52 Culture of Byzantium

In the 4th century, after the collapse of the Roman Empire into Western and Eastern, a new one appeared on the world map christian empire— Byzantine (330-1453) Its capital became Constantinople, founded by Emperor Constantine on the site of the ancient Greek settlement of Byzantium Over time, the name of the settlement became the name of the new state. Geographically, Byzantium was located on the border of Europe, Asia and Africa and occupied an area of ​​​​about 1 million sq. km. This included the lands of the Balkan Peninsula, Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Cyrenaica, parts of Mesopotamia, Armenia, the island of Crete, Cyprus, part of the lands in the Crimea and the Caucasus, some areas of Arabia. The Byzantine Empire lasted for more than a thousand years and fell under the onslaught of the Turks in 1453.

The official language in Byzantium in the 4th-6th centuries was Latin, and from the 7th century until the end of the empire - Greek. social order Byzantium became the stable preservation of a centralized state and monarchy. Byzantium was a multi-ethnic state, it was inhabited by Greeks, Thracians, Georgians, Armenians, Arabs, Conti, Jews, Illyrians, Slavs and other peoples, but Greeks predominated.

Byzantine culture originated and developed in the conditions of acute, contradictory processes of the then society The system of the Christian worldview was established in an irreconcilable struggle with the philosophical, ethical, natural ethical and natural science views of the ancient world Byzantine culture became a kind of synthesis of late antique and eastern traditions Possessing vast territories, Byzantium controlled the tor of Govi ​​routes from Europe to Asia and Africa, the Bosphorus and Dardanelles, which also influenced the cultural development of the state

The role of Byzantium in the development of the culture of medieval society was extremely significant. Being a direct heir to the ancient world and the Hellenistic East, Byzantium became the center of a fairly developed and unique culture. A characteristic feature of Byzantine culture was the constant ideological struggle of the old with the new, which gave rise to an original synthesis of Western and Eastern spiritual principles. Byzantine cultures and was mainly Christian. At the same time, folk culture also occupies a special place - music, dance, church and theatrical performances, heroic folk epics, humorous creativity, etc. In agomy, folk contributed to the creation of monuments of architecture, painting, applied arts and artistic crafts masterystry.

Education and scientific knowledge in Byzantine society were treated with respect. In an empire with centralized administration and a developed bureaucratic apparatus, without a good education it was impossible to take a worthy place in society. By tradition, all sciences were united under a common name "philosophy" (theoretical and practical) Theoretical philosophy included: theology, astronomy, arithmetic, geometry, medicine, music. Practical philosophy included ethics, politics and history. Grammar, rhetoric, dialectics, logic, and, especially, jurisprudence also reached a high level of development.

They began their studies in primary schools, where they taught writing, reading, counting, cursive writing and the principles of logic. The book for study was the Psalter. Such schools were private and paid. Often, monasteries, church or city communities were forged as schools, so education was available to almost all segments of the population. children in churches and monasteries were carried out by clergy and monks, who decided their own needs in the lower clergy. They continued their studies in grammar schools, where they studied ancient Greek authors and rhetoric - a peculiar art of composing and pronouncing their festive things (in honor of the victory of Vasilyev, the birth of an heir, the conclusion of peace etc.) The level of education and duration of study were determined by practical professional calculations by the hunks.

In the early period, the centers of education and scientific knowledge were Athens, Alexandria, Antioch, Beirut, Gaza. In the 9th century, the Magnavra Higher School was founded in Constantinople, and in the 11th century, a university was founded, which had philosophical and law faculties. A higher medical school was opened at the university *la .*9

* 9: Litavrin GG How the Byzantines lived - M: Aletheia, 2000 - C 197

Education and science in Byzantium had a church-religious character, therefore the main place in the system of scientific knowledge was occupied by theology The ancient philosophical tradition continued here, and Byzantine theologians assimilated and preserved the richness of thought and the grace of the dialectic of Greek philosophers. Theological disputes that took place throughout the empire were aimed at creating a system of Orthodox doctrine, at expressing Christian truths in the language of philosophy. Theologians also fought against heresies and supporters of paganism .

Church teachers, so-called “great Cappadocians” (Basily of Caesarea, Gregory of Nazianzus, Gregory of Nyssa), as well as the Patriarch of Constantinople John Chrysostom in IV - V centuries John of Damascus in the 8th century they systematized Orthodox theology in their works, sermons, and letters. The dominance of the religious-dogmatic worldview hampered the development of sciences, especially natural ones. At the same time, the Byzantines raised quite high level that knowledge solved theological issues. In the fight against dissidents and heresies, they created Christian ontology (the doctrine of being), anthropology and psychology - the doctrine of the origin and evolution of man, his personality, soul and body. Since VI, logic has occupied an important place in theology (the science of methods of proof and refutation) wan).

Starting from the 10th-11th centuries, two trends can be traced in the development of theological and philosophical thought of Byzantium. The first showed interest in the inner world and its structure, faith in the capabilities of the human mind. The representative of this trend was Michael Psellus (11th century) - philosopher, historian, philologist and lawyer his famous work is “Logic.” In the 12th century, as a result of the strengthening of materialistic tendencies, attention was paid to the philosophy of Democritus and Epicurature.

The second trend manifested itself in the works of ascetics and religious mystics, the main attention was focused on the inner world of man, his improvement in the spirit of the Christian ethics of humility, obedience and inner peace. Representatives of such views were the Sinai monk ascetic John Climacus (about 525-600), the mystic Simeon The New Theologian (948-1022) and Archbishop of Thessaloniki Gregory Palamas (about 1297-1360).

In the 14th-15th centuries, the rationalistic trend in philosophy and science was strengthened. Its prominent representatives were Fyodor Metochites, Manuel Chrysolf, George Gemist Plithon, Vissarion of Nicaea. These were scientists and political figures, the striking features of whose worldview were the preaching of individualism, the spiritual perfection of man, the deification of ancient culture In general, Byzantine philosophy was based on the study of ancient philosophical teachings of all schools and directions.

Development natural sciences, mathematics and astronomy in Byzantium had applied significance for crafts, navigation, trade, military affairs and agriculture. Thus, in the 9th century Leo the Mathematician began algebra, the scientist was the author of many inventions, including the light telegraph and various mechanisms.

In cosmography and astronomy, there was a struggle between supporters of ancient systems and those who defended the Christian worldview. The representative of the latter was Kozma Indikoplova (precisely the one who sailed in India) In the work “Christian Topography” he denies the teaching of the ancient Greek astronomer Ptolemy about the geocentric system of the world His cosmogonic ideas were based on biblical statements that the Earth is a flat quadrangle, which is surrounded by the ocean and covered with heaven. Astronomical observations were closely related to astrology. In the 12th-15th centuries, astronomical works and tables of Arab teachings were translated and studied in Byzantium.

The Byzantines achieved significant success in medicine. They were familiar with the works Galen and Hippocrates, generalized practical experience and improved diagnostics They had knowledge of chemistry, were able to use ancient recipes in the manufacture of glass, ceramics, mosaic smalt, enamel and paints. And the wine of the so-called “Greek fire” (a mixture of oil, slaked lime and resin) helped the Byzantines win naval battles with enemies .

Wide trade and diplomatic connections contributed to the development of geographical knowledge in Byzantium. Byzantine travelers left valuable geographical information in their pilgrimage works.

An original landmark in the field of agriculture was encyclopedia "Geoponics" where the experience of farmers was concentrated

Byzantine culture

Periodization of Byzantine culture:

Until the end of the 5th century. — early Byzantine stage (characterized by the eclecticism of culture, big amount local options, strong ancient traditions)

The end of the 5th century - the beginning of the 6th century - - the formation of culture within the framework of the Byzantine Empire, the formation of a unique “Mediterranean” culture.

The main directions of development of Byzantine culture in 4 pp.

The formation of the culture of Byzantium in the early period was based on the traditions of pre-Christian (Hellenistic) and Christian cultures.

The eclecticism of Byzantine culture (a mixture of pre-Christian and Christian elements).

The culture of Byzantium is characterized primarily as an urban culture.

Christianity took shape as a qualitatively new structure in the cultural system.

Christianity became the basis for the formation of not only statehood, but also the entire complex of culture. Philosophy, literature, folklore, and the education system were formed on the principles of Christianity. The development of Christianity prompted the formation of new schools of fine arts and architecture.

Christianity is characterized as a complex religious and philosophical system.

In the formation of Christian ideology, two major movements were observed: aristocratic (it was associated with the dominant church, represented state interests, embraced the elite strata of society) and plebeian-folk (heresies had a great influence; in social and class terms, this movement was represented by the poorest layers of the population and the poorest monasticism).

The aristocratic movement, despite the strict Christian framework, actively used and promoted the ancient heritage. The second movement included, in addition to the religious component, an ethnic one.

Or rather, the ethnic cultures of the local population, characterized by certain local differences. On this largely folk basis, many genres of literature are formed (story and chronicle (monastic), church poetry and hagiography).

Historical literature is especially rich. In the 4th - 6th centuries. schools of geographical literature took shape: Antiochian (dogmatic approach, based on the Holy Scriptures), Cappadocian-Alexandrian (continued the traditions of the Greek geographical school).

The main function of religion gradually becomes regulating, normative, subordinating functions.

Religion has acquired a new emotional connotation. As part of the practice of Christian worship, traditions of mass spectacles were used with the obligatory participation of all members of society. A counterweight happy holidays ancient culture, in Byzantium new cult traditions are being formed, characterized by pomp, gloominess, the prerogative of individual social class groups in the practice of worship, and the use of elements of the Roman imperial cult.

The main qualitative difference is the pessimism of Christian worship, in contrast to the optimism of ancient times. The religious system came to mid. 7th century to a certain crisis - the iconoclastic movement.

Byzantine culture developed its own musical culture based on religious tradition. The basis for the formation of the tradition was the liturgy and the combination of church music and folk music. We can distinguish specific music: state, folk, rural, urban, theatrical, ritual church, etc.

The science

Fields of science: mathematics, astronomy + astrology, medicine, agronomy, philosophy (Neoplatonism), history, geography, alchemy.

