The reasons for the rise and fall of ancient Greek civilization

Ancient Greek culture is a shining pearl in the world’s classical civilization. The ancient Greek nation’s brilliant achievements in literature, art, philosophy, history, science and technology, etc., occupy a very important place in the history of world culture. status. It had a profound impact on later generations, especially on European history. Marxist classic writers once spoke highly of ancient Greek culture, praising the masterpieces of ancient Greek culture and art that "continue to give us artistic enjoyment, and in some respects serve as a specimen and unattainable standard" [①] . Therefore, exploring the reasons for the prosperity of ancient Greek culture has become one of the hot topics in the study of ancient history and cultural history in the world in recent years.

1. The impact of slavery and the slave economy on the development of ancient Greek culture

Ye Xiushan believes that the prosperity of culture and art requires certain social conditions. Ancient slavery was the first civilized era in history, and this civilized era came at the expense of the heavy burden of millions of slaves. The hard labor and inhuman life of slaves provided the possibility for some people to engage in science, culture, and art [②].

Zhu Xuchu also holds a similar view. He believed that the general conditions for the prosperity of Greek culture lay first in the prosperity of slavery and the slave economy. The prosperity of the slave economy provided direct possibilities for the development of its culture. As far as sculpture is concerned, the livelihood of a large number of craftsmen must of course be provided by the entire society, so they must be wealthy. The sculptures at that time used a variety of materials, including gold, silver, bronze, and marble. etc., with large scale and large quantity, which requires the mining, quarrying and metal smelting industries to be very developed. At that time, Greece made these demands a reality, such as the 35-meter-tall bronze "Apollo" statue in Rhodes and the gold and jade statue of Zeus, known as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. There was no prosperous economy. The background is impossible to make [③].

Liu Yuhua emphasized that the large-scale labor of slaves made the slave economy prosperous in ancient Greece, and Greek culture developed on this basis. The labor of slaves not only created the material basis for the development of Greek culture, but many slaves themselves also participated in cultural creation. The famous Acropolis of Athens, Parthenon Temple, Olympia Arena, Temple of Zeus, Temple of Apollo, etc. in Greece were all built by slaves. The "Aesop's Fables" that have been handed down to this day are said to have been written by a slave named Aesop [④].

Luo Jinglan emphasized the role of industrial and commercial slavery economy in the development of Athens culture. She said: After the Greco-Persian War, the Greek slave economy prospered rapidly, especially Athens, which used the naval power developed during the Greco-Persian War to control most of the Greek city-states, thus gaining maritime hegemony. This provides conditions and guarantees for the raw material market for its commodity production. Agriculture is also involved in the commodity currency economy, turning grapes and olives into wine and oil for export, while domestic residents rely on imports for 2/3 of their food. Athens became the economic and trade center of the eastern Mediterranean. Due to the prosperity of the slave economy, its financial resources were abundant, which provided a firm material foundation for the development of its culture. As Engels said: "Only slavery made possible a larger division of labor between agriculture and industry, thus creating the conditions for the prosperity of ancient culture, that is, for Greek culture. Without slavery, there would be no Greek state, and there would be no Greek state. There is no Greek art and science..."[⑤] The development of the Athenian slave-holding industrial and commercial economy is characterized by the relatively large proportion of commodity production in the entire economy. The development of the commodity economy not only promotes domestic economic connections, especially the establishment of overseas the relationship between economy and culture. This relatively open economic development path is different from the closed-door agricultural economy. It brought businessmen from all over the world to Athens, and scholars from all over the world came here. Athens became the center of Greek academic culture [⑥].

2. The influence of slave-owner democracy on the development of ancient Greek culture

Hu Changlin emphasized that the existence of slave-owner democracy created good conditions for the prosperity of ancient Greek culture. Therefore, When we seek the reasons for the prosperity of ancient Greek culture, we must closely examine democratic politics. Due to democratic politics, a relatively democratic and free political environment emerged in Athens at that time. It respected the independent personality of citizens and ensured and developed the personality of citizens. This created good conditions for spiritual production and enabled cultural development. There is a vast world for development. Thanks to democratic politics, cultural undertakings in Athens were fully valued by the state and society, and obtained the material guarantees needed for prosperity. At the same time, the important rulers in the Athenian democratic political era all had high cultural literacy, were willing to get close to intellectuals, were enthusiastic about cultural undertakings, and could take measures to actively develop cultural undertakings. The opening policy implemented in the era of Athens' democratic politics was conducive to absorbing advanced cultural achievements from the outside world. It also broadened the horizons of the Athenians and attracted talents for the prosperity of culture. The above conditions were precisely provided by the Athenian democratic political era. Historical facts prove that as soon as the heyday of Athenian democracy ended, Athenian culture went from the peak of prosperity to decline. After the Peloponnesian War, the slave-owning aristocracy gradually rose, and finally the whole of Greece moved towards the path of absolute monarchy. The lively political environment in Athens in the past no longer existed. Freedom of thought, freedom of speech, and freedom of creation Gradually it was replaced by absolutism.

