Compare Athens and Sparta. Ancient Greek cities: Athens and Sparta

Athens was the main city of Attica, an area located in the south of the Balkan Peninsula. The population of Attica gradually united around Athens. This area was rich in minerals (clay, marble, silver), but agriculture could be practiced only in small and few valleys.

The main sources of strength and wealth of this policy were trade and shipbuilding. A large port city with a convenient harbor (it was called Piraeus) quickly turned into an economic, commercial and cultural center. The Athenians, having created the most powerful fleet in Hellas, actively traded with the colonies, resold the goods received to other policies. In Athens, sciences and arts flourished, huge funds were spent on urban planning. In the 5th century BC. Acropolis began to be erected - the pinnacle of ancient Greek architecture, the center of which was the famous Parthenon temple dedicated to Athena, the patroness of the city. The heyday of the ancient Greek theater is associated with Athens. Famous sculptors and writers flocked to Athens. The philosophers Plato and Aristotle established their schools there.

The political life of the policy developed along the path of democratization, through a sharp struggle with the tribal nobility. The first step towards the creation of Athenian democracy was the reforms of Solon, who was elected in 594 BC. archon (the highest governing body in Athens). The great legislator himself declared that the goal of his reforms was the reconciliation of the warring factions that had developed among the free population. First of all, he banned debt slavery for the Athenians and declared the former debts of the poor invalid, thus returning them to the status of full citizens. Solon strengthened private property by allowing the purchase, sale and division of land. The political rights of citizens depended not on birth, but on property status. The poorest could only elect members of the popular assembly, but not be elected. Wealthy people, who had full rights, were entrusted with rather heavy, costly duties: they had to build ships, organize public holidays and spectacles. Under Solon, the role of the popular assembly increased.

Athenian democracy finally took shape by the middle of the 5th century. BC, when the prominent political figures Ephialp and Pericles improved the laws of Solon, strengthening the position of the demos: now all citizens of the policy have acquired the right to be elected to the highest positions (except for the position of military leader), “with us, each person individually can manifest himself as a self-sufficient personality in the most diverse aspects of life ”(from the speech of Pericles about Athens, delivered in 431 BC).

The People's Assembly became the supreme body of power and received the broadest powers: it passed laws, decided questions about war and peace, concluded and terminated agreements with other policies, elected officials and checked their work. At meetings, and they were held 40 times a year, all issues were carefully discussed, and everyone had the right to express their point of view. No less important was the fact that all officials were elected by vote or by lot and were accountable and replaceable. As we can see, many of the principles of democracy, developed 25 centuries ago, continue to operate in our time, have become a kind of eternal norms for the life of a society that deserves the name civil.

This policy was located in the south of the Peloponnesian peninsula, in the fertile valley of the river Evros. The Spartan state was formed around the ninth century. BC. and at first consisted of five settlements of the Greek Dorians. The further life of the policy proceeded in continuous wars with neighboring communities. The Spartans seized their lands, cattle, and turned the population into helot slaves. In addition to the helots, the perieks living in the area also worked for the Spartans, who were personally free, but paid tribute. According to legend, all life in Sparta was built on the basis of ancient laws introduced by the legendary king Lycurgus.

The Spartans themselves (full-fledged residents of Sparta) were only warriors. None of them was engaged in productive labor: the fields of the Spartans were cultivated by helots. Only the perieks could trade; for the Spartans, this occupation was forbidden, as was the craft. As a result, Sparta remained an agricultural policy with a closed economy, in which monetary relations could not develop.

In Sparta, elements of the life of an archaic tribal community were preserved. Private ownership of land was not allowed. The land was divided into equal plots, which were considered the property of the community and were not subject to sale. Helot slaves, as historians suggest, also belonged to the state, and not to individual citizens of Sparta.

In addition, the principle of equalization dominated the policy, which was the pride of the Spartans, who called themselves a "community of equals." “What is the point of striving for wealth where, with its establishments on equal contributions to dinner, on the same way of life for all, the legislator has stopped any desire for money for the sake of a pleasant life” (Greek historian Xenophon about Sparta, 430th - 353 BC. e.).

The Spartans lived in the same humble dwellings, wore the same simple clothes, devoid of decorations, gold and silver coins were withdrawn from circulation. Instead of them, iron bars were in circulation. The legendary king Lycurgus introduced joint meals, for the arrangement of which everyone had to contribute their share (food and money). Infants with physical disabilities were destroyed. Boys from 7 to 20 years old received a rather tough social education. Having reached the age of majority, they were enrolled in the army and served until old age. The harsh, strict life of Sparta resembled a barracks. And this is natural: everything pursued one goal - to make courageous and hardy warriors out of the Spartans.

The goals of the paramilitary state corresponded and political system Sparta. At the head were two kings who acted as commanders, judges and priests, as well as a council of elders, consisting of representatives of noble families aged at least 60 years, and ephors, a kind of controlling body. Unlike the elders, kings were not elected. It was a hereditary title. The kings had great privileges, but could not make decisions without the approval of the council of elders, which, in turn, had to rely on the opinion of the people's assembly. But the elements of democracy were not developed in Sparta: the popular assembly, although formally considered the highest body, did not have much influence on political life. Unlike Athens, at the meetings the Spartans did not make speeches, did not prove their point of view, but expressed their approval and disapproval of the decision with shouts. The system of Sparta can be called oligarchic. The invariability of the system and the archaism of customs were maintained through strict isolation from other states. The historian Xenophon wrote that the Spartans were not allowed to travel abroad, so that citizens would not become infected with frivolity from strangers.

The struggle for leadership

The forces of Athens and Sparta were especially strengthened during the era of wars with Persia. While many city-states of Greece submitted to the conquerors, these two policies led the fight against the seemingly invincible army of King Xerxes and defended the independence of the country.

In 478, Athens formed the Delian Maritime Union of Equal Policies, which soon turned into the Athenian maritime power. Athens, violating the principles of autarchy, began to interfere in the internal affairs of its allies, managed their finances, tried to establish their own laws on the territory of other policies, i.e. pursued a real great-power policy. The Athenian state at the time of its heyday was a very significant force: it included about 250 policies. The rise of Athens, their claims to the role of the center of ancient Greek civilization, were perceived by Sparta as a challenge, in contrast, the Peloponnesian Union was created. He was joined by small, poor policies, and rich, economically advanced Corinth and Megara, who were also concerned about the growing influence of Athens.

In 431 BC between the two alliances began a cruel, long war (27 years), which engulfed the whole of Greece. At first, the advantage was on the side of Sparta, and the decisive role here was played not only by the fact that she had at her disposal an excellently trained, disciplined army. Sparta concluded an agreement with her recent opponents, the Persians, and received large financial assistance from them, promising to give up the Greek cities in Asia Minor for this. With Persian gold, the Spartans built their fleet and defeated the naval forces of Athens. In 404 BC Athens, besieged by the Spartans, was forced to surrender.

The victory of Sparta over Athens meant, in essence, the victory of the oligarchy over democracy, which had been established by that time in most policies. True, the success of Sparta was short-lived. Athens created a second maritime union. Thebes, a rich and powerful policy, also fought against the Spartans. In 317 BC The Theban army defeated the Spartan one. The Peloponnesian League collapsed. Several regions that had long belonged to her separated from Sparta, and now her possessions were again limited to Laconia.

Sparta was thus taken out of the game for hegemony, but the attempts of Thebes, and then Athens, to realize their great power plans did not lead to any results.