● the old centers of science survived (Athens, Berut, Gaza, Alexandria);

● new large scientific centers appeared - Constantinople;

● pre-Roman traditions in scientific knowledge have been preserved;

● “infusion” of new achievements from the Arabs and Bulgarians.

Philosophy Byzantium is characterized as having a mystical and theistic character.

At the same time, the traditions laid down in Dr. continued. Greece. The most significant was the school of Neoplatonists (Proclus Diadochos, Plotinus, pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite).

Formation takes place scientific thought, including philosophical and aesthetic, which is associated with the developed social structure of society and is, during the period under review, the prerogative of the elite strata; There is a radical change in ideas about man, his place in the world, space, and society.

A concept of world history is being formed, based on the Bible (in church historiography).

Political thought in the culture of Byzantium it represents a special integral block of culture.

Political thought was formed on the basis of three components: the traditions of Hellenism, the Roman traditions of statehood and Christianity.

Education system to a greater extent than other areas of life, it has preserved the ancient, especially Greek, heritage.

Byzantium inherited classical education with the system of seven liberal arts. There were primary, secondary and high schools. Higher schools, in turn, were centers of science and art, centers of culture. During the period under review, there has been a change in orientation in the education system. Gradually, they are trying to reorient education from the principles of ancient culture to a Christian basis.

Development of historical thought in Byzantium.

Historical literature covered short periods of time, focusing on events contemporary to the authors

Works of historical literature are written on the basis of documents contemporary to the authors, eyewitness accounts, and personal experience

Lack of compilability

Limited historical outlook and general historical concept

The strong influence of politics on historical literature

A certain subjectivity

Ideas about cyclical repeating time, borrowed from ancient historians (the creators of the concept - Plato, Aristotle, Neoplatonists) prevailed; circular motion was interpreted as an ideal

The principle of causality is one of the main historical and philosophical principles used by historians (used after Herodotus, Thucydides and Polybius), causal (casual) connections were present, both real and mystical

Belief in the omnipotent role of fate, as a result - the replacement of cause with effect, the search for non-existent mystical causes, etc., recognition of fatalism as a factor in historical development

Chronological sequence is often replaced by associative or problematic or associative method presentation.

In the writings of secular historians of early Byzantium, indications of the exact time of a particular event are often replaced by descriptive, vague expressions (associated with the concept of cyclical repeating time)

Eclecticism of the works of Byzantine historians (based on ancient views)

Philosophical views and their presentation constituted a significant part of historical works

Literature and theater

▬ developed on the basis of the Greek language, and, therefore, Greek literature;

▬ church poetry quickly began to use the popular language for popularization purposes;

▬ a form of prose and court romances with quotes from the works of ancient authors; specific court literature developed;

▬ pronounced genre literature (prose, poetry, satire, church canon)

Theater retained its meaning.

In the culture of Byzantium there were also ancient tragedies and comedy and circus arts (jugglers, gymnasts, horse trainers, etc.). Circus arts were of great popularity and importance.

Trends in the development of fine arts and architecture.

Applied arts.

Fine art flourished in the 6th century. AD – the era of Justinian 1 (parallel development in most of the territory of Byzantium).

The problem of the social affiliation of art was topical.

art: mosaic, sculpture (sculptural bas-reliefs), carving (ivory), and book graphics developed.

Architecture: the development of monumental architecture went in parallel with the spread of Christianity.

During the period of iconoclasm, the spread of plant and zoomorphic motifs in ornamentation. In carving – stone carving.

art, like the education system, was initially based on the best ancient traditions.

Gradually, a reorientation took place in line with Christian ideology. Natural beauty was valued higher than “man-made” beauty. Here we can see the separation of the human spirit and body, the divine and the earthly, and preference was given to the divine and natural. Works of art created by human hands were a kind of “secondary product”, not divine.

The Byzantines, like their predecessors, did not allocate for themselves the sphere of aesthetics.

Ancient biblical motif God's creation of the world became the core of a non-rational, aesthetic approach to the perception and transformation of the world, the act of creation in the new Christian tradition. Byzantine culture adopted the fundamental principle of ancient aesthetics - principle of harmony. In the 4th - 5th centuries.

Ancient traditions were still strong in art. By the 6th century. art was imbued with the ideas of Christianity. The idea of ​​a work of art was based not on the ancient principles of harmony and tranquility, tranquility, contemplation, but on the principle of the struggle of spirit and body, positive and negative forces.

This principle gave works of art a new sound. The basis of the form often remained old (for example, the basilica in architecture)

The spread and strengthening of the Christian cult contributed to the development of applied arts (weaving, jewelry, carving, mosaic art).

Architecture

Byzantine architecture is considered as a continuation of the traditions of the ancient world.

Christianity was a new component in art. By the 6th century. radical changes are outlined both in art in general and in architecture. Characteristic is the negation of the 6th century.

ancient heritage in art, which means that the use of ancient elements, traditions and principles was either forgotten or veiled.

One of the few adopted from Hellenistic and Roman cultures was the design of the basilica. The basilica in Byzantium became not only a religious but also a public building.

Basilicas were distinguished by their purpose: judicial, palace, etc.

The basilica became the predominant, in fact obligatory, type of temple.

The basilica is built oriented along a west-east axis. The altar part of the Byzantine basilica, unlike earlier times, faces the east. The cultural, religious and political community of the territory believes in the borrowing of elements and the mutual influence of styles, the exchange of compositional ideas and decorative forms. At the same time, in each Mediterranean region, architecture is based on local traditions.

The formation of local architectural features is facilitated not only by the influence of neighboring cultures and local traditions, but also by such specific factors as, for example, the material available for construction.

The most uniform and homogeneous architectural forms were in Rome at that time. The buildings are characterized by the orientation of the building along the West-West axis, elongation along the same axis, the axial movement is formed by the construction and the peculiar dynamics of the movement of the naves to the altar part of the temple.

The dominant type is the three-nave basilica. The proportions of the naves differ from the earlier Roman ones in that they have a well-defined vertical division and are covered with marble cladding or mosaics. Similar features of public architecture were characteristic of North Africa. A special type of architecture is being formed in Syria: cubic forms were relevant in the composition of the temple, less attention was paid to spatial axial dynamics in the horizontal plane, the number of internal supports is reduced, the interior of the hall takes on a hall-like appearance, the space of the temple is grouped around the central nave.

Due to such changes, the Syrian temples made a different impression on those entering. The person was not in a dynamic, moving space, but in a static, calm hall. The architects achieved the effect of peace.

Palaces as architectural monuments were no less important than basilicas.

Typical architectural monuments of the 4th century:

p.g. 4th century - Martyria temples (Nativity in Bethlehem and Resurrection in Jerusalem)

mid 4th century - Temple of the Apostles in Constantinople (in plan there is a view of a 4-pointed cross)

Temples at imperial residences

In the 5th century There is a stabilization and typification of techniques and compositions in architecture in connection with the massive construction of temples. The predominant material was plinth. A construction technique was widely used, in which rows of plinth alternated with rows of stone on mortar.

Technology came to Constantinople from Asia Minor. End of 5th century characterized by the rise of architecture. Constantinople gradually turned into a leading artistic center. Besides basil, architectural monument At this time, a city architectural ensemble with triple city walls, an imperial palace, a hippodrome, etc. (Palace of Constantine) became established.

Painting

Proximity to ancient artistic traditions;

Use of ancient canons of depiction, construction and organization of space;

Strong local differences (western and eastern parts of the empire);

Formation of special symbolism, different from the previous one;

Along with general Christian symbolism, “educational” (predictive) symbolism is being formed.

The earliest paintings- paintings in the catacombs, they date back to the 2nd - 4th centuries.

The paintings appeared in parallel with the dominant pre-Christian art and date back to the pre-Byzantine era. They are called the earliest in terms of plot themes.

Fresco painting (baptistery at the Christian house of worship at Dura Europos on the Euphrates) is the earliest experience of Christian monumental fine art. (the exception is the paintings in the catacombs).

Works of art from the 4th century. have a church purpose or are included in the circle of Christian symbolism.

Culture of Byzantium Serelina 7th – 12th centuries.

Formation of a stable religious system, on the basis of which a stable structure of society was formed with a despotic form of power, relations within society, science, the education and administration system, art, etc.

The Christian religion strengthened and justified the differences in the culture of the elite of society and the main part of society. This period in the culture of Byzantium is characterized by the presence of an exclusively Christian worldview.

As a result of the strengthening of the church, the number of clergy and religious buildings (especially monasteries) increases. At the same time, the tradition of pluralism in personal religious views is preserved, and sects (Monophysites and Monophylites) are preserved.

By the end of the period under review, there was an increase in interest in the culture of Antiquity.

Refinement in progress theological system.

John of Damascus criticizes the enemies of orthodoxy (Nestorians, Manichaeans, iconoclasts). He systematizes theology, presenting theology as special system ideas about God. I. Damascene tried to eliminate contradictions from church dogmas.

By the 11th century. The first higher theological school was opened under the Patriarchate, the main subject of which was theology.

Literature characterized by a whole complex of various phenomena:

- many borrowings (including from ancient monuments);

- works of folk literature are widely disseminated (for example, based on a cycle of folk songs);

— how the novel emerges and spreads as a genre of literature (there were already precedents in Hellenistic culture);

- become popular satirical works, directed against the clergy;

— note the interpenetration of different literary genres (epic, novel, hagiography, etc.);

- in the 9th - 10th century.

Hagiography (processing and rewriting of existing lives of saints) is widely developing; within the framework of hagiography, poetry develops (the poeticization of monasticism, the idealization of the life of monks).

In the historical thought of this period, researchers trace typical medieval features:

○ narration;

○ absence literary hero;

○ formation of the image of an ideal sovereign (the image of Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine the Great);

○ recording of events with an almost complete absence of descriptions - the eventfulness of works, the popularity of historical chronicles;

Architecture and fine arts

Ideas about beauty, harmony, and works of fine art are formed under the influence of the church.

By this time, a system of Christian color symbolism was emerging.

- in the 9th – 11th centuries.

Byzantine culture

restoration of old monuments destroyed during the period of iconoclasm is taking place;

- restoration of some monuments of monumental painting (for example, mosaics of the Temple of St. Sophia in Constantinople);

— book art is developing (11th – 12th centuries – the heyday of bookmaking), a metropolitan school of bookmaking is being formed;

— many new churches and monasteries are being built;

- treatises on art criticism appear.