Political changes have brought about the decline of the creative spirit of the entire society and individuals. Various cultural fields such as philosophy, drama, and art have lost their strong national spirit. The brilliance of ancient Greek culture that shone during its prosperous period has slowly been extinguished. . It can be seen that the prosperity of ancient Greek culture is inseparable from Athenian democracy. As a political form during the rise of European slavery, Athenian democracy still had some shortcomings and limitations, but it did create good conditions for the development of culture. Although this system has disappeared in ancient Greece for more than two thousand years, it has always vividly demonstrated the fact in the history of the ancient world: democratic politics brought the prosperity of ancient Greek culture. Therefore, in a sense, slave-owner democracy played a decisive role in the development and prosperity of ancient Greek culture [⑦].

Luo Jinglan believes that the prosperity of ancient Greek culture was entirely determined by its own historical development characteristics. Its most basic feature is slave-owner democracy. This kind of democratic politics adapted to the requirements of the development of social productive forces at that time and promoted the prosperity of Athens' economy and academic culture. Under the conditions of slave-owner democracy, the industrial and commercial slave-owners who were in power during the period of prosperous development were able to respect knowledge and value talents, and formulated and implemented relatively correct policies, which greatly promoted the development of culture. At the same time, in democratic politics In its heyday, it allowed citizens a certain degree of freedom of thought and also focused on academic democracy [⑧]. Due to the development of slave-owners' democratic politics, citizens' demands for mass literary and artistic life arose. The culture of Athenian slave owners was no longer a culture that served the court aristocracy, but mainly a culture that served the civil class (i.e., industrial and commercial slave owners, small farmers, and lower-class free folk who were craftsmen). Therefore, many Greek works mostly reflect the political ideals and citizens' lives of city-states and represent the ideology of free people. In this sense, it has a certain mass character and enterprising spirit. This makes Greek culture move towards the path of realism and has a more democratic color. It reflects the theocracy and autocracy, and believes in and celebrates the power of people. Under the conditions of democratic politics, the Greek city-state system emphasized the collective interests of citizens, and it combined the personal interests of citizens with the interests of the city-state. Many literary works in Athens inspired citizens to fight and devote themselves to the city-state. In addition to their artistic value, the monumental buildings in Athens are more important to praise the city-state system or reflect the glorious history of the city-state, and are permeated with the spirit of patriotism. It was the national and patriotic passion cultivated by these works that enabled Athens to defeat the enemy and defend the city with less in the battles of Marathon and Salami when the Persians attacked the country. The independence of the city-state and the survival of the nation [⑨].

Zhu Xuchu believes that the golden age of Athens’ democratic politics was the time when its culture and art shone. This is not a coincidence. Under democratic politics, citizens can truly enjoy full democracy. Every citizen is the master of the country and can participate in political affairs, express political opinions or directly assume important national responsibilities, instead of being a doll in the hands of a privileged few. Because of this, every citizen cares about the future and destiny of the country, actively participates in political affairs, exercises hard, and is proud to be a strong and brave warrior and an excellent citizen. The country also pays great attention to cultivating citizens' patriotic enthusiasm and the concept of ideal citizens. The means it adopts is education, which plays an important role in cultivating loyal, courageous and physically and mentally sound citizens. Here, the people are the true masters of art. They use their own thoughts, emotions and visions to judge works, without being bound by religious dogma or the will of their superiors. This is truly the democracy of art. In addition to the fact that the democratic system itself creates fertile soil for the growth of art, the achievements of leaders who adhere to democratic political ideas cannot be ignored. It can be seen that the democratic system of Athens played a huge role in promoting the prosperity of Greek art. It first stimulates the enthusiasm of citizens, artists, and craftsmen, while allowing individual freedom in artistic creation [⑩].

