Artistic culture of the interfluve. Mesopotamian Culture Presentation on MHK Artistic Culture of Mesopotamia

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Artistic Culture of the Ancient World Art of Mesopotamia

Ancient civilizations known to science arose 4 thousand years BC. e. This is first of all Ancient East - Sumer, Akkad, Babylon, Assyria, Egypt.

The fertile plain of the Tigris and Euphrates began to be called Mesopotamia ("mesos" - middle, "potamos" - river, Greek), which means Mesopotamia. On the modern map you do not have this name. Today here is the Arab state of Iraq with the capital Baghdad.

Historical stages of development of Mesopotamia
IV millennium BC. e.- the time of the collapse of the primitive communal system.
III millennium BC. uh. - formation of the Sumero-Akkadian kingdom.
- 27th-25th centuries BC e. - the rise of the Sumerian city-states.
- 24th-23rd centuries BC e. - power passes to the city of Mesopotamia - Akkad.
- 23-21st centuries BC e. - new strengthening of the Sumerian cities of Ur and Lagash.

II millennium BC. e.

II millennium BC. e.- Rise of Babylon. 19th-12th centuries BC e. - Unification of Mesopotamia under the rule of Babylon.
I millennium BC uh.:
- 9th-7th centuries. BC e. - strengthening the power of Assyria, who defeated Babylon.
- 7th-6th centuries. BC e. - a new rise of Babylon, the Neo-Babylonian kingdom.
- 536 BC e. - Conquest of Babylon by Cyrus, king of Iran.
- 4th-2nd centuries. to i. e. - Domination of the Greco-Macedonian conquerors in Mesopotamia.

Achievements of the peoples of Mesopotamia

knew the exact time;
they knew how to orient the walls of cities and towers to 4 cardinal points, accurately aligning the horizontal lines of the foundations;
erected the world's first "skyscrapers" (the Tower of Babel);
connected the Tigris and Euphrates shipping channels;
compiled solar and lunar calendars;
laid the foundations of medical knowledge;
set up a 7-day system;
at the beginning of the III millennium BC. e. the first numerical symbols appeared (they knew how to use amazingly large numbers).
invented writing, which made it possible to read the history of ancient Mesopotamia.

Religious and mythological representations of the peoples of Mesopotamia Ebih-il figurine from Mari. Alabaster. Middle of III millennium BC e. Paris, Louvre

Adorant figurines (from Latin adore - “to worship”) depict praying people. They had to turn to the gods (on behalf of the one whom this statuette depicted) and assure them of their devotion.

Literature and writing of ancient Mesopotamia

creation of the first cuneiform books (the world's first library of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal);
Mesopotamian literature includes epic poems, fairy tales, collections of proverbs, author's works;
The oldest epic poem is the Epic of Gilgamesh.

The relief depicting this mythical hero of Mesopotamia is now kept in Paris in the Louvre. Culture of the Sumero-Akkadian kingdom

The Sumerians had many gods. A temple was built for each of the gods. The oldest known Sumerian temples are dedicated to the goddess Inanna (Ishtar) and the god Anu. These are the "white temple" and the "red temple" in Uruk, named after the color of the walls.

The head of the goddess from the "white temple" in Uruk. Marble. III millennium BC e. Baghdad, Iraqi Museum Portrait head of Sargon the Ancient. Copper. XXIII-XXII centuries BC e. Baghdad, Iraqi Museum One of the best examples of Akkadian sculpture is the victory stele of King Naram-Sin. In the III millennium BC. e. in the kingdom of Sumer and Akkad, the main type of temple architecture of Mesopotamia developed - ziggurat.

A ziggurat is a stepped temple tower, consisting of several trapezoid platforms decreasing upwards, made of raw brick. At the top is a sanctuary; on the facade - three steep stairs.

The main directions of the Sumerian-Akkadian culture:

1) cult , in which a special type of temple architecture is formed - ziggurat and temple paraphernalia associated with it appears - odorants.
2) secular manifested itself primarily in decorative and applied arts (glyptic - the art of carving on precious and semi-precious stones) and in sculpture (dedicatory steles depicting the exploits of kings and portrait statues of rulers).

Assyro-Babylonian culture

Babylon reached its heyday under the reign of Hammurabi, one of the greatest politicians of antiquity.
The time of Hammurabi left an amazing monument of art - a diorite pillar, decorated with reliefs - a cuneiform code of laws. Hammurabi's code of laws covered all aspects of Babylonian society, both religious and civil.

