Cult of Byzantium. Byzantine culture

At the beginning of the Middle Ages, Byzantium did not experience such a cultural decline as Western Europe. She became the heir to the cultural achievements of the ancient world and the countries of the East.

1. Development of education. In the 7th-8th centuries, when Byzantium's possessions declined, Greek became the official language of the empire. The state needed well-trained officials. They had to competently draw up laws, decrees, contracts, wills, conduct correspondence and court cases, respond to petitioners, and copy documents. Often educated people achieved high positions, and with them came power and wealth.

Not only in the capital, but also in small towns and large villages, children of ordinary people who were able to pay for education could study in primary schools. For this reason, even among peasants and artisans there were literate people.

Along with church schools, public and private schools were opened in cities. They taught reading, writing, arithmetic and church singing. In addition to the Bible and other religious books, the schools studied the works of ancient scientists, the poems of Homer, the tragedies of Aeschylus and Sophocles, the works of Byzantine scientists and writers; solved quite complex arithmetic problems.

In the 9th century in Constantinople, at the imperial palace, it was opened graduate School. It taught religion, mythology, history, geography, and literature.

2. Scientific knowledge. The Byzantines preserved ancient knowledge of mathematics and used it to calculate tax amounts, in astronomy, and in construction. They also widely used the inventions and writings of great Arab scientists - doctors, philosophers and others. Through the Greeks they learned about these works. Western Europe. In Byzantium itself there were many scientists and creative people. Leo the Mathematician (9th century) invented sound alarms for transmitting messages over a distance, automatic devices in the throne room imperial palace, driven by water, they were supposed to capture the imagination of foreign ambassadors.

Compiled teaching aids in medicine To teach the art of medicine, in the 11th century, a medical school (the first in Europe) was created at the hospital of one of the monasteries in Constantinople.

The development of crafts and medicine gave impetus to the study of chemistry; Ancient recipes for making glass, paints, and medicines were preserved. “Greek fire” was invented - an incendiary mixture of oil and tar that cannot be extinguished with water. With the help of “Greek fire,” the Byzantines won many victories in battles at sea and on land.

The Byzantines accumulated a lot of knowledge in geography. They knew how to draw maps and city plans. Merchants and travelers wrote descriptions different countries and peoples.

History developed especially successfully in Byzantium. Vivid, interesting works by historians were created on the basis of documents, eyewitness accounts, and personal observations.

3. Architecture. The Christian religion changed the purpose and structure of the temple. In an ancient Greek temple, a statue of the god was placed inside, and religious ceremonies were held outside in the square. For this reason, they tried to make the appearance of the temple especially elegant. Christians gathered for common prayer inside the church, and the architects cared about the beauty of not only the exterior, but also its interior.

The Christian church's plan was divided into three parts: the vestibule - a room at the western, main entrance; nave (ship in French) - the elongated main part of the temple where believers gathered for prayer; an altar where only clergy could enter. With its apses - semicircular vaulted niches that protruded outwards, the altar faced the east, where, according to Christian ideas, the center of the earth Jerusalem is located with Mount Golgotha - the site of the crucifixion of Christ. In large temples, rows of columns separated the wider and higher main nave from the side naves, of which there could be two or four.

A remarkable work of Byzantine architecture was the Church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. Justinian did not skimp on expenses: he wanted to make this temple the main and largest church of all Christendom. The temple was built by 10 thousand people over five years. Its construction was supervised by famous architects and decorated by the best artisans.

The Church of Hagia Sophia was called the “miracle of miracles” and was sung in verse. Inside it amazed with its size and beauty. A giant dome with a diameter of 31 m seems to grow from two half-domes; each of them rests, in turn, on three small semi-domes. Along the base, the dome is surrounded by a wreath of 40 windows. It seems that the dome, like the vault of heaven, floats in the air.

In the 10th-11th centuries, instead of an elongated rectangular building, a cross-domed church was established. In plan, it looked like a cross with a dome in the middle, mounted on a round elevation - a drum. There were many churches, and they became smaller in size: the inhabitants of a city block, a village, or a monastery gathered in them. The temple looked lighter, directed upward. To decorate its exterior, they used multi-colored stone, brick patterns, and alternated layers of red brick and white mortar.

4. Painting. In Byzantium, earlier than in Western Europe, the walls of temples and palaces began to be decorated with mosaics - images made of multi-colored stones or pieces of colored opaque glass - smalt. Smalt

strengthened with different inclination in wet plaster. The mosaic, reflecting the light, flashed, sparkled, flickered with bright multi-colored colors. Later, the walls began to be decorated with frescoes - paintings painted with water paints on wet plaster.

There was a canon in the design of temples - strict rules for the depiction and placement of biblical scenes. The temple was a model of the world. The more important the image was, the higher it was placed in the temple.

The eyes and thoughts of those entering the church turned first of all to the dome: it was represented as the vault of heaven - the abode of the deity. For this reason, a mosaic or fresco depicting Christ surrounded by angels was often placed in the dome. From the dome the gaze moved to the upper part of the wall above the altar, where the figure of the Mother of God reminded us of the connection between God and man. In 4-pillar churches, on sails - triangles formed by large arches, frescoes with images of the four authors of the Gospels were often placed: Saints Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Moving around the church, the believer, admiring the beauty of its decoration, seemed to be making a journey through the Holy Land - Palestine. On the upper parts of the walls, artists unfolded episodes from the earthly life of Christ in the order as they are described in the Gospels. Below were depicted those whose activities are connected with Christ: prophets (messengers of God) who predicted his coming; apostles - his disciples and followers; martyrs who suffered for the sake of faith; saints who spread the teachings of Christ; kings as his earthly governors. In the western part of the temple, pictures of hell or Last Judgment after the second coming of Christ.

In the depiction of faces, attention was drawn to the expression of emotional experiences: huge eyes, a large forehead, thin lips, an elongated oval face - everything spoke of high thoughts, spirituality, purity, holiness. The figures were placed on a gold or blue background. People seem flat and frozen, and facial expressions seem solemn and concentrated. The flat image was created specifically for the church: wherever a person went, he everywhere met the faces of saints turned to him.

In medieval art there was a special idea of perspective. The masters tried to draw attention to the most important things in the image with their sizes. The figure of Christ was depicted larger than the rest, and towers, trees, buildings - smaller in size than standing nearby of people.

Icons were placed in churches and dwellings - picturesque images of God, the Mother of God, scenes from the Bible on smooth wooden boards. Unlike mosaics and frescoes, an icon can be moved from place to place, sent as a gift, or taken with you on a hike. One of the most revered icons - “Our Lady of Vladimir” - was brought to Rus' from Byzantium. It was not by chance that paintings, icons and frescoes, and sculptures of churches were called “the Bible for the illiterates”: after all, ordinary people could not or did not know how to read the Bible. This is even more true in Western Europe, where the Bible was copied and read in Latin, and not in the local languages spoken by the people. Only church images and sermons of priests introduced ordinary people to the content of Christianity.

5. Cultural connections of Byzantium. At the beginning of the Middle Ages, Byzantium was the most cultural country in Europe. Kings, princes, bishops of other countries and most of all Italy invited architects, artists and jewelers from Byzantium. Inquisitive young men went to Constantinople to study mathematics, medicine, and Roman laws. Architects and artists from European countries studied with Byzantine masters.