The architecture is dominated by the cross-domed composition of the temple (it arose in the 6th century).

In the 9th – 10th centuries. its own architectural style is formed: the temple was perceived as an image and model of the world. Architectural structures richly decorated. One of the widespread construction techniques is patterned brickwork on walls. In the architectural composition of temples of this period, a characteristic feature is a large number of vertical lines (researchers talk about a return to ancient Greek traditions).

In architecture, they talk about the formation of local architectural schools in different regions (Byzantine, North African, etc.)

Introduction.

Byzantine culture

1. Philosophy and education. 4

2. Architecture and music. 5

3. Literature in Byzantium. 7

4. Fresco painting of Byzantium.. 9

6. Icon painting in Byzantium.. 11

7. Development artistic culture.. 12

Conclusion. 16

List of used literature... 17

Introduction

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 and education

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 led to the closure of the Alexandria and Athens schools by Emperor Justinian I in 1529.

and actually meant the end of secular philosophy. From the end of the 4th century. Church literature was firmly established in Byzantium. Based on church canons and Holy Scripture Christian doctrine is founded.

Most famous fathers eastern church- John Chrysostom, Gregory the Theologian, Basil the Great, Theodorite 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-worshippers John of Damascus and Fyodor the Studite.

In the third period, rationalistic ideas develop philosophical concepts, philosophy is declared to be a science that must explore the nature of things and bring this knowledge into a system (XI 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 entertainment, and conventionality are inextricably linked artistic language, sharply distinguishing it from antiquity, and deep religiosity.

The Byzantines created an artistic system in which strict norms and canons prevail, 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 served not as a place to store a statue of a deity, as it was in ancient times, but as a meeting place for believers 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: the Roman basilicas that served in ancient Rome judicial and commercial buildings began to be used as churches, and then Christian basilica churches 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 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 of church services (Bulgarians and Greeks) appeared in Rus'.

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 scientists, 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 literary influence along with the influence of Arabic, Syriac, Persian, Coptic literature, 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 brought up in ancient schools in pagan traditions are 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.

(monastic chronicle with intolerance for iconoclasm and passion for theology).
Among literary figures, it is worth noting Patriarch Photius and Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus. 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.).

Already by the 6th century, two main types of images of St. George had been formed. The first type: a martyr, as a rule, with a cross in his hand, wearing a tunic, over which is a cloak. The second type of image is a warrior in armor, with weapons: a shield, sword, spear in his hands, on foot or on horseback. The Great Martyr George is depicted as a beardless youth, with thick, curly hair reaching to his ears (curls of hair are often in the form of circles located one above the other in rows), sometimes with a crown on his head.

The oldest known images of the Great Martyr George date back to the 6th century, and both iconographic types are represented in them.

Thus, in Bauita (Egypt) on the pillar of the Northern Church (VI century) Saint George is depicted frontally, full-length, in military garb, with a spear in his right raised hand and a sword in a sheath at his belt; on the northern wall of the Chapel of the 18th (6th century) there was a chest-length image of St. George in a medallion - in a cloak, without weapons.

On encaustic icon 6th century from the monastery of the Great Martyr Catherine on Sinai “The Mother of God on the throne with the archangels and the upcoming Theodore and George” both holy warriors are depicted as martyrs - with four terminal crosses in their right hands, dressed in long mantles and cloaks decorated with large ornaments with tavlions with a fibula on the right shoulder

The same type of image of the martyr is presented on a fresco in the monastery of St. Apollonius of Thebaid in Bauita (VI-VII centuries).

Unlike works of painting, where the image of the Great Martyr George early on acquired stable, recognizable features, in small plastic works as early as the 10th century, images of St. George have a great variety and are recognized by the outline of the name of this saint (or by the accompanying inscription).

Thus, on the bronze engraved detail of the belt, Saint George is depicted in a short tunic and a fluffy, large folded cloak in the orant type.

The military successes of the emperors, whose heavenly patron was Saint George, made him the most revered saint in the Byzantine Empire already in the 5th - early 6th centuries.

Iconographic type of George the warrior (full length, with a spear in right hand, with the left resting on the shield), perhaps goes back to the image of the standing emperor, as on Byzantine coins and molyvdovul Molyvdovul is a lead seal sealing letters..

Early examples include a molybdoul with an image (on horseback) of St. George slaying a serpent.

On molybdouls of the 10th-12th centuries, Saint George is more often represented as a warrior, frontally, chest-to-front or full-length, less often - as a martyr. Molivdovuls with the image of St. George are accompanied not only by a dedicatory inscription on the back, but also by a prayer appeal both to the Great Martyr George, and to Christ or to the Mother of God.

On the molybdouls of the Palaeologian time, Saint George was often depicted full-length, paired with other holy warriors.

Images of St. George were firmly established on the coins of the Komnenos, starting from Emperor Alexios I.

The Great Martyr was usually represented frontally, full-length, together with the emperor; on the sides of the cross, a half-figure of a saint with the corresponding attributes could be minted: a shield, sword or spear. The image of George the warrior is also known on the coins of the Palaiologos.

The wide distribution of the image of George the warrior in Byzantine art in the 11th-12th centuries is evidenced by a number of surviving monuments: a steatite icon of the 11th century, an enamel image on the cover of the binding with the image of the Archangel Michael, a mosaic in the Cathedral in Cefalu, Sicily, 1148, a slate icon "Saints George and Demetrius" and many others.

Already from the 6th century, Saint George is often depicted together with other warrior-martyrs - Theodore Tyrone, Theodore Stratelates, Demetrius of Thessalonica.

Since the 10th century, images of St. George, among other holy warriors, have been known, for example, “Deesis with holy warriors.” From the 12th century, icons depicting St. warriors became widespread.

The most stable is the paired image of the Great Martyr George with the Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica. The unification of these saints could also have been influenced by the similarity of their appearance: both were young, beardless, with short hair reaching to the ears.

They are depicted both as martyrs and as warriors, on foot or on horseback.

A rare iconographic depiction - St. George the warrior seated on a throne - arose no later than the end of the 12th century. The saint is represented frontally, sitting on a throne (throne) and holding a sword in front of him: with his right hand he takes out the sword, with his left he holds the scabbard.

A peculiar literary description of this iconography belongs to the Byzantine poet Manuel Phil (c. 1275 - c. 1345), who addresses “the great warrior George, sitting in front of the city and half drawing his sword from its scabbard”: “Having stopped the battle in which you drove out the enemy of the soul, again you are thinking while on vacation.”

In monumental painting, Saint George could be depicted on the edges of the domed pillars, on the supporting arches, in the lower register of the naos, closer to the eastern part of the temple, as well as in the narthex.

In the 14th century, the veneration of holy warriors increased as a reaction to the military activities of the Ottoman Turks, who had by this time moved to Europe.

Thus, in the liturgical texts of the 14th century, in the rite of proskomedia (according to the charter of Philotheus Kokkin, 1344-1347), after the prophets and apostles in the list of martyrs, the holy warriors Demetrius, George and Theodore Tiron are first remembered. A significant place is given to the military theme in the monumental painting of churches, especially in the Balkans.

Images of holy warriors are included in the most important compositions of iconography, for example in the Deesis. They stand before Christ following the Mother of God.

Byzantine culture (page 1 of 3)

Christ and the Mother of God are in royal vestments, the upcoming warriors are in the robes of nobles.

Images of George the warrior are included in portraits of ktitors, where he acts as the patron of earthly rulers.

The iconography of the Great Martyr George on horseback is based on the late antique and Byzantine traditions of depicting the triumph of the emperor. There are several options: George the warrior on horseback (without a kite); George the Serpent Fighter “The Miracle of the Great Martyr George about the Serpent”; George with a youth rescued from captivity “The miracle of the Great Martyr George with the youth.”

In Byzantine art, the image of George the serpent fighter is rare.

A number of images of George the warrior on horseback (without a kite) are also known: with a spear raised upward in his right hand and with a shield behind his left shoulder, with a cloak fluttering behind his back. Nikephoros Gregoras in the Roman History (1204-1359) mentions the image of the great martyr on a horse, which was on the wall of the imperial palace in front of the chapel of the Virgin Mary Victorious (Nicopeia) in Constantinople.

Pseudo-Kodin in his treatise “On the Court Officials” (not earlier than the middle of the 14th century) indicates that on the feast of the Nativity of Christ, among other military banners, two banners were brought into the emperor’s chamber - with the image of George the Horseman and George the Serpent Fighter.

The plot of “The Miracle of the Serpent” acquired particular fame and independence. It became most widespread in the art of those areas whose culture was closer to folk traditions, especially in Asia Minor, Southern Italy and Ancient Rus'.

The composition “Double Miracle” combined the two most famous posthumous miracles of the Great Martyr George - “The Miracle of the Serpent” and “The Miracle of the Youth”.

Saint George is depicted on a horse (galloping, as a rule, from left to right), slaying a serpent, and behind the saint, on the croup of his horse, is a small figurine of a seated youth with a jug in his hand. The text about the miraculous rescue of a Paphlagonian youth from captivity, already known in the edition of Symeon Metaphrastus (10th century), probably arose later than the “Miracle of the Serpent.”

In fine art, the combined composition is first found on a Greek icon of 1327 from a church in Alexandroupolis, and in monumental painting - on a 15th-century fresco in the Church of the Great Martyr George in Kremikovtsi in Bulgaria.

The life cycles of the Great Martyr George, in terms of antiquity and degree of popularity, are ahead of the cycles of other martyred warriors.

Within the life cycle of the Great Martyr George, one can highlight the themes of torment and miracles, separately intravital and posthumous. Depending on the edition of the text of the saint’s life, there are options in illustrating the life cycle: the cycle can begin with the plot of the distribution of property to the poor and end with the position of Saint George in the grave.

In monumental painting, the earliest hagiographic cycle is partially preserved in the painting of the St. George northern aisle of the Hagia Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv (40s of the 11th century).

Picturesque scenes from life could be placed on the facades of temples.

