History of Olbia. Olvia: an ancient city on the banks of the Dnieper-Bug estuary

“The praiseworthy Eurysivus, the son of Sirisk, raised me up to Zeus the Liberator, the king of the gods, strengthening the fatherland and rightly honoring the glorious sovereignty of Zeus the Liberator.”

Inscription in Olbia

Ancient Greece, the Greek colonies of the Northern Black Sea... It seems that it is somewhere very far away in time and space, that all this was left in distant ancient Greece... But when you find yourself in a place where the life of a large ancient Greek policy was once in full swing , suddenly you realize that geographically it is very close, only in time, maybe a little further ... Here it is, this very land, here stood the temple of Zeus, here is the temple of Apollo, here, probably, the theater, traded here, lived here People...

Olbia is one of the four largest ancient Greek cities- colonies of the Northern Black Sea region - lasted more than 1000 years. In ancient Greek, ΟλβІα is happy. Some Greek authors call Olbia Borisfen, and the inhabitants of the city - Borysfenites by the name of the river Borisfen (as the Greeks called the Dnieper). Olbia was founded by Greek settlers from Asia Minor from the city of Miletus in the 6th century BC. BC. At this time, the Greeks actively mastered large spaces along the shores of the Mediterranean, Black and Azov seas. “The Greeks settled along the shores of our sea, like frogs around a swamp,” Plato wrote jokingly.

The Greek settlers liked the place on the high bank of the Bug estuary not far from its confluence with the Dnieper estuary. This is not the very coast of the Black Sea, about 40 kilometers from here to the sea. From Pontus Euxinus (Black Sea), you first need to climb up the Borisfen (Dnieper), and then go a little to the left up the Hypanis (Southern Bug). But the Bugsko-Dneprovsky estuary itself, with its expanses and a distant line of the other coast, looks quite like a sea bay. And the other side of the Dnieper estuary, even on a good day, looks like a thin thread on the horizon, with not very good visibility, it is not visible at all.

Now it is the neighborhood of the village of Parutino, Ochakovsky district, Mykolaiv region of Ukraine. It is 30 kilometers to Ochakovo (there is just the estuary flows into the Black Sea), about 40 kilometers to Nikolaev and about 100 kilometers to Odessa.

Greek city-colonies in the Northern Black Sea region
in ancient times

The northern Black Sea region in those days was the possession of the Scythians. The settlers had to either fight or negotiate with them. It was useless to fight the Scythians. Tradition says that when the Greeks landed on the shore, they immediately met the Scythians, who were given wine to drink. The Scythians liked the wine very much and they allowed the Greeks to settle here.

And later, “when the Milesians turned to the oracle with a request to approve the withdrawal of a new settlement to this area, it natural resources were already well known. Therefore, the oracle easily predicted a happy fate for the founders of the policy and their descendants, calling their colony the Happy City of Oλβνη πολις.<…>

Over time happy city began to be called one adjective, and he turned into Olbia. However, the name of citizens - Olviopolites - was still made from the full name. Olbia was not the original name of the colony, since there were about a dozen Olbia in the Greek ecumene. Due to the ambiguity of the name "Olvia", for geographical certainty, Olbia on Gipanis was often called Borysthenes, and the Olviopolites were called Borysthenites, and even the Olviopolites themselves did this, although Olbia and Borysthenes are close, but still different settlements.

Herodotus, who visited Olbia in the 5th century BC, wrote in his “History”: “Closest of all from the trading harbor of the Borisfenites [Olbia] (and it lies approximately in the middle of the entire near-Pontic land of the Scythians) callipids live - the Hellenic Scythians; they are followed by another tribe called the Alisons. They, along with the Kallipids, lead the same way of life as the rest of the Scythians, however, they sow and eat bread, onions, garlic, lentils and millet. To the north of the Alizons live Scythian farmers. They sow grain not for their own subsistence, but for sale. Finally, the neurons live even higher than them, and to the north of the neurons, as far as I know, there is already a deserted desert. These are the tribes along the river Hypanis to the west of Borysthenes.

Behind Borysthenes, from the side of the sea, Hylaea first stretches, and to the north of it live the Scythian farmers. Their Hellenes, who live on the Gipanis River, are called Borysthenites, and these Hellenes themselves are called Olviopolites. These Scythian farmers occupy the region for three days' journey eastward to the Panticapa River, and to the north for eleven days' journey up the Borysthenes. Above them, the desert stretches far. Androphages live beyond the desert - a special, but by no means a Scythian tribe. And to the north there is a real desert, and there are no people there, as far as I know, no more.

Strabo also mentions Olbia: “Next follows the river Borisfen, navigable for 600 stadia; nearby flows another river - Gipanis and lies an island in front of the mouth of Borisfen with a harbor. If you swim up the Borisfen 200 stadia, then there will be a city of the same name with the river; this city is also called Olbia, is a great port and was founded by the Milesians.

Mentions Olbia and Pliny the Elder in the Natural History: “At 120,000 steps from Tiras, the Borisfen River flows and then follows a lake, a tribe of the same name and a city 15,000 steps away from the sea, with the ancient names of Olviopol and Miletopol.”

N.M. Karamzin: “Five centuries or more before the birth of Christ, the Greeks started settlements on the shores of the Black Sea. Olbia, 40 versts from the mouth of the Dnieper, was built by people of Miletus back in the glorious times of the Median Empire, was called happy from its wealth and existed until the fall of Rome; in the blessed age of Trajans, its educated citizens loved to read Plato and, knowing the Iliad by heart, sang Homeric verses in battles.