The Crisis of the Polis and the Crisis of Civilization

The defeat of Sparta restored democracy in the Greek policies, returned their independence, but the return to the old order of things was only an appearance. The long bloody Peloponnesian wars weakened not only Sparta, but also the victorious policies, and eventually the whole of Greece. But most importantly, even in the era of the Peloponnesian Wars, the polis enters a state of crisis.

4th century BC. - this is the finale of classical Greece, its polis system, the beginning of the end of the ancient Greek civilization as a whole.

The first attempts to understand the laws of nature were, of course, imperfect in terms of modern science, but something else is important: theories of the structure of the world were created not on the basis of myths, but on the basis of scientific knowledge.

Maria NIKOLAEVA, 10th grade student of the gymnasium "Logos", Dmitrov, Moscow region

At the turn of the VI-V centuries. BC e. Greek cities flourished. Among them, the two most powerful policies gradually emerged - Athens and Sparta, which became the centers of Greek civilization. Both centers developed in completely different ways, their rivalry often resulted in civil wars which eventually destroyed the ancient Greek civilization.

Athens were the main city of Attica - the southern region of the Balkan Peninsula. The strength and wealth of Athens rested on trade and shipbuilding. Having created the most powerful fleet in Greece, the Athenians traded with neighboring lands and Greek colonies. In Athens, sciences and arts flourished, urban development was booming. Famous sculptors and writers flocked here, philosophers Plato and Aristotle created their schools here. In Athens, a kind of theatrical art flourished, the traditions of which are largely alive today.

The development of Athens followed democratic path, an important step was the reform of the archon (one of the nine collegiate rulers of Athens) Solon at the beginning of the 6th century. BC e. In an effort to eliminate hostility and contradictions among the free population, Solon banned debt slavery and announced the abolition of all debts. He also allowed the buying, selling, and subdivision of land, which strengthened private property. The political rights of the Athenians began to depend not on generosity, but on property status. Members of the national assembly could now be elected even by the poor (although they themselves could not be elected).

Athenian democracy finally took shape by the middle of the 5th century. BC e., when Ephialtes and Pericles, developing the laws of Solon, granted all citizens of the policy the right to be elected to the highest positions (except for the head of the army). The People's Assembly became the supreme body of power, it made almost all major state decisions. At meetings of the assembly, which took place about 40 times a year, everyone had the right to speak and all proposals were carefully discussed. Officials were elected by voting or by lot, they were accountable and replaceable. In other words, those principles of democracy were formed in Athens, which exist to this day (of course, in an improved form).

Development went in a different direction Sparta- a policy located in the south of the Peloponnesian Peninsula, in the fertile valley of the Evrota River. The Spartan state arose around the 9th century. BC e., his life was spent in continuous wars. Capturing the lands and cattle of their neighbors, the Spartans turned them into slaves (helots). And personally free foreigners who lived in Sparta (perieki) paid tribute to the Spartans and worked for them. The Spartans themselves were only warriors: they were even forbidden to trade and engage in crafts. As a result, Sparta's economy was insular and underdeveloped.

There was no private ownership of land in Sparta. The land, which was considered the property of the community, was divided into equal plots that were not subject to sale. Helots, apparently, were also owned by the state, and not by individual citizens. The Spartans proudly called themselves a "community of equals", but the leveling that prevailed in Sparta deprived its inhabitants of an incentive to improve their talents, skills, life, etc. The dwellings and clothes of the Spartans were extremely modest and almost the same, babies with physical disabilities in Sparta destroyed at birth: a person's personality was considered only from the point of view of its usefulness to the state (primarily in the military field). The boys were brought up in a harsh, militarized spirit, and then enlisted in the army and remained in it until old age. Sparta was like a huge barracks with a strictly regulated charter.

At the head spartan state there were two kings, who were also commanders, judges and priests. Power was shared with them by the council of elders (gerousia), without the approval of which the decisions of the kings were not valid. In turn, the council of elders had to take into account the opinion of the people's assembly, which in Sparta had little to do with Athenian. At the meeting, the Spartans did not express their point of view, the proposed solutions were not even discussed, and only cries of approval or disapproval expressed the attitude of the participants towards them. Separate elements of life in Sparta anticipated the features of totalitarian societies of the 20th century. So, the ancient Greek historian Xenophon (430-353 BC) wrote that the Spartans were forbidden "to travel abroad, so that citizens would not be infected by frivolity from strangers."

The forces of Athens and Sparta were especially strengthened during the era of the Greco-Persian wars. It was these two policies that led the fight against the seemingly invincible army of the Persian king Xerxes, who had already conquered many Greek city-states. In 478 BC. e. Athens led the Delian Maritime Union of policies, which soon became the Athenian maritime power (at the time of its heyday, it included up to 250 policies). In the conditions of the war, the Athenians abandoned democratic principles and decisively intervened in the affairs of their allies: they managed their finances, introduced their own laws, etc. Athens clearly turned into the center of ancient Greek civilization, which the warlike Sparta could not allow. She created the Peloponnesian Union, which, in addition to small and weak policies, was joined by the rich Corinth and Megara, who were also concerned about the growing power of Athens.

Introduction.

The ancient community organization, which preserved blood relations between its members, outgrows the needs of the time. Everywhere in Greece VIII-VI centuries. BC. there is a merger of several small previously isolated communities located close to each other (sinoikism). The ancient forms of the association of clans - phyla and phratries - continue to retain their significance in these associations for some time, but soon give way to new divisions based on property and territorial characteristics.

The history of Ancient Greece dates back to the 1st millennium BC. Here, the processes of decomposition of the primitive communal system take place and a class society is formed. Basic knowledge about the state and law of Ancient Greece is contained in the works of ancient Greek authors. In particular, Plutarch, Herodotus, Aristotle, etc.

As a result of the development of productive forces, classes are formed, and in the VIII-VI centuries. BC. so-called city-states are created here ( policies).

The most interesting and at the same time the most studied is the process of state formation in two well-known Greek policies - ancient Athens and Sparta. The first was a model of slave-owning democracy, the second - the aristocracy.

In my work, I will try to conduct a comparative analysis of the social and state system in Athens and Sparta, draw a conclusion about the similarities and differences between them, compare which system is acceptable for the development of society and the state.

Athenian slave democracy.

Formation of the state and political system in Athens.

In the II millennium BC. Greek tribes settled in the south of the Balkan Peninsula. Fenced off from each other by the natural barriers of the mountainous country, they began to protect their property with all the more zeal. Within the narrow limits of each of these regions, a capital will grow over time: Corinth, Megara, Thebes, Sparta and others.

At the end of the 2nd millennium, the Greeks, uniting in a single army and choosing one leader for themselves, laid siege to the Asia Minor city of Troy. The events of this most famous of the wars are narrated by the poems of the Gomel epic - the Iliad and the Odyssey.

In ancient Greek society, as Homer describes it, complex processes take place. There are no classes yet, but the division into common people and tribal nobility is deeply rooted. The best lands, large herds, all the main posts are in the hands of the latter.

There is no state yet. The tribe is governed by a people's assembly, a council of elders, and a basileus chief. The people's assembly is at the same time the army, and the basileus and the elders are mainly military leaders. American historian of the last century L.G. Morgan called this system military democracy.

By all its signs, the period of military democracy is the last period of the primitive communal system. Agriculture becomes the main branch of the economy, pushing back cattle breeding. The craft stands out as an independent industry. The exchange of goods takes on a regular character. Merchants appear. Slavery is taking root more and more, and not only in the homes and households of the nobility. A family dominated by a man is formed. The ancient tribal organization still exists, but has already been undermined. On the territory of the phratries and tribes settled in a multitude of strangers, that is, although they were compatriots, but belonging to other tribes, phratries and clans. The population mixed up and therefore the old forms of government became impossible. All this, taken together, serves as the basis for the transition to the state as a new, higher stage of social development.