In the 14th century, the life cycle of the Great Martyr George adorned a number of Serbian churches: the Church of St. George of the Djurdjevi Stupovi Monastery near Novi Pazar (1282-1283) - above the entrance to the naos there is a grandiose image of St. George on a horse, and on the vaults of the narthex there are four scenes from the life cycle .

One of the most extensive cycles in monumental paintings (20 scenes) is located in the Church of the Great Martyr George in Staro-Nagorichino (1317-1318). It is presented as a single composition, not divided into registers, and occupies the northern and southern walls of the naos. In the Church of Christ Pantocrator of the Decani Monastery (until 1350), where the cycles of the lives of saints are given a special place, along with St. Nicholas and St. John the Baptist, the Great Martyrs George and Demetrius are glorified as the heavenly patrons of the military campaigns of King Dusan.

Often the scene of the torment of St. George (torment on the wheel or beheading) was included in the minologies of the Minologies - in this context, images of saints in calendar order.

In the post-Byzantine period, a new image of St. George appeared in the iconography, called Kephalophoros - a saint with a truncated head in his hand.

Traditional version: a half-length or full-length figure of George the warrior in a three-quarter turn, in prayer to the Savior (half-figure in the heavenly segment in the upper right corner), in his left hand the Great Martyr George holds a truncated head, in his right hand in prayer; in the left hand of the Savior there is a scroll with the inscription: “I see you, martyr, and I give you a crown,” with his right hand He places a crown on the head of the saint; next to the Great Martyr George (under his left hand) there is a scroll with the inscription: “Do you see what the lawless (people) have done, O Word?

You see the head that was cut off for Your sake.” According to researchers, this iconographic type, known from icons of the 15th-17th centuries, arose in the 11th-12th centuries.

1) The first period (IV century - end of 7 century) - the struggle between Christian and ancient cultures, the formation of Christian theology.

2) The second period (late 7th century - mid 9th century) is a period of cultural decline associated with economic decline and iconoclasm.

3) Third period - (middle of the 9th-10th centuries), a period of cultural upsurge in Constantinople and the provinces.

Culture of Byzantium.

4) The fourth period (XI century - XII century..) is the period of the highest flowering of culture due to urbanization.

5) Fifth period (end of the XII-XIII centuries) - a period of cultural decline, the Latin era, sack in 1204.

Crusaders.

6) The sixth period (XIV - early XV centuries) - a new rise, the emergence of humanism in the context of the struggle against reaction: this is limited humanism, not freedom of thought, but a struggle for ancient education.

In the history of Byzantium, Christian ideology played a special role.

The aesthetic sphere was actively included in it.

From the point of view of the formation and development of Byzantivism, the history of Byzantium is also considered:

First period(approximately from the 4th to the 8th centuries) includes historical facts that prepare and characterize Byzantivism.

First of all, this is an ethnographic revolution. Moreover, if the west of the Roman Empire was completely absorbed by German immigration, the east managed to adapt to the new ethnic situation. The fight against the Goths and Huns did not result in such great losses. Justinian and Heraclius - kings of the 6th and 7th centuries. - were able to organize relations with the Slavs, which gave the empire a certain advantage.

Slavic tribes were located in the western and eastern provinces on free lands, with a guarantee of non-interference in the internal affairs of the community. In fact, these tribes acted as protection.

Second period(VIII-IX centuries) is characterized by a struggle of ideas, expressed in iconoclasm. This movement divided the empire into two camps, in the organization of which the antagonism of nationalities also played an important role.

In 842, representatives of the camp of icon veneration won a victory. This marked the victory of the Hellenic and Slavic elements over the Eastern, Asian ones.

Third period(late 9th-11th centuries) is characterized by the spread of Byzantivism to South-Eastern Europe.

Largely thanks to Cyril and Methodius, the Slavic peoples entered the cultural environment of Europe.

The fourth period(end of the 11th - beginning of the 13th century) - the struggle of the West with the East, Crusades. The goal of the crusading movements gradually changes - instead of gaining the Holy Land and weakening the power of Muslims, the leaders come to the idea of ​​​​conquering Constantinople. Thus, the main goal of the policy of the reigning persons was to ensure a state of balance between elements hostile to the empire.

Therefore, alliances of Christians were concluded against Muslims, and then vice versa. In particular, the crusaders were struck by the fact that the Polovtsian and Pecheneg hordes were in the service of the empire. In 1204, the crusaders captured Constantinople and divided the empire among themselves.

Fifth period(XIII - mid-XV centuries) - Nicene Empire (during this period the main point was the defense of Orthodoxy against Catholic dominance and the fall of the empire from the Turkish conquerors).

Date of publication: 2015-01-25; Read: 510 | Page copyright infringement

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We are not surprised that in Byzantium of the 6th–10th centuries, great attention was paid to works on physics of the Hellenic period: after all, these works appeared precisely then. At this time, physics included the entire body of knowledge about nature, namely physics itself, geography, zoology, botany, mineralogy and medicine.

Historians report that the Byzantines obtained information on natural science from books, in particular from the works of Aristotle. But suddenly it turns out that this interest in the works of the classic required their new editions; that the sequence of arrangement of books within individual works was often disrupted, and their places were mixed up; that the meaning of a number of texts was obscured, and the contents of the lists also did not coincide; that in Byzantium short summaries of Aristotle’s main ideas were made, and these summaries, although they adhered to the text of the originals, were often supplemented with new material, excerpts from the works of later scientists who spoke on the same topic... According to Simplicius, the texts of Aristotle’s “Physics” remaining from his two closest students, Theophrastus and Eudemus, differed significantly from each other.

All this means that in Byzantium the works of Aristotle were not only edited, but, in fact, created anew.

Commentaries by Themistius, Simplicius, John Philoponus, and Olympiodorus on Aristotle and on the writings of other “ancients” have reached us. These comments are invaluable; they greatly facilitate the understanding of science, especially the more difficult passages from Aristotle and others. What does it mean to clarify passages that are difficult to understand? This means writing your work on this topic.

Each of these authors took a different approach to solving the problems facing them. The most famous commentators on Aristotle's works were the students of Ammonius, a professor at the School of Alexandria, Simplicius and John Philoponus. They were distinguished by comprehensive and deep education, independence in solving physical problems and clarity of thinking. At the same time, Simplicius did not go beyond the Neoplatonic tradition in his comments. John Philoponus was a Christian, but despite this, on some theological issues he expressed opinions that significantly diverged from the tenets of Christian doctrine. In a dispute with the pagan Neoplatonist Olympiodorus, John Philoponus denied the eternity of the Universe and proved the identity of the nature of the celestial bodies and objects of the sublunary world.

Themistius relentlessly followed Aristotle. Like his idol, he considered the air surrounding a thrown body to be both moving and setting in motion. On the contrary, such an explanation seemed artificial to Simplicius. He suggested that the throwing projectile imparts movement to it, and not to the air. Nevertheless, Simplicius did not dare to abandon Aristotle's hypothesis.

This concept and a number of other provisions of Aristotle’s natural philosophy were criticized by John Philoponus. He argued that throwing a stone transfers a certain internal force that maintains movement for a certain time to the stone, and not to the air, which does not contribute anything to the movement, and if it does, it contributes very little. Characterizing this force, John Philoponus presented it as incorporeal and having nothing in common with air or any other medium. The speed of the thrown object depends on its value. The resistance of the environment in which it flies can only reduce its speed, which will be maximum in emptiness. In medieval Latin texts, the force that is imparted to a moving body was called impetus (impulse, pressure, pressure, forward striving). The idea of ​​impetus was an anticipation of the concepts of momentum and kinetic energy.

It is quite possible that John Philoponus conducted some experiments with objects falling in various environments. Simplicius also experimented. Studying the question raised by Aristotle about the change in the weight of a body as it approaches a “natural” place, he, based on his experiments, denied the difference between an empty wineskin and a wineskin filled with air. Aristotle considered the weight of an inflated waterskin to be greater than that of an empty, uninflated one.

The mathematicians Eutokius, Anthimius of Thrall and Isidore of Miletus, who knew not only the works of Archimedes, but also the works of Heron, in particular his Mechanics, showed great interest in the problems of mechanics. The latter applied their knowledge of the laws of mechanics, creatively mastered, in the construction of the Church of St. Sofia.

The knowledge of the Byzantines in the field of optics - the science of vision, catoptrics - the theory of reflection of rays from mirror surfaces and dioptrics - the study of optical measurements, was based on the works of Aristotle, Euclid, Heron, Ptolemy.

Euclid's treatise "Optics", outlining the theory of perspective, was processed and republished by Theon of Alexandria. The principles of reflection of parabolic mirrors were formulated in the work of Anthimius from Thrall “On Incendiary Mirrors”. Olympiodor took a new approach to solving the problem of the rectilinear passage of light rays. Unlike Heron, who in his “Catoptrics” established the dependence of the straightness of light rays on the infinitely high speed of their propagation, the later Byzantine philosopher proved the expediency of the structure of everything in nature, which, according to him, does not tolerate any excesses. This would be the case if she did not choose the shortest path for the passage of light.

Thus, in Christian Byzantium, certain provisions of Hellenic scientists were criticized and some correct guesses were made on a number of issues in physics. But the theory of these disciplines developed slowly. The Byzantines, historians believe, were more interested in the practical side of the matter; they tried to apply the achievements of their predecessors to solve pressing problems. technical problems, and in the field of theory they just tried to comprehend the ideas expressed by the ancients.

Orthodox Christian scientists began to view physics as an auxiliary science in the service of religious metaphysics. They also had their own view of nature. If for the Hellenes nature is a real reality, then for Christians it is the creation of God, His symbol, the embodiment of His ideas. In all natural phenomena they saw the action of divine providence, an illustration of religious and moral truths.

However, the presence of two systems of understanding nature - Hellenic and Christian (allegorical-didactic) could not but lead to the emergence of an idea synthesized from their elements. And it appeared in Byzantium in the work of Michael Psellos “General Instruction” and in the monody he wrote to console those affected by the earthquake in September 1063. Although he considered God to be the creator visible world, nature appears in him in a different capacity, it appears separate from the Creator who created it, existing independently, independently of Him. She lives and acts, obeying only the laws that were given to her at creation and which can be cognized by man. For Psellus, nature is an object of independent consideration. He strives to provide a rational explanation for the natural phenomena of the surrounding world.