Byzantine culture had a particularly strong influence on the culture of the Slavs. Bulgaria, Serbia and Rus' adopted the Christian faith from Byzantium. The Slavic alphabet was brought to Rus' by the Bulgarians who studied with the Greeks (see below). WITH Greek language Many books were translated into Slavic. First stone temples in Rus' were built and decorated by craftsmen invited from Byzantium. The culture of Armenia and Georgia, where Christianity established itself at the end of the 4th century, also experienced the strong influence of Byzantium. In Byzantium, many manuscripts of Greek, Roman and Eastern scientists and writers were preserved and thanks to this have come to us.

Byzantine culture - concept and types. Classification and features of the category "Culture of Byzantium" 2017, 2018.

The crisis and decline of Roman society simultaneously began the process of formation new culture. The starting point of this process was the transfer of the capital of the Roman Empire to an ancient Greek settlement in 330 Byzantium, which was later renamed to Constantinople. In 395, the Roman Empire collapsed into Western and Eastern, which became known as Byzantium. This name was given to it by European thinkers of the New Age in order to separate Byzantium from Greco-Roman culture and attribute it to the Eastern type of cultures. However, the Byzantines themselves would not agree with such an assessment. After all, they called themselves “Romans,” that is, Romans, and their capital, Constantinople, “the second Rome,” having more than sufficient grounds for this.

First Christian culture

Byzantium became a worthy heir to ancient culture. She successfully continued the further development of the scientific achievements of Roman civilization. The new capital of the empire - Constantinople - successfully competed with Rome, quickly becoming the most beautiful city of that time: large squares decorated with triumphal columns with statues of emperors, beautiful temples and churches, grandiose aqueducts, magnificent baths, reliable defense structures.

However, Byzantine culture did not become a simple copy of Roman culture. The geographical position of Byzantium, which spread its possessions on two continents, made this empire a connecting link between East and West. The territory of Byzantium in the period of its greatest prosperity (VI century) included the Balkans, Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Cyrenaica, part of Mesopotamia and Armenia, Cyprus, Crete, certain regions of Arabia, possessions in the Crimea and the Caucasus. The constant bifurcation between the Eastern and Western worlds, the crossing of Asian and European influences (with the predominance of one or the other) became the historical destiny of Byzantium. The mixture of Greco-Roman and Eastern traditions left its mark on social life, statehood, religious and philosophical atmosphere, culture and art of Byzantine society. Byzantium went its own way historically, in many ways different from the destinies of the countries of both the East and the West, which predetermined the features of its culture.

The ethnic composition of the Byzantine Empire was very diverse. Syrians, Copts, Thracians, Illyrians, Armenians, Georgians, Arabs, Jews, Greeks, and Romans lived here. New barbarian peoples constantly joined the empire and assimilated with the old ones. It made a difference physical type people living here led to the birth of new peoples, retaining only a name from the past. All these peoples contributed to Byzantine culture, but it was still mainly Greek-speaking culture. Already in the VI-VII centuries. The Greek language in Byzantium becomes the state language, displacing Latin, just as ancient Greek culture becomes the foundation on which Byzantium’s own medieval culture is formed.

In the history of both European and entire world culture, Byzantine civilization has a special place. She became the first in every sense Christian culture. It was in Byzantium that the formation of Christianity was completed, and for the first time it acquired a complete classical form in its orthodox Orthodox version. It was Christianity that turned out to be the decisive factor that determined all the characteristic features and characteristics Byzantine culture. If Catholicism, which became widespread in the West, was more inclined towards rationalism (it is no coincidence that the pinnacle of Catholic theology was the rational proof of the existence of God of Thomas Aquinas), then Orthodoxy is born as a religion of revelation; it has always had a very strong mystical current. Christianity was understood as a revelation from God, as a path to the salvation of the individual and his spiritual perfection in Christ. This was combined with a tendency toward disappointment in everything earthly. From the very beginning, this caused serious disagreements between Orthodoxy and Catholicism, which in 1054 led to a split in the church.

Contradictions between Orthodoxy and Catholicism existed both in the sphere of dogma (the famous dispute about filioque - from whom the Holy Spirit comes, only from God the Father, as the Orthodox believed, or from the Son too), and in the area of liturgical practice (cult) - communion with bread and wine, as Orthodoxy required, or only with bread, as in Catholicism (only priests partook of wine), the requirement of celibacy only for monasticism and the highest clergy, as in Orthodoxy, or for all clergy, as in Catholicism. But all these differences (as well as others) were a consequence of the difference in the position of the Eastern and Western churches and its role in society. It so happened that in the West, after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, many barbarian kingdoms were formed, rapidly appearing and disappearing, replacing each other. The only force that prevented the Western world from falling apart into many unconnected little worlds was church, which in the West took on functions that were not typical for it, replacing the weak state power at that time. Gradually, the desire to subjugate secular power and create a world state headed by the Pope became one of the most important priorities of activity catholic church in the Middle Ages. In Byzantium government During this period, it remained strong, and the church organically complemented secular power, spiritually nourishing it, which created a kind of symphony of priesthood and kingdom, spiritual and secular power with the superiority of the church canon over civil law. For the Christian consciousness, Byzantium is a world under the rule of secular princes, but it must be saved and sanctified.

The Christian worldview shaped the solemn pomp, inner nobility, grace of form and depth of thought in Byzantine culture. During the eleven centuries of its existence, the Byzantine Empire, which absorbed the heritage of the Greco-Roman world and the Hellenistic East, was the center of a unique and brilliant artistic culture. Until the 13th century. Byzantium in terms of education, intensity of spiritual life and artistic diversity forms of art, undoubtedly, was ahead of all countries medieval Europe.

Introduction. 3

1. Philosophy and education. 4

2. Architecture and music. 5

3. Literature in Byzantium. 7

4. Fresco painting Byzantium.. 9

6. Icon painting in Byzantium.. 11

7. Development of artistic culture.. 12

Conclusion. 16

List of used literature... 17

Historians associate the birth of the Byzantine civilization with the founding of its capital, the city of Constantinople. The city of Constantinople was founded by Emperor Constantine in 324. And it was founded on the site of a Roman settlement in Byzantium.

In fact, the history of Byzantium as an independent state begins in 395. It was only during the Renaissance that the name “Byzantine civilization” was coined.

Constantinople, which was the founding center of the Byzantine civilization, was well located.

The purpose of this work is to analyze the main directions of Byzantine culture.

Textbooks on cultural studies, history, etc. served as the information base for the work.

Philosophy

The philosophical thought of Byzantium was formed during the period when a religious and philosophical doctrine was created in the Eastern Roman Empire, combining the teachings of Plato and the concept of the Logos as one of the hypostases of the Trinity and of Christ the God-man, reconciling the earthly and the heavenly. The victory of official Orthodoxy entailed the closure of the Alexandria and Athens schools by Emperor Justinian I in 1529 and virtually meant the end of secular philosophy. From the end of the 4th century. Church literature was firmly established in Byzantium. On the base church canons and the Holy Scriptures are based on Christian teaching.