S. M. Solovyov mentions Olbia in more detail: “We have already mentioned the Greek colonies on the northern coast of Pontus. The most significant of them was Olbia (Boristhenes, Miletopolis), founded by the Milesians 655 years before Christ. at the mouth of the Gipanis, or Bug. The old city was destroyed by the Getae in the middle of the last century BC, then, with the participation of the Scythians, Olbia was restored, but did not reach its former wealth and splendor; the old city, according to Herodotus, had a suburb, a market, the palace of the Scythian king Skyules; the inscriptions show that it had a gymnasium, a grain storage store, a market, a fish market, and shipyards. The Scythians traded here by means of seven interpreters; Olbia had extensive trade links with Greek cities as far as Sicily. The main temple was the temple of Jupiter Olvios, where citizens gathered for meetings, but from the deities, Achilles enjoyed special respect, whose singer, Homer, was also given divine honors. In the barbarian country, the inhabitants of Olbia could not keep the Greek language pure, they also adopted Scythian clothing, in which black prevailed. A true picture of the life of the Greek colonists can be seen in the story of Dion Chrysostom, who sought refuge in Olbia from the persecution of Domitian. When the inhabitants of Olbia saw the overseas orator, they rushed with Greek greed to listen to his speeches: the old men, the chiefs, sat down on the steps of the Temple of Jupiter, the crowd stood with intense attention; Dion admired the ancient appearance of his listeners, who, like the Greeks of Homer, were all with long hair and long beards, but they were all also armed: on the eve of a crowd of barbarians appeared in front of the city, and at the time when Dion was delivering his speech, the city gates they were locked up, and a military banner fluttered on the fortifications; when it was necessary to oppose the barbarians, the verses of the Iliad were heard in the ranks of the colonists, which almost all Olbiopolites knew by heart. The time of the fall of the new Olbia is difficult to determine."

Throughout its history, Olbia has been closely associated with the metropolis and with other Greek colonies. She traded with Greece, was a member of the Athenian Maritime Union. Olbia was besieged by the troops of one of the commanders of Alexander the Great, later it was a province of the Roman Empire. Olbia had a great cultural influence on the surrounding world of the Scythians, Sarmatians and other peoples of the Northern Black Sea region.

During its heyday, the territory of the city was about 50-55 hectares (now almost a third of the ancient city is flooded with the waters of the Bug estuary), and its necropolis - about 500 hectares, in Olbia there were more than 20,000 inhabitants. On the banks of the Bug, Dnieper and Berezan estuaries there were hundreds of rural settlements that made up the rural district of the city - the chora (the agricultural district of the ancient Greek policy was called the chora).

The place chosen for the city was very successful, as it had natural defensive lines. The high triangular plateau was surrounded on both sides by deep ravines; the Upper City was located here. The slopes of the plateau were surrounded by an amphitheatre, the Lower City, protected from the third side by an estuary.

There are three main periods in the history of Olbia - 1) - Hellenic (from the foundation of the city in the second quarter of the 6th century BC - to the middle of the 1st century BC - the time of the Getic invasion); 2) - Greco-Roman (from the moment of the restoration of Olbia at the end of the 1st century BC - until the second Gothic invasion in 269-270); 3 - late antique (from the time of the resumption of life on the site of Olbia in the last quarter of the 3rd century - until its complete cessation in the third quarter of the 4th c.). During the first, longest period, the state reached the maximum flourishing of the economy and culture in the entire history of its existence. The second period is characterized by a decrease in the economic potential of the state, a reduction in the territory of the city, the penetration of Roman influences, and increased contacts with barbarian tribes. The third period is the time of the final decline of Olbia.

In the first period, the most ancient cult site in Olbia appeared - temenos, where they worshiped Apollo the Doctor. Over time, another temenos appears - with the cult of Apollo Delphinius, and an agora arises - a square that had commercial, administrative and public functions. A small temple is erected on the temenos of Apollo the Physician, and a sacred grove appears on the temenos of Apollo Delphinius. Altars are being built on both sites. The appearance of these two temenos, and most importantly, the agora, and the beginning of the issuance of its own, purely local bronze coin in the form of dolphins, allows us to speak of the emergence of the state at the end of the third quarter of the 6th century BC. BC.

Around Olbia in the second half of the VI century. BC. its choir is formed. Many small rural settlements arose, the population of which was engaged in agriculture, animal husbandry, hunting and fishing, and, to a small extent, crafts.

The Olbian state was a classical Greek policy. The city was a cultural, political, trade and craft center, agricultural settlements were within its sphere of influence. It was a democratic slave republic. Women, foreigners, semi-free groups and slaves had no citizenship rights.

At the end of the IV - the first half of the III centuries. BC. Olbia reaches its greatest prosperity in its entire history. It is surrounded by powerful stone walls with large Western and Northern entrance gates. The population is at least 20-25 thousand people.

The main imports were wine, olive oil, ceremonial utensils, fabrics, jewelry, art objects.

The spiritual culture of the inhabitants of Olbia was highly developed. The gods who were especially worshiped had their temples and sanctuaries - Apollo, Zeus, Athena, Cybele, Hermes. In addition, the cults of Demeter and Kore-Persephone, Pluto, Dionysus, Artemis, Achilles, Hercules, Dioscuri, Hekate, etc. were widespread here. Satyrs, Silens, Kabirs, demons, maenads, muses and other less significant deities were widely revered.

Olbia had its own philosophers, scientists, poets, musicians. Some of them are named in written sources - the philosopher Bion Boristhenit, the philosopher - the Stoic of Spheres, the philosopher and historian Posidonius. There was a theater in the city. The Olviopolites were actively involved in sports.

In the middle of the 1st c. BC. Olbia was defeated by the troops of the Geto-Dacians, led by Burebista. The surviving residents leave the city, and life here stops for several decades. The city never reaches the level of its former prosperity.

Life on the site of Olbia is revived not earlier than the end of the 1st century BC. BC, several decades after the Gothic defeat.

From the second quarter of the 3rd c. the heyday of Olbia gradually begins to fade. As a result of the invasion of the Goths and their allied tribes, Tyra and Olbia were captured and burned at different times. Olbia even suffered twice - during the first "Scythian" or "Gothic" campaigns in 232-238. and during their last mass campaign 269 - 270 years.