Psellus, talking about various natural phenomena, indicates the root cause and immediate cause that caused them. Remaining a man of his time, by the first cause he meant God, and in his explanation of the causal relationship of natural phenomena he tried to combine the laws of Aristotle’s “Physics” with the actions of divine providence. In his work “General Instruction”, a treatise on meteorology, a commentary on Aristotle’s “Physics” and other works, he paid much attention to the development of physical problems. He collected and processed information about matter, movement, color, echo, rain, thunder, lightning, etc.

The Byzantines expressed great interest in the most diverse manifestations of nature; not only scientists, but also historians, hagiographers, and authors of theological works considered it their duty to talk about atmospheric phenomena, earthquakes and other natural disasters, reveal their essence and reasons.

Patriarch Nicephorus wrote about menacing atmospheric phenomena, falling stars, will-o'-the-wisps, and comets. He considered them a punishment from the Creator for the insults inflicted on him by the iconoclasts. At the same time, he criticized, calling the people who tried to give natural scientific explanations for this “artsmen.”

Anna Komnena compared certain events of her father's reign with physical phenomena. Thus, narrating the arrival of Alexios I in Thessalonica, she compares the inhabitants of the surrounding regions heading towards him with heavy bodies that tend to the center. John of Damascus in “The Source of Knowledge” discusses the origin of thermal waters. Patriarch Photius in the “Library” also touches on physical issues and primarily focuses his attention on the nature of earthquakes. Simeon Seth, in his “General Review of the Principles of Natural Science,” included data on the substance of heaven and earth, matter and form, place and time, soul and spirit, and the five senses. Eustratius of Nicea in his writings also dwells on the origin of rain, snow, hail, thunder, lightning, earthquakes, and thermal waters.

When talking about natural phenomena, the Byzantines paid great attention to their description, rather than to the study of patterns. The concept of experiment was alien to them. All controversial issues were resolved speculatively. The main source of their knowledge about the world around them was not nature itself or observations of its phenomena, but books, primarily the works of Aristotle and his commentators: Olympiodorus, Proclus, John Philoponus and others.

The cause of earthquakes has been discussed for a long time. The Orthodox considered them to be God's punishment for the sins of mankind. Scientists stood on the point of view of Aristotle, who developed the theory according to which earthquakes are caused by air accumulated in cracks in the Earth. And Patriarch Photius believed that they are generated by an excess of water in the bowels of the Earth, and not by an abundance of air and not by sins. However, this did not prevent him from interpreting the earthquake as a miracle in other works.

According to Michael Psellus, earthquakes are caused by God, but their immediate cause is the air emanating from the bowels of the Earth, which, due to its great hardness, becomes denser and rushes out under pressure, which causes the Earth to shake. Also, both Simeon Seth and Eustratius of Nicea initially indicate the supernatural cause of earthquakes, arguing that nothing happens in nature without divine permission, and then they remember the cause of the physical order.

Eustratius of Nicaea also explains the origin of thermal waters by natural causes. He categorically rejects the opinion of Ephraim the Syrian, who considered them to be the source of Hell, on the grounds that if water flowed from hell, it would be harmful and would bring death and destruction. In fact, it has therapeutic and even healing properties.

Eustratius of Nicea adhered to the concept according to which the body of the Earth is penetrated by air, fire and water veins, through which air, fire and water flow respectively. Fire channels located near water channels sometimes heat the water flowing in them to a boil, which in this state appears on the surface. Air veins adjacent to aquifers, on the contrary, cool the water in them, and it, becoming cold, pours out from the sources. According to custom, this concept was also attributed to Aristotle.

Using their own observations, Byzantine scientists solved the problems of seawater salinity. Thus, Simeon Seth explains the reasons for this salinity by constant evaporation occurring from the surface of the sea, which makes it denser, and as a result the water acquires a salty taste. He compares this phenomenon to the secretion of salty sweat by the human body, despite the fact that he consumes only fresh water. The theoretical provisions for such conclusions are again attributed to Aristotle without any basis. However, Simeon Seth also refers to the intervention of divine providence, supposedly by whose will the water, becoming salty, does not rot and does not emit a stench.

Byzantine thinkers also thought about why during a thunderstorm a person first sees light and only after some time hears sound. Mikhail Psell tried to explain this phenomenon by natural causes: the eye catches light before the ear catches sound, because the eye has a convex shape, and the ear is hollow. Simeon Seth gave a more rational explanation: sound takes time to spread, but light does not need it.

The concepts of the physical structure of the surrounding world presented in the works of Michael Psellus, Simeon Seth and Eustratius of Nicaea differ in many ways from biblical ideas about the structure of the universe, and in their essential features coincide with the work “On Origin and Destruction,” again attributed to Aristotle.

All the works of these scientists, devoted to the consideration of the physical phenomena of the surrounding world, testify to an attempt to harmonize Hellenic teaching with Christian doctrine, and Christian doctrine with the principles of the Hellenic worldview. However, rationalism, which arose in science in the second half of the 11th century, was limited. Only that which did not come into obvious conflict with the dogmas of Christianity was accepted.

During the Palaiologan period, after Latin domination, the development of scientific thought continued in Byzantium. Let us mention one of the scientists of this time, Theodore Metochites. He, they say, already saw the inferiority of the ideas attributed to Aristotle, although in fact he criticized a certain canonized teaching of the past period, which was both more logical and correct. Metochites accused Aristotelianism of underestimating mathematics. Analyzing the writings of Aristotle's adept Khumna, Metochites showed that his thinking in the field of physics, although it evidences some borrowings from Plato, is nevertheless static and entirely based on the qualitative physics of Aristotle. Metochites reproaches his opponent for ignorance of Plato, for missing one of his most important premises - quantitative aspect theory of elements, which ultimately is a consequence of underestimating the importance of mathematics.

This idea of ​​Metochites was a kind of herald scientific revolution XVII century, which significantly expanded the use of mathematical methods in the study of the physical world.

But we must keep in mind that we do not know much of Byzantine science, because many books (sometimes along with scientists) were taken out in the 13th–15th centuries Western Europe, and there they were used without reference to the original source.

All the most important branches of knowledge in the Byzantine Empire basically continued and developed the legacy classical Greece Hellenistic and Roman periods; this heritage was given a theological orientation or it was processed in accordance with Christian doctrine. The development of scientific theory, however, stopped: after all, the basis of ancient science was philosophy, which in the Middle Ages gave way to theology. Due to the fact that “the worldview of the Middle Ages was essentially theological,” and “church dogma was the starting point and basis of all thinking,” secular sciences usually took on a theological coloring in Byzantium, as elsewhere in the Middle Ages; information on natural science, geography, mathematics, history can often be found in theological works. The peculiarity of the medieval sciences was also that rarely any of the thinkers (the same was the case in antiquity) was limited to any one area of ​​​​knowledge: the majority were engaged in science in the broad sense of the word; many wrote essays on philosophy, theology, mathematics, medicine - in a word, on a number of sciences that were later differentiated.

The development of mathematical theory stopped in Greece long before the emergence of the Eastern Roman Empire. During the period under review, mathematics develops in accordance with practical needs. In addition, the study and commentary on ancient authors, especially Euclid and Archimedes, continued.

Mathematical calculations were widely used in astronomy, which was of paramount importance for navigation and in determining calendar dates, necessary, for example, for calculating taxation, as well as for church chronology. It was important for the chroniclers to determine the year of the “creation of the world,” from which all secular and theological historical chronology; in addition, the clergy needed to know the exact dates of the main events in the life of Christ (his birth, baptism, etc.), which were timed church services and holidays. The most significant of the latter was the Easter holiday: in accordance with it, days were established for the celebration of many events of the church year. Special techniques for calculating the time of this most revered holiday in the church calendar were quite complex. They were associated with serious mathematical processing of the results of astronomical observations.

A prominent mathematician of this period was Theon, the father of the famous Hypatia, who commented on the mathematical works of the ancients and taught in Alexandria. The Neoplatonist philosopher Proclus (5th century) composed commentaries on the works of ancient mathematicians. Domnin (5th century) wrote a treatise on arithmetic. In Alexandria, Stefan of Alexandria, a professor at the University of Constantinople, was educated (first half of the 7th century), who lectured on the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and music.

As for the practical application of mathematical knowledge, the most important here was the improvement of the astrolabe by Sinesius of Cyrene, who also compiled a special treatise on this most important device for navigators. Treatises on the design and use of the astrolabe were also written by the above-mentioned Stephen of Alexandria and the philosopher John Filonov (late 6th century), a professor at the University of Constantinople. Finally, the names of two outstanding mathematicians of the 6th century should be mentioned. - Anthemius of Thrall and Isidore of Miletus, who practically applied their knowledge of architecture in the construction of the temple of St. Sophia in Constantinople; Anthymius was also prone to theoretical research, as evidenced by his work on burning mirrors, which survives only in fragments.

In the eyes of the Byzantines, scientific works on geography were only descriptions of the earth compiled by ancient authors, for example Strabo. These works were studied and commented on throughout Byzantine history. But for the practical needs of the state, church and trade, works of a different kind are also compiled, devoted to the description of the earth and the countries and peoples of that era. A number of works belonged to merchants who described the countries they had seen and collected information about the routes of communication.

In the middle of the 4th century. was compiled by an unknown Syrian " Full description world and peoples”, containing information about the countries and peoples of the East, about the most important centers of the empire for trade and economics. This work has survived only in a Latin translation.
Among the Byzantine geographical and cosmographic treatises of early times, a very special place is occupied by the work of Cosmas Indikoplov, widely known throughout the Middle Ages, “Christian Topography”. This book, like the life of its author, is deeply controversial. Kosma was born at the turn of the 5th-6th centuries. He spent his youth engaged in trading business. Kosma was not able to receive an extensive education, but he visited many countries. In adulthood he lived in Alexandria, and then, apparently, entered a monastery in Sinai, where he ended his days.