Stele of Hammurabi from Susa. Diorite. 18th century BC e. Berlin, State Museum It was not a cult like in Sumer but secular. Here

Assyrian art was performed pathos of strength, glorified the power, victories and conquests of the rulers. It was not a cult like in Sumer but secular. Here mainly palaces were built.
The main achievement of the Babylonian and, accordingly, Assyrian architects is the invention of the arch and vault.(subsequently they were the basis of all the building art of ancient Rome and medieval Europe).

In Assyria, a new type of city appeared - a city-fortress with a single layout. The architecture of such a city is based on a brick wall. The city planning is characterized by the following features:

1) the presence of a citadel; it contains a palace and a temple (the citadel is a fortified part of the city);
2) the location of the citadel near the wall;
3) the rectangular shape of the fortifications.

Shedu from the palace of Sargon II at Dur-Sharrukin. Sandstone. 18th century BC e. Berlin, State Museum Features of the Assyro-Babylonian culture

The development of Assyro-Babylonian culture is dominated not by a cult, but by a secular line. This was manifested in the construction of magnificent cities with luxurious temples and palaces decorated with reliefs. Art was intended to glorify the victories and wealth of rulers, to perpetuate the names of kings.

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Presentation slides

slide 1

Culture of Ancient Mesopotamia

slide 2

slide 3

This people, who appeared in the south of Mesopotamia in the middle of the 3rd millennium BC from nowhere, is now called the “progenitor of modern civilization” But until the middle of the 19th century, no one even suspected about him not linguists, perhaps we would never have known about Sumer ... For centuries, the minds of scientists and theologians have been struck by Mesopotamian texts, which are a processing of Sumerian ones. It follows from the text of the Chaldean Book of Genesis that at least a thousand years before it existed a text of the History of Creation, written in the old Babylonian dialect …

Sumerians - "black-headed"

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Discovery of Sumerian culture

The features of the cultural development of ancient civilizations that arose in the basins of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Western Asia became known at the beginning of the 19th century after the sensational discoveries of the French consul Paul - Emile Botta. He discovered in one of the Arab villages reliefs depicting strange animals that once adorned the Assyrian royal Ashurbanipal palace

slide 5

Mystery of the Sumerians

Over the past century and a half, on the site of Sumerian cities, archaeologists have discovered thousands of texts and illustrations on astronomy, mathematics A large fragment of a tablet with mathematical exercises, dated 1700 BC, contains geometric shapes with mathematical equations in Akkadian

slide 6

The secret of the Sumerians - -unofficial version

In the state structure, these people had all the attributes of a modern developed state: a jury, a bicameral parliament system consisting of elected deputies, civil councils (an analogue of self-government committees) Their culture is characterized by amazing musical achievements, they were fond of dancing chemistry, pharmaceuticals, astronomy and many branches of modern mathematics)

Slide 7

The Secret of the Sumerians - unofficial version

Among them - in fundamental mathematics, calculating the areas of complex figures, extracting roots, solving equations with two and three unknowns, the so-called golden proportions and Fibonacci numbers. used with the advent of computer technology Sumerian texts contain information about the origin, development and structure of the solar system, including a list and characteristics of the planets ...

Slide 8

Mystery of the Sumerians unofficial version

Developed weaving and textile industry Progressive efficient agriculture could be an example for similar modern industries Highly developed religion, amazing temples ... All this is Sumeria, located in the southern part of modern Iraq on the territory of ancient Mesopotamia

Slide 9

The Secret of the Sumerians (unofficial version)

Many generations of scientists struggled with the mystery of this civilization that appeared before the time, but there were more than enough mysteries ... What is Sumeria? A brilliant nation that appeared, like the misunderstood Leonardo da Vinci in Italy, prematurely on planet Earth or ...?

Slide 10

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This methodical development designed to conduct classes in the history of fine arts in the 2nd grade of a children's art school (2 lessons of 1.5 hours), students aged 11-13 years.

In order to develop students' independence in the search for and comprehension of knowledge about art, it is necessary to give them advanced tasks in preparation for the lesson. Students work with literature, Internet sources, prepare small messages on their own, select slides, illustrations, and acquire the skill of public speaking.

The purpose of the lesson:

the formation of students' ideas about the art of Mesopotamia;
development of students' perception and understanding of the art of the ancient world.

identifying the relationship between the studied and previously studied materials;
development of interest in art;
emotional development.