The first disaster was short-lived. The second disaster was more serious. Olbia was completely destroyed and left for some time by the inhabitants.

The last restoration of Olbia takes place not earlier than the end of the 80s. 3rd century But it was no more than 100 years, when the inhabitants left Olbia forever. (According to the materials of the site "Official server of the Olbia Expedition".)

The geographical location of Olbia, abandoned by people and lost in time, was forgotten by the world for many centuries. It was established by Russian scientists at the end of the 18th century on the outskirts of the village of Parutino, not far from Nikolaev. They say that the name of the village "Parutino" comes from the word "destroyed". Village on the ruined. But people settled near the ancient ruins, no one settled on the site of Olbia, there was a ruined city.

Now Olvia is the National State Historical and Archaeological Museum-Reserve of Ukraine.

Approaching Parutino, you see fields of wheat, barley, sunflowers going to the horizon. Probably, something similar happened in those days when life was in full swing in the agricultural district of Olbia - chora. The main export product from the Northern Black Sea region to the metropolis of the Greeks has always been grain.

The city of Olbia was surrounded by walls and was a fortress in the form of an irregular triangle. This form was dictated by the relief of the area on which the city was located: ravines on both sides, and an estuary on the third. Olbia was divided into the Upper City, the Middle Part (the slope of the hill to the estuary) and the Lower City. Part of the Lower City is now under the water of the Bug-Dnieper estuary, which has risen since ancient times.

Outline of Olbia

Now Olbia is a large plateau with partially excavated streets with the foundations of a house and other buildings. Excavations continue, the Olbian Expedition is constantly working here. According to archaeologists, no more than 1/80 of the territory has been excavated at present, i.e., almost all of Olbia still lies underground and under the water of the estuary and is waiting in the wings. Approximately half of the excavation area is available to visitors, the one where the excavations are now mothballed. The sites of ongoing excavations are closed to the public. The territory is guarded by heavily armed guards. This is due to the problem of "black archaeologists".

"Black archaeologists" is a real problem not only for Olbia, but for all significant archaeological sites. Under the ground lies incalculable even in terms of money (what to speak of cultural) wealth, which, in general, is quite accessible to almost anyone who wants it.

“Black archaeologists”, of course, have completely non-scientific goals for excavations and most often simply destroy archaeological sites, and the finds end up either in private collections or leave the country.

Archaeologist Andrey Ganzha, who has been taking part in the excavations of Olbia for decades, writes: “Several years ago, some high-ranking official in the uniform of a customs officer said on the TV screen that archaeological objects worth two million dollars are exported from Ukraine a year. Naive!

In 2000-2001, in the same Olbia, more than 500 ancient Greek burials were plundered. And what is it, such a burial? These are one or two painted lacquered vases, up to a dozen other vessels, necessarily - a coin in the mouth or palm of the deceased (this is the rite), almost always - decorations, often weapons, dozens of amphorae. In general, the whole world that surrounded a person who had gone into eternity. But these are lyrics, and the reality is $ 46.5 million. This is an expert assessment of the looted material! For two years!

And when I called the figure of 2 million to my acquaintances "black archaeologists", they, not stupid guys at all, grinned condescendingly and recommended adding three zeros. Professionals recommended doing the same, only the smile was completely different, bared. 2 000 000 000!!! »

And like a cry with pain about the fate of Olbia:

“Many “licked their lips” at Olvia and Berezan. Both scientists and robbers living in "black archeology". But for decades, the Olvisky Reserve (since 2002 - National) welcomed the first and fought off the second. But he can't do it anymore. Having survived centuries and invasions, survived the German-Romanian occupation and no less dashing Soviet times, Olbia and Berezan, as monuments of universal historical heritage, will perish precisely in our time, the time of Ukrainian state independence. Looks like the blacks have won.

Arriving in Olbia, it is better to be at least a little prepared, otherwise you can only see mounds overgrown with grass and mothballed excavations, the skeletons of houses, outbuildings and temples that will tell little about themselves. Of course, on the territory of the reserve there are signs of recommended viewing routes, there are maps of the city, there are artistic reconstructions of buildings, there are explanations directly at the excavation sites of what exactly is in front of you. But without preliminary preparation, this may not give a complete picture of a large ancient policy. It is good to walk around Olbia with a guide, but this does not always work out. It is noteworthy that the guards of the museum-reserve, constantly bypassing and controlling its territory, may well answer any question in a very interesting and detailed way. And a little preliminary preparation will allow you to mentally see the living life of the Happy City, temples will rise, the sacred grove will rustle, scream trade area, citizens will slowly walk through the streets ...

There are two museums on the territory. One contains stone exhibits - in one form or another preserved columns, statues, bas-reliefs, tombstones ... Similar exhibits also lie in the open. The second museum contains objects of art and everyday life, stone inscriptions, etc. The curators of the museum are very friendly and will gladly lead a short interesting tour around the museum.

The excavated cellars and foundations of open-air houses are now specially reinforced so that, taken out of the ground, they do not collapse under the influence of weather conditions.

Panorama of a part of the Upper Town

At first, the settlers, for whom the banks of Hypanis and Borisfen became a new homeland, lived in dugouts, since there are no deposits of stone in the immediate vicinity of Olbia that could be used in construction (as, say, in Nikolaev or Odessa). Later, houses were built in the city, as in Greece. But in the Northern Black Sea region the climate is more severe than in Greece and Asia Minor. Therefore, here the houses had cellars in which heat was better preserved in winter. Despite the fact that these are the shores of the Black Sea, from November to April it is not at all hot here. In winter, the temperature is usually slightly above zero, damp, overcast, windy and rainy. But sometimes winters are very cold. A vivid example of this was the winter of 2009-2010. In this winter, snow sometimes reached half a meter, there was ice on the estuaries, even the port of Odessa was under ice for some time, a state of emergency was declared in the region. According to the stories of the inhabitants of Odessa, in the winter of 2007-2008 the sea froze 100 meters from the shore. And in ancient times, this also often happened. “... in antiquity, not only the rivers of the Northern Black Sea region, but also the Kerch Strait regularly froze; along it the Scythians drove cattle from the Crimean to Taman Peninsula and back" . Therefore, the task of maximum preservation of heat in winter was very relevant.

