Antiquity: how the Greeks and Romans invented everything - course 4650 rubles. from Level One, training 7 lectures for 2 hours, Date: November 30, 2023.

Art historian, guide and lecturer at the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. Pushkin 2010-2019, author of the book “History of Art. Just about the important things." She taught art history at school, university, and the Pushkin Museum, and spoke about it in her radio program and at the French Lyceum. For several years she participated in archaeological excavations of the ancient Greek city of Olbia.

1. Ancient art and myths

Beauty contests, as well as the tradition of crowning winners with a laurel wreath, were invented by the ancient Greeks. They are also responsible for the invention of the Olympic Games, theater, philosophy and democracy, and it is difficult to imagine world literature without mentioning the Greek gods and heroes. At the webinar, we will look at the connection between ideology and art, find out what centaurs and Persians have in common, and find out why the Greeks did not like the Amazons.

Let's remember the main myths and their heroes, and also explore the monuments of Greek art.
Let's analyze the myths in which gods compete with people and heroes, remember who they are and what place they occupy in Antiquity.
We will find out how the image of an ideal person was formed, why in Greek art men are naked handsome men, women are always dressed, and there are almost no old people and children.

2. Religions of Ancient Greece

Greek myths are familiar to us from childhood. But religion is not only myths. At the webinar we will understand how Greek religious cults were structured and what the Greeks hoped for before their death.

Let's find out why Dionysus in some cases turned out to be almost more important than Zeus, and citizenship in the polis was more important than Hellenic culture as a whole.
Let us understand what the religion of the Greeks was like beyond the usual plots.

3. Religions of Ancient Rome

Didn't the ancient Romans believe the same things as the ancient Greeks? Absolutely not. The religion of the Romans was independent - with its own gods, plots, organization and traditions. And often all this was completely different from the Greek examples.

Let's study the differences and find the origins of the independence of the Roman religion.
Let's look at the changes that came with the empire.
Let us understand how and why the beliefs of the Romans began to merge with the ideas and teachings of all the peoples they conquered.

4. Ancient science and music

In Antiquity, mathematics and music were not opposed to each other and represented something unified, expressing the beauty of the surrounding world, the harmony of the spheres. The unshakable rules of mathematics, which we still use today, were intertwined with the elusive fabric of music. At the lecture we will talk about what this era brought to mathematics, what discoveries were made by ancient scientists, and of course, we will listen to the music of that time.

Let's find out why Pythagoras is considered the creator of the first musical system and what the music of the spheres is.
We will find out what Plato, Euclid, Archimedes brought to our understanding of the world and how they influenced our way of thinking.
Let's talk about how the laws discovered by ancient thinkers are used in modern music.

5. Ancient philosophy and thinking

Although Antiquity is called the “cradle of European civilization,” it gave us quite mature ideas. This era is not a baby at all, but quite an adult and wise teacher. At the webinar we will talk about three most important aspects of the philosophical heritage of Antiquity: ethics, logic and stoic courage.

Let's understand the problems of good and evil from the point of view of ancient philosophers.
Let's study the ideas that formed the basis of the principles of scientific knowledge.
Let us trace the path of stoicism, which became the philosophy of both slaves and emperors.

6. Antique architecture

Antique architecture evokes instant associations: tall columns, marble, monumentality. Knowledge of the ideals of the ancient Greeks and Romans helps to understand subsequent architectural styles and even learn to distinguish “good” architecture from “bad” architecture. At the webinar we will analyze the laws of Antiquity, which were useful to everyone, from Arabs to Stalinist architects.

Let's understand how the Greeks came to the idea that architecture is a way to organize the world.
Let's figure out what makes the architecture of Antiquity harmonious.
Let's find out how the Romans managed to create everything that was tall, wide and reliable.

7. Ancient politics

The word “politics” itself is Greek. The principles, laws and the very image of the state began to take shape precisely during Antiquity. At the lecture we will talk about how the characteristic features of the Mediterranean at the beginning of the Iron Age determined the development of processes in Greece and Rome, what came of it and why all this is so important for us.

Let's find out how the Greeks invented democracy and laid the foundation for one of the largest empires of Antiquity.
Let us understand how the Roman Republic was born and died and why the Romans themselves did not know for a long time that they lived in an empire.
Let's figure out how Rome survived one crisis only to plunge into a new one a century and a half later.