Design: LCD TV connected to a computer, presentation, handouts (crossword puzzle, tests).

Lesson 1

1. Organizational moment and actualization of the topic

2. Assimilation of new knowledge

Teacher: Today we will begin our acquaintance with the art of Ancient Mesopotamia - one of the great civilizations of the Ancient World that existed in the Middle East, in the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (Slide 1). At different times, the kingdoms of Sumer, Akkad, Babylonia and Assyria were located here. (Slide 2). Historical Mesopotamia existed for almost twenty-five centuries, from the beginning of writing to the conquest of Babylonia by the Persians. But even after that, foreign domination could not destroy the cultural independence of the country.

Art may seem complicated and mysterious to us: plots, methods of depicting a person and events, ideas about space and time were completely different then than they are now. Each image contained an additional meaning. Behind each character of a wall painting or sculpture was a system of abstract concepts - good and evil, life and death, etc. masters resorted to the language of symbols, it is not easy to understand it.

At the end of the IV millennium BC. in the south of modern Iraq, one of the most ancient civilizations of our planet arose. Its creators were the Sumerians. There is no exact information about the origin of the Sumerians. They called their country Sumer, and the lands lying to the north and inhabited by Semitic tribes - Akkad. (Slide 3). Subsequently, the Babylonians and Assyrians, who inherited the culture of Sumer, called this valley Mesopotamia, and the ancient Greeks gave it the name Mesopotamia (“Country between the rivers”).

Modern research shows that the Sumerians are considered the creators of the Mesopotamian culture. And although the Sumerians were later conquered by more numerous Akkads, the culture they created had a significant impact on all later ones. (Slide 4).

The peoples who inhabited this vast region in antiquity were among the first in the world to found cities and states, invented the wheel, coins and writing, created wonderful works of art. (Slide 5).

The land on which the Sumerians lived is a flat plain with a hot and arid climate, the edge of swamps and lakes covered with dense thickets of reeds, but there are no large forests here. Over the centuries, the Tigris and Euphrates changed their course more than once, which was accompanied by catastrophic floods, the memory of which was preserved in the Sumerian flood myths. In a severe struggle with nature, the Sumerians laid a network of canals from the Euphrates River, built dams and dams, irrigated barren lands and built the cities of Ur, Uruk, etc. on them. Each Sumerian city was a separate state with its own ruler and army. (Slide 6).

The entire spiritual culture of Sumer was permeated with a religious worldview. It completely determined the development of architecture and fine arts of the Ancient Mesopotamia. The temple of the patron deity, in the construction of which all the inhabitants took part, occupied a central place in the city. It was usually built from raw bricks on a high artificial hill. (Slide 7).

Very few architectural monuments of the Sumerian era have been preserved, because. there was neither wood nor stone suitable for building. The main building material in the folk construction of Mesopotamia was clay. For more critical structures, raw, freshly molded bricks were used; laid in the wall without mortar, it, drying, caked into a monolithic mass.

Uruk became the first city of Southern Mesopotamia. A wall was erected around - which testified that Uruk had become a city, and not just a settlement. The city became the temple and military center of Southern Mesopotamia. Very few architectural monuments of the Sumerian era have survived. The most significant buildings that have survived to this day (in small fragments) are the White Temple (Slide 8) and the Red Building in Uruk (Slide 10).

The White Temple in Uruk, whitewashed with lime - hence the name, was the main city building. It was erected in the center of the city on a platform rammed from clay, to which ramps led from two sides. Raised above the residential part of the city, the temple reminded people of the inseparable connection between Heaven and Earth. The temple had no windows. Light came in through openings under the flat roofs. Palaces and ordinary houses were built on the same principle. The centuries-old wars in this region and the desert climate have almost completely destroyed this city. (Slide 9).

Beautiful examples of Sumerian sculpture have survived to our time. The most common type of sculpture was the adorant (from the Latin for “worship”), which was a statue of a person praying. (Slide 11). The huge eyes of the adorants were especially carefully executed; they were often inlaid with pieces of stone, wood, metal. Sumerian sculpture, unlike ancient Egyptian, was never given a portrait resemblance. Its main feature is the conventionality of the image (Slide 12).

The walls of Sumerian temples were decorated with reliefs that told both about historical events in the life of the city (military campaigns, the laying of a temple) and about everyday affairs (milking cows, churning butter, etc.). The relief consisted of several tiers. Events unfolded in front of the viewer sequentially from tier to tier. All the characters were the same height, only the kings were depicted larger than others.