The most famous fathers of the Eastern Church are John Chrysostom, Gregory the Theologian, Basil the Great, and Theodoret of Crete. This period is characterized by Neoplatonism as the most widespread philosophical doctrine, which combines Stoic, Epicurean, skeptical teaching with an admixture of elements of the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle. In the V-VI centuries. In Neoplatonism, two branches appear: pre-Christian and later, in which Neoplatonism is the basis of ideological Christian doctrine. An outstanding representative of this school was Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite. His teaching was improved by Maximus the Confessor and firmly entered the spiritual life of Byzantine society.

The second period of Byzantine philosophy is iconoclasm, the ideologists of which were the icon-worshipers John of Damascus and Fyodor the Studite.

In the third period, rationalistic philosophical concepts developed, philosophy was declared a science that should explore the nature of things and bring this knowledge into a system (11th century).

The last period of Byzantine philosophy is characterized by the development of a religious-mystical direction as a reaction to rationalism. The most famous is hesychasm (Gregory Palamas). It has similarities with Yoga: cleansing the heart with tears, psychophysical control to achieve unity with God, self-concentration of consciousness.

Education

In the IV-VI centuries. old scientific centers were preserved (Athens, Alexandria, Beirut, Gaza) and new ones arose (Constantinople). In 1045, the University of Constantinople was founded with two faculties - law and philosophy. Books were copied mainly on parchments and were very expensive. Monasteries and private libraries were repositories of books.

From the end of the 7th century. to the 9th century higher education practically disappeared and was revived only at the end of the century.

2. Architecture and music

Architecture

In the art of Byzantium, refined decorativeness, the desire for magnificent showmanship, the conventionality of artistic language, which sharply distinguishes it from antiquity, and deep religiosity are inextricably linked. The Byzantines created artistic system, in which strict norms and canons dominate, and the beauty of the material world is considered only as a reflection of unearthly, divine beauty. These features were clearly manifested both in architecture and in the fine arts.

The type of ancient temple was rethought in accordance with new religious requirements. Now it did not serve as a place to store the statue of a deity, as it was in ancient times, but a place for believers to gather to participate in the sacrament of communion with the deity and listen to the “word of God.” Therefore, the main attention was paid to the organization of the internal space.

The origin of the Byzantine church building should be sought in antiquity: Roman basilicas, which served as judicial and commercial buildings in ancient Rome, began to be used as churches, and then Christian basilica temples began to be built. Byzantine basilicas are distinguished by their simplicity of plan: the main rectangular volume is adjoined on the eastern side by a semicircular altar apse, covered with a semi-dome (conch), which is preceded by a transverse nephtransept. Often adjacent to the western side of the basilica is a rectangular courtyard surrounded by an arcaded gallery and with an ablution fountain in the center. Arched ceilings rest not on the entablature, as in antiquity, but on pulvan pillows lying on the capitals and evenly distributing the load of the arches onto the capitals of the columns.

Inside, in addition to the main, higher nave, there are side naves (there can be three or five of them). Later, the most widespread type was the cross-domed church: a building with a square plan, in the central part of which there were four pillars supporting the dome. Four vaulted arms diverged from the center, forming an equilateral, so-called Greek cross. Sometimes the basilica was connected to a cross-domed church.

The main temple of the entire Byzantine Empire was the Church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. It was built in 632-537. by the architects Anthemius of Tral and Isidore of Miletus during the time of Emperor Justinian. The gigantic dome of the temple has a diameter of 30 m. Thanks to the design features of the building and the windows cut at the base of the dome, it seems to float in the air. The dome rests on 40 radial arches.
Interior decoration The cathedral was damaged during the Crusades and the Turkish invasion. After the defeat of Constantinople, it became the Hagia Sophia mosque. Instead of a cross, there is now a crescent on it, a sign of the pagan goddesses Hecate and Diana.

Music

Only church music has reached us. Secular music was preserved only in the form of "recitation" of the palace ceremony and a few melodies. They sang a cappella (without accompaniment). Three vocal methods: solemn reading of Gospel texts with singing along, singing psalms and hymns, hallelujah singing. The oldest document of liturgical chant dates back to the 4th century. Byzantine singing reaches its peak in the era Early Middle Ages. With the increase in the pomp of church services in the XIII-XIV centuries. the flowering of musical art begins.

At this time, a distinction was made between “simple” and “rich” singing, in which one syllable was extended by a whole note group or phrase. Byzantine services, liturgical melodies and hymns had a great influence on both Catholic and Russian church services and formed the basis of Russian church music. The oldest Russian church singing was of Byzantine origin. Along with the adoption of Christianity, Byzantine performers appeared in Rus' church service(Bulgarians and Greeks).

3. Literature in Byzantium

The influence of Byzantine literature on European literature is very great, and its influence on Slavic literature is undeniable. Until the 13th century. in Byzantine libraries one could find not only Greek manuscripts, but also their Slavic translations. Some works have survived only in Slavic translation; the originals have been lost. Byzantine literature proper appears in the 6th-7th centuries, when the Greek language became dominant. Monuments of folk art have hardly survived to this day. According to Western European scholars, Byzantine literature was considered the “archive of Hellenism”, its free character was underestimated, meanwhile Byzantine literature is original, and one can speak of Hellenism as a literary influence on a par with the influence of Arabic, Syriac, Persian, Coptic literatures, although Hellenism was more clearly manifested . The poetry of the hymns is best known to us: Roman the Sweet Singer (VI century), Emperor Justinian, Patriarch Sergius of Constantinople, Patriarch Sophronius of Jerusalem. The hymns of Roman the Sweet Singer are characterized by closeness to the psalms in musical and semantic terms (themes of the Old Testament, the depth and asceticism of the music). Of the thousand hymns he wrote, about 80 have survived. In form, it is a narrative with elements of dialogue; in style, it is a combination of scholarship and edification with poetry.

Historical storytelling in the style of Herodotus was popular in Byzantine literature. In the VI century. these are Procopius, Peter Patricius, Agathia, Menander, Protiktor, etc. The best writers educated in ancient schools on pagan traditions, - Athanasius of Alexandria, Gregory the Theologian, John Chrysostom. The influence of the East is observed in the patericons of the V-VI centuries. (stories about hermit-ascetics). During the period of iconoclasm, the lives of the saints and their twelve-month collections “Cheti-Minea” appeared.

Starting from the 9th century, after iconoclasm, historical chronicles with a church orientation appeared. Particularly interesting is the chronicle of George Amartol (late 9th century) from Adam to 842 (a monastic chronicle with intolerance for iconoclasm and a predilection for theology).
Among literary figures Patriarch Photius and Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus should be noted. Photius was a highly educated man, and his house was a learned salon. His students were compiling a dictionary-lexicon. The most outstanding work of Photius is his “Library” or “Polybook” (880 chapters). They contain information about Greek grammarians, orators, philosophers, naturalists and doctors, novels, hagiographic works (apocrypha, legends, etc.).

Byzantium- This is the Eastern Roman Empire. Initially, the main center was the colony of Byzantium, then Constantinople became it. Byzantium included the territories of the Balkan Peninsula, Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, India with Palestine, Syria, North. Africa, North Black Sea region. This empire existed from the 4th century BC. - mid 15th century, until it was destroyed by the Seljuk Turks.

She is the heiress of Greco-Roman culture. Culture is contradictory, because tried to combine the ideals of antiquity and Christianity. The world was perceived as God's beautiful creation. allocated Divine essence human soul.