Along with interesting, reliable geographical and ethnographic data, his “Christian Topography” included cosmogonic and philosophical ideas about the universe, adapted to Christian doctrine. And here the brave merchant, the inquisitive traveler, the entertaining storyteller faded into the background: he gave way to a fanatical, ignorant, limited monk. In his "Christian Topography" Cosmas tries to refute the ancient cosmogony and replace it with the biblical concept of the universe. Based on the Bible and the works of the church fathers, Cosmas contrasts the Ptolemaic system with Christian cosmography. Considering the teachings of Ptolemy not only incorrect, but harmful and dangerous. Kosma claims that the Earth is not spherical in shape, but is a flat quadrangle, like Noah's Ark, surrounded by the ocean and covered by the vault of heaven where “paradise” is located.

The philosophical and theological views of Cosmas were influenced by the theologian of the 4th-5th centuries. Theodore of Mopsuestia, as well as one of the scientists of the Nisibis Nestorian school of theology - Mar-Aba (Patricia). The main thing in Cosmas’s worldview is the doctrine of two states (χααστασεις). God strives, according to Cosmas, to communicate his wisdom and his goodness to the creatures he created, but the difference between the creator and the creation is so great that the direct spread of divine wisdom to the creation is impossible. Therefore, God creates two states: one is corruptible and finite, full of contradictions and subject to trials, the other is eternal and perfect. Based on this teaching, Cosma comes to a dualistic understanding of all things. The universe is divided into two worlds - earthly and heavenly, and the history of mankind - into two periods: one starting with Adam, the other with Christ. Christ's victory over death creates a guarantee for humanity to achieve eternal bliss. In Christological matters, the ideas of the author of “Christian Topography” are close to Nestorianism, the influence of which is felt quite strongly in his work.

Cosma's cosmographic and theological-philosophical views met a decisive rebuff from the Alexandrian philosopher, Cosma's contemporary, Filopov, who defended ancient views on the universe, dating back to Aristotle. The heated controversy between Cosmas and Philoponus largely reflects the philosophical and theological struggle in Alexandria in the 6th century.

It is also characteristic of that transitional era that Cosmas, with all his Christian fanaticism and hatred of Hellenic science, himself could not avoid, to a certain extent, the influence of Aristotelian philosophy and the teachings of the Stoics.

In general, the cosmographic ideas of Cosmas were a step backward compared to the Ptolemaic system and brought great harm to the development of science about the universe. In the Middle Ages, Cosmas’s “Christian Topography” largely slowed down the progress of the science of the universe. It should be taken into account that Cosmas’s work was widespread not only in Byzantium, but also in the West and in Ancient Rus'. Kosma's colorful stories about various countries of the world made his work entertaining reading. The popularity of “Christian Topography” was greatly facilitated by the unusually interesting, sometimes highly artistic illustrations - miniatures and drawings that decorated it. The miniatures of the Vatican manuscript of Cosmas from the 9th century are especially famous.
It is still controversial what drawings were in the original “Christian Topography” and whether they were drawn by Cosmas Indicoplous himself or by some other artist. In the text of his essay, Kosma not only often mentions, but also explains the drawings. It seems likely that the image of the rhinoceros, the statues in the palace of King Aksum and some other drawings belonged to the author himself. The drawings related to cosmography proper were apparently borrowed from Mar-Aba (Patricia). In any case, in the drawings of Kosma (or another artist) one can feel the influence the best samples art school Alexandria - mosaics, frescoes, statues in the catacombs and basilicas; miniatures and drawings of Cosmas's "Christian Topography" occupy a prominent place in Byzantine art of the 6th century.
In the VI century. Hierocles compiled a geographical survey of the Eastern Roman Empire called Συνεχδημος; it lists 64 provinces and 912 cities; This work was of great importance in the development of the political geography of the era. Some information of a geographical nature is found in historical works of the 4th-7th centuries. For example, the works of Procopius contain invaluable data on the geography of the empire and its neighboring lands, including Africa, Italy, Spain, distant England and Scandinavia, the Balkan Peninsula, the Caucasus and many other countries and peoples.

In Byzantium at the time in question, a number of works on zoology and botany appeared. They either described the wonders of the animal world of distant countries (India), or contained information intended for practical needs related to agriculture. The earliest of these works was a treatise on the animals of India, written by Timothy of Gaza (V-VI centuries); this treatise, preserved only in fragments, is based on the works of ancient authors - Ctesias (IV-V centuries BC) and Arrian of the 2nd century. n. e.). In the II century. n. e. an unknown author compiled a description of real and fantastic animals: it became widespread in the Middle Ages under the name “Physiologist”; Later, in order to adapt this work to Christian ideology, comments were compiled, according to which each animal described was given a symbolic aspect, the properties of individual animals were compared with Christian virtues or, conversely, with human vices and sins condemned by Christian morality.

Botany during this period was known only as a practical one. The only work on plants widespread in Byzantium was the treatise of the physician Dioscorides (2nd century), in which plants are described from the point of view of their use in medicine. The manuscripts of this treatise are of particular interest, since they are usually accompanied by realistic depictions of plants.

Descriptions of individual animals and plants are also found in some works of geographical content, for example in the work of Kosmas Indikoplov or in the author of the 5th century. Philostorgius, who wrote about the island of Ceylon. Theological works—the “six-day works”—were also popular. They got their name from the biblical legend about the creation of the world by God within six days. The most famous are the six-day books compiled by Bishops Basil of Caesarea and Gregory of Nyssa. The goal of the authors of these works was to harmonize the natural scientific ideas of antiquity with the Christian religion. To do this, it was necessary to emphasize the expediency of the world, supposedly created according to the creator’s plan. But, despite the teleological orientation of the six-days, they contain information about the animal and plant world, based on the centuries-old experience of previous generations, on observations of living nature. However, this information, in all likelihood, was drawn by the authors from the works of more ancient writers, and was not the result of their own observations.

Chemistry in the IV-VII centuries. developed most fruitfully in its practical application - therefore, to study its history, the recipes used by artisans in the production process are important. Unfortunately, there are almost no records of such recipes in Greek. Only recipes for some dyes and medicines are known. Syrian sources mention the existence of special manuals that were used by artisans. The theory of chemistry developed within the framework of alchemy, which was considered a secret, sacred science of the transmutation of metals in order to produce and increase the volume of silver and gold, as well as the philosopher's stone - a miraculous remedy that was supposed to turn other metals into gold and would serve as a panacea for all diseases , contributed to prolongation of life. There is no doubt that in early Byzantium special signs were known to indicate chemical substances; These signs did not have a magical character, but replaced modern chemical formulas.

The most remarkable achievement of practical chemistry at that time was the invention of Greek fire, which for a long time gave Byzantium an advantage in naval battles. Greek fire was proposed in Constantinople by the Syrian architect Kallinnikos in 678; this composition included oil mixed with asphalt, resins and other flammable substances, as well as quicklime; the mixture ignited on contact with water and was successfully used against enemy ships; however, the Arabs soon learned to protect their ships from Greek fire by covering them to the waterline with lead sheets.

In the 4th century. a certain Sinesius from Alexandria compiled a commentary on the alchemical treatise of Pseudo-Democritus (3rd century). The previously mentioned Stephen of Alexandria, among his other works, is credited with the treatise “On the Production of Gold.” Stephen of Alexandria enjoys fame as the creator of alchemy. He is joined by four poet-alchemists - Iliodorus, Theophrastus, Hierotheus, Archelaus, who repeated his treatises in their works. Individual alchemical works were also attributed to the emperors Justinian I and Heraclius.

The basis of medical knowledge throughout the existence of the Byzantine Empire was the writings of two great physicians of antiquity: Hippocrates (c. 460-377 BC) and Galen (131-201). Extracts from the works of these two ancient authors were included in newly compiled compilations and were preserved in many lists.

In Hellenistic times, the most famous was the Alexandrian medical school, which retained its past glory up to the 7th century. Particular attention was paid in Alexandria to the study of anatomy, and certain successes were achieved in this area. Christianity delayed the further development of anatomy, since the church forbade dissection of human corpses. Antiochian doctors were famous as therapists.

In the IV-VII centuries. A fairly large number of medical manuals were compiled, of which we will name the most notable. By the 4th century. refers to the activities of the doctor Orivasius (325-403), a friend of Emperor Julian the Apostate; Under the title “Medical Manuals” (Συναγωγαι ιατριχαι), Orivasius compiled a collection of excerpts from the best medical works of antiquity.

In the VI century. The doctor Aetius from Amida, who studied in Alexandria, wrote a manual on medicine (in 16 books). Aetius is the first Byzantine Christian physician, as there are direct indications in his book. So, according to this doctor, to remove foreign objects from the throat or larynx, it is recommended to seek the help of St. Vlasiya; Some recipes mention incense made in the church.

In the first half of the 7th century. The physician John of Alexandria and Stephen of Alexandria compiled commentaries on Hippocrates and Galen. Paul of Aegina (625-690), who compiled a manual on surgery, also received his medical education in Alexandria. All of the listed works are of a compilative nature; the authors only added to the achievements of ancient medicine some observations concerning the symptoms of diseases and pharmacology.

Justinian's prohibition of any critical study of the texts included in the Corpus juris civilis initially, to a certain extent, slowed down the development of jurisprudence and the scientific creativity of lawyers. However, already under Justinian the prohibitions were circumvented in every possible way. Intensive work was carried out in law schools to translate the code of laws into Greek in order to make the code accessible to the majority of the population of the Byzantine Empire.

The creation of Justinian's Code of Laws generated a large scientific literature. It includes Greek translations of individual parts of the Corpus juris civilis, abbreviated extracts (επιτομη, συντομος) from the legislation of Justinian, various interpretations and paraphrases, dictionaries explaining Latin terms that are found in legislative regulations, essays on particular issues of law. The most outstanding works of lawyers of the second half of the 6th century. were associated with commenting on the Digest, the study of which gave a particularly fruitful impetus to legal thought. Already the compilers of the Digest themselves - law professors Theophilus and Dorotheus - under the guise of compiling Greek indices and paraphrases, began to actually comment on the Digest. Soon after them, during the life of Justinian, another law professor, Stephen, also under the guise of compiling an index, wrote an extensive Greek commentary on the Digests, based on the lectures he gave and containing many excerpts from the works of other jurists, in particular Theophilus. Greek paraphrase of the Institutes, written by Theophilus, and Greek commentaries on the Code of Justinian, compiled in the 6th century. Falaley, Isidore and Anatoly, gained wide popularity in the empire and beyond its borders. Between 570-612 work was done to comment on the Digest and their scientific study; it is known from the scholia to Vasiliki as the work of Anonymous. And although with the creation of the Corpus juris civilis, legal thought in Byzantium for many centuries seemed to be closed in the circle of studying this grandiose monument, yet scientific creativity in the field of jurisprudence did not stop: the development of law as a science continued in subsequent centuries.