Zhang Shangren emphasized that what is more important is that the Greek nation created a progressive political system, namely slave democracy, on the basis of economic prosperity. The national system of democratic politics was of great significance to the rise of Greek civilization. Under democratic politics, citizens study hard and delve into various scientific and cultural knowledge in order to promote economic prosperity and social development. Therefore, it inspired the Greeks' strong desire for knowledge and their love and pursuit of truth, which gave rise to the Greeks' sharp wisdom and high-level ancient civilization. Parallel to the democratic politics of Greece was the academic freedom of early Greek society. In an environment of democratic politics and academic freedom, people explore the mysteries of the world, use their ingenuity and wisdom, and propose various opinions about the origin of the world. There is a flourishing situation of academic and artistic schools emerging and hundreds of sects contending. Various schools of thought debated with each other and pursued the truth through debate, which led to the rise of Greek civilization [①①].

3. The relationship between ancient Greek culture and ancient oriental culture

Zhang Shangren believes that among the ethnic groups along the Mediterranean coast, the Greek nation is a latecomer, but because of its interaction with other ethnic groups, In a unified chain of development, it can receive rich historical heritage from advanced nations. This point is crucial in explaining the rise and fall of Greek civilization. The historical heritage that the Greek nation received from the advanced Eastern nations was, first of all, the higher level of productivity developed by the Eastern nations in their long-term slave society. This higher level of productivity was marked by ironware, i.e. production tools made of iron.

Iron tools and higher-level production technology formed the material basis for the development of Greek slave society. The reason why Greek civilization suddenly emerged in the early days of slave society is ultimately explained by this material foundation. More advanced productivity levels and commodity economy are only the objective basis for the birth of a new civilization. For spiritual civilization in the ideological field, it also needs ideological materials from which it starts. In this respect too, the East has prepared a rich historical heritage for Greece. Because Greece's social and cultural development is in a unified system of social and cultural development along the Mediterranean coast, these conditions can be recognized, inherited and developed by the Greek nation. Because Greece accepted the advanced productive forces, commodity currency economy, and science and technology created by the East, social production, economy, and culture could prosper rapidly in the early days of slave society [①②].

Zhu Xuchu believes that Greek artists did not become slaves of oriental art and prostrate themselves at its feet. Instead, they worked hard to absorb the nutrients of others, dissolve them in their own blood, and form their own unique artistic features. surpass each other in depth and breadth. By the beginning of the sixth century BC, they completely broke through the shackles of Eastern art traditions, blazed new trails, reestablished standards, and began to make rapid progress based on their own ideals and personalities. In less than two and a half centuries, marble sculptures rapidly reached The pinnacle of the world, leaving the East far behind, the art of the Greek system was completely mature and independent. Despite this, they never forget to learn from and absorb the strengths of others. It can be seen that for the prosperity of a nation's culture and art, it cannot be insular. It must learn from the strengths of others, seek and form its own national characteristics, just like the use of hybrid advantages in eugenics [①③].

Luo Jinglan pointed out: The Greeks advanced further on the basis of accepting the ancient Eastern culture. In terms of literature, there are Babylonian cuneiform, Egyptian hieroglyphs, and Phoenician expressions. For phonetic alphabet writing, the Greeks cleverly compared these writings and chose the phonetic alphabet of the Phoenicians to create their own phonetic alphabet writing. The pinyin alphabet of various European Indo-European languages ??today is developed from the Greek alphabet. Although the Greeks started late, they developed quickly and made many cultural achievements. It is in line with the laws of historical development and is an undoubted truth [①④].

4. Religion and the prosperity of ancient Greek culture

Zhu Xuchu pointed out that Greek religion is different from the East. It is not as strict, mysterious and terrifying as the Eastern religion, nor is it as strict as the Eastern religion. The strict conservative monastic class tried its best to monopolize the right to interpret doctrines and control people's thoughts, and even persecuted so-called "heresies". Here, the religious atmosphere is very free and even open. Artists can give full play to their imagination and satisfy their desire for self-expression in their creations without being interfered or persecuted by priests or monasteries. The free and open nature of Greek religion allowed the sculpture art to flourish with a hundred flowers blooming, which is unimaginable in Eastern religious art. Therefore, Marx said: "Egyptian mythology must not become the soil and mother womb of Greek art" [①⑤] . The tolerance of the monks and the enlightenment of democratic atmosphere cultivated the unique and outstanding aesthetic views and creative methods of Greek sculpture artists. When ancient artists observed life or created ideas, they did not rely on God's instructions or authoritative arbitrariness, but started from real life, observed the world with their own eyes, used their own minds to analyze right and wrong, and used all their body and mind to Study nature and man himself. Therefore, the works they create have a spirit of realism, are full of human touch, and are beautiful [①⑥].