The role of cities. In the 4th-5th centuries, the largest cities were: Alexandria, Antioch (Syria), Edes (Mesopotamia), Tyre, Beirut, Ephesus, Smyrna, Nicaea (Asia Minor), Thessalonica and Corinth (European part).

Constantinople (located in the Bosphorus Strait) played a special role. Already in the 4th century. it became the largest trade and craft center, it was called the “Workshop of the Universe.” Ships from different countries arrived at the port. Its importance as a cultural and religious center also grew. The construction of secular buildings, entertainment venues, and temples was underway.

The role of the church. Byzantium was an empire state. The emperor had unlimited power. He was considered mortal, but in relation to society he was like the Heavenly Father. The emperors showed themselves to be faithful sons of the church, although they exercised deep influence. The church influenced society. The Church fought against heresies (deviations from official teaching). In the 9th century The Eastern Church (Orthodox) separated from the Western (Catholic). In the 11th century There was a split in the church, they became independent branches of Christianity. Byzantium itself separated from Western Christianity.

Early Middle Ages.

Education was at the highest level. Preference was given to encyclopedic knowledge. The Laws of God, music, aesthetics, and physical education were studied.

Develops in Byzantium Institute of Monasticism, especially in the 7th-9th centuries. A lot of religious literature about the lives of saints appears. The first higher education institution was opened school in the 9th century in Constantinople (closed in the 7th), and a medical school.

The science.

IN geography- they drew maps of seas, countries, cities, this was incomprehensible to the West.

Significant advances in medicine: the doctor Oribasius compiled medical encyclopedia from 70 books. After the establishment of Christianity, scientists were persecuted, schools were closed, and some Library of Alexandria. Science becomes theological.

All R. 6th century monk Cosmas Indicoplous wrote "Christian Topography"(the shape of the earth is a flat quadrangle).

In the 6th-7th century. dominated alchemy in search of a divine elixir (metal into gold, cure any disease, restore youth). Developed chemistry: paints for painting and fabrics, ceramics, mosaics, enamels.

In 7 the Byzantines invented "divine fire"- a mixture that burned on water, it was used in the siege of fortresses.

Scientist Leo The mathematician perfected light telegraph.

Doctor Nikita compiled collection of surgery 9th century

Philosophy.

Common in the 4th-5th century Neoplatonism- a combination of Stoic, Epicurean and skeptical teachings with the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle. Representatives: Proclus and John Philosponus or Grammar.

Literature.

Secular poets retell ancient myths, use ancient metrics, and church poets. More gospel stories.

Poetic size folk verse is church poetry vernacular(Roman Sladkopevets).

Poems about the fight against enemies - a poem about Digenis Akritos.

Animal epic - satirical image gentlemen

Almost only theological literature has been preserved: Cosmas of Magom (8th century - hymn singer), John of Damascus (canons - hymns of 9 songs), Theodore the Studite (canons, hymns). “Myriobiblion” was written by Photius – these are annotations to 280 ancient and early Byzantine legends with commentaries.

Art and Architecture.

Objectives of Byzantine art- translate into artistic images divine ideas and the beauty of the human spirit.

IN architecture rounded shapes appear, a rotunda, a basilica, and domes appear. The most famous is the Cathedral of St. Mary (6th century Constantinople), built by Anthemius and Isidore. It is a domed basilica in shape.

Style is emerging wall painting – mosaic. Mosaic of the Church of St. Vitaliy in Ravenna, mosaic of Sophia of Constantinople, 9th century.

Is born icon painter b - she depicts the Divine world in images of earthly reality (the Virgin and Child, Jesus).

Ivory sculptures– consular diptychs.

Music.

Hymns are religious and philosophical song lyrics that combined mysticism with emotional content (John of Damascus).

Period of the Macedonian dynasty and the Komnic dynasty.

Interest in classical literature and philosophy is awakened.

Science and education .

In the 9th century reborn unand university- This is the center of secular education for the entire empire.

In the 10th century collections have been created and encyclopedias(historical, agricultural, medical and veterinary).

~ 975 Suda was created - 30 thousand articles explaining ancient realities, biographical notes, quotes from ancient authors, etc.

Literature.

Representatives: Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, Simeon Metaphrastus, adapted the cultural heritage to the interests of the ruling elite.

In 11 in Michael Psellus - works on history, theology, mathematics, poetry, odes (“Chronography”).

Art and architecture.

Instead of a basilica - cross-domed church, this became dominant in the 10th-12th centuries. Temples are becoming smaller, but taller. The dome looked from the inside - it symbolized the Universe. The new look of churches is being covered. The first new type is the Basilica of St. Basil the Macedonian “New Church”.

In art of the 10th-11th centuries. dominates lush decorativeness.

In the 11th-12th centuries. Church painting is put together into a scheme - all churches are painted according to it.

11th-12th century rise in the art of icon painting– icon of the Vladimir Mother of God, belongs to the type of tenderness. High craftsmanship in gold processing, brocade fabrics, glassware, ivory carvings.

Music - church singing.

The Age of Palaiologos.

In the 13th century Constantinople is captured by the Crusaders. Decline of culture. Cultural values were destroyed.

Large historian – Nikita Choniates, author of a work of 21 books.

Geography – Nikifor Vlemmydes, author of “History of the Earth”, “General Geography”.

Maxim Planud pointed out the Indian origin of the Arabic numeral system “Numeracy according to the Indian model.”

Mathematics - Nikolai Artabasd Rabd.

Philosophy

15th century - Georgiy Gemist Plifon, humanistic worldview. Late Byzantine philosophical mysticism was represented by Gregory the Sinaite, Nicholas Kavasil, and Gregory Palamas.

Literature.

Representatives: Nikifor Grigor, Lapith, Akindin.

The first Italian humanists were Manuel Chrysolor, Pletho and Vissarion of Nicaea.

Art and architecture.

The temples are more picturesque, the proportions are more fragile - the Church of the Apostles in Thessaloniki. Painting- a dramatic experience of the gospel story. The colors are more muted, fresco, miniature, icon. 14 in Theophanes the Greek - painting of the Transfiguration Cathedral in Novgorod.

Byzantine Empire arose at the turn of two eras - the collapse of late antiquity and the birth of medieval society as a result of the division of the Roman Empire into eastern and western parts. The geographical position of Byzantium, which spread its possessions on two continents - in Europe and Asia, and sometimes extended its power to areas of Africa, made this empire a kind of connecting link between East and West. Mixture of Greco-Roman and eastern traditions left its mark on public life, statehood, religious and philosophical ideas, culture and art of Byzantine society. However, Byzantium followed its own historical path, in many ways different from the destinies of countries, both East and West, which also determined the characteristics of its culture.

In the history of European, and indeed the entire world culture, Byzantine civilization has a special place; it is characterized by solemn pomp, inner nobility, grace of form and depth of thought. Throughout thousand years of existence The Byzantine Empire, which absorbed the heritage of the Greco-Roman world and the Hellenistic East, was the center of a unique and truly brilliant culture. In addition, until the 13th century. Byzantium, in terms of the level of development of education, the intensity of spiritual life and the colorful sparkle of objective forms of culture, was undoubtedly ahead of all the countries of medieval Europe.