The Ionians, as the union of four tribes was called, got during the resettlement an infertile region washed by the sea - Attica. Agriculture here was limited to a relatively small area, but there were favorable conditions for handicrafts and maritime trade.

The rural community, so stable in the East, did not find favorable conditions here and began to quickly decompose. Land allotments became the private property of individual families.

In the VIII century BC. in Attica, a city grew up (around the ancient fortress), which was to become the greatest center of ancient and world culture. It was named after the patron goddess Athens.

The city became the focus of people belonging to different tribes, clans, phratries: instead of a simple neighborhood of tribes, they merge into a single people. The old division is being replaced by a new one. Nobles form an estate Eupatrides("noble"), small farmers receive a common name for them geomors, artisans demiurges.

The replacement of all important positions became the privilege of eupatrides. As a result, the council of elders turns into a purely aristocratic assembly, elected by no one and reporting to no one. It sat on the hill of the god of war Ares, and therefore it was called areopagus. The Areopagus was the guardian of traditions, the highest judicial and controlling body. The Areopagus legislates, exercises the highest court, and oversees the actions of officials.

During the struggle between the aristocracy and the demos, the functions of the Areopagus as a state body were severely limited. In the 5th century BC. The Areopagus acted as a judicial authority (in cases of murder, arson, bodily harm, violations of religious precepts).

Among the executive authorities in Athens, two colleges should be noted - strategists and archons.

The dominance of the landed aristocracy had a detrimental effect on the position of the people. “The poor,” writes Aristotle, “were in enslavement not only themselves, but also their children and wives. They were called ... six-dollar workers, because under such conditions they cultivated the fields of the rich (that is, they received one sixth of the harvest for their work. - Z.Ch.). All the land in general was in the hands of a few. At the same time, if the poor did not pay rent, they could be taken into bondage both themselves and their children.

Everywhere in the fields stood foundation stones. It was written on them to whom and for how long the plot was laid. This form of collateral - mortgage - was an early invention of Greece. The land was given to the use of the debtor, but in case of delay in payment - so common - it passed to the creditor.

“... The developing money economy,” F. Engels rightly writes, “penetrated rural communities, acting, like a corrosive acid, on their primordial way of life based on subsistence farming” 1 .

Starting from the VI century BC. a new social element was more and more actively included in the political life of Athenian society. The relatively high level of productive forces achieved in the Mediterranean region in the 8th-6th centuries BC, and the especially favorable natural conditions of Attica itself (with its small land fund and convenient location for trade) contributed to the emergence of a significant artisan and merchant population. Its combat unit was made up of sailors from the numerous Athenian fleet. Unlike the aristocracy, all these new people (as well as the peasants) called themselves "demos" - "the people."

Demos was in constant feud with the despising aristocracy. Step by step he wrested political power from her. When he succeeded, a slave-owning democracy was established in Athens, and hence the state in its initial, not yet completed form.

In 594 BC. general discontent resulted, according to Aristotle, in "great turmoil". “The vast majority, and besides, people of great physical strength,” writes the Greek historian Plutarch in his Comparative Lives, “gathered and persuaded each other not to remain indifferent spectators, but to choose one leader, a reliable person, and free the debtors who missed payment deadline, and redistribute the land and completely change the state system.

Finding themselves in such a difficult situation, the warring parties agreed on the candidacy of the poet and politician Solon. It was known that he was not "an accomplice of the rich in their crimes" and at the same time "not oppressed by want." Elected archon, Solon was endowed with extraordinary powers, among which the most important was the right of legislation. Feeling the pressure of some, striving for the establishment of autocracy, and others, eager for the broadest rule of the people, Solon chose the policy of the "golden mean".

First of all, he abolished debt bondage and canceled all land debts. The foundation stones were removed from the fields, citizens who became slaves for debts were set free, and those who were sold abroad were redeemed at the expense of the state.

From the time of Solon, only foreigners captured in war or bought on the world market of that time could be slaves in Athens.

To prevent the looting of peasant allotments in the future, Solon set the maximum size of land ownership in private hands.

At the same time, extensive testamentary freedom was sanctioned. Family possessions, like peasant households, could pass to the heirs at the will of the testator. The landed estates of the nobility - the backbone of its power - were included in the general civil circulation.

The most important political reform of Solon was the establishment of a property qualification. The richest were ranked first. Simply rich - to the second. Both of these categories of citizens received the right to fill all the most important posts in the state apparatus, but only representatives of the first category could become archons and treasurers.

Thus, instead of the aristocratic principle (belonging to certain clans), the principle of property, the principle of wealth, was approved. Merchants and usurers benefited from this, the tribal nobility lost.

The third category was made up of middle-class citizens. All others - feta - were enrolled in one fourth and last category.

For the unit of calculation of wealth was chosen medimn - a measure of loose bodies (approximately 50-60 liters.). For admission to the first class, an income of 500 medimns of grain annually (or the corresponding equivalent) was required; for enrollment in the second - three hundred, for enrollment in the third - two hundred medimns.

The first two ranks served in the cavalry. This service required large expenses, but it was less dangerous in war. The third category - heavily armed hoplites - foot soldiers became the true glory of the Athenian army. The fourth category, initially suspended from military service, then made up the lightly armed infantry.

It became the supreme organ of power according to the constitution of Solon, Athenian assembly (ekklesia). The National Assembly was the main body. All full-fledged Athenian citizens (men) who had reached the age of twenty, regardless of their property status and occupation, had the right to participate in the National Assembly.

The powers of the people's assembly were very broad and covered all aspects of the life of Athens. The People's Assembly adopted laws, resolved issues of war and peace, elected officials, heard the reports of the magistrates at the end of their term of office, decided on the production supply of the city, discussed and approved the state budget, and exercised control over the education of young men. The competence of the People's Assembly included such an event as ostracism(the expulsion of individual citizens by decision of the people's assembly (usually for 10 years). Each citizen who had the right to vote wrote on a shard the name of someone who is dangerous to the people). Of particular importance were the rights of the People's Assembly to protect the fundamental laws. A special board was established for the protection of laws (nomofilaks), which, having received powers from the People's Assembly, monitored the strict implementation by government organizations of all the fundamental laws of the Athenian state. In addition, any member of the People's Assembly had the right to make an emergency statement on state crimes, including written complaints against persons who submitted assumptions to the People's Assembly that violate existing laws (grapheparanomon). The institution of “complaints against illegality” protected the inviolability of fundamental laws from attempts to change or restrict them to the detriment of the rights of the people and through legislative acts.

The People's Assembly worked according to fairly democratic rules. Any participant could speak. But in his speech, he should not have repeated himself, insulted his opponent, and talked not to the point.

It was believed that every citizen of Athens had the right to propose a draft of a new law and freely participate in the discussion of a bill put forward by others. This initiative was significantly limited, however, by the system of checks:

b) every bill had to be preliminary considered by the Council of Five Hundred. The assembly listened to the opinion of the council;

c) the final decision belonged to the helium, which in such cases played the role of the second chamber. The discussion was conducted in the form of an ordinary trial. The author of the bill acted as a prosecutor of the old laws. Their defenders were appointed by the people's assembly. The decision was made by a majority of the jury by secret ballot.

At the end of the 5th century BC. a fee for attending the People's Assembly was introduced: at the beginning in the amount of obola(a unit of weight (mass) and a copper, silver, bronze coin), and then six obols. Thanks to this, the participation of the masses became real.