The most important feature of the Byzantine enlightenment of the period under review should be considered the gradual replacement of the pagan education system inherited from the Hellenistic period with a new system created under the auspices of the church in the interests of the monarchy. Trying to eradicate pagan education and replace it with Christian education, the church at the same time borrows the methodology that developed over hundreds of years in ancient and Hellenistic Greece. Many church leaders of the 4th-5th centuries. studied in pagan schools. Thus, the “church fathers” Basil of Caesarea and Gregory, bishop of the city of Nazianza (c. 330-389), were educated at a pagan school in Athens and subsequently actively fought against Christian prejudice against ancient Greek literature; Basil of Caesarea owns an essay in which, with the help of numerous quotations, it is proved that ancient literature in many ways anticipated Christianity and prepared minds for its perception. The Christian Byzantines were proud that they were preserving the cultural heritage of Hellas, and unlike the barbarians, they called themselves “Romans.” In this sense, the Byzantine church, which relied largely on the old classical traditions, played a certain positive role. The first Christian schools appeared during the years of persecution of Christianity; but at that time they could only compete with the pagan schools. In the 4th century. An active attack of the Christian Church on pagan schools begins.
Primary education consisted of studying spelling, the basics of arithmetic and grammar, which meant familiarization with the works of classical authors, primarily with Homer's Odyssey and Iliad. Over time, along with Homer, they began to read the books of the Old and New Testaments, and they especially carefully studied the Psalter, which for many centuries served as the first book to read not only in Byzantium, but also in Rus'.

The general primary stage of education was followed by higher education. Secular sciences, studied in higher education according to the system proposed by Plato (in his “Republic”), were distributed into two groups, namely:

1) “trivium”, which included grammar, rhetoric and dialectics,

2) “quadrivium”, consisting of arithmetic, music, geometry and astronomy. However, the range of Byzantine scientific studies was not limited to the branches of knowledge included in these cycles. In addition to them, they studied law, medicine, and theology.

Higher educational institutions were controlled by the imperial power. There were also private schools. According to traditions, teaching was conducted orally, the lesson was improvised by the teacher. Around the 5th century. n. e. preserved and accepted into ancient Greece technique of reading aloud the text being studied. Only in the 5th century, in connection with the spread of monasticism, which considered silence one of the highest Christian virtues, did they move on to silent reading. The most important method of teaching was the exegetical method, that is, interpretation and commentary on works selected for study. In addition to the poems of Homer, during the “trivium” they studied in extracts the works of tragedians - Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, historians - Herodotus and Thucydides, orators - Isocrates and Lysias. During the “quadrivium,” the works of mathematicians—Archimedes, Euclid, and physicians—Hippocrates and Galen—were interpreted. Individual words or passages of the text being studied were subject to interpretation. Exegetical literature was so widespread in Byzantium precisely because it corresponded to the basic method of teaching. Often, students wrote down his interpretations of απο φωνης (from voice) in the classroom behind the teacher, and then distributed them in lists.

Christian theological schools, naturally, borrowed this methodology and used it to study the books of the Old and New Testaments, the works of the “church fathers.” Many works of medieval writing, commenting on the works of ancient authors, the Bible, theological treatises, monuments of civil and canon law, arose precisely as lecture courses.

Legal education played a special role, since lawyers were very much needed in the government apparatus. Law was one of the main subjects of teaching in the Athens, Alexandria and Beirut schools. The most famous of them was the school in Beirut, which reached its greatest prosperity in the 5th century. Teaching in higher schools of law was based on the study of texts by lawyers of the classical era. Criminal law and judicial procedure were not studied. The method of teaching was entirely exegetical and suffered from confusion and incompleteness. As a result of the training, students did not receive any practical skills. Meanwhile, the need for knowledgeable legal practitioners in the empire was very significant; legal education was also required for civil service. The need for reform of legal education became especially urgent after the completion of work on the codification of law under Justinian. This reform consisted of a categorical prohibition to study anything other than the Corpus juris civilis. It was the new, codified law that now became the only subject of study.

Four positions of law professors were established in the Constantinople and Beirut schools. Instead of a four-year course, a five-year course of study was introduced. During all the years of their stay in higher education, students studied only the Institutes, Digests and the Code of Justinian. Based on the new program, 1st year students took the Institutes and the first four books of the Digest. Justinian, as a sign of special mercy, abolished the old humiliating name for freshmen - “insignificant” (dupondii) and replaced it with a more pleasant one - Justiniani novi. The second, third and fourth years of study were entirely devoted to mastering the Digest. In the fifth year, students studied the Justinian Code; they received the honorific title prolytae - “exempt” from listening to lectures. During the reign of Justinian, law professors Theophilus, Anatolius, Thalaley from Constantinople, Dorotheus and Isidore from Beirut and John Scholasticus from Antioch became very famous. They not only participated in the codification of law, but were widely involved in teaching activities.

The reform of the teaching of law carried out under Justinian apparently gave some positive results. Not only has the range of legal issues studied by students expanded, but also the teaching has become more specific and closer to the needs of legal practice. Since the Corpus juris civilis became the only valid law, it is natural that for an educated judge or lawyer in his practical activities, first of all, it was necessary to thoroughly master this particular Code of Laws.

There is almost no direct evidence of the teaching of history as an independent discipline in Byzantine educational institutions. Only Theophylact Simocatta, in the preface to his famous work, puts history on a par with philosophy in a single series of sciences and indicates that history was taught at the University of Constantinople. The study of history in educational institutions can also be judged on the basis of numerous brief historical compendia, preserved in many medieval manuscripts; Such compendiums apparently served as teaching aids.

Under the influence of Christianity, not only the view on the purpose of history changed, but also the content of historical writings. The study of history was based on the Bible; To the material drawn from the Bible, Christian authors, who considered themselves at the same time the heirs of ancient Hellas, added myths, adaptations of Homer’s poems, and retellings of the works of ancient tragedians. The presentation of history in accordance with the requirements of the church also entailed the inclusion in historical works of information about all peoples known at that time, and involved consideration of the destinies of all mankind from the mythical creation of Adam.

Historical knowledge was disseminated in Byzantium not only in historical writings themselves or in chronicles. Commentaries on Homer's poems, the Bible and other works studied by the Byzantines contained a lot of historical information, names of really existing and mythical personalities who were perceived as really living. One of the most important and most common methods of commenting on biblical texts was the comparison of traditions (or sayings) of the Old Testament with events mentioned in the New Testament.

The study of the past of Hellas and the comparison of Old Testament history with New Testament history contributed to the spread of the view of historical process as a progressive movement of society.

The development of philological sciences was closely related to the needs of education, and occurred mainly in the process of studying and commenting on works of ancient literature, and later also on works of early Christian literature.

The concept of “philology” did not exist in Byzantium. By grammar we meant not only grammar in modern sense this word, but also lexicography and metrics. There were special grammatical treatises. The most significant of them were written by George Hirovosko, who lectured on grammar at the University of Constantinople at the end of the 6th or beginning of the 7th century. Hirovosk's lectures have survived, commenting on the works of the grammarians Theodosius of Alexandria and Dionysius of Thracia (both lived around 100 BC); Hirovosk also owns a treatise on prosody and a manual on spelling.

Hirovosk's influence on subsequent Byzantine grammarians was insignificant until the 15th century, when his works were used by the Greek scholar Constantine Lascaris, who moved to Italy, to compile a grammar of the Greek language.

In addition, the grammatical works of John Philipon and his historical and grammatical scholia to the Bible are known.

Lexicography of the period under review has not yet become such an important branch of knowledge as in subsequent centuries. In this area, the most interesting are bilingual dictionaries (Greek-Latin, Latin-Greek, Coptic-Greek), the compilation of which was necessitated by the needs of the empire’s extensive international relations.

It is also necessary to note the dictionary attributed in manuscripts to the Patriarch of Alexandria Cyril; this dictionary was compiled in the 5th century. - or at the beginning of the 6th century. based on old, insignificant rhetorical dictionaries; Throughout the Byzantine era, Cyril's dictionary played a huge role in school affairs and served as a necessary aid in the processing and compilation of new lexical aids.
During the IV-V centuries. On the territory of the Eastern Roman Empire, pagan centers of education that arose in previous centuries were preserved. Christian schools appear mostly in cities such as Alexandria, Athens, Beirut, Constantinople, that is, in ancient centers of learning. As an interesting detail, we note that there was an exchange of scientists between prominent centers; there is information even about what took place in the 6th century. "congress" of scientists, at which the philosophers of Athens and Thebes met with the philosophers of Constantinople.

In the first centuries of the Eastern Roman Empire, the old universities of Athens and Alexandria, dating back to ancient or Hellenistic times, still retained their former glory. The role of these universities in the period under review was not so much the creative development of science, but rather the preservation of the scientific heritage of the past, the transfer of the culture of pagan Greece and Rome to a new generation, brought up in the spirit of Christian teaching. Athens, a city remote from the areas where the Christian religion arose, remained the last stronghold of paganism - as opposed to Alexandria, where theological schools appeared very early. In Alexandria already in the 2nd century. the so-called Alexandrian trend in theology arises. This city emerged as the intellectual center of the empire later than Athens. Perhaps it was for this reason that the University of Athens was closed by Justinian in 529, and the University of Alexandria turned out to be more viable and existed until the middle of the 7th century, when the city was occupied by the Arabs. The study of philosophy predominated at the University of Athens. In Alexandria in the 4th and 5th centuries, as before, not only pagan poetry and philosophy flourished, but also mathematics, astronomy, medicine and theology.

Gradually, both the best scientific forces and students moved to the University of Constantinople, the capital's university, which enjoyed special privileges and by the 6th century. took first place among other educational institutions of the empire.