Features of Byzantine culture are as follows:

1) synthesis of Western and oriental elements in various spheres of the material and spiritual life of society under the dominant position of Greco-Roman traditions;

2) maintaining traditions to a large extent ancient civilization, which served as the basis for development in Byzantium humanistic ideas and fertilized European culture Renaissance era;

3) The Byzantine Empire, in contrast to the fragmented medieval Europe, retained state political doctrines, which left its mark on various areas culture, namely: with the ever-increasing influence of Christianity, secular artistic creativity has never faded;

4) the difference between Orthodoxy and Catholicism, which was manifested in the originality of the philosophical and theological views of Orthodox theologians and philosophers of the East, in dogmatics, liturgics, rituals of the Orthodox Church, in the system of Christian ethical and aesthetic values Byzantium.

The formation of Byzantine culture took place in an atmosphere of deeply contradictory ideological life in early Byzantium. This was the time of the formation of the ideology of Byzantine society, the formation of a system of Christian worldview, which was established in a bitter struggle with the philosophical, ethical, aesthetic and natural-scientific views of the ancient world.

IN patriotic literature the early Byzantine era, in the works of Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nazianzus and Gregory of Nyssa, in the speeches of John Chrysostom, where the foundation of medieval Christian theology was laid, we see a combination of ideas early Christianity with Neoplatonic philosophy, the paradoxical interweaving of ancient rhetorical forms with the new ideological content. Cappadocian thinkers Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa and Gregory of Nazianzus lay the foundation of Byzantine philosophy. Their philosophical constructs are rooted in the ancient history of Hellenic thinking. At the center of patriotic philosophy is the understanding of existence as a good, which provides a kind of justification for the cosmos, and, consequently, the world and man. In Gregory of Nyssa, this concept sometimes approaches pantheism.

Konstantin Porphyrogenitus, at his own expense, published extensive collections and encyclopedias of works of old literature that had become rare. On his orders, a historical encyclopedia was compiled.

The Byzantine era ends in 1453, when Constantinople was captured by the Seljuk Turks and the last emperor, Constantine Palaiologos, died on the battlefield. The decline of Byzantine literature is accompanied by “cries about the fall of Constantinople,” about the torment and shame of its historical obsolescence.

4. Fresco painting of Byzantium

The fresco painting of Byzantium has hardly survived. Mosaics turned out to be more durable and typical of the Byzantine desire for color and splendor. Antique mosaics were made from cubes of marble and colored stone and were used in the decoration of the vault.

Also known is the Florentine mosaic, made from tightly fitted pieces of marble and stone using the inlay technique. Byzantine mosaics were made from smalt (pieces of glass painted with enamels) and served to decorate walls and vaults.

Palace mosaic compositions (Constantinople, Palermo) represent hunting or pastoral scenes. But mostly Byzantine mosaics are found in churches.

5. Decorative and applied arts of Byzantium

Book miniature

Book miniatures of Byzantium are multicolored: there are examples of the solemn style and more realistic, more colorful and more austere ones, belonging to the imperial and monastic schools.

Ceramics and glass

Byzantine ceramics are still little studied. At first, single-color glazed dishes were made, from the 9th century. it had a molded relief. Most Interest represent facing tiles, convex and concave, decorated with decorative motifs. The flat tiles depicted the Virgin and Child or saints. Often the composition was made up of many tiles. Later the dishes became polychrome. From the 9th century The sgraffito technique is used, that is, scratching along the glaze or removing wide areas of glaze.

If we talk about glass, the most notable are the stained glass windows made of real glass, covered with colored enamels and set in lead, which were found in the windows of the apse of the Chora Monastery (Kahriye Jami in Constantinople), created no later than 1120. They depict the Mother of God, Christ, in human size , saints in rich Byzantine clothes, the background is decorated with medallions, rosettes, and curls. Colors - blue, green, crimson.

Jewelry and metalworking

IN jewelry Niello, pearls, precious stones and especially enamels were used. Byzantine jewelers enjoyed the greatest fame due to the magnificence of the palette of their enamels. These are cloisonné enamels: crosses, frames of holy books, crowns. Sometimes the enamels are solid, but more often they are on a gold background: the Byzantines believed that the sky was covered with this metal, and they highly valued gold. The most interesting are the items from the Limburg reliquary and the Hungarian crown. They were made in the royal workshops, but silver products are inferior to gold ones.

Bronze was used to make the doors (the doors of the Hagia Sophia - with a subtle ornamental pattern and engraving). The Byzantines received many orders for temple doors from European countries; in addition, they made openwork bronze lampadophores, crosses, censers, plaques (plates), and royal doors (altar doors).

Stone

In the field of stone-cutting art, the Byzantines left only examples of architectural decoration, for example, the capitals of Hagia Sophia. The carving is very fine, sometimes resembling ivory carving. Sculptural relief flat, openwork, with abundant floral patterns.

Fabrics

The authenticity of the Byzantine origin of fabrics can be determined mainly by the ornament: a favorite motif is a circle with the figure of an animal (lion, elephant, eagle - a symbol of power). Silks embroidered with gold thread have been preserved. Dalmatica, the spacious long robe of Charlemagne, is made from this silk.

6. Icon painting in Byzantium

Byzantium is the birthplace of icon painting. The roots of the visual techniques of icon painting, on the one hand, are in book miniatures, from which the fine writing, airiness, and refinement of the palette were borrowed. On the other hand, in the Fayum portrait, from which the iconographic images inherited huge eyes, a stamp of mournful detachment on their faces, and a golden background. The Fayum portrait is part of the Eastern funerary cult. The person depicted seemed to be in other world. Such portraits were made using the encaustic technique with wax paints burned into the background, which gave the portrait a physical warmth.

The objectives of icon painting are the embodiment of the deity in a bodily image. The word “icon” itself means “image” or “image” in Greek. It was supposed to remind of the image that flashes in the mind of the person praying. This is a “bridge” between man and the divine world, a sacred object. Christian icon painters managed to accomplish a difficult task: to convey through pictorial, material means the intangible, spiritual, and ethereal. Therefore, iconographic images are characterized by extreme dematerialization of figures, reduced to two-dimensional shadows on the smooth surface of the board, a golden background, a mystical environment, not a plane or space, but something unsteady, flickering in the light of lamps. The golden color was perceived as divine not only by the eye, but also by the mind. Believers call it “Tabor”, because, according to biblical legend, the transfiguration of Christ took place on Mount Tabor, where his image appeared in a blinding golden radiance. At the same time, Christ, the Virgin Mary, the apostles, and saints were really living people who had earthly features.

The architectural structure of the icon and the technology of icon painting developed in line with ideas about its purpose: to bear a sacred image. Icons were and are written on boards, most often cypress. Several boards are held together with dowels. The top of the boards is covered with gesso, a primer made with fish glue. The gesso is polished until smooth, and then an image is applied: first a drawing, and then a painting layer. The icon is distinguished by fields, a center - the central image and an ark - a narrow strip along the perimeter of the icon. The iconographic images developed in Byzantium also strictly correspond to the canon.

In the first three centuries of Christianity, symbolic and allegorical images were common.