Once a month in Athens, a special popular assembly was convened, which was considered the main one. It was used to check the activities of the authorities. The meeting, after an open discussion, decided whether this activity was correct.

This form of control from below was apparently quite effective.

In opposition to the People's Assembly, two new bodies were created: council of four hundred and the so-called helium 1 - trial by jury. But the People's Assemblies more than once took on a stormy character, got out of the influence of the strategists and the Council of Five Hundred, imposed their will on them.

Plutarch says that from the time of Solon in Athens, a law was in force, according to which a citizen who did not join during civil strife, either to one or the other party, was deprived of civil rights. Apparently, Plutarch adds, Solon wanted "so that the citizen would not be indifferent and indifferent to the common cause ... would not wait without any risk who would win" 2 .

The council of four hundred was elected by the old Ionian tribes, who continued to exist despite all the changes. Each of them sent 100 people to the council. Playing an important role in the legislative procedure, in charge of all current affairs, the council of four hundred exerted a restraining influence on the national assembly and directly limited the power of the Areopagus.

Heliea was a judicial and legislative body at the same time. She oversaw the legality of filling positions and had the right to challenge; she approved international treaties. Her main business was participation in legislation, as well as the court in political, religious and many other cases.

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1 Who's Who in World Politics / Editorial Board: Kravchenko L.P. and others - M .: Politizdat, 1990. - S. 418

2 From "Helios" - the sun: meetings began at sunrise and closed at sunset (no later than)

The composition of the heliai consisted of 6 thousand people. All of them were elected by lot, 600 people from each phylum. Of the total number of geliasts, 10 judicial boards were composed of 501 people each. The composition of the college was determined by lot on the very day of the trial, so that none of the heliasts could know in advance when he would be called to action. This was to avoid bribing judges.

Solon's reforms seemed the height of political wisdom, the triumph of the policy of compromise. At the same time, it is Solon's reforms that convincingly prove the fragility of the policy of compromise.

The struggle between the demos and the tribal nobility did not end in an amicable deal. Athens is experiencing an acute political crisis, culminating in the establishment of tyranny. Finally, 90 years after Solon, in 509 BC, the democrats, having united around their leader Cleisthenes, dealt a decisive blow to the remnants of the tribal system that interfered with the functioning of the state as such.

The reform of 509 finally eliminated the old tribes. Instead of the tribal division of citizens, their territorial division was introduced.

Attica was divided into ten territorial "tribes" (phyla). Each fila consisted of four parts - tritium. One of the tritiums was supposed to belong to the agricultural plain, where the nobility had previously dominated (her estates were here), the other to the coastal region, an outpost of the democratically minded sailor mass, the third was one of the quarters of the capital.

In the new phyla, citizens were mixed in such a way that the predominance was concentrated in the hands of the townspeople - artisans, merchants, sailors. The landowning "plain" was relegated to the background.

In addition, the country was divided into the smallest areas - demos. There were about a hundred of them.

The essence of the division introduced by Cleisthenes will become more understandable if we add that the aristocratic family of Aminandrites, for example, turned out to be divided into 26 demes belonging to different tritiums and phyla, the genus of Kerkyrs - to 19 demes, etc. Naturally, they could no longer act as a united front, as before. Thus, by the way, for the first time in history "selective geography" was put into practice.

The Council of Four Hundred was liquidated. Instead, they began to choose a council of five hundred. council of five hundred bulle), being one of the most important state instruments of Athenian democracy, did not replace the People's Assembly, but was its working body. The Council of Five Hundred was elected by lot from among full-fledged citizens who had reached the age of thirty, fifty people from every ten phyla. Representatives of all categories of the population could enter the Council of Five Hundred.

The competence of the council included many issues. Pritany(representatives of the People's Assembly) convened the people's assembly, with one of them presiding. The Council prepared and discussed all the cases that were submitted for discussion and decision of the People's Assembly, drew up a preliminary conclusion for submission to the People's Assembly, without which the people could not make a decision on the issue under consideration.

In addition, the Council monitored the implementation of the decisions of the People's Assembly, controlled the activities of all officials, heard the reports of many of them. An important function of the Council of Five Hundred was to organize the construction of the fleet.

The Council checked (dokimassy) nine archons and candidates for Council members for the next year, supervised all public tasks and ordered jointly with other officials (the Council had the right to bring officials to court, primarily those guilty of misappropriation of public funds). Council decisions could be appealed to helium.

The entire financial and administrative apparatus of the Athenian state operated under the guidance and direct supervision of the Council of Five Hundred. A wide range of issues discussed at the council made it necessary to meet daily, except for non-attendance days.

A tenth of the council, i. one phylum. Its members, the pritanes, daily elected a chairman from among themselves by lot, who presided over the People's Assembly.

After the expiration of the term of office (1 year), the members of the council gave an account to the people. Re-election was decided only after a few years and only once, i.e. every year the Council was renewed. Council members received a salary of 5-6 obols.

So what is the significance of Cleisthenes' reform? Why is it called, like Solon's reform, a "political revolution"? The answer to this question is obvious.

Social development has led to the concentration of wealth in the hands of a significant number unborn citizens who made up the propertied class of Athens. Political power was henceforth to serve their purposes. The tribal division prevented this: the tribal aristocracy dominated the organs of the tribal system. Territorial division crushed this dominance. At the same time, the state of slave owners - noble and ignoble - finally wins.

Now there is one Areopagus in the path of Athenian democracy. The unwritten Athenian constitution reserved for him the right to overrule the decisions of the people's assembly and hold officials accountable. During the famous Greco-Persian Wars (492-479 BC), the Areopagus managed to increase its importance. Meanwhile, time did not affect either its composition or its political line. In 462 BC. the Athenian democracy, led by Efilt, finally passed a law depriving the Areopagus of all political functions.

By the middle of the 5th century BC. the Solon discharges are becoming a thing of the past. Substitution of positions became available to all citizens, regardless of their property status. It was made by lot (with some exceptions).

The last thing remained: to introduce remuneration for service, without which citizens living by daily work could not hold public office.

At the suggestion of the strategist Pericles, members of the Council of Five Hundred, jurors, soldiers, sailors of the navy and all officials in general, with the exception of the highest - strategists, began to receive salaries.

These are the causes and forms of the emergence of the state in Athens. Engels rightly remarks: "Athens represents the purest, most classical form: here the state arises directly and predominantly from class antagonisms that develop within the tribal society itself" 1 .

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1 K. Marx and F. Engels. Op. T. 21. - S. 169.

The social order in AthensVin. BC.

The whole set of rights and privileges was used (according to the law of Pericles) only by those persons (male) whose father and mother were natural and full citizens of Athens.

Citizenship was acquired from the age of 18. Then, for two years, the young man served in the military. From the age of 20, he was allowed to participate in the people's assembly.

Having completed two years of military training, a citizen remained liable for military service until the age of 60. In the event of war, the people's assembly established the number of persons liable for military service who were subject to conscription; in extreme cases, they resorted to a general set (panstratia). The members of each tribe (phyla) formed a detachment under the command of a special person elected by the people themselves.

Physical labor, with the exception of agricultural labor, was recognized as unworthy of a citizen. "Disgraceful" professions were the lot of meteks (foreigners), freedmen, slaves.

Meteks could do their professional work, buy and sell (everything except real estate), but they were forbidden to participate in the people's assembly and hold positions. However, they served in the army and paid taxes. Metek, who evaded taxes, was sold into slavery. Marriages between meteks and citizens were forbidden.

