulers of Thebes - the largest Mycenaean center in Boeotia - maintained close relations, not only trade, but, apparently, also diplomatic, with the kings of the distant Mesopotamian state.

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the later Greek city of Tarentum on the southern coast of Italy. Significant finds of Mycenaean pottery have been made on the island of Ischia in the Gulf of Naples, on the east coast of Sicily, in the Aeolian Islands and even in Malta.

At a time when Egypt repelled the onslaught of the "peoples of the sea", clouds were already gathering over Achaean Greece itself. The last decades of the thirteenth century BC e. were a very turbulent and turbulent time. In Mycenae, Tiryns, Athens and other places old fortifications are hastily restored and new fortifications are erected. A massive wall is erected on the Isthma (a narrow isthmus connecting Central Greece with the Peloponnese), clearly designed to protect the Mycenaean states in the south of the Balkan Peninsula from some kind of danger looming from the north. Among the frescoes of the Pylos Palace, one attracts attention, created shortly before his death. The artist depicted on it a bloody battle, in which, on the one hand, Achaean warriors in armor and characteristic horned helmets take part, on the other, some barbarians dressed in animal skins, with long flowing hair. Apparently, these savages were those people who were so feared and hated by the inhabitants of the Mycenaean strongholds, against whom they built more and more fortifications. Archaeological studies show that in the immediate vicinity of the main centers of the Mycenaean civilization in the north and north-west of the Balkan Peninsula (the areas called in ancient times Ma-

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Kedonia and Epirus) there was a completely different life, very far from the luxury and splendor of the Achaean palaces. Here lived tribes that stood at an extremely low level of development and, obviously, had not yet left the stage of the tribal system. We can judge their culture from the crude hand-made pottery and the primitive clay idols that make up the accompanying inventory of the vast majority of burials in these areas. It should, however, be noted that, for all their backwardness, the tribes of Macedonia and Epirus were already familiar with the use of metal and their weapons in a purely technical sense, apparently, were not inferior to the Mycenaean.
At the end of the XIII century. the tribal world of the entire northern Balkan region, due to some reasons unknown to us, began to move *. A huge mass of barbarian tribes, which included both peoples who spoke various dialects of the Greek language (this includes Dorian and Western Greek dialects close to it), and, apparently, peoples of non-Greek, Thracian-Illyrian origin, removed from their homes and rushed south to the rich and prosperous regions of Central Greece and the Peloponnese. The route along which the invasion took place is marked by traces of ruins and conflagrations. On their way, the aliens captured and destroyed many Mycenaean settlements. Died in the fire of the Pylos Palace **. The very place on which he stood was consigned to oblivion. The citadels of Mycenae and Tiryns were seriously damaged, although, apparently, they were not captured. The economy of the Mycenaean states suffered irreparable damage. This is evidenced by the rapid decline of handicrafts and trade in the areas most affected by the invasion, as well as a sharp decline in population. Thus, at the turn of the XIII-XII centuries. Mycenaean civilization suffered a terrible blow, after which it could no longer recover.

*One of the results of this movement was the migration to Asia Minor of a large group of Phrygian-Thracian tribes that previously lived in the northern part of the Balkan Peninsula. With the same events in the Balkans, the formation of the already mentioned union of the “peoples of the sea”, under the blows of which at the beginning of the 12th century. the great Hittite kingdom fell.
** Some modern scholars believe that in the first invasion, which ended with the fall of Pylos, the Dorians did not participate at all. They came later (already in the XII or even XI century), when the resistance of the Mycenaean Greeks was finally broken.

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The question naturally arises: why did it fall, having existed within the framework of the early class society for several centuries? Why did the Achaean states, which had a well-organized military machine, significant economic resources, high culture and trained personnel of the administrative apparatus, fail to resist the scattered hordes of conquerors who did not go beyond the framework of the primitive tribal system? There are several reasons for the decline of the Mycenaean civilization.

First of all, one should note the internal weakness of early class relations in Greece in the 2nd millennium BC. e. generally. Early class relations, which presuppose the functioning of more complex than primitive relations of domination and subordination, social differentiation and the separation of various social strata, did not penetrate deep into the thickness of people's life, did not penetrate the entire social structure from top to bottom. If the inhabitants of the Mycenaean "palace centers" were divided into several social strata and class groups, ranging from disenfranchised slaves to court nobility living in palace luxury, then the bulk of the population were tribal communities and were engaged in primitive agriculture. These tribal communities retained their collectivist structure and were slightly affected by social and property differentiation, although they were subjected to cruel exploitation by the inhabitants of the Mycenaean palaces.