Christ was depicted as a lamb, anchor, ship, fish, grapevine, good shepherd. Only in the IV-VI centuries. illustrative and symbolic iconography began to take shape, which became the structural basis of all Eastern Christian art,

7. Development of artistic culture

Hellenistic art, which was not united even in its heyday, gave rise to several art schools: Coptic in Egypt, Sasanian in Persia, Syrian, etc. There was a division of the Latin West and the Greek East (Byzantium). However, Hellenistic foundations and Christian ideology determined the similarity of individual branches in subjects, forms, technology, techniques of medieval art, and blurred the boundaries.

There was mutual influence and interpenetration while maintaining the main direction. The geographical boundaries of Byzantine art are also changing: the Caucasus, Transcaucasia, Asia Minor, Southern Italy, Syria, Palestine, Sinai, Greece, Lower Egypt, the Adriatic coast. The Slavic countries of the Balkan Peninsula alternately enter and exit the realm of Byzantine art. Changing economies and social order They pay tribute to the fluidity of art, its subjects, styles, and technical principles. This is also facilitated by the constant change in the geography of culturally active centers. And therefore, one should abandon the current ideas about the rigidity of Byzantine culture, which arose in Western Europe on the basis of differences in religions and differences in the development of culture (the Renaissance’s contempt for the Middle Ages).

Byzantine art itself begins in the 7th century, but the ancient tradition in Byzantium was never interrupted, and the ancient chain restrained the steps in the development of art, which largely performed the function of transmitting cultural heritage and spiritual education. Constantinople (Second Rome) was most firmly bound by the traditions of the past. Rulers of any origin demanded the imitation of Roman models, architects and artists carried out their will, which in new historical and social conditions leads to aesthetic impoverishment.

In the field of painting, this process is associated with the mosaic technique, which flourished in the 4th-6th centuries. up to the 19th century. By Byzantine mosaics one can trace this process of Hellenistic extinction: monumentality is lost, color fades, the design becomes more geometric and schematic. K XIV century the mosaic is replaced by a fresco, and then by an easel icon. But the extinction of the Hellenistic tradition is accompanied by a positive process of infusion of art from the Western Asian provinces.

In the East, new linear-rhythmic elements were developed.

VII century - This is the end of the late antique period in the culture of Byzantium and the beginning of the Middle Ages. The Arabs become masters of the East, the Slavs - the Balkans, the Lombards - Italy, i.e. the class struggle intensifies. The “lower classes” of society are adopting the more understandable art of its eastern monks, who are fleeing the Arabs in droves.

The struggle of the emperor with the church, the gap between the fading imperial and peasant-philistine art in the 8th-9th centuries. takes the form of iconoclasm. Icons, banned by the emperor as pagan widows, were distributed by monks as shrines. This struggle ends in the 9th century. the victory of icon veneration along with the strengthening of Syrian and Palestinian influence in art.

Under Vasily I (836-886), a new, canonical type of architecture and a new iconography were formed. New churches are being created with paintings that represent a significant step forward in form and content.

Second half of the 9th century. is an early Byzantine phase coinciding with the pre-Romanesque form in the West. But unlike the West, Byzantium followed the path of compromise between the imperial tradition and eastern forms, and stylistic unity was achieved only in the X-XII centuries. in the Middle Byzantine period, which coincided with the Romanesque period in the West.

Byzantine culture

Easel painting of Byzantium is closely related to Eastern Hellenistic portraiture using the encaustic technique (wax paints burned into the base). Exact date and the time of transition to tempera on gesso is unknown. In the 12th century. easel painting became, along with miniatures, the leading type of painting. In the 12th century. masterpieces of Byzantine icon painting were created. An idea of her high level gives the icon of the Vladimir Mother of God, now kept in the Tretyakov Gallery. This is an unusually humane image of a mother, anticipating the future tragic fate of her son, which is achieved through meager and extremely precisely found means, the environment of which main role plays a thin, spiritual line and a soft, muted color. Vladimir icon- one of the masterpieces of world painting.

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Byzantine culture does not have specific territorial and temporal boundaries. Historians consider the beginning of the development of Byzantine culture to be the period of the founding of Constantinople in 330, the end of which was the capture of the empire by Ottoman troops. After 1456, when the Turks destroyed the empire, the traditions of Byzantine art continued to exist in Rus', Serbia, Georgia, and Bulgaria. Highest point The development of Byzantine culture reached greatness and power in the 9th century.

The development of Byzantine culture took place in the process of the evolution of Byzantine society from antiquity to the Middle Ages, the struggle between pagan and Christian ideologies, as a result of which Christian traditions became the ideological basis of Byzantine culture.

Features of Byzantine culture

Byzantine culture is a special, original and distinctive type of culture. Its originality lies in the fact that it is very different from the medieval culture of Europe with special elements eastern civilizations. At the same time, she was not alien to the details of Muslim and ancient culture.

Byzantine culture

Byzantine culture oriented people towards an ideal, to some extent irrational world of the highest truth. This is explained by the dominant role of religion in the life of Byzantine society.

Such cultural features could not but influence Byzantine art. Byzantine culture gave the world its own artistic phenomenon. The main differences of the Byzantine artistic style were that they did not try to reproduce the image of the surrounding world, and artistic creativity itself was not a means of self-expression of the author. Artists, first of all, were original conductors of spirituality. They embodied the highest divine world on canvases.

Influence and role of Byzantine culture

Byzantine culture had a huge influence on the culture of Kievan Rus. After the baptism of Rus', Byzantium became, to some extent, an object for inheritance. Including Byzantine culture, it was completely borrowed as the basis for the formation own culture. Nestor the Chronicler in the Tale of Bygone Years wrote about the visit of Prince Vladimir to Constantinople. The prince was amazed by the beauty, grandeur and aesthetic content of Byzantine churches and, upon returning home, immediately began construction of the same ones in Kievan Rus. Byzantine culture gave the world, and in particular Rus', the art of icon painting.

In the history of European and world culture, Byzantine culture played a very important and noticeable role, not only because it became a logical historical continuation of Greco-Roman antiquity, but also was a kind of synthesis of Western and Eastern spiritual foundations.

She had a decisive influence on the formation and development of cultures in southern and eastern Europe.

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Byzantium entered the Middle Ages, preserving the cultural heritage of antiquity. Crafts and trade continued to develop in its cities. The Christian religion had a strong influence on the cultural and political life countries. In the VII-VIII centuries. Greek became the official language of the Eastern Roman Empire. Despite the reduction of Byzantium's possessions, education continued to develop (even among peasants and artisans there were literate people), and public and private schools were opened. In the 9th century. in its capital, Constantinople, there was a higher school where religion, mythology, history, geography, and literature were taught. Two centuries later, the first university in Europe was opened in the capital.
The Byzantines preserved and developed ancient knowledge in mathematics, chemistry, medicine, geography and history. The scientist Leo the Mathematician (9th century) laid the foundation for algebra. “Greek fire” was invented - an incendiary mixture of oil and tar that cannot be extinguished with water (with its help, the Byzantines won battles more than once).
Construction of Christian churches was underway. Their distinctive feature was the rich decoration and beauty of the interior. In terms of plan, the temple was divided into a vestibule - a room at the western, main entrance, a nave - the main part of the temple, where believers gathered for prayer, and an altar, where only clergy could enter. The altar was facing east, towards the city of Jerusalem, where Jesus Christ was crucified. Church of St. Sophia (Wisdom of God) in Constantinople is the most remarkable monument of Byzantine architecture. Its gigantic dome (31.5 m in diameter) is surrounded by a wreath of forty windows. It seems that the dome, like the vault of heaven, floats in the air.