The position of freed slaves was close to that of foreigners. Despite all the restrictions, Metek and the freedman were persons in the eyes of the law. They were given human dignity. It's different, worker.

The slave was only a thing, its living likeness. It could be sold and bought, rented out. He couldn't have a family. Children, accustomed by him from communication with a slave, were the property of the owner.

The only thing that the law forbade the owner was the killing of a slave. When a slave committed a crime worthy of execution, judgment and punishment became the business of the authorities.

The state, one might think, was afraid that the owner of the slave, interested in him as in his property, would spare him. Despite the formal prohibition, the murder of a slave by the master entailed punishment for the latter.

With this exception, all other types of punishment were the right of the lord. The interrogation of a slave was carried out only under torture. It was considered fair and "truly democratic".

The usual methods of punishing slaves were shackling, iron collars, torture, branding, etc. They were tortured by racking, pouring vinegar into the nostrils, applying red-hot tiles to the body, stretching the limbs (“mare”).

A slave could not have any property. Everything he earned was the property of the master.

The freed slave fell under the dual supervision of the state, which treated him as a "foreigner", and the former owner, in relation to whom the freedman was obliged to some duties.

The bulk of the slaves were obtained in the war, when not only the soldiers of the hostile army, but also the civilian population of the enemy fell into captivity. This fate more than once befell the Athenians themselves. Branded with the sign of a horse, they were sold into slavery by the hundreds after the unsuccessful Sylian expedition (during the Peloponnesian War). Many slaves were supplied to the market by sea robbers. When buying, a slave or a slave was treated like cattle: they undressed, forced to run, looked at their teeth, and so on.

The position of women in Athens deserves special mention. She had no political or civil rights.

The Athenians, as usual, boasted that their wives went out only on major holidays (that is, they were heading to the temple) or that their wives were so well brought up that they were ashamed to see any outsider, including relatives. The wife lived in a special part of the house.

The marriage contract was the work of the father of the bride. After marriage, the husband becomes the legal representative of the wife. To divorce his wife, it was enough for him to call witnesses.

The law required strict chastity from the wife, but did not prevent the husband from having mistresses. An unfaithful wife was simply allowed to be kicked out of the house, and the dowry was appropriated. In her later life, this woman could neither adorn herself nor enter temples. Otherwise, anyone he met could tear her dress, remove jewelry, and beat her.

The children were in the power of the father already by the mere fact that the will was in his will. It was enough to disrespect the father so that the deprivation of the son of an inheritance became legal.

Ancient Sparta.

Education of Sparta.

In contrast to democratic Athens, Sparta was an example of the rule of the slave-owning aristocracy. The reasons for this go deep into the past.

According to legend, Sparta was the capital of a significant state even before the Dorians invaded the Peloponnese, when Laconia was allegedly inhabited by the Achaeans. Here reigned the brother of Agamemnon, Menelaus, who played a secret prominent role in the Trojan War. A few decades after the destruction of Troy, most of the Peloponnese was conquered by the descendants of Hercules (“the return of the Heraclides”), who came at the head of the Dorian squads, and Laconia went to the sons of Aristodem, the twins Eurysthenes and Proclus (great-great-grandchildren of Gill, the son of Hercules), who were considered the ancestors of those who reigned in Sparta is simultaneously the Agiad and Eurypontid dynasties. At the same time, part of the Achaeans went to the north of the Peloponnese to the region, which was named after them Axaia, the rest were mostly converted to helots. It is impossible to restore, at least in general terms, the actual history of the ancient period of Sparta, due to the lack of accurate data. It is difficult to say to which tribe the ancient population of Laconia belonged, when and under what conditions it was settled by the Dorians, and what relations were established between them and the former population. It is only certain that if the Spartan state was formed thanks to the conquest, then we can trace the consequences only of relatively late conquests, through which Sparta expanded at the expense of its immediate neighbors. A significant part of them probably belonged to the same Dorian tribe, since by the time the large Spartan state was formed in Laconia, the tribal opposition between the original population of the country and the Dorians who came from the north-west of Greece had already managed to smooth out. Efor's testimony is very likely that after the so-called invasion of the Dorians, Laconia did not constitute one state, but fell apart into several (according to Efor - 6) states that were in alliance with each other. The center of one of them was Sparta. Ancient Sparta was not a city, but a combination of several open settlements. A small territory along the middle course of the Eurotas depended on it. In the political and social structure of this small community there was still nothing at that time that would distinguish it noticeably from a number of other Greek communities. A series of wars then led to the subjugation of Sparta throughout Laconia.

Warehouse of life in ancient Sparta.

Probably the danger of living among a hostile and numerically superior subjugated population caused most of the free full citizens to settle in Sparta. Thus, the view was established that full-fledged citizens were only those who live in Sparta, hence the name of their "Spartiates". The conquests gave the state the opportunity to provide land well for the majority of citizens. The Spartans received for hereditary use plots of land with those who appeared on them and cultivated them. helots(representatives of the defeated tribes, turned into state slaves. They did not have their own land, they worked on the site provided to the Spartiate by the state). These sections were equal and were called "lots" or "shares". There is no evidence for the recognition of communal land ownership in Sparta; There were no redistributions, and since the plot allocated to a well-known family was in its use all the time. It is very doubtful, further, that the foremen of the phyla were assigned a special area for each child 1 . Spartiate plots were small. Their size can be approximately determined on the basis of the evidence that each plot was supposed to give 70 Aegina medimns of barley to the owner, another 12 medimns for the share of the wife and, in addition, a certain amount of wine and oil. Ed. Meyer (in the second volume of the "History of Antiquity"), accepting a two-field system and considering that a morgen brings about 6 Aegina medimns, calculated that the plot should have been approximately 30 morgens, or six and a few Russian tithes.

The conquest explains the development in Sparta of that special way of life that has attracted the attention of political theorists for so long. In order to keep in obedience the numerically superior mass of helots and perieks(they were personally free, they did not use political rights, but in other respects they were legally capable. They could acquire property and make transactions. They were subject to military service. The state oversight was established over the perieks, carried out by special officials), the Spartans needed to develop in themselves a constant combat readiness. In order not to be taken by surprise and slaughtered one by one, the Spartans concentrated in the city, and this deprived them of the opportunity to do household chores.

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1 Plutarch's Lycurgus, Chapter XVI

So the view was established that the Spartiate does not dare to engage in work that gives income. Preparation for battle, military service and participation in public administration were then considered the only occupations worthy of a Spartan. Directing everything towards one goal - to develop good warriors from citizens, the state, little by little, completely restricts personal freedom and subordinates the entire life of citizens to its control. Since then, one of the specific features of Sparta has been the absorption of the individual by the state, striving to preserve civil equality and simplicity in the way of life, as necessary conditions for the development of military prowess. These features explain the sympathy that Sparta enjoyed among some representatives of extreme trends in modern times. In order to achieve its goal, the state begins to take away children from citizens and from the age of 7 brings them up under the supervision of those who got out of best families padonoms in special "herds", where all attention is focused on the physical development of children, on hardening them and developing dexterity, resourcefulness and discipline. From the age of 20, young men began military service, but until the age of 30 they did not enter into the use of civil rights. The same motives explain the submission to severe discipline of adult citizens, who in peacetime were organized on the model of a military camp. Citizens form groups (of 15) who dine together daily and fight together on the battlefield. The desire to maintain the harsh simplicity of life led to a number of artificial measures aimed at this goal, such as the prohibition of foreigners from staying in Sparta, the Spartans from traveling abroad, to attempts, if possible, to cut off Sparta from economic communication with other countries and from the penetration of wealth and luxury into it. , for which an ancient low-value iron coin was artificially retained and it was forbidden for private individuals to own gold and silver. To transport a relatively small amount of money (10 minutes), writes Plutarch, a team of oxen was required, and a large warehouse was needed to store them. As the new coin spread, the desire to steal, take bribes or rob was gone, "as long as it was uncleanly acquired and hidden it was unthinkable."