Luo Jinglan believes that the religious thoughts and living customs of the Greeks have a significant impact on the development of culture. The culture of classical Greece was as religious as the culture of other countries in the ancient world. The biggest feature of Greek religious mythology is the theory of homomorphism between gods and humans. They believe that God is the most perfect embodiment of man. God not only has a human image, but also has human emotions and experiences. This is different from the "deification of man" in an autocratic monarchy. They elevate the emperor to the realm of God, who is the supreme master of the universe. The Greeks believed that there was no insurmountable boundary between gods and humans. This view of gods was increasingly strengthened with the development of democratic politics. While they believed in gods, they also believed in humans' own wisdom and strength and valued reality. The world, mythology is nothing but a reflection of real life. Therefore, many Greek gods are typical and perfect images of human beings. For example, Apollo, the god of light and literature, was portrayed as a fit and beautiful sportsman. Many literary works, such as Homer's epics and tragedies, are based on myths and represent history and reality. This enabled Greek literary artists to embark on the path of human-centered realism [①⑦].

Liu Yuhua believes that Greek mythology is an artistic summary of "human language" and a treasure with permanent charm in the world's art treasure house. Greek mythology not only cultivated Greek art, but also became an inexhaustible and important source of later European literary and artistic creation. Most of the giants of European literature and art have drawn nourishment from it to varying degrees. Marxist-Leninist classic writers also quoted a large number of anecdotes from Greek mythology to serve the struggle for human liberation. Ancient Greek culture was never controlled and restricted by monks and priests. Greek religion was relatively free and did not become an obstacle to cultural development, so it fully demonstrated humanistic characteristics [①⑧].

5. The influence of national characteristics on the development of ancient Greek culture

Zhang Shangren believes that in ancient Greece, a relatively complete commodity currency economy appeared in the early days of slave society, which had a profound impact on Greek society and the Greek nation. Characteristics have far-reaching consequences. The widespread use of currency greatly shortened the process of Greece's transformation from primitive tribes to slavery, making the Greek nation a rare "commercial nation" in the ancient world. Greece's geographical location is inherently conducive to navigation. Navigation and commerce form a distinctive feature of the Greek nation that is different from the inland farming nations. During the extensive exchange of handicrafts and agricultural products with various parts of the Mediterranean coast, the Greeks came into contact not only with other peoples in Europe, but also with some peoples in Asia and Africa. In this way, they have a broad vision and broad spatial concept when observing the world. The Greek nation is not like many inland peoples who are stubbornly conservative and closed-minded. Instead, they have the courage to break through narrow regional boundaries, accept all kinds of new things with a keen eye, and have the spirit to sweep away the influence of old habits. This spiritual state possessed by the Greek nation has become an indispensable condition for the birth of a new civilization [①⑨].

Lan Qiguang believes that the influence of Greek national characteristics on the prosperity of ancient Greek culture is mainly manifested in the following aspects. First, the democratic political direction of city-states determined by the characteristics of commercial nations created favorable conditions for the development of rich and colorful cultures. Second, the characteristics of a commercial nation determine the status of free citizens in the city-state, which also determines the two distinctive features of Greek culture, namely the broad mass nature of the city-state culture and the embodiment of humanism. Third, the adventurous and pioneering spirit embodied by the commercial nation was an important prerequisite for the emergence and development of natural science and philosophy in ancient Greece. Fourth, the characteristics of a commercial nation determine the implementation of the city-state's policy of opening up to the outside world, which is conducive to absorbing advanced cultural achievements from the outside world and promoting the integration of foreign culture and Greek national culture. Fifth, the characteristics of the commercial nation determine the diversified development of city-state culture. It can be seen that the reason why ancient Greek culture was highly developed was determined by the unique national characteristics of ancient Greece [②⑩].