Such deep dualism in Mycenaean societies is evidence of the fragility of class relations as a whole, which could be destroyed relatively easily by external conquest. Moreover, the destruction of the Mycenaean palaces - isolated centers of high culture, which acted mainly as centers of consumption and took little part in the organization of social production, was sought by the inhabitants of tribal villages.

One of the important reasons for the fall of the Achaean states was the depletion of internal resources, the waste of huge material and human reserves as a result of the many years of the Trojan War and

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bloody civil strife between individual Achaean kingdoms and within the ruling dynasties. With a low level of production and a small amount of surplus product squeezed out of tribal communities, all funds were spent on the maintenance of the voracious court aristocracy, a solid bureaucratic apparatus, and the military organization. Under these conditions, additional spending on devastating wars (including the Trojan war) could not but lead to an overstrain of internal potential and

The refined Achaean civilization, with its brilliant façade, was an internally unstable society. It did not so much build up social production as wasted the available resources, undermining the foundations of its power and well-being. During the beginning at the turn of the XIII-XII centuries. BC e. large tribal movements in the Balkans and Asia Minor (among them were the Dorian tribes), the Mycenaean states, internally weakened by a complex of deep contradictions, could not withstand the onslaught of warlike tribes. The rapid disintegration of the largest Mycenaean states that followed the tribal movements is explained not so much by the strength of the northern barbarians as by the fragility of their internal structure, the basis of which was, as we have seen, the systematic exploitation and oppression of the rural population by a small palace elite closed in itself and its bureaucratic apparatus. It was enough to destroy the ruling elite of the palace states for this whole complex structure to fall apart like a house of cards.

The subsequent course of events is largely unclear: the archaeological material at our disposal is too scarce. The main part of the barbarian tribes that took part in the invasion, apparently, could not stay in the territory they had captured (the devastated country could not feed such a mass of people) and retreated to the north - to their original positions. Only small tribal groups of Dorians and related Western Greek peoples settled in the coastal regions of the Peloponnese (Argolis, areas near Istma, Achaia, Elis, Laconia and Messenia). Separate islands of the Mycenaean culture continued to exist interspersed with the newly founded settlements of aliens until the end of the 12th century. At this time, the last of the survivors of the catastrophe of the late XIII century. Achaean citadels fell into final decline and were forever abandoned by their inhabitants. At the same time, mass emigration was observed from the territory of Balkan Greece to the East - to Asia Minor and to the nearby islands. On the one hand, the surviving remnants of the Achaean population of the Peloponnese, Central and Northern Greece, who are now called Ionians and Aeolians, took part in the colonization movement, on the other hand, the Dorian new settlers. The result of this movement was the formation on the western coast of Asia Minor and on the islands of Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Rhodes and other many new settlements, among which the largest were the Ionian cities of Miletus, Ephesus, Colophon, the Aeolian Smyrna, and the Dorian Halicarnassus. Here, in the Ionian and Aeolian colonies, several centuries later, a new version of Greek culture arose, sharply different from the Mycenaean civilization that preceded it, although it absorbed some of its main elements.

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As in the countries of the Ancient East, in particular in Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Eastern Mediterranean, the process of historical development in the Aegean basin in the III-II millennium BC. e. proceeded within the framework of the general laws of the decomposition of the tribal organization through its social differentiation, caused by the improvement of the productive forces, and social tension, which, in turn, determined the emergence of the state apparatus, designed to ensure a certain order in society and create conditions for its further development. As in the countries of the Ancient East, the first class societies in the Aegean basin arise within the framework of small state formations, uniting several communities with one administrative center, which at the same time was the focus of the cult. Such states first arose on about. Crete at the end of the III millennium BC. e. The further development of these small formations led to the creation of a large territorial state that united not only the whole of Crete, but also a number of islands in the southern Aegean Sea and the eastern coastal regions of the Balkan Peninsula (the sea power of Minos).