The laws of Sparta prescribed simplicity of life and moderation in food. Citizens had the same clothes and weapons.

Unlike Athens, Sparta remained throughout its history an agricultural community. Crafts and trade were the work of non-full perieks. Both of these professions were strictly forbidden to a free Spartiate. His occupation is military service. Free time was devoted to "round dances, feasts, festivities, hunting, gymnastics."

The political structure of ancient Sparta.

The device of Sparta in the most ancient period was the same as in the rest of the Greek states and in essential terms, coincided with that depicted in the Homeric poems. The Spartans were divided into tribal phyla (3 in number), like other Greeks. Subsequently, territorial phyla appear next to them, subdivided into obs. There were 5 of these phyla (Pitana, Limna, Mezoya, Kinosura, Dima) and, apparently, political functions were transferred to them. Management was in the hands of the king, whom she helped gerusia(council of elders), it was preserved from the tribal organization. Consisted of 28 prominent representatives of the Spartans. The members of the gerousia (gerunts) were elected by the people's assembly for life and were irresponsible. The Gerusia preliminarily discussed the cases that were to be considered in the national assembly. It was a judicial institution. Gerousia considered criminal cases, including state crimes. She was the court for trials against the kings.

The first significant innovation was the establishment of dual royal power. We cannot trace the circumstances that caused and accompanied this revolution, due to lack of data.

We have reason to assume that there was a strong political struggle in Sparta already in the 8th century, and maybe even earlier. Its echo is the so-called Lycurgov retro 1 : “Having erected a temple to Zeus of Sellani and Athena of Sellani, establishing a division into phyla and obs, placing a gerusia of thirty with arhagets (kings), from time to time convene a national assembly (apella) between Babika and Knakion (according to Gilbert, the rivers Enus and Tiaza), so to introduce (into the apella proposals) and reject (the apella projects that it does not like), the people will have power and strength.

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Retra 1 - this is how some basic laws were called in Sparta.

The struggle between the community of equals and royal power is also reflected in the history of the most important Spartan institution, ephorate. At first, Ephor was probably alone and was appointed by the kings to replace them in judicial activities. This was necessary due to the increase in the state and the number of cases, as well as due to the prolonged absence of the kings during the war. Ephors were civil judges (criminal cases were dealt with by gerons) and had the right of police supervision. Gradually, the ephorate is freed from dependence, from kings, and even begins to subordinate the royal power to itself.

Over time, the number of ephors increased to 5 (they made up the board), and they began to choose apella 1 . In the ephors elected by the people for a short term (for a year) from all citizens, one can see the body of the community of "equals". As representatives of the Spartan community, the ephors act in the well-known oath that they and the kings took every month: “ephors for the city, and the kings for themselves”; the kings promised to rule in accordance with the laws of the city, while the city (i.e. ephors on behalf of it) - to keep the royal power intact if the king would keep his oath.

Step by step, the ephors expand their powers. They watch over the perieks and helots and exercise the right of life and death towards them. They were given very important functions of supervising the education of young people, of the observance by adults of the requirements of the “order” of life that is being established in the Spartan community under the influence of the growing need for a strong military organization. They received the right to impose fines for misconduct and, in important cases, to bring to court the gerousia, which was in charge of criminal grandfathers. They brought all other authorities under their supervision, even the kings themselves, whom they also began to hold accountable to the Gerousia and themselves. This expansion of the powers of the ephors can be explained, firstly, by the fact that the Spartiate community stood behind them, ready to support their claims against the royal power, since everything that the ephors won was indirectly won by the community that elected them.

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Apella 1 - the people's assembly in Sparta; the highest authority, but its decisions, recognized by the gerousia or the king as harmful, were canceled. Gathered monthly in an open place; voted with a shout.

Thus, the ephorate is in this era an institution, in a certain sense, democratic.

But Sparta could not become a real democracy: the Spartans, in relation to the mass of the population, were aristocracy and sought to preserve the once established, advantageous for them, relations between themselves and this mass. Already, therefore, they were conservative. They were brought up in the habit of severe discipline and perfectly understood its significance for themselves, they knew that they were strong only with it. For the development of the personal principle in the agricultural, economically backward Sparta, there were no favorable conditions that were, for example, in Athens.

Therefore, the Spartan apella does not develop, like the Athenian ekklesia (national assembly), and the predominant role in matters of legislation and administration is retained by the gerousia and the ephors, consisting of life members. The apella itself has neither the initiative nor the right to discuss the proposals made to it, nor to make amendments to them, it simply accepts or rejects them.

Conclusion.

The policies we have considered, as already noted, had much in common in the history of their formation and much in particular. These common and special features, of course, were reflected in their political structure, which had many features typical of a number of Greek cities, oriented in their foreign policy either Sparta or Athens. Both policies had some political features that were very often encountered and repeated in subsequent history, which makes their study relevant and important.

The state arises as a result of property inequality, the emergence of private property and the split of society into classes. The land is mostly privately owned. There is a constant struggle between the haves and the have-nots, and the state is being created just to mitigate this struggle. The richest also occupy the highest positions in the state apparatus. Athens is a classic example of this path of emergence of the state.

Athens represents the most developed, complete and most perfect form of the democratic system of the ancient slave states. The Athenian democracy embodied the highest form of statehood of the ancient civil society formed in the ancient world. At the same time, this democracy was limited - only 10-20% of the population enjoyed full civil rights. Women, although they were considered citizens, did not participate in political life, and meteks, and even more so slaves, did not have civil rights at all. In addition, despite the payment that existed in Athens even for participation in the work of the people's assembly, not all residents of Attica, especially from remote areas, had the opportunity to attend all the events of the polis political life. Freedom of speech, despite its fullness, did not allow dissent in some matters, especially religious ones. For example, Socrates, who was sentenced to death for not honoring his father's gods, became a victim of this limited rights. However, despite its limitations, Athenian democracy in a purely political sense remained perfect for a long time.

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1 Nemirovsky A.I. “At the origins of historical thought”, Voronezh, 1979.

a model of this kind of state structure, a progressive type of statehood, which served for many centuries as a role model.

The Greeks called the Spartan state system the usual term oligarchy, although the closest to the truth was the "father of history" Herodotus, who wrote about the "despotism of the law" reigning in Sparta. And only quite recently was found, as it seems, the correct definition. It was given, perhaps, by the most prominent domestic researcher of the Spartan phenomenon, Yu.V. Andreev, who defined Spartan statehood as one of the earliest forms of a totalitarian state. "The cornerstones of Spartan totalitarianism," he notes, "became precisely those social and political institutions that, according to the plan of their organizers, were to serve as the main pillar of the democratic system." Thus, state control turned into an administrative dictate, an ephorate from a democratic dictatorship into a dictatorship without democracy, the equality of allotments and the helots who were on them led to the alienation of the Spartans from their farms and turned them into a simple addition to these allotments. The most severe regulation of all life resulted in the depersonalization and leveling of the personality, and the state assimilated in itself society and all its individuals. The price of the consolidation of Spartan society was the restriction of civil rights and the suppression of individual freedoms.