II. Byzantine spiritual culture

Beautiful mosaics - images made of multi-colored stones and pieces of glass - decorated the walls of the temple. In the X-XI centuries. Instead of a rectangular one, a cross-domed type of temple was established, which had the shape of a cross in plan with a dome in the middle.
The temple was both a model of the world and the abode of God. A strict canon has developed in the design of churches - the rules for depicting Jesus Christ, the Mother of God, saints and scenes from the Bible. The purpose of Christian art was to instruct believers how to earn heavenly bliss after death. In churches and dwellings, icons were placed - picturesque images of God, the Mother of God, scenes from the Holy Scriptures on smooth wooden boards. The faces of the Savior, the Mother of God and the saints reflected high thoughts and spiritual concentration. One of the best examples of Byzantine icon painting, the “Vladimir Mother of God” was brought to Rus' and became one of the main Russian shrines.
Byzantium was the main bearer of culture in medieval Europe: its masters, artists, and architects were invited to other countries, and European youth studied with Byzantine masters and scientists.
Southern and Eastern Slavs experienced the strong influence of Byzantium. Rus' adopted the Christian faith from Byzantium. The first churches in Rus' were built and decorated by Byzantine craftsmen.

The Byzantine Empire arose at the turn of two eras - the collapse of late antiquity and the birth of medieval society as a result of the division of the Roman Empire into eastern and western parts. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the concept of worldwide Roman rule, the title of emperor and the very idea of a world monarchy, as well as the traditions of ancient education, survived only on. East - in the Byzantine Empire. In the early period, it reached its peak during the reign of Emperor Justinian 1 (527-565). The almost doubling of the territory of the Byzantine Empire, extensive legislative and administrative reforms, the development of crafts and trade, the flourishing of science and other spheres of culture - all this marked the transformation of Byzantium under Justinian again into the most powerful state in the Mediterranean.

The geographical position of Byzantium, which spread its possessions on two continents - in Europe and Asia, and sometimes extended its power to areas of Africa, made this empire a connecting link between East and West.

The constant bifurcation between the Eastern and Western world, the crossing of Asian and European influences (with the predominance of one or the other in certain eras) became the historical destiny of Byzantium. The mixture of Greco-Roman and Eastern traditions left its mark on public life, statehood, religious and philosophical ideas, culture and art of Byzantine society. However, Byzantium followed its own historical path, in many ways different from the destinies of the countries of both the East and the West, which also determined the characteristics of its culture.

(In the history of European, and indeed the entire world culture, the Byzantine civilization has a special place; it is characterized by solemn pomp, internal nobility, grace of form and depth of thought. Throughout its thousand-year existence, the Byzantine Empire, which absorbed the heritage of the Greco-Roman world and the Hellenistic East , was the center of a unique and truly brilliant culture. In addition, until the 13th century, Byzantium was undoubtedly ahead of all the countries of medieval Europe in terms of the level of development of education, the intensity of spiritual life and the colorful sparkle of objective forms of culture)

(Features of Byzantine culture are as follows: 1) synthesis of Western and Eastern elements in various spheres of the material and spiritual life of society with the dominant position of Greco-Roman traditions; 2) preservation to a large extent of the traditions of ancient civilization, which served as the basis for the development of humanistic ideas in Byzantium and fertilized the European culture of the Renaissance; 3) The Byzantine Empire, in contrast to the fragmented medieval Europe, preserved state political doctrines, which left its mark on various spheres of culture, namely: with the ever-increasing influence of Christianity, secular artistic creativity never faded; 4) the difference between Orthodoxy and Catholicism, which was manifested in the originality of the philosophical and theological views of Orthodox theologians and philosophers of the East, in dogmatics, liturgics, rituals of the Orthodox Church, in the system of Christian ethical and aesthetic values of Byzantium. The formation of Byzantine culture took place in an atmosphere of deeply contradictory ideological life in early Byzantium. This was the time of the formation of the ideology of Byzantine society, the formation of a system of Christian worldview, which was established in a bitter struggle with the philosophical, ethical, aesthetic and natural-scientific views of the ancient world. First centuries of existence Byzantine Empire can be considered as an important stage in the ideological revolution, when not only the main tendencies of thinking of Byzantine society were formed, but also its figurative system was formed, based on the traditions of pagan Hellenism and Christianity, which acquired the official status.

In the patriotic literature of the early Byzantine era, in the works of Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nazianzus and Gregory of Nyssa, in the speeches of John Chrysostom, where the foundation of medieval Christian theology was laid, we see a combination of the ideas of early Christianity with Neoplatonic philosophy, a paradoxical interweaving of ancient rhetorical forms with new ideological content. The Kappa Docian thinkers Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa and Gregory of Nazianzus lay the foundation of Byzantine philosophy. Their philosophical constructs are rooted in the ancient history of Hellenic thinking. At the center of patriotic philosophy is the understanding of existence as a good, which provides a kind of justification for the cosmos, and, consequently, for the world and man. In Gregory of Nyssa, this concept sometimes approaches pantheism.

In the IV-V centuries. Fierce philosophical theological debates unfolded in the Empire: Christological - about the nature of Christ and Trinitarian - about his place in the Trinity. The essence of these extremely heated discussions was not only the development and systematization of Christian dogma. Philosophical content theirs was an anthropological problem: in a theologized form, the question was raised about the meaning of human existence, man’s place in the universe, the limit of his capabilities.

These disputes expressed the ideological struggle between anthropological maximalism, which considered it possible to dissolve human nature in the divine and thereby raise man to heights unprecedented in the ancient world, and anthropological minimalism, which completely subordinated man to deity and reduced humanity to extreme degrees of self-abasement.

In the reforming Christian ideology during this period, two stages can be distinguished: aristocratic, associated with the dominant church and the imperial court, and plebeian-folk, which grew out of heresies and was rooted in the thickness of the religious and ethical ideas of the masses and broad layers of the poorest monasticism. The court aristocracy, the highest clergy, and the educated intelligentsia of large cities energetically advocate using the best that has been given to humanity ancient culture. Christian theologians, writers, preachers are increasingly borrowing from the treasury of Greco-Roman culture the impressive simplicity and plasticity of philosophical prose, the filigree methods of Neoplatonic dialectics, Aristotelian logic, practical psychologism and the sparkling eloquence of ancient rhetoric. In the early Byzantine period, Christian scholarly literature reached a high degree of sophistication, combining exquisite elegance of form with deep spiritualism of content.2. The entire spiritual life of society is characterized by dramatic tension: in all spheres of knowledge, in literature, art, there is an amazing mixture of pagan mythology and Christian mysticism. Sincerity and emotionality, folk naivety and integrity of perception of the world, sharp moral assessments, an unexpected combination of mysticism with the vitality of everyday color, pious legend with business practicality are increasingly penetrating into artistic creativity. The didactic element is being strengthened in all spheres of culture; word and book, sign and symbol, imbued with religious motifs, occupy great place in the life of a person of the early Byzantine era.