When the Greeks settled down in a new place, they began to build houses according to the classical Greek scheme: all the premises were located on two, three or four sides of the inner rectangular courtyard. In rich houses, the courtyard was surrounded by a portico with stone columns, in more modest ones, the portico was not built on all sides, and the columns were wooden, in poor houses there were no porticos at all.

The windows and doors of the rooms overlooked the inner courtyard, only blank walls and fences looked out onto the street. Houses, closely adjacent to each other, formed quarters of several houses.

The streets of the residential quarters of Olbia were very narrow, literally 2-3 meters, the city authorities even looked to ensure that the street doors opened inside the house, and not outside, so that they would not block the passage and travel along the street.

In all parts of the city there was advanced system sewers, fragments of which can be seen.

Excavations of a residential building in the Upper City	Excavation of a residential building	Ladder	Excavation of a residential building
Excavation of a residential building	Excavation of a residential building	Basement of a 5th-4th century house BC.	antique sewer

The port connected Olbia with the outside world, primarily with other Greek cities and with the metropolis. It is known that the overland trade relations of Olbia reached the Volga and the Urals, and along the Dnieper, the Olviopolites rose to the latitude of Kyiv. But the main route was still sea ​​route. Ships from the metropolis and other Greek cities and colonies went up the Borysthenes and Hypanis. Before them was an impressive view of the walled Olbia, the Happy City. According to ancient rules, the port was divided into two harbors - for merchant and warships. In the trading harbor there were warehouses for goods, wholesale and fish markets, from it rose the streets of the Lower City, which went to the Terrasny (Middle) City. But even from the estuary, behind a high stone wall with towers, the temples and the main buildings of the city were clearly visible. All this, with its beauty and power, made an indelible impression on the traveler. In ancient times, they understood a lot about combining landscape and architecture (more precisely, architecture was purposefully inscribed in the surrounding landscape), so all ancient architectural monuments look so harmoniously against the surrounding background. And the wanderers sailing to Olbia were already fascinated by her before they went ashore.

No less wonderful view opened from the walls of the city to the open spaces of the estuary. And now, looking from the Olbia coast into the distance... at the horizon... one is amazed at how the ancients knew how to choose places for settlements, how they felt the beauty! The sense of beauty was in their blood. They could not settle in another place, not so beautiful. Standing on the high bank of the estuary, you just want to feel like a bird and, flapping your wings, fly. A similar feeling arises in the mountains when you stand on top, and under you a deep valley goes into the distance ...

View of the lower town and estuary

Navigation and active life ports lasted in the warm season for about six months. In winter, the Greeks tried not to go to sea without special need, since their ships did not tolerate storms, which are not uncommon in the Black Sea in winter. In addition, at times in winter, ice became on the estuary and life in the port froze. But in the summer, the port was a busy place, since the life of the Greeks was always very closely connected with the estuary and the sea, and each arrival of a ship from overseas lands to this region of the ecumene was a notable event. In addition to goods, the new arrivals brought with them news from the outside world, stories about deeds and events. Aristotle noted that in Athens "people's orators spend the whole day ... chatting with those who come from Phasis or Borysthenes ...". If in Athens they were so interested in those who arrived from afar, then, all the more so, such an event was significant for distant Olbia. To some extent, seaports were analogous to the caravanserais of caravan Asia, where news from all countries was learned.

The public and commercial life of Olbia took place in the agora. The word "agora" in Greece at first meant "people's assembly", over time, they began to call that place in the city where the people's assembly was held. Usually it was a trading area or a market. Those. Agora is the commercial and administrative center of the city. Agora arose in Olbia almost immediately after the founding of the city. The widest streets of the city connected the agora with the gates. There were shopping arcades, administrative and other buildings.

One of the sides of the Olbian agora was occupied by standing. Standing in ancient architecture is a covered gallery with a colonnade, usually with one or two rows of columns and a long solid wall. In Olbia, standing on the agora had two rows of columns. As a rule, standing was an obligatory element of every Greek city, and visiting a standing place was a must in the Greek way of life. Various meetings and meetings were held in the stall, news were discussed. Poets recited poetry here, orators delivered speeches, and philosophers taught their students. From the word "standing" came the name of stoic philosophy or stoicism, since its founder Zeno met with his students in the Athenian stand. By the way, the Stoics were quite popular in the Northern Black Sea region, in general, and in Olbia, in particular, since their philosophy was close to the philosophy of life of the local Greeks, who tried to live, if possible, in harmony with nature and in good neighborhood with the surrounding barbarian tribes. Since, according to Stoic philosophy, the course of world events and, moreover, the life of each person is predetermined, the only way to live correctly is to live in harmony, in harmony with nature. “Whoever agrees, fate leads him, whoever disagrees, he drags him,” said the Stoic Seneca.

At south side the agora housed a gymnasium. The Greek Gymnasium is, first of all, a place for athletes to train and compete. Usually it was an open place with covered rooms for bad weather and all kinds of auxiliary rooms - for changing clothes, rubbing with oil, sanding, washing rooms and baths. There was a gymnasium in every Greek city, and in big cities there were several. Only men and only full citizens of the city were admitted to the gymnasium. Olbia had a gymnasium starting from the 5th century. BC, which was then rebuilt several times. During the excavations of the gymnasium in Olbia, archaeologists found a well-preserved ancient plumbing that brought water to the pool. This is almost the only surviving almost completely antique water pipe that has come down to our time.