A typical example of the Sumerian relief is the stele of King Eanatum, erected in Lagash in honor of the victory over the main enemy, the city of Umma, some fragments of the stele have survived (Slides 13,14). Do you think the Sumerian reliefs are similar to the ancient Egyptian ones?

Students: the similarity is that the reliefs are arranged in tiers and the figure of the leader (pharaoh) is depicted larger than the others, but the Sumerian images look different than the Egyptian ones.

Teacher: A special place in the Sumerian cultural heritage belongs to glyptics - carving on precious or semi-precious stone. Numerous Sumerian cylinder-shaped carved seals have survived. The seal was rolled over a clay surface and a miniature relief was imprinted with a large number of characters and a clear, carefully built composition. For the inhabitants of Mesopotamia, the seal was not just a sign of property, but an object with magical powers. The seals were kept as talismans, given to temples, placed in burial places (Slide 15).

In the 1920s During the excavations conducted in Ur under the direction of the English archaeologist Leonardo Woolli, numerous burials were discovered, in which there was a myriad of valuables. Woolley's expedition managed to find two undisturbed tombs, the finds in which made a sensation in the world (Slide 16).

Students: perform a prepared presentation about the complex funeral ritual of Mesopotamia.

Teacher: As a result of numerous excavations, gold and silver figurines, dishes, weapons and inlaid jewelry were recovered from one of the tombs. Here, 2 boards were found, forming, as it were, a gable roof, depicting a military campaign and a ritual feast, made using the mosaic technique, the so-called “standard from Ur”. Its exact purpose is unknown. (Slide 17).

First, archaeologists were struck by a sparkling golden helmet that covered a decayed skull (Slide 18). Woolley and his colleagues came across a second group of skeletons: ten women were stacked in two even rows. All wore headdresses of gold, lapis lazuli and carnelian, and elegant beaded necklaces. (Slide 19). One of the masterpieces of Sumerian jewelry art is a figurine depicting a goat standing on its hind legs near a sacred tree. Scientists believe that these golden goats symbolize some very ancient myth, the content of which has not come down to us, but at one time it was apparently widely known. (Slide 20). A harp with a wonderfully executed bull's head was found here. She was made of gold, and the eyes, tips of the horns and beard were of lapis lazuli. (Slide 21). Items made of precious metals found in the tombs of the rulers of Ur testify to the high skill of Sumerian jewelers as early as the middle of the 20th century BC. (Slide 22).

The Sumerians created a unique form of writing - cuneiform. It was generated by extreme necessity: the states prospering at that time demanded that all possible benefits be taken into account. (Slide 23). Wedge-shaped signs were pressed out with sharp sticks on wet clay tablets, which were then dried and fired. Sumerian writing captured laws, knowledge, religious ideas and myths, the first calendar (Slide 24).

Students: give a prepared presentation about the library of Ashurbanipal - the oldest of all known libraries (Slides 25,26,27).

Teacher: At the end of the XXIV century. BC. The Akkadians conquered southern Mesopotamia. Their ancestors are Semitic tribes that settled in ancient times in Central and Northern Mesopotamia. The Akkadian king Sargon the Ancient (Great) easily subjugated the Sumerian cities weakened by internecine wars and created the first centralized state in this region - the kingdom of Sumer and Akkad, which lasted until the end of the 3rd millennium BC. (Slide 28).

The conquerors treated the original Sumerian culture with care. They mastered and adapted the Sumerian cuneiform for their language, did not begin to destroy the ancient texts and works of art. Even the religion of Sumer was adopted by the Akkadians, only the gods were given new names.

In the Akkadian period, a new form of temple appears - the ziggurat. It is a stepped pyramid, on top of which there was a small sanctuary. The shape of the ziggurat obviously symbolizes the stairway to Heaven. (Slide 29). During the III Dynasty, the first ziggurat of colossal dimensions was built in Ur, consisting of three tiers (with a base of 56 x 52 m and a height of 21 m). Currently, only two floors of its three terraces have been preserved. The platform walls are tilted. From the base of this structure, at a sufficient distance from the walls, a monumental staircase begins with two side branches at the level of the first terrace. At the top of the platforms was a temple dedicated to the moon god Sin. The staircase reached the very top of the temple, connecting the floors to each other. This monumental staircase expressed the desire of the Sumerians and Akkadians to ensure that the gods took an active part in worldly life. She was one of the best design solutions in Mesopotamian architecture. (Slide 30).