Then the Empire entered into new period its development - the formation and victory of the feudal system. It is not surprising that the emperors of the Isaurian dynasty (Leo III, Constantine V, etc.) not only waged wars with the Arab Caliphate, but also carried out important reforms in the field of law, public relations and church politics. Under Leo III, a short legislative collection “Eclogues” was published, the main objectives of which were to strengthen the central government and protect the interests of the military service nobility - the support of the dynasty. There are a number of new points in the Eclogues, including increased repression of heresies.

The church reforms of the first Isaurians caused a particularly wide political and ideological resonance in Byzantium. For the first time in the history of Byzantium, there was an open clash between the state and the church, when a strong blow was dealt to the veneration of icons, the cult of which gave the church a powerful ideological impact on large sections of the country's population and brought in considerable income.

Culture of Byzantium.

Iconoclasm is the struggle of the military landowning nobility and part of the trade and craft circles of Constantinople to limit the power of the church and divide its property. As a result, the struggle ended in an ideological victory for the icon-worshipers, but in fact a compromise was reached between the state and the church. Church and monastic land ownership was severely limited, many church treasures were confiscated, and church hierarchs both in the capital and locally were actually subordinated to imperial power. The Byzantine emperor became the recognized head of the Orthodox Church.

During this struggle, the iconoclasts, as well as the icon-worshipers, caused significant harm to the cultural development of Byzantium in the 8th-9th centuries. destruction of monuments of human thought and works of art. But at the same time, it cannot be denied that the iconoclastic doctrine and the aesthetic thinking of the iconoclasts introduced a new fresh spirit into the figurative vision of the world of the Byzantines - exquisite abstract symbolism combined with refined and aesthetically attractive decorative patterns. Indeed, the formation of iconoclastic doctrine and aesthetics, which was based on the idea of the indescribability, inexpressibility of a single supreme deity, was influenced by the ideas of Judaism and Islam.

In development artistic creativity Byzantium also left a noticeable mark on the struggle of the iconoclasts against the sensual Hellenistic art, which glorified human flesh, with its illusionistic technique and colorful color scheme. Perhaps it was precisely iconoclastic artistic quests that largely opened the way to the creation of deeply spiritualistic art of Byzantium in the 10th-11th centuries. and prepared the victory of sublime spirituality and abstract symbolism in all spheres public consciousness subsequent centuries.

Report: Culture of Byzantium

Not only in the capital, but also in small towns and large villages, children of ordinary people who were able to pay for education could study in primary schools. Therefore, even among peasants and artisans there were literate people.

In the 9th century, a higher school was opened in Constantinople, at the imperial palace. It taught religion, mythology, history, geography, and literature.

2. Scientific knowledge. The Byzantines preserved ancient knowledge of mathematics and used it to calculate tax amounts, in astronomy, and in construction. They also widely used the inventions and writings of great Arab scientists - doctors, philosophers and others. Through the Greeks, Western Europe learned about these works. In Byzantium itself there were many scientists and creative people. Leo the Mathematician (9th century) invented sound signaling for transmitting messages over a distance, automatic devices in the throne room of the imperial palace, driven by water - they were supposed to capture the imagination of foreign ambassadors.

Medical textbooks were compiled. To teach the art of medicine, in the 11th century, a medical school (the first in Europe) was created at the hospital of one of the monasteries in Constantinople.

The Byzantines accumulated a lot of knowledge in geography. They knew how to draw maps and city plans. Merchants and travelers wrote descriptions of different countries and peoples.

History developed especially successfully in Byzantium. Bright, interesting essays historians were created on the basis of documents, eyewitness accounts, and personal observations.

3. Architecture. The Christian religion changed the purpose and structure of the temple. In an ancient Greek temple, a statue of the god was placed inside, and religious ceremonies were held outside in the square. Therefore, they tried to make the appearance of the temple especially elegant. Christians gathered for common prayer inside the church, and the architects cared about the beauty of not only the external, but also its internal premises.

A remarkable work of Byzantine architecture was the Church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. Justinian did not skimp on expenses: he wanted to make this temple the main and largest church of the entire Christian world. The temple was built by 10 thousand people over five years. Its construction was supervised by famous architects and decorated by the best artisans.

The Church of Hagia Sophia was called “a miracle of miracles” and was sung in verse. Inside it amazed with its size and beauty. A giant dome with a diameter of 31 m seems to grow from two half-domes; each of them rests, in turn, on three small semi-domes. Along the base, the dome is surrounded by a wreath of 40 windows. It seems that the dome, like the vault of heaven, floats in the air.

reinforced with different inclinations in wet plaster. The mosaic, reflecting the light, flashed, sparkled, flickered with bright multi-colored colors. Later, the walls began to be decorated with frescoes - paintings painted with water paints on wet plaster.

The eyes and thoughts of those entering the church turned primarily to the dome: it was represented as the vault of heaven - the abode of the deity. Therefore, a mosaic or fresco depicting Christ surrounded by angels was often placed in the dome. From the dome the gaze moved to the upper part of the wall above the altar, where the figure of the Mother of God reminded us of the connection between God and man. In 4-pillar churches, on sails - triangles formed by large arches, frescoes with images of the four authors of the Gospels were often placed: Saints Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

In the depiction of faces, attention was drawn to the expression of emotional experiences: huge eyes, a large forehead, thin lips, an elongated oval face - everything spoke of high thoughts, spirituality, purity, holiness. The figures were placed on a gold or blue background. They appear flat and frozen, and their facial expressions are solemn and concentrated.

The flat image was created specifically for the church: wherever a person went, he everywhere met the faces of saints turned to him.

In medieval art there was a special idea of perspective. The masters tried to draw attention to the most important things in the image with their sizes. The figure of Christ was depicted as larger than the rest, and towers, trees, buildings - smaller in size than the people standing nearby.

Icons were placed in churches and dwellings - picturesque images of God, the Mother of God, scenes from the Bible on smooth wooden boards. Unlike mosaics and frescoes, an icon can be moved from place to place, sent as a gift, or taken with you on a hike. One of the most revered icons - “Our Lady of Vladimir” - was brought to Rus' from Byzantium. It was not by chance that paintings, icons and frescoes, and sculptures of churches were called the “Bible for the illiterates”: after all, ordinary people could not or did not know how to read the Bible. This is even more true in Western Europe, where the Bible was copied and read in Latin, and not in the local languages spoken by the people. Only church images and sermons of priests introduced ordinary people to the content of Christianity.

5. Cultural connections of Byzantium. At the beginning of the Middle Ages, Byzantium was the most cultural country in Europe. Kings, princes, bishops of other countries, and most of all Italy, invited architects, artists and jewelers from Byzantium. Inquisitive young men went to Constantinople to study mathematics, medicine, and Roman laws. Architects and artists from European countries studied with Byzantine masters.

Byzantine culture had a particularly strong influence on the culture of the Slavs. Bulgaria, Serbia and Rus' adopted the Christian faith from Byzantium. The Slavic alphabet was brought to Rus' by the Bulgarians who studied with the Greeks (see below). Many books have been translated from Greek into Slavic. The first stone churches in Rus' were built and decorated by craftsmen invited from Byzantium. The culture of Armenia and Georgia, where Christianity established itself at the end of the 4th century, also experienced the strong influence of Byzantium. In Byzantium, many manuscripts of Greek, Roman and Eastern scientists and writers were preserved and thanks to this have come to us.