Athens and Sparta………………………………………………………………13 Chapter II: Socially... concerned about the growing influence Athens. Confrontation Athens And Sparta has led more than once ... against the backdrop of rivalry Athens And Sparta social development took place...

Ancient Greece was divided into dozens of small states: Attica, Laconia, Boeotia, Elis, Epirus, Thessaly, Corinth and many others. But the strongest of them were Athens in Attica and Sparta in Laconia in the Peloponnese, which were in constant opposition.

The inhabitants of Athens were Ionian Greeks by origin, distinguished by their mild disposition, love for the arts and sciences, they were excellent artists, poets and builders. All important matters in Athens were decided at the popular assembly; he was elected and the Athenian authorities had to report to him. This form of government is called democracy.

In Sparta, the popular assembly did not play such a role as that of the Athenians, the gerontes (elders) and kings ruled everything. Nevertheless, the Spartans believed that Sparta was the most advanced state in its structure. The rivalry of these two countries and peoples often led to cruel wars, the dislike and contempt for each other of the Spartans and Athenians in Greece became a proverb.

Only once did Athens and Sparta fight shoulder to shoulder - when the Persians came to the land of Greece.

But once in ancient times, kings also ruled in Athens. The Athenians considered Kekrops to be the first king of Attica, to whom the legend attributed the foundation of the city. The oldest part of the city was located on a rocky hill, which was called the Acropolis, which means "upper city" (like the Kremlin in Moscow). The city got its name from the patron goddess Athena, daughter of the god Zeus. But the god of the sea Poseidon was also considered the patron of the city. The transformation of Athens into the capital of Attica and the unification of the tribes that lived on the plain around the Acropolis was attributed ancient hero Theseus. He also divided the population of his country into noble, peasant farmers and artisans.

After the reign of the last king, Kodra, the nobles seized power. They declared that after Codru no one was worthy to be king. The city was ruled by 9 archons (elders). Archon Dracont created the first written laws, which were distinguished by extreme severity.

The poet and legislator Solon (early 6th century BC) introduced the democratic government of the Council of Four Hundred.

Solon had a relative Peisistratus. He was a talented commander, besides, he took care of the common people. With the help of the peasants, he seized power and became a tyrant (as the Greeks called those who ruled not by right of inheritance). Peisistratus richly decorated the Acropolis with temples. The sons of Pisistratus, Hippias and Hipparchus, did not retain power. And in the future, the Athenians suspected many prominent people that they wanted to seize power. They ostracized such people: everyone wrote on a clay shard who should be sent into exile, and the one whose name was mentioned more often went away from the city.

Ostracism (exile) was subjected to the winner of the Persians at Marathon Themistocles, although he created the Delian Maritime Union, organized defense against the Persians and strengthened the power of the city.

Many times the Athenians wanted to exile the strategist Pericles. It was Pericles who made Athens the great and beautiful city we know. People gathered in his house who made up the glory of Athens and all of Greece - the philosopher Socrates, the sculptor Phidias, the historian Herodotus and many others.

In total, the cultural upsurge of Athens lasted about 150 years, from the middle of the 6th to the end of the 5th century BC. This short period, a little more than the duration of an ordinary human life, brought fruits that mankind still enjoys. But even after losing the war with Sparta (404 BC), Athens remained a world cultural center for centuries.

Poets called Athens "the eye of Hellas". They said about a person who had not been to Athens: “If you have not seen Athens, you are a blockhead; if you saw and did not admire them - you are an ass; and if you leave them of your own free will, you are a camel.”

When we talk about culture ancient greece, we necessarily emphasize the high historical significance that the ancient Greek civilization had in relation to the culture of Europe. Ancient civilization includes the culture of ancient Greece and ancient rome, between which you can see common features and differences.

Common features, which stand out in relation to Greece and Rome, are sufficient reason to start counting European culture from antiquity. For European culture, antiquity will be a classic. Antiquity will give European culture very important cultural meanings, which are inextricably linked with the value of a person, with the recognition of his role and significance in society. In cultures ancient world ancient civilization is highest point development of the entire ancient world. A civilization that created extensive opportunities for creating creative activities. Greek civilization arose in the second millennium BC. It is generally accepted that the origins of this civilization belong to the Cretan-Mycenaean culture. The strongest development of ancient Greek civilization proceeded in the first millennium BC. Ancient Greek civilization is a unique example of a democratic society formed on the basis of slaveholding relations. The nature of democracy, democracy, such political system, in which the interests of a large number of people are taken into account, in the ancient Greek cities developed in different ways. In some cities, the democratic system was only at the very initial stage. Often, democratic features intersected with their opposite political manifestations. In other cases, the Greek cities had a fairly developed democratic structure; accordingly, the culture of such cities differed significantly from the cities of the first type. All ancient Greek cities by the middle of the 1st millennium BC come to the polis system. Polis is a city of the state, which had an independent political, economic development. Each policy had its own army, its own legislative system. And each policy itself determined the nature of relations with its neighbors, other Greek cities. Certainly, in the vast majority of cases, Greek policies benevolent cultural relations developed, since these cities had a lot in common: mutual language, general mythology, basic aesthetic and ethical norms, attitude towards a person. One of the most important reasons for the formation of the polis system is geopolitical circumstances. Traditionally, the Greeks inhabited the coastal territories of the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, and these territories, which they mastered, were mountainous terrain unsuitable for agriculture. The mountains were not very high, but the lands were not fertile and the maximum that could be grown here was grapes and olive trees. For this reason, the cities that developed the territory localizing in space in this geographical area, these territories were separated by natural boundaries, then over time such cities began to experience economic difficulties - there were not enough resources for a normal continuation of life. When cities grew too large, various economic and social problems began to arise, part of the population moved to a new territory. There was a colonization of new lands, new cities were built, which acquired an absolutely independent autonomous look. Thus, a new city arose, in which Greek traditions and foundations were transferred by people who created new territories. This situation explains why in the territory modern Russia and Ukraine reached the colonies of the Greeks. Greek culture was very advanced. The polis and democratic system was constantly changing. As an example of two different devices, one can consider Athens and Sparta as two city-states arranged in fundamentally different ways.

The Greeks never set themselves the task of creating a single powerful state. Since it was economically very difficult to create a huge state in those conditions, the polis option was characteristic of the entire history of the ancient world.