During the Akkadian period, there is a change of orientation in art, as interest is concentrated more on the exaltation of the monarchy than on the manifestation of reverence for the gods. However, the Sumerian traditions survived. The bronze head from Nineveh embodies the new achievements of Akkadian goldsmiths. The monument depicts a monarch with characteristic Semitic features (a long curly beard and hair gathered in a bun). This is a real portrait, in which Sumerian geometric forms are rejected and facial features are carefully depicted: an aquiline nose, beautifully defined lips and eyes inserted into orbits. The beard is also carefully chiselled in each of its short and long curls, as is the weave of the hair.

In the Sumerian and Akkadian periods in Mesopotamia and other areas of Western Asia, the main directions of architecture and sculpture were determined, over time they were further developed. (Slide 31).

In 2003 BC The kingdom of Sumer and Akkad ceased to exist after the army of neighboring Elam invaded its borders and defeated the capital of the kingdom - the city of Ur.

Period from the 20th to the 17th centuries. BC. called Old Babylonian, because. The most important political center of Mesopotamia at this time was Babylon. The Old Babylonian era is considered the golden age of Mesopotamian literature: scattered tales of gods and heroes merged into poems. The epic of Gilgamesh, the semi-legendary ruler of the city of Uruk in Sumer, is widely known. (Slide 32). Few works of fine art and architecture of that period have been preserved: Babylonia was repeatedly invaded by nomads who destroyed many monuments.

3. Independent work of students: solve a crossword puzzle (Appendix No. 1). (Slides 33,34). Handout material used

4. Homework: view on the Internet: the cartoon “The Legend of Gilgamesh” of the Children and Youth Center “Old Mill”. Artistic director L. Lazareva, animation workshop; prepare messages on a given topic.

Course of lesson number 2

1. Organizational moment

2. Assimilation of new knowledge

Teacher: today we will continue our acquaintance with the art of Mesopotamia.

Assyria is a powerful, aggressive state whose borders in their heyday stretched from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf (Slide 35). The Assyrians brutally cracked down on their enemies: they destroyed cities, carried out mass executions, sold tens of thousands of people into slavery, and deported entire nations. At the same time, the conquerors paid great attention to the cultural heritage of the conquered countries, studying the artistic principles of foreign craftsmanship. Combining the traditions of many cultures, Assyrian art acquired a unique look (Slide 36).

Constant wars determined the characteristic feature of Assyrian architecture - the flourishing of fortress architecture. An example of such a city is Dur-Sharrukin, the residence of King Sargon II. (Slide 37). More than half of the total area of the city was occupied by a palace erected on a high platform. It was surrounded by powerful walls 14 meters high. Vaults and arches were used in the system of palace ceilings. There were seven passages in the wall (Slide 38). In each passage, on both sides of the gate, there were giant figures of the fantastic shedu guards - winged bulls with human heads.

Students: present prepared reports about the shedu (Slides 39,40,41).

Teacher: Decorating the chambers in the royal palaces, the Assyrians preferred the relief, creating their own style in this art form (Slide 42). The main features of the Assyrian relief were formed by the 9th century. BC, which dated the ensemble from the palace of King Ashurnasirapal II (883-859 BC) in Kalhu (Slide 43). The palace was decorated with a cycle of reliefs glorifying the king as a commander, a wise ruler, a physically very strong person. (Slides 44,45,46,47).

At the end of the 7th century BC. Assyria was destroyed by its longtime enemies - Media and Babylonia (Slide 48). In 612 BC Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, was destroyed. In the art of antiquity, the traditions of Assyria, especially in the field of monumental relief, attracted attention for a long time. (Slide 49).

The Neo-Babylonian kingdom, especially its capital Babylon, experienced many ups and downs. The history of Babylonia is an endless series of military conflicts, from which it did not always emerge victorious (Slide 50). Only after Assyria ceased to exist, Babylonia was able to take a dominant position in Asia Minor. A brief period of its heyday fell on the years of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II (605-562 BC). Babylon became one of the richest and most beautiful cities in Mesopotamia, a political and religious center. Babylonian culture continued the traditions of the Sumero-Akkadian period (Slide 51). Religious themes dominated the art of Babylon.

Students: Give a prepared presentation about Babylon.

Students: perform a prepared presentation on the Etemenanki ziggurat - the prototype of the legendary Tower of Babel (Slide 52).

Students: give a prepared presentation about the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II with the hanging gardens of Queen Babylon (Slides 53,54).