The university in Constantinople was organized around 425 by decree of Theodosius II. The university was intended to train not only scientists, but also government officials. Among the university professors, the most famous are George Hirovosk and Stefan of Alexandria. Both bore the title of "universal teachers."

The center of legal education was located in Beirut20 until 551, when the city was destroyed by an earthquake. The Beirut school of lawyers was founded at the end of the 2nd century. or at the beginning of the 3rd century. Teaching there was conducted in Latin, only at the end of the 5th century. The Greek language penetrates into schools. The so-called Sinaitic scholia, which are interpretations of Beirut professors on some monuments of Roman legislation, have been preserved.

One of the first medieval universities was the university in the Syrian city of Nisibis, founded at the end of the 5th century. Many teachers from the Edessa school, which was closed in 489, moved to the Nisibis High School. The statute of the Nisis school, which is the oldest known statute of a medieval university, has been preserved in several editions.

In addition to the aforementioned centers of education, there was also a high school in Edessa, a school of rhetoricians and sophists in Gaza, a medical school in Nisibis, a Christian school in Caesarea, and a school founded by Origen in the Syrian city of Amida. Already by the beginning of the 4th century, there was undoubtedly a theological school in Antioch, but information about it is extremely scarce. In any case, there is every reason to assume that the educational work here was well organized: a whole theological and exegetical direction was called the “Antiochian School.”

The organization of education in the Byzantine Empire in the 4th–7th centuries. was at one time widely known in the world and, apparently, was considered exemplary. This can be judged based on the words of Cassiodorus, the most enlightened man and the greatest statesman of the Ostrogothic kingdom: in 535 he intended to open a school in Rome similar to the schools in Alexandria and Nisibis. This plan was not implemented, but later, at the monastery founded by Cassiodorus called Vivarium, a textbook compiled in Nisibis and translated from Syriac into Latin was used among the teaching aids.

For successful development Science in every era requires books and book depositories; In the Middle Ages, book depositories were closely connected with writing workshops - scriptoria, since books were acquired mainly through their correspondence. As a writing material in the 4th-7th centuries. papyrus and parchment were used. In the sands of Egypt, many scraps of papyrus books have been preserved - both secular and religious, representing the remains of private libraries. Among the surviving parchment manuscripts of this time, liturgical texts predominate. All higher educational institutions, monasteries and churches had their own libraries. Of the libraries that arose in Byzantium in the 4th-7th centuries, only one has survived to this day - the library of the monastery of St. Catherine in Sinai, and even there are manuscripts from a later time. However, it is known that the books were already in Diocletian's palace in Nicomedia. When Constantine later moved the capital to the shores of the Bosphorus, a library consisting of almost seven thousand books was built in the portico of the imperial palace.

By decree of Emperor Valens from 372, four Greek and three Latin scribes were appointed, responsible for copying manuscripts for the imperial library; it contained 120,000 volumes. Among other books in the imperial palace were kept copies of Homer's poems, written on snakeskin in gold letters. All this wealth was burned during a fire in 476.

Until the 6th century. there was the famous Library of Alexandria, the largest and the best way organized library of the Hellenistic era. There were also private book depositories, for example, the library of the Alexandrian bishop George, killed in 361, which contained books on philosophy, rhetoric, history and theology, or the library of the scientist Tychicus - it was dominated by mathematical and astrological works. Despite the fragmentary information from the sources, one can reasonably assume that the book wealth both in the capital of the empire and in the provincial cities was significant; This consideration is confirmed by numerous finds of papyri of literary content.

In the 4th century. The most common writing material of antiquity, papyrus, was replaced by parchment, and therefore the shape of the book also changed. Papyrus was used for a long time, before the Arabs seized Egypt in the 7th century, for writing documents, letters, and educational notes. But the book in the form of a papyrus scroll gives way to the parchment codex already in the 4th century. Unfortunately, manuscripts of the 4th-7th centuries. little has been preserved.

Of the manuscripts of this period that have survived to this day, the most worthy of attention are the Vatican and Sinaiticus Bible codes, as well as the Viennese copy of Dioscorides. The Vatican (named after the place where it was kept) and Sinaiticus (named after the place where it was kept until the mid-19th century) codices date back to the mid-4th century. Both manuscripts are written in uncial script on parchment.

In his Vita Constantini, Eusebius reports that Emperor Constantine in 331 ordered the production of 50 copies of the Bible necessary for worship in the newly built churches. Of these 50 lists, only two have survived - namely the Vatican and Sinaiticus codes. The list of Dioscorides, kept in Vienna, dates back to approximately 512. This list is written in uncial script and is accompanied by beautiful miniatures depicting the plants described in the text. Several luxurious copies of the Gospel are also known, written on purple parchment in gold and silver and decorated with miniatures; these lists also date back to the 6th century. 7th century manuscripts Little is known, and among them almost not a single complete codex has survived. 

Introduction

The Middle Ages usually mean the period from the decline of ancient culture (in the 5th century) to the Renaissance, which is about 10 centuries. In the history of Europe, this period is called nothing less than “dark,” meaning the general decline of civilization, the collapse of the Roman Empire, the invasion of barbarians, and the penetration of religion into all spheres of spiritual culture. But the strengthening of the role of religion in the life of society is rather not the cause of “darkness”, but its consequence and, moreover, a means of protecting humanity from degradation. Christianity, which arose in the 1st century, and later Islam, created harmony in society and was a powerful stabilizing factor. Churches and monasteries provided the necessary level of literacy and education. Reading and copying learned books was a mandatory activity in monasteries. Monastic libraries of significant volume were created there, preserving the scientific heritage. Monasteries exchanged handwritten books, learned monks not only commented on the texts of ancient manuscripts, but also generalized knowledge, brought together the works of various scientists scientific schools and directions. Religious education presupposed high morality, the formation of ideals of goodness and justice.

Science of Byzantium

Christianity was born of the corruption of the Roman Empire and the injustice that reigned there. Having emerged among the common people, Christianity relatively quickly captured the minds of educated, progressive statesmen. Constantine the Great issued the Edict of Milan on Tolerance in 313, according to which Christians were able to openly practice their faith. Abandoning paganism, the emperor moved the capital from Rome to Byzantium. Soon, in 325, the Roman Empire was divided into two parts: western and eastern, with the capitals Rome and Byzantium. Each part of the former unified empire was ruled by its own emperor. Byzantium was later renamed Constantinople in honor of Constantine the Great. The Western Roman Empire ceased to exist in 476 AD, when its last emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was overthrown by the troops of the Germanic tribe of Sciri. The Eastern Roman Empire - Byzantium existed for about a thousand years.

The Christian Church already in the 3rd century was centralized system with supreme control and was a powerful and influential political organization, which since the time of Constantine has become a stronghold of state power. Byzantium existed as a Christian empire, the only one capable of preserving the heritage of antiquity. Constantinople was the last fortress of civilization. The libraries of his monasteries contained the poems of Homer and the works of Aristotle. In the middle of the 9th century, under the leadership of Bishop Leo (beginning of the 9th century - 869), nicknamed the Mathematician, a higher school was opened in the Magnava Palace. The Magnava school collected ancient books kept in monasteries. Monk Photius compiled a collection with retellings and commentaries of 280 ancient manuscripts. For his learning, Photius was awarded the rank of patriarch, and Emperor Basil entrusted him with raising his son. Leo the Mathematician, in his works on mechanics and mathematics, was the first to use letters as mathematical symbols, thereby coming close to the foundation of algebra. Mathematical knowledge was used by the Byzantines in practice, in particular during the construction of an outstanding structure - the Church of St. Sophia in Constantinople. The architecture of the temple and its mosaics testify to the flowering of the arts and the perfection of technology in Byzantium in the 6th century.

Byzantium's extensive trade relations reached China, India, and Ceylon. Curious Byzantine travelers acquired knowledge of geography, zoology, and the history of countries little known in Europe. Such researchers include Cosmas Indicoleft, the author of “Christian Topography” (VI century). In the field of cosmology, the Ptolemaic system of the world had the greatest influence, although there were attempts to return to earlier ideas about the flat shape of the Earth. Chemical knowledge was used in craft production and in pharmacology. In general, we know very little about the scientific and technical achievements of Byzantium. This is explained by the defeats, robberies, and destruction of scientific and cultural monuments that were the result of the invasion of the external enemies of Byzantium.

Education in Byzantium. The official language in Byzantium was Greek: it was used to teach at school, to draw up documents, and to speak among officials, soldiers, and city residents. Children aged 6-7 years old entered primary schools, where they spent 2-3 years learning to read, write and count. Primary education was free. Those who dreamed of becoming an official continued their studies at school grammar.

Each official had to write down the orders of his superiors without a single mistake and draw up reports in sophisticated language. Therefore, at school, grammarians diligently studied the works of ancient historians and writers.

Higher schools trained high-ranking officials; The children of nobles and future scientists were educated here. There were similar schools in Constantinople, Athens, Alexandria and other large cities. The emperors patronized higher schools: teachers received good salaries, food, silk clothes and gifts for religious holidays. Material from the site

Byzantine scientists. The Byzantines, who considered themselves heirs of the Romans, honored their history. The works of famous ancient historians were a model for Byzantine authors. The most famous of them was a contemporary of Emperor Justinian Procopius of Caesarea. His main work "The History of Justinian's Wars with the Persians, Vandals and Goths" glorifies the emperor and the military victories of Byzantium. In deep secrecy, Procopius wrote another essay. It was preserved and given the name "Secret History". In it, the author denounces Justinian, his domineering wife Theodora, and the morals of the court. Byzantine scientists created works on geography, astronomy, and mathematics. The essays were distinguished by extraordinary erudition Leo Mathematics, who lived in the 9th century. He first used letter designations to express arithmetic operations. Therefore, he is considered the founder of a new science - algebra. Leo the Mathematician became famous for his many inventions, among which was, for example, the light telegraph, designed to transmit messages over long distances. He was also the author of the amazing mechanisms installed in the throne room of the imperial palace.

Throughout the Middle Ages, the Byzantines had great respect for education, knowledge, and science.

On this page there is material on the following topics:

• Famous scientists of Byzantium

• Why did many people in Byzantium strive to get a good education?

• Why did many people in Byzantium strive to get a good education?

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