Luo Jinglan believes that the traditional lifestyle and customs of Greeks loving sports have a great influence on culture. Greek sports competitions were originally used as activities to sacrifice and worship gods during major festivals. With the formation of city-states, sports became more widespread. By the 6th century BC, various sports games flourished, the most famous of which was the Greek Olympic Games. In the Olympic Games, while athletic competitions are held, there are music, poetry competitions, chorus, drama performances, sculpture and painting exhibitions, etc. Excellent speeches are applauded at sporting events just like wonderful martial arts. The games had a profound impact on the compilation of historical works, literature and art. In future Greek historiography, the main method of calculating dates was based on the quadrennial Olympic Games. Works were named after the winners of the long-distance track events in the arena. . For example, the famous poet Jingda composed the "Olympic Hymn" to praise the winners of the Olympics. The winners of the Olympic Games have priority in holding honorary positions, exempting them from obligations to the country, and occupy special seats of honor when watching plays. The production of commemorative statues for outstanding sports games has become an important task for Greek sculptors. The ancient Greeks believed that the beauty of a person does not lie in his clothes or decorations, but in his own beauty. Therefore, athletes participating in sports activities are all naked, which provides artists with ample opportunities to observe the human body and study its structure. , processed and refined to create a perfect artistic image. The sports field becomes the best school for artists. The realism of Greek art was gradually obtained through the representation of the human body [②①].

Xin Mu also emphasized that the Greek nation is full of vitality, hardworking and has a strong enterprising spirit. They neither blindly worship the scientific achievements of their predecessors nor are they bound by traditional social concepts. This national enterprising spirit is very important and precious. Only with this spirit can a nation have strong vitality to move forward and occupy an important position in human history. Because the Greek nation has a strong enterprising spirit, while they struggled to establish a democratic political system, they also turned their attention to nature and explored its causes and development laws, thus creating brilliant science and technology [②②].

6. The role of geographical environment in the development of ancient Greek culture

Zhou Zhiqi believes that Greece is located in southern Europe. In addition to the peninsula, there are many islands throughout the territory. The coastline is winding and winding. Mountainous terrain, inconvenient transportation, and limited arable land prompted the ancient Greeks to actively develop overseas and had long-standing contacts with Eastern countries. The territory is rich in marble with beautiful color and strong quality and excellent clay, which provides excellent conditions for the development of architecture, sculpture and pottery making. Greece is a subtropical region with abundant sunshine throughout the year, making it suitable for outdoor activities. It attaches special importance to physical exercise. Athletes participate in sports games naked, forming a strong interest in human body beauty among the people. These have brought favorable factors to the growth and development of ancient Greek culture and art [②③].

Notes

①Page 65 of "Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin: Essays on Art", People's Publishing House, 1953 edition.

② "Ancient Athenian Democracy and the Prosperity of Greek Drama", "Aesthetics" Issue 2, Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House, 1980 edition.

③, ⑩, ①③, ①⑥ "On the reasons for the prosperity of ancient Greek sculpture art", "Journal of East China Normal University", Issue 3, 1982.

④, ①⑧ "Reasons for the High Development of Ancient Greek Culture", "Journal of Foshan Normal University", Issue 2, 1985.

⑤, ①⑤ "Selected Works of Marx and Engels", Volume 3, Page 220, Volume 2, Page 113, People's Publishing House, 1972 edition.

⑥, ⑨, ①⑦, ②① "Outline of the History of Ancient Greek Culture", pages 66, 67-71, 71, 72, 72, 73, Central China Normal University Press, 1990

Version.

⑦ "A Brief Discussion on the Reasons for the Prosperity of Ancient Greek Culture", "Journal of Southwest Normal University", Issue 3, 1985. See "The Cultural Background of Athenian Democratic Politics" and "Journal of Southwest Normal University" 19

Issue 1, 1992.

⑧, ①④ "A Brief Discussion on the Development of Ancient Greek Culture", "Journal of Central China Normal University", Issue 6, 1984.

①①, ①②, ①⑨ "Theory of the Causes of the Rise and Fall of Greek Civilization", "Foreign Philosophy" Issue 6, The Commercial Press, 1985 edition.

②⑩ "On the Influence of Greek National Characteristics on the Development of Ancient Greek Culture", "Journal of Hunan Normal University", Issue 3, 1987.

②② "On the political reasons for the prosperity of science and technology in ancient Greece", "Journal of Hengyang Normal University", Issue 4, 1985.

②③"A Brief Discussion on Ancient Greek Art", "Journal of Qinghai Normal University", Issue 1, 1984.