Teacher: Eight main entrance gates led to Babylon, bearing the names of the main deities. From each gate, a sacred road was laid to the temple dedicated to the deity of the same name. Thus, the entire territory of the city was perceived as a sacred, temple space. (Slide 55). The ruins of the gate of the goddess Ishtar have survived to this day. (Slide 56); these gates were of particular importance for the Babylonians - from them past the temple of Marduk (Marduk - the supreme god of Mesopotamia, the patron god of the city of Babylon) was the Procession Road, along which solemn processions were made (Slide 57). At the end of XIX - beginning of XX centuries. German archaeologists dug up a large number of fragments of the city wall, using which they managed to completely restore the historical appearance of the Ishtar Gate, which was reconstructed and is now on display in the State Museums of Berlin. The Ishtar Gate is a huge arch, on four sides of which there are high massive battlements. The whole structure is covered with glazed bricks with relief images of the sacred animals of the god Marduk - the bull and the fantastic creature Sirrush.

The procession road, reaching a width of 16 m, was surrounded by glazed brick walls for 200 meters, from which 120 lions depicted on a blue background looked at the participants in the procession. A reconstructed fragment of the lining of the Processional Road is also kept in the State Museums of Berlin (Slide 58).

When Babylon was conquered by the Persians, many traditions of Mesopotamian culture were adopted by the young Achaemenid empire. In 550 BC The Persian king Cyrus II the Great, who came from the Achaemenid dynasty, overthrew the Median king and annexed Media to his state. In 539 BC The Persian kingdom subjugated Babylonia, in 525 BC. - Egypt, then spread its influence to the cities of Syria, Phoenicia, Asia Minor and turned into a giant empire (Slide 59). At the same time, the conquerors did not destroy the cities, showing tolerance for the traditions, religion and culture of the conquered peoples.

Babylon was treated with respect in ancient times. He did not suffer the sad fate of Nineveh. The Persian king Cyrus II the Great, who captured the country in 539 BC, did not destroy Babylon, he triumphantly entered the city as a winner, thereby paying tribute to its great past. The Babylonian civilization was, in essence, the last phase of the Sumerian civilization and culture. (Slide 60).

By studying and borrowing other people's traditions, the Median and Persian masters managed to create their own artistic system, which was called the "imperial style". Achaemenid art was courtly, intended to symbolize and glorify the power and greatness of the state and royal power. It is characterized by solemnity, scale, and at the same time, thoroughness in finishing details. (Slide 61).

The artistic centers of the Achaemenid Empire were the royal residences. A huge number of people driven from the occupied territories participated in their construction. Each of the residences was an architectural and sculptural complex, in which everything was subordinated to the main idea - the glorification of the power of the king (Slide 62).

The palace was erected on platforms that were connected with terraces of different levels. The various floors were connected by monumental front staircases with cladding covered with bas-reliefs. Along the perimeter, the palace was fenced with a battlement wall. The majestic entrance-portal, in accordance with the Assyrian tradition, was guarded by colossal statues of bull-men (Slide 63). Inside the palace there were many buildings, the main of which were: the actual royal chambers and a hall for ceremonial receptions, apadana - the most original and characteristic building of Achaemenid architecture.

The oldest royal residence is in the city of Pasargadagh, founded in the 6th century. BC. Cyrus II, poorly preserved. It consisted of isolated buildings that did not form a single ensemble. This lack of structure is explained by the fact that this palace has its origins in a traditional nomad camp. In Pasargadae, the tomb of Cyrus II has been preserved - a strict structure eleven meters high, which vaguely resembles a Mesopotamian ziggurat. The tomb looks like a simple stone dwelling with a gable roof, set on a platform consisting of seven steps. (Slide 64).

The ancient Persian capital of Susa, destroyed by the Assyrians, was rebuilt during the reign of the most famous Persian kings - Darius I (522-486 BC), Xerxes (486-465 BC). The layout and decoration of the royal palace in Susa clearly traced the traditions of Mesopotamia. (Slide 65). All the premises of the palace complex were grouped around vast courtyards. The entrance to the main courtyard of the residence of Darius I was decorated with a tiled relief depicting the royal guard, exquisite in composition and color. (Slide 66). The design of the back wall of the northern facade - the figures of winged bulls lined with tiles - resembles the gates of the goddess Ishtar in Babylon.

