Antiquity (from Latin this word means "antiquity" - antiquus) is the era of two great civilizations - Ancient Greece and Rome.
Periodization of antiquity
When answering the question of what ancient society is, you need to know in what era it existed and for what periods this time was divided.
The following periodization is considered generally accepted:
1. Early antiquity - the time of the emergence of the Greek states.
2. Classical antiquity - a period of unity of Roman and Greek civilization.
3. Late antiquity - the time of the collapse of the Roman Empire.
Considering the ancient society, it is necessary to take into account the fact that the time frame here is impossible to establish precisely. Greek civilization appeared before the Roman, and the Eastern Roman Empire existed for some time after the fall of the Western. It is believed that the era of antiquity is a time from the VIII century. BC e. on the VI century. n e., before the Middle Ages.
The emergence of the first states
In ancient times, several unsuccessful attempts to create states took place on the Balkan Peninsula. This was the period of the prehistory of the ancient world.
2700-1400 years. BC e. - time of the Minoan civilization. It existed in Crete and had a high level of development and culture. It was destroyed by a natural disaster (volcanic eruption that gave rise to a strong tsunami) and the Achaean Greeks who captured the island.
Around the sixteenth century BC Mycenaean civilization arose in Greece. She dies in 1200-1100 BC. e. after the invasion of the Dorians. This time is also called the "dark Greek centuries."
After the disappearance of the remains of Mycenaean culture, the first period of antiquity begins. In time, it coincides with the end of the Bronze Age and the formation of an early class society.
The ancient Greek state was the primary civilization. It originates in the primitive system, and before it there was no previous experience of statehood. Therefore, ancient society was strongly influenced by primitiveness. This was manifested primarily in the religious worldview. Man in this period was considered as the center of the universe. This implies the main feature of antiquity - an active position in relation to the world.
Life in ancient society: structure and classes
The first Greek states developed very actively. This was facilitated by the struggle between the peasants and the nobility, when the latter tried to convert the former into debt slavery. In many other ancient civilizations this has been done, but not in Greek. Here, the demos was not only able to defend its freedom, but also achieved some political rights. Of course, this does not mean that society in the ancient world did not know slavery. Both ancient Greece, and subsequently Rome, were slave states.
What is ancient society and what is its structure? The main state formation of the ancient world was a policy, or city-state. Therefore, a society has developed here that is completely different from other countries. The core was the community. Everyone held his position in it. It was determined by the presence of civil status. The entire population was divided into three categories: full citizens, incomplete and powerless. Civil status is the main achievement of ancient society. If in other countries the population lived in a strict social class, then in Greece and Rome the status of a citizen was more important. He allowed the demos to participate on an equal footing in the management of the policy.
Roman society was somewhat different from Greek and had the following structure:
1. Slaves.
2. Free farmers and artisans. Colons were included in the same category of population.
3. Merchants.
4. The military.
5. Slave owners. Here in the first place was the senatorial estate.
Science and culture of ancient society
The first scientific knowledge was obtained in ancient times, in the states of the East. This period is called pre-scientific. Subsequently, these teachings were developed in ancient Greece.
The science of ancient society is the emergence of the first scientific theories, basic concepts, treatises and communities. At this time, the formation and emergence of many modern sciences.
In its development, the science of antiquity has come a long way:
1. The early stage - VII-IV centuries. BC. This is the time of natural science and philosophy. The first philosopher scientists were mainly interested in the problems of nature, as well as in the search for the fundamental principle of all living things.
2. Hellenic stage - it is characterized by the division of a single science into separate areas: logic, mathematics, physics, medicine. This time is considered the highest flowering of ancient science. Euclid, Aristotle, Archimedes, Democritus create their great works.
3. The Roman stage - the time of the decline of ancient science. Of the most important achievements of this period, Ptolemy's astronomy can be distinguished.
The main success of the science of ancient time lies in the formation of individual directions, the creation of the first terminology and methods of cognition.
The philosophy of ancient society and its famous representatives
It appeared in the 7th – 5th centuries. BC e. in Greece and is divided into the following stages:
1. Natural philosophy, or early classics. Philosophers of this time were primarily interested in cosmology. Bright representatives: Thales, Pythagoras, Democritus.
2. Classics is the heyday of ancient philosophy, the time in which its most prominent representatives lived: Socrates, Plato, Euclid, Aristotle. Here, for the first time, questions of natural philosophy replaced the interest in the problem of good and evil, ethics.
3. The philosophy of Hellenism - at this time begins the active development of philosophical thought under the influence of ancient Greek scholars. The most famous representatives: Seneca, Lucretius, Cicero, Plutarch. There are many directions in philosophy: skepticism, epicureism, neoplatonism and stoicism.
The influence of antiquity on modern culture
Ancient Greece and Rome are poetically called the cradle of modern civilization. Undoubtedly, ancient society had a tremendous impact on the development of other countries and peoples. Science, theater, sports, comedy, drama, sculpture - do not list everything that the ancient world has presented to modern man. This influence is still traced in the culture, life and language of many Romanesque peoples and residents of the Mediterranean region.