Over time, gymnasiums also began to teach various sciences, starting with teaching reading and writing and continuing with philosophy, rhetoric, and poetry. Libraries were created at the gymnasiums. Gymnasiums well corresponded to the ideal of the ancient Greeks in their striving to achieve perfection simultaneously in the spheres of physical and spiritual culture. From the Athenian gymnasium, standing in the grove of the hero Academ, the Academy of Plato grew. And from the Athenian gymnasium, located near the grove of Apollo Lyceum, - Lyceum (Lyceum) of Aristotle.

The traditional patrons of gymnasiums were Hermes and Hercules. Hermes, apparently, patronized the run, as the most skillful in this matter, and Hercules - the fight, as the strongest of the strongest. In Olbia, during the excavations of a gymnasium, a stone pedestal with a dedication to Hermes and Hercules was found.

Hercules was also close to the Olbiopolites in that, according to Greek mythology, when performing his tenth feat, he personally visited the lower reaches of the Borisfen, i.e., it can be assumed that he went into the vicinity of Olbia itself. Herodotus, talking about the origin of the Scythians, writes:

“The Hellenes, who live on Pontus, convey differently. Hercules, chasing the bulls of Gerion, arrived in this then uninhabited country (now it is occupied by the Scythians).<...>There he was caught by bad weather and cold. Wrapped in a pigskin, he fell asleep, and at this time his draft horses (he let them graze) miraculously disappeared.

Awakening, Hercules went all over the country in search of horses and finally arrived in a land named Gilea. [And we remember well that Herodotus himself says that “Beyond Borysthenes, from the sea side, Hyleya first stretches, and Scythian farmers live to the north of it. Their Hellenes, who live on the Gipanis River, are called Borysthenites, and these Hellenes themselves are called Olviopolites. - CM.] There, in a cave, he found a creature of mixed nature - a half-maiden, half-snake. The upper part of her body from the buttocks was feminine, and the lower part was snake-like. Seeing her, Hercules asked with surprise if she had seen his lost horses somewhere. In response, the snake woman said that she had horses, but she would not give them up until Hercules entered into a love affair with her.<...>Finally, the woman handed over the horses with the words: “These horses that came to me, I have saved for you; you have now paid a ransom for them. After all, I have three sons from you. Tell me, what should I do with them when they grow up? Should I leave them here (after all, I alone own this country) or send them to you? So she asked. Hercules answered this: “When you see that your sons have matured, it’s best for you to do this: see which of them can pull my bow like this and gird this belt around, as I indicate to you, leave him to live here. The one who did not follow my instructions was sent to a foreign land. If you do this, then you yourself will be satisfied and fulfill my desire.

With these words, Hercules pulled one of his bows (until then, Hercules wore two bows). Then, having shown how to gird himself, he handed over the bow and belt (a golden bowl hung at the end of the belt clasp) and left. When the children grew up, the mother gave them names. She named one Agathirs, the other Gelon, and the younger Scythian. Then, remembering the advice of Hercules, she did as Hercules commanded. Two sons - Agathirs and Gelon could not cope with the task, and their mother expelled them from the country. The younger one, Skiff, managed to complete the task, and he remained in the country. From this Scythian, the son of Hercules, all the Scythian kings descended. And in memory of that golden bowl, even to this day, the Scythians wear bowls on their belts ... "

Gymnasium excavations

At the northern side of the agora was the Central Temenos of the city - the sacred place of Olbia. Temenos is a Greek word meaning sacred, guarded place. In ancient Greece, this was usually the territory of the temple or the place where the temple (or several temples) stood, within which one could feel and experience the presence of the divine. Therefore, such a place was especially revered.

The central Olbian temenos is a square in the middle of which there was an altar. In the southern part of the temenos, a blank back wall separated it from the agora. In the northern part were the main temples of the city - the temples of Zeus and Apollo Delphinius. From the west and east, the temenos was surrounded by stone walls with two entrances. Temples to Zeus and Apollonius Delphinius were rebuilt several times. Temples were decorated with painted details, pilasters and columns. A sacred grove grew around, statues of the gods stood.

Zeus was the main god of the ancient Greeks, so it is natural that in Olbia there was a temple to Zeus, Zeus the Liberator. The cult of Zeus the Liberator arose in Olbia in the 4th century. d.c.e.

Even in Olbia, the cult of Apollo the Physician originally existed, which was later replaced by the cult of Apollo the Delphinius. Most likely, this was due to the fact that the life of Olbia was closely connected with the sea, and Apollo was the patron saint of navigation. As the patron saint of navigation, Apollo-Delphin was presented in the form of a dolphin, so dolphins were sacred animals among the Greeks, associated with sea deities and ideas of happiness.

“Since for the first time from the foggy sea in the form of a dolphin

Near the fast-moving ship I rose before you,

Then pray to me henceforth as Delphinia ... "

Homeric hymn "To the Pythian Apollo"

In Olbia, they even minted coins in the form of a dolphin. Moreover, this is a unique case in ancient numismatics, only in Olbia there were dolphin coins.

Apollo-Delphinius became the main god of Olbia. He - as the supreme deity - was dedicated to a special holiday.

“One of the main religious holidays was usually dedicated to the supreme deity of the city.<…>. In Olbia, such was the festival dedicated to Apollo-Delphin. Like other festivities, it was accompanied by a sacrifice, probably especially rich. The sacrifices were made on altars in front of the temple. In general, all the festivities were performed among the Greeks outside the temples; they were considered the dwelling of God, and not everyone was allowed there.<…>

Greek altars were divided into two types: "εσχ?ρα - for burning sacrifices and βωμ?ς - for various libations. Both of them were found in front of the Olbian temple of Apollo-Delphinius. An altar for burning made of stone and mud brick stood between the trees of the sacred groves of Apollo until the middle of the 4th century, and in the free space opposite the temple stood the largest main altar of Olbia.