The residence of the kings Darius I and Xerxes in Persepolis deserves special attention, which is better preserved than others. Persepolis is an ancient Persian city that arose in the VI-V centuries. BC, the capital of the vast Achaemenid Empire (Slide 67). The architectural ensemble on a high artificial platform is located in a valley surrounded by rocks. (Slide 68). The main buildings are the palaces of Darius I and Xerxes. The center of the complex is Apadana Daria, raised above the terrace to a height of 4 meters. Two front staircases lead to it, so gentle that it was possible to drive chariots along them. (Slide 69). The main value of these stairs and the entire Apadana terrace are reliefs carved on stone slabs.

Creating reliefs, the masters from Persepolis used the experience of the Assyrian sculptors, but unlike them, they never filled their compositions with movement or emotional tension. Sequential order prevails in every image, with figures of strict contours that move in solemn processions, forming endless friezes. Even compositions dedicated to battles are static and solemn. The technique of the Achaemenid relief is distinguished by high professional craftsmanship and thoroughness in finishing details. (Slide 70).

Metalworking was the kind of art in which the Achaemenid craftsmen achieved the most outstanding success. (Slide 71). Real virtuosos with a delicate taste, they made luxurious multi-colored jewelry, weapons, jewelry, tableware and other items. (Slide 72). Often, jewelry was decorated with images of animals. (Slide 73). A typical vessel of that era was a horn-shaped vessel, the lower end of which was decorated in the form of the upper body of an animal, such as the golden goblet kept in the Archaeological Museum of Tehran, showing the luxury and splendor that surrounded court life (Slide 74).

The "Achaemenid imperial style" created the unity of the Indus culture to the coast of Asia Minor and prepared the conditions for a new stage in art - Hellenism. The final death of the Mesopotamian civilization came only after the conquests of Alexander the Great (Slide 75).

3. Independent work of students: complete test tasks on the topic “Art of Mesopotamia” (Appendix No. 2), handout material is used.

4. Homework: draw a shedu in workbooks.

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MESOPOTAMIA THE MEOSPOTAMIAN ZIGKURAT IS THE HOUSING OF GOD. ZIGKURATS IN URA AND BABYLON. GLAZED BRICK AND RHYTHMIC PATTERN ARE THE MAIN DECORATIVE MEANS. ISHTAR GATE, ROAD OF PROCESSIONS IN NEW BABYLON.

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The first civilization arose around the 4th millennium BC. on the territory of the "fertile crescent" between the tiger and the Euphrates, giving life to the colorful culture of Mesopotamia (the two rivers). This culture, as was customary in the ancient agricultural tribal communities, reflected the main thing for them - ensuring fertility through community-irrigated agriculture. The culture of Mesopotamia is divided into several periods. According to the name of the city-states Sumer in the south and Akkad in the north, the culture of Mesopotamia IV-II millennium BC. called Sumero-Akkadian. According to Babylon in the south (1894-732 BC) and Assyria in the north (1380-625 BC) - Assyro-Babylonian. New Babylon gave rise to the Neo-Babylonian, or Chaldean, culture (626-538 BC), whose style continued in the artistic traditions of Persia.

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Small city-states with adjacent lands had their own lord and patron - some kind of fertility deity, which was part of the numerous pantheon of the Sumerian-Akkadian gods. The central temple of the city was dedicated to the patron god. Its size was determined by the scale of the surrounding world: colossal mountains, valleys, rivers. Frequent and sometimes catastrophic rises of salty groundwater to the surface and sandstorms forced the construction of structures on high platforms with stairs or a gentle entrance - a ramp.

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Due to the fact that these lands did not have enough wood and stone, the temples were built from fragile raw brick and required constant renovation. The tradition of not changing places and building a "home of God" on the same platform led to the emergence of a ziggurat - a multi-stage temple consisting of cubic volumes stacked on top of each other. Each subsequent volume was smaller than the previous one along the perimeter. The height and size of the ziggurat testified to the antiquity of the settlement and the degree of closeness of people to the gods, giving hope for their special patronage. The idea of a high platform, which not only preserves the building during the rise of the waters, but also allows you to view it from all sides, determined the main feature of Mesopotamian architecture - the predominance of mass over internal space. Its heavy plasticity was softened by the rhythmic relief on the plane of the wall and the colorful decor of shining multi-colored glazed bricks.