The emergence of the first sprouts of civilization in the Aegean dates back to a later time than in the Nile Valley or Mesopotamia, where society reached a certain maturity and by the end of the 3rd millennium BC. e. was a thousand years old. As the study of specific material shows, the more ancient civilizations of the Middle East had a stimulating effect on the process of internal development of the Cretan society. However, the extent of this influence cannot be exaggerated. In particular, it, while quite strong for Crete, was much weaker for the states of mainland Greece. As evidenced by numerous archaeological data, the developed Neolithic cultures in the Balkan Greece of the VI-IV millennium BC. e. became a rich basis for the emergence of cultures of the Bronze Age, and then the ancient Greek civilization.

For the historical destinies of the ancient population of the Balkan Greece, as well as other peoples of antiquity, the natural habitat was of great importance. As is known, the creation of irrigated agriculture in river valleys with fertile soil contributed to the early birth of civilization in the Ancient East. In the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula, the natural conditions were different. Stony, difficult to cultivate soil, dismemberment of the territory by numerous mountain ranges into small isolated valleys created conditions for social and economic development that were different from ancient Eastern societies. A huge role in the development of individual centers of Greece in the II millennium BC. e. the development of the sea played, i.e., obtaining marine food and the possibility of communications with other peoples along sea routes. As the inhabitants of the Balkan Greece managed to conquer the sea, the formation of the Hellenic civilization went on. The creation of the Cretan maritime power, the constant maritime contacts of the Mycenaean Greeks with the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Italy in the West - an indicator of the mastery of the sea as early as the 2nd millennium BC. e.

The sea played a special role in the life of the inhabitants of numerous islands of the Aegean Sea: Lemnos and Lesbos, Cyclades and Rhodes. The limited nature of the island territory did not allow concentrating on the predominant occupation of land.

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on the one hand, on the other hand, the richness of the subsoil with minerals - ores, stone, good clay - contributed to the development of handicraft production, forced the inhabitants to seek a livelihood through the organization of crafts, the development of fishing, active maritime trade, shipbuilding and bold piracy, which did not could not stimulate private entrepreneurship and mobility of the population.

The internal development of the early class society in the Aegean II millennium BC. e. took place within the framework of small state formations. In the island zone of the Aegean, these small states, in all likelihood, were aristocratic structures, the decisive role in them was played by an enterprising oligarchy associated with maritime trade and piracy, who lived in rather comfortable and comfortable houses, the so-called patrician mansions discovered by archaeologists. The ruling elite, apparently, represented and led the community organization of the island population, dating back to the tribal structure. The absence of palace and temple complexes and impregnable citadels minimized the role of the court and military elements, the hierarchy of estates associated with the royal palace and ensured, so to speak, the republican (or rather, the future polis) version of social development. However, this path of development, which was being formed in the island zone of the Aegean Sea, did not receive its natural continuation, was slowed down, and then interrupted, since the small island-states were captured in different periods of the 2nd millennium by the leading monarchical powers of Crete or Achaean Greece.

The states with a monarchical system became the leaders. In their structure, these small states consisted of a palace center, the residence of the ruler, his administration, the priesthood, which made up the majority of the ruling class, and tribal communities scattered throughout the entire state. The production basis of the society was a centralized palace economy, in which slaves and dependent workers worked, and tribal collectives, where primitive agriculture and cattle breeding were carried out, supplying surplus products in favor of the royal palace and the local aristocracy. Unlike the countries of the Ancient East, where the monarchical regimes and the aristocracy associated with them, as the main part of the ruling class, played an important role in the organization of agriculture, controlling the system of artificial irrigation, in Crete and Balkan Greece primitive monarchies took a minimal part in the organization of production. The communities that lived in conditions of primitive life were only the object of their violent exploitation. This contradiction between the proto-city with an extensive royal economy and the exploited communities that retained the tribal structure determined the internal weakness of the Cretan and Achaean states. The constant wars that were waged between small warring kingdoms further undermined the strength of these internally unstable states. The factor of ethnic heterogeneity of the Aegean world also played its role, as a rule, fraught with strife and conflicts. The Achaean Greeks, the original non-Greek population of Crete - the Minoans, the local tribes of the Balkan Peninsula, who lived here before the Achaean invasion - the Pelasgians and Lelegs, the Carians - had their own cultural and ethnic traditions and this could not but affect the general instability of the historical situation, although at our disposal no exact