On this altar, libations were made not only to Apollo-Delphinius, but also to Zeus and Athena. After all, the temple of Zeus was nearby, and the dedications to Zeus and Athena found in its place give reason to think that both deities were revered there.<…>Three bowl-shaped depressions on the 5th century altar seem to indicate that Apollo, Zeus and Athena had their own separate libation bowls on the main altar.

Usually undiluted wine and other liquids were poured into such bowls from vessels of various shapes.<…>

Archaeologists have identified several stages in the existence of the main Olbian altar. The earliest stone one was erected in the 6th century. shortly after the foundation of the policy. In the 5th century it was replaced by a new one of somewhat larger size, and the plinth of the former altar was used as a platform on which the priest stood during the sacrifice. On the edge of the altar stood a statue, probably of Apollo. Built of beautifully crafted limestone slabs, this altar has almost completely survived to this day.<…>»

Another uniqueness of Olbia is that the temenos of the city has come down to us in its original form. Nowhere, in any ancient Greek city, did the original temenos survive; in the best case it was rebuilt, in other cases it was simply destroyed by enemies. In Olbia, when they decided to build a new temenos, they did not destroy or rebuild the old one, they simply took and covered the altars and the foundations of the temples with earth. And already from above built new altars and temples. And the original temenos began to wait for archaeologists for centuries.

Central temenos. Drawing in the Museum of Olbia	Central temenos, view from the east: in the middle is the altar, on the right is the foundation of the temple of Zeus, in the upper right corner is the foundation of the temple of Apollo-Delphinius, on the left is the foundation of a solid wall of the stoa	Central temenos, view from the west: behind the stele is the foundation of the temple of Apollo-Delphinius, further on is the foundation of the temple of Zeus, in the middle is an altar, on the right is the foundation of a solid wall of the standing. Photo by M. Ivanov
Foundation of the temple of Apollo-Delphin	Central altar, view from the east	Central altar, view from the west
The main street - on the left is the courthouse, on the right - the entrance to the central temenos. Reconstruction by S.D. Kryzhitsky	The base of the courthouse, with the central temenos visible across the road	Dolphin coin, British Museum

Together with the Central temenos in Olbia there was a second temenos, which arose practically at the foundation of the city. By its location relative to the Central, in our time it was conditionally called Western. On the Western Temenos there were altars and cult sites of Apollo the Physician, the Mother of the Gods, the Dioscuri, Aphrodite and Hermes. The Temple of Apollo the Physician was built here in the 6th century. BC. For some time after the founding of the city, Apollon the Physician was the main deity of Olbia. Perhaps this was due to the fact that in Miletus, where the settlers were from, Apollo was revered as a doctor and healer.

The compactness of the temples, their small size is surprising. For some reason, it seemed mentally that Greek temples should be large in size and area. But, judging by their foundations, they were small.

“Living far from Hellas, the Greeks did not break away from its culture, followed the latest in literature, were interested in philosophy, scientific achievements, tried to keep up with fashion. They loved Homer, poems and prose on the plots of myths about the Northern Black Sea region, on the stages of theaters they staged plays by Athenian playwrights, squares and streets of cities, temples and other public buildings, they decorated their homes with works of art brought from Hellas. From Xenophon's Anabasis we know that Athens and other cultural centers sent their book production to the Pontic colonies.<…>. Judging by the enthusiasm with which the townspeople of the Northern Black Sea region perceived visiting sages and people of art, entered into disputes with them, defended their own convictions, it can be said with confidence that teachers worked here with full dedication, teaching children in elementary school, and then in gymnasiums . Adult people, continuing to develop their intellect on their own, were ready to perceive complex philosophical and scientific problems, the skill of artists.

Dio Chrysostom, ancient Roman (of Greek origin) orator, writer, philosopher and historian during his political exile from Rome in the 1st century BC. AD visited Olbia. It was already the sunset time of the Happy City, Dion paints a bright and, at the same time, a sad picture that appeared before his eyes:

“The city of Borisfenites in its size no longer corresponds to its former glory, which is the reason for constant wars and destruction. After all, this city, built a very long time ago, in the midst of barbarian tribes and, moreover, perhaps the most warlike, is constantly under attack and has been captured by enemies more than once. It suffered the last and most terrible destruction about one hundred and fifty years ago. At that time, the Getae also captured this city, and many others along the left bank of the Pontus, as far as Apollonia. Therefore, the position of the Greeks who lived in this region became very difficult: some cities were not repopulated at all, others were barely, and for the most part barbarians settled in them. Many cities in different regions were subjected to capture and destruction, since Greek settlements are scattered everywhere.

However, after the destruction of their city, the Borisfenites again, having gathered together, settled it, apparently, according to the desire of the Scythians, who wanted to trade with the Greeks who came to this harbor; when the city became uninhabited, the Greeks stopped visiting it, since they did not have countrymen with whom they could stay; but the Scythians themselves did not consider it necessary, and even failed to build a trading pier according to the Greek model.

The fact that the city had to be rebuilt after the destruction is evidenced by the poor construction of buildings, as well as the fact that the whole city is crowded into a small space. It is attached to a part of the old city wall, on which several more towers survived, but they do not give the city any greatness or power. The entire area between the towers is filled with houses, so tightly pressed against each other that there are not even passages between them. They are surrounded by a low wall, unreliable and fragile.

A few more towers stand very far from the current settlement, so it is even difficult to imagine that they belonged to the same city. These are the obvious traces of destruction, as well as the fact that in the temples there is not a single statue of the gods that has survived intact - they are all damaged, like the images on the tombstones.