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Etemenniguru ziggurat in ur (xxi century BC) - the temple of the Sumerian god of the moon Nanna: four cubic monoliths connected by stairs. The walls of each platform had vertical brick ledges that ran a zigzag pattern of mother-of-pearl, shells, metal plates, and ceramic nails whose caps flared red in the bright sunlight. Black, blue, golden sparks. Plants in tubs filled the wide platform platforms: pomegranates, grapes, roses, jasmine. Such "hanging gardens", which arose as a way to save from groundwater, later became the main highlight in decorating the palaces of the Assyrian and Babylonian kings.

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Etemenanki ziggurat (6th century BC) The temple of the Babylonian sun god Marduk, erected on a sacred territory in New Babylon. In the biblical legend about how God in anger mixed the languages of people who decided to build a tower to heaven, it was called the Tower of Babel. The temple consisted of seven platforms. Vertical protrusions on the walls of each platform crushed their heavy volumes, giving the silhouette aspiration upwards, towards the sky. The spiral of the ramp, encircling the ziggurat, gave it additional lightness. Thanks to the blinding glaze of the five lower platforms in white, black, red, blue, yellow colors, the structure took on the appearance of a fabulous phantom floating in the air, but without losing its monumental grandeur. The last two platforms, lined with silver and gold plates, reflecting the sun, radiated such radiance that they lost their outlines and seemed to be the embodiment of a radiant god.

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Public buildings, palaces of the Assyrian and Babylonian rulers were also colorful and monumental. The combination of strict graphics and colorful decoration is another feature of the Mesopotamian style in architecture and fine arts. At the same time, the repeated reproduction of the same relief on glazed bricks of white, black, red, blue, and yellow colors created a special ceremonial rhythm.

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Ishtar gate (6th century BC) The powerful rectangular volume of the Ishtar gate, enlarged with square jagged towers with an arched passage between them - the so-called Hittite portal - was covered with dark blue tiles. This blue mass was somewhat softened by the monotonous alternation of the relief: golden-yellow, depicting sacred bulls, and milky-white, recreating the beasts of the god Marduk, fantastic creatures with a small horned head on a serpentine neck, with front lion and hind legs of an eagle.

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The procession road, which led from the gates to the sanctuaries, was framed by a wall, also lined with tiles. On their turquoise field, roaring coffee-colored lions with a luxurious red mane and baring mouth majestically stepped; their measured gait, as it were, echoed the procession of people to the temple.

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Royal hunting (relief of the palace of King Ashurbanapal) In addition to monumentality and colorful decorative art of Mesopotamia was distinguished by extreme accuracy in depicting wildlife. This can be seen from the reliefs on the alabaster plates, which lined the walls of the Assyro-Babylonian palaces from the outside and from the inside with a continuous carpet. Preference was given to battle scenes, ritual offering of gifts, royal hunting, as well as decorative patterns based on the image of winged bulls and winged geniuses with the "tree of life" - the deities of the resurgent spring nature.

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The human figure in the Assyrian reliefs was depicted with a full or three-quarter turn of the shoulders, legs and face in profile. At the same time, without attaching importance to portrait resemblance, Mesopotamian artists quite accurately reproduced the Asian type: a stocky muscular figure, a large head with a heavy lower jaw, a hooked nose sticking out like a bird's beak, thin sinuous lips, a low sloping forehead and a huge eye looking at viewer. The king could be recognized by a long curled beard, thick hair, also curled and falling over his shoulders, a powerful torso and magnificently decorated clothes made of embroidered fabrics with fringes and heavy tassels.

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conclusions The deification of royal power and the cult of the gods, characteristic of the peoples of Mesopotamia, led to the construction of monumental ziggurats dedicated to them, which became a landmark phenomenon of Mesopotamian art. At the same time, not constrained by religious boundaries, since all power was concentrated in the hands of the kings, Mesopotamian art was predominantly secular in nature, with a predominance of palace and public buildings in the architecture. Along with the scale, they were distinguished by lush decorativeness. The organic fusion of the jubilant brilliance of glazed bricks and the rigidity of the linear rhythm of the relief is the originality of the Mesopotamian style. The original Mesopotamian art strongly influenced the art of its closest neighbors - the Egyptians and Persians. In later centuries, it spread through North Africa to Western European art, and through the peoples who inhabited the basin of the Caspian Sea, to Eastern Rus'.

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What features are characteristic of architectural structures in the city-states of Mesopotamia? What are they due to? What decorative means did the architects use to decorate the temples of Etemenniguru in Ur and Etemenanki in New Babylon? What do their decors have in common? What realities are reflected in the Assyro-Babylonian reliefs?

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