Sparta - one of the earliest states, it arose on the Peloppones peninsula. The island of Peloppones in a fertile valley in the second millennium BC, a state arose, which was called Lacedaemon. Lacedaemon arises as a city of the state, it was only 4 villages, which were united by a common market area and they maintained very strong relations with each other. In the second millennium BC, Dorian tribes came to the Peloppones peninsula, who began to change the established culture and intervene in the existing way of life. Sparta developed quite successfully, because it was the case when the Greek cities had fertile lands, were able to farm and everything needed was produced completely. In fact, the citizens of Lacedaemon did not need trade, and trade exchange, they lived in a local formation. One of the main tasks that they faced was the protection of their own security, the protection of borders, and the maintenance of order in the city. Because of these reasons, the army begins to form as a kind of disciplinary structure, which was supposed to maintain discipline and order. Over time, it becomes clear that the soldiers of Sparta can fight on the side of other states, they could be hired. Sparta made good money from military operations and from helping to protect the borders of neighboring states. Since ideas are beginning to form in Sparta that the army is a very strong structure of society and it provides security for Sparta itself and other cities, the Dorians focused their efforts on the development and improvement of military art. The fertile land was divided into equal parts and given to certain categories of Spartans for eternal use. The land became property, a separate part of society. The land was distributed along with the helots, who were engaged in agricultural labor on this land. Helots were attached to the land and were obliged to continue to engage in agricultural labor, but the land belonged to the Spartans from among the aristocracy. Land plots were of different value and different volume, and the presence of different land plots was an indicator in society. Land plot was a property indicator of a certain social and political position in society. The land that belonged to the Spartans could not be sold, could not be used in an efficient, commercial way. They could simply inherit the land, they did not have the right to divide it into parts. Initially, a system of inequality between the social strata of the population was created in Sparta and the property qualification was an indicator of equal rights. The unequal right was expressed in the fact that some categories could vote, and some categories did not have the right. Some segments of the population had the right to be elected to government bodies, while other segments of society did not have such a right. A very complex system of legal relations was developed in Sparta, it assumed that only men who had reached the age of 30 could participate in elections, men had to be free, that is, they could not be slaves, women did not have this right, but to get out not all free citizens had the right to administrative bodies, but only those who had a property qualification, a special social status, these should have been men after 60. It used to be in Sparta that a person was not ready to make government decisions, therefore, to the most important legislative body can only be entered after the age of 60. The Spartan legislature may be called the council of elders, the gerousia. This council included 28 gerontes or representatives, and it was this legislative body that made the most important decisions regarding the life of Sparta. The election procedure itself, the composition itself does not look quite democratic. Sparta had 2 kings who ruled in turn. One in peacetime, the other in wartime. There were many wars in Sparta. The framework of democracy was narrow and in Sparta there were two monarchs who passed on their power dynastically by inheritance.

Elections of gerons. A special commission opened the room where the doors were boarded up and applicants for the position of geront were held in front of people. The crowd had to clap, shout. The candidate who recruited large quantity votes, he became the new geront. The crowd with their cries and exclamations determined the fate of the applicants.

In ancient Greece, many democratic procedures were devised because there was considerable interest in recognizing the rights of large numbers of people. In Sparta, this was less developed, and in other cities to a greater extent. Ostracism- punishing a citizen by voting with shards. People wrote on a shard the name of a person who is considered the worst and requires punishment. The shards with names were thrown into the circle and taken apart piece by piece, and the person who received the most negative votes was punished. The forms of punishment were varied, up to the expulsion of a person from the policy for 10 years. If the activity of a politician was recognized as not correct, not meeting the requirements, then he was expelled from the city and did not give him the opportunity to manifest himself here for 10 years. It could also instill fear.

Sparta did not have a special system of democratic government. This type of government that has developed in Sparta cannot be fully called democratic - it is a type of oligarchic government, that is, a military oligarchy was at the head of the state and it received the right to govern the state and solve the most important issues. Democratic procedures were only an external form, a system of decoration, they essentially did not work very well here, authoritarian methods of governing the state, the traditions of the monarchy were developed here, the role of the military oligarchy, which held the city in its hands, was great. The culture that developed on the basis of such a political system was very specific. In the entire history of Sparta, there were no outstanding artists, literary figures. Sparta did not give birth to any outstanding playwrights, or sculptors, or writers. Sparta oriented citizens to other values. In Sparta, the physical training of boys and girls was highly valued. In Sparta, it was customary to bring up a child at home until the age of 6, and after 6 years the child fell into state education. Education was based on the priority of the physical development of boys and girls. After the maturity period, the girls stopped public life, became wives, did not go outside the houses, and the young men continued to lead a socio-political life and their public life was more significant than their personal life. Family priorities in Sparta were extremely low. Education is built on a state-collective basis; certain principles and values ​​were developed that emphasized social significance.

Among the cultural traditions in Sparta, rhetoric, the ability to master an audience, the ability to convince, speak briefly, concisely, understandably, and convincingly were valued. Great attention was paid to the development of rhetoric skills. A political culture developed, and a religious culture received a high level here. In Sparta, the religious cult occupies a very important place and an extensive system of rituals and ceremonies of a religious and mythological nature was created, a lot of systems of sacrifices and religious holidays were developed, which, according to researchers, is due to the fact that the Spartans more acutely felt their vulnerability to fate, before the forces of rock. For this reason, religious-mythological mechanisms become more relevant. The Spartans fought a lot and constantly risked their lives, so religious and mythological rituals occupied a huge place in their lives. Art was categorically denied, because it was considered a matter incompatible with good qualities warrior. Art softens a person, makes him too tender and thin. It is not necessary for a warrior. Therefore, there were no sculptors, poets, playwrights. Theatrical art existed in a specific form of spectacular performances.

A completely different type of culture and a different type political structure is a state Athens. Athens, due to the high development of culture, becomes the center of ancient Greek civilization. The best scientific schools were formed here over the course of several centuries: philosophical schools , research schools, schools associated with the study of various natural phenomena, educational schools; in Athens, education was highly valued and a huge number of people were involved in the education and upbringing system. Thanks to this, Athens gathered the most talented and educated people of Greece and the schools grew constantly, new directions and aspects of activity were created. Athens is becoming a center for the development of the arts: the most amazing and interesting processes associated with theatrical art, the outstanding playwrights of Greece, the organization of theater festivals. Athens gave rise to a large number of sculptors. Unique schools of fine arts developed here. Center for crafts, pottery creation and painting. Such a developed culture, focused on a variety of aesthetic, legal, political and scientific issues. The reason for this diversity is the type of device that took shape in Athens. Back in the 6th century BC, during the reign of Solon, a council of four hundred arose in Athens - it was a large legislative body, in which representatives of almost all social strata of the population took part. Such large meetings resolved important issues. During the reign of Pericles (after Solon gained power in Athens), the democrats flourish at their peak - the 6th century BC. Pericles came from a very wealthy family, was a representative of an aristocratic family, he was a consistent supporter of democratic reforms. Under Pericles, a council of five hundred was created, it was expanded to 500 forum participants and all classes were included in it. Pericles gave the right to all sections of the population. All social groups delegated and carried out laws that were of interest to the whole society. The democratic system was extended not only to the creation of a supreme legislative body, but also to other governing bodies: the Areopagus - bodies in which representatives were elected by voting, by delegation from different social groups. The system of democratic government is very consistent. Athens was a slave system. The democratic system was extremely imperfect, superficial, a number of examples indicate that these processes were in no way comparable with democracy. For example: blood feuds continued in Athens, family members could decide how to deal with the perpetrator of the death of their relative and kill the relative of the perpetrator of the death. Lynching was going on simultaneously with the presence of developed democratic procedures. The Athenians could use weapons. It was necessary to go to meetings, for this they could be fined, punished, or taken into custody. The state strictly monitored the fact that all citizens of the policy were interested in life, took part in meetings, were aware of the decisions. At the meeting itself, if a person was present, he had to vote, he had no right to abstain, and a decision that was not made was also punished. Democratic norms in ancient society are far from perfect. Such an active attention to democracy in ancient Greece, in particular in Athens, contributed to an incredible rise in culture. It formed the conditions for teaching culture to the process of a huge number of people. They created works in which the importance of a citizen in the state was updated. The actualization of the policy did not mean that a person was not valued. There was a combination in culture and in the values ​​of civil, state and individual personalities. Athens became the birthplace of history, it was the historians of ancient Greece who were inextricably linked with Athens. The science of ancient Greece gave such a figure as Hippocrates. The very personality of Hippocrates was important, he postulated important provisions. He spoke about the need not only to treat the disease, but also to help the sick, to see in the sick person who needs help. This medicine was of a different type. In all previous cultures, medicine had to cope with the disease, which was most often seen as the result of evil forces, influences, and it was necessary to treat the disease. Hippocrates said that you need to understand your task more deeply, you need to support a person psychologically, consider his illness in a complex.