Despite the difficult living conditions, Dion notes that the Olbiopolites are well educated, interested in the sciences, philosophy and poetry, and that they honor Homer on a par with the gods:

“Knowing that Callistratus [Olbiopolite, the interlocutor of Dion, - CM.] loves Homer very much, I started a conversation with him about this poet. True, all the Borysthenites have a special predilection for him, probably because they themselves are warlike in our time, and perhaps because of their admiration for Achilles; they revere him exceedingly and erected temples to him - one on the island named after him, the other in the city. Therefore, they do not want to hear anything about anyone else but Homer. And although they themselves do not speak Greek quite correctly, since they live among the barbarians, almost everyone knows the Iliad by heart.

And so I jokingly asked Callistratus: - Which poet do you think is better, Homer or Fokilid? - He answered with a laugh: - This second poet I do not even know by name, and none of the local residents, I think, knows anything about him. We do not consider anyone else but Homer to be a poet; but there is no one here who does not know him. Our poets mention him alone in their works, they recite his poems on any occasion and always, when we are preparing for battle, they inspire the troops with them; they say that on these occasions the songs of Tyrtaeus were sung in Lacedaemon. All these singers are blind and, in their opinion, it is impossible to become a poet without being blind.<…>

Kallistrat was dissatisfied with my words and objected: - Stranger, we love you and respect you very much; otherwise, not a single boristhenit would have endured the fact that you spoke of Homer and Achilles in this way: Achilles is a god for us, as you yourself see, and “we honor Homer almost on a par with the gods.”

The Olbiopolites had special reasons for revering Achilles as a god. They say that after the death of Achilles under the walls of Troy, his mother, the goddess Thetis, daughter of the god of the sea depths Nereus, transferred the soul of the hero to the island of Levka (the modern name is Serpentine) in the Black Sea, located opposite the mouth of Istra (Danube). This island was specially raised by the goddess Thetis for her son from the seabed. The island of Levka was under the protectorate of Olbia. The Olviopolites built a temple of Achilles on the island, where he was revered as the ruler of Pontus Euxinus (Black Sea) and the patron saint of sailors. Sailing past, all sailors would definitely go to the island and make sacrifices in the temple of Achilles.

Maxim of Tirsky, an ancient rhetorician and Platonist philosopher of the 2nd century, writes that, according to the stories of sailors who visited this island: “Achilles lives on an island lying opposite Istra in the Pontic Sea; there is a temple and altars of Achilles; no one voluntarily approaches there, except for a sacrifice, and after it is completed, he returns to the ship. Sailors often saw a young man with blond hair jumping in armor; and the armor, they say, is golden; others did not see, but heard, how he sang paeans; the third, finally, both saw and heard. It also happened to some involuntarily falling asleep on the island; such Achilles will raise, lead to the tent and treat; at the same time, Patroclus poured wine, Achilles himself played the cithara, and Thetis and the choir of other deities were also present, they say.

On the island of Berezan, located at the mouth of the Dnieper estuary in the immediate vicinity of Olbia, there was also the temple of Achilles, revered by the Olviopolites.

Not far from Berezan was the Achilles Drom (modern Tendrovskaya Spit), where, according to mythological legend, Achilles pursued his bride Iphigenia. According to another version, the name Achilles Drome was associated with one of the victories of Achilles on the Euxine Pontus, after which the hero arranged competitions on the island in honor of this victory, which received its name in memory of this.

In honor of Achilles, Olbia held sports games here - the Olbian agony. “They took place at the Achilles Drome (literally “Achilles’ run”), modern. Tendra Spit, which in ancient times was an island. The festival was accompanied by sports games, including athletic competitions and chariot racing.<…>.

In the Greek world, the Olbian Agons were well known already in the 5th century BC. Not without reason in the tragedy of Euripides "Iphigenia in Tauris" beautifully marked stages for the running of people and chariots on the Achilles Drome are mentioned.

The Agons at the Achilles Drome, the only pan-Hellenic holiday known to us in the Northern Black Sea region, were established in the 5th century; the god Apollo himself blessed him through the mouth of his prophetess Pythia in Delphi.

Note that it was on the banks of the Pontus of Euxinus in the country of the Cimmerians that Odysseus evoked the souls of Achilles and other dead, and it was from here that he followed the souls of the dead to Hades:

“There the Cimmerians are a sad region, covered forever

Damp fog and haze of clouds; never shows

The eye of people there is the face of the radiant Helios, the earth is

He leaves, ascending the abundant sky with stars,

From heaven, abundant with stars, descends, turning to the earth;

A joyless night surrounds the living there from time immemorial.

Homer "The Odyssey"

Returning to the Borysthenites speech of Dion Chrysostom, it is worth noting that the Olbiopolites were familiar not only with Homer, but also with Plato. In a conversation with Dion, Elder Hierosan remarks: “As for a deep knowledge of philosophy, we, of course, do not possess it, but, as you know, we are lovers of Homer, and some of us - it is true, few - and Plato; you can count me among them: I often read his writings, as far as it is available to me. True, it may seem absurd to you that it is he who, most of all citizens in his speech resembles a barbarian, admires this writer, truly Greek, the wisest of all, and tries to study him, - as if a half-blind person, turning away from any other source of light looking straight at the sun.

<…>lay aside your speech about the society of mortal men,<…>now talk to us about the divine state, or about its system - call it what you like. Tell us where it is, what it is like, and at the same time, try as far as you can to approach the noble freedom of Platonic speech, which, as it seemed to us, you have just managed to do.

As noted above, Herodotus was in Olbia, who wrote down here the main information about Scythia, which later became part of his History. Tradition says that Hippocrates was also in Olbia. From ancient sources we learn about the historian Posidonius from Olbia. There were other poets, historians, travelers, philosophers who became famous far beyond the boundaries of the Olbian policy.

One of the most famous Olbiopolites was the cynic philosopher Bion Boristhenit (4th-3rd centuries BC), who was born and spent his youth in Olbia, and then in Athens, who began studying philosophy at Plato's Academy under Xenocrates. The story about Bion was included in the book of Diogenes Laertes "On the life, teachings and sayings of famous philosophers":

“...Bion was a master of all trades, as well as a skilled sophist, and provided considerable assistance to those who wanted to overthrow philosophical teachings. At the same time, he loved pomp and was not alien to arrogance. He left many writings about memorable things, as well as useful and practical sayings.<…>

He said: "A great misfortune is the inability to endure misfortune." He despised people because they burned the dead as if they did not feel anything, but called upon them as if they felt everything.<…>

Self-conceit, he said, is a hindrance to success. Of the rich miser he said: "It is not he who owns the wealth, but it is his." He said that the misers care so much about wealth as if it were their own, but use it so little, as if it were someone else's.<…>

Seeing the envious gloomy, he said to him: "I don't know if something bad happened to you, or something good happened to someone else." Joylessness he considered a bad friend to free speech: "It enslaves even the daredevil."<…>

At first he belonged to the Academy, although at the same time he was a student of Crates. Then he turned to the Cynic way of life, put on a cloak and took up a staff: in fact, how else could one achieve dispassion? Then, having listened to the sophistic speeches of Theodore the Atheist on various topics, he accepted his teaching. After that, he studied under the Peripatetic Theophrastus. He knew how to impress the audience and laugh at anything, not sparing rude words. Due to the fact that his speech was mixed from expressions of different styles, Eratosthenes, according to legend, said that Bion was the first to dress up philosophy in a colorful robe.<…>

In his conversations with people close to him, he expressed many godless thoughts, borrowed from Theodore. However, later, when he fell ill, - this is how the inhabitants of Chalkis tell where he died, - he allowed amulets to be put on himself and repented of everything that he had sinned before the gods.

Systematic excavations of Olbia began at the beginning of the 20th century. Household items, works of art, coins, jewelry and much more are now included in the collections of museums in different countries and private collections. The Olbian collections are presented in the Museum of Olbia (village of Parutino), in the Odessa Archaeological Museum, in the Odessa Museum of Numismatics, in the Archaeological Museum of the IA NAS of Ukraine in Kiev, in the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, in the State Historical Museum in Moscow, in the National Museum in Warsaw, at the British Museum in London, etc.

On an Attic jug of the 6th century BC found in Olbia. BC. a warrior is depicted with a shield on which the sign of the Banner of Peace is visible. E.P. Matochkin tells about this: “The Banner of Peace was consecrated in 1931 in Bruges, where the town hall itself is decorated with a Gothic shamrock. In the same year, Roerich created a series of works reflecting the meaning and purpose of the protective cloth. These are his famous paintings - posters "Glow" and "Banner of Peace. Pax cultura". In the triptych "Fiat Rex!" the sign is drawn twice: on the hilt of the sword and on the warrior's shield. Apparently, this is a crusader. (Recall Roerich's remark about the signs on the shields of the crusaders). This is clearly not an ancient warrior, although at that time there was also a sign of the Banner of Peace on the shields. We see it on a black-figured Attic jug from Olbia in the 6th century. BC."

Black-figure Attic pottery,
jug, Olbia, VI century. BC.

Literature:

2. Skrzhinskaya M.V. Scythia through the eyes of the Hellenes. St. Petersburg: Aleteyya, 2001. http://www.sno.pro1.ru/lib/skrzhinskaya2/skrzhinskaja.pdf

3. Herodotus. History in nine books. Moscow: Ladomir, 1993.

4. Strabo. Geography. M.: Ladomir, 1994, p.280.

5. Pliny the Elder. Natural history (fragments): http://hbar.phys.msu.ru/gorm/ahist/pliny.htm

6. Karamzin N.M. Complete Works: In 18 vols. T. I: History of the Russian State. M.: TERRA, 1998, p.146.

7. Soloviev S.M. Works. In 18 books. Book. I. T. 1-2. M.: Thought, 1988, pp. 82-83.

8. Official server of the Olbia expedition: http://www.olbio.org/

9. Skrzhinskaya M.V. Everyday life and holidays of Olbia in the VI - I centuries. BC. St. Petersburg: Aleteyya, 2000. http://www.sno.pro1.ru/lib/skrzhinskaya/index.htm

10. Andrey Ganzha. SOS! Calls ancient archeology!!! Official server of the Olbian Expedition: http://www.olbio.org/frames.php?page=arch

11. Petrova E.B. Historical tradition in the ancient cities of the Northern Black Sea region and its origins // Culture of the peoples of the Black Sea region. - Simferopol, 1998. - No. 4. - P.108 - 123. http://www.nbuv.gov.ua/Articles/kultnar/knp19984/knp4_20a.doc

12. Hellenic poets. Translation by V.V.Veresaev. http://ancientrome.ru/antlitr/homer/hymn/pyth.htm

14. Ostashko A.V. "The Broken Sword" of Alexander the Great // "Academy of Trinitarianism", M., El No. 77-6567, publ. 15719, 27.12.2009, http://www.trinitas.ru

15. Dio Chrysostom. Borysthenites speech delivered by Dion in his homeland. Library of ancient and Byzantine texts, http://myriobiblion.byzantion.ru

16. Latyshev V.V. News of ancient writers about Scythia and the Caucasus, http://ossnet.info

17. Diogenes Laertes. About the life, teachings and sayings of famous philosophers. M.: "Tanais", 1995, p.198-202, http://psylib.org.ua/books/diogenl/

18. "May" in the south of Ukraine. Olvia (Parutino village): http://agritura.livejournal.com/27679.html

19. Matochkin E.P. Sign of the Banner of Peace in the art of Eurasia and the work of Nicholas Roerich. World of Fire, No. 15, 1997, http://www.centre.smr.ru/win/books/matoch_01.htm

20. Archeology of the USSR. Ancient states of the Northern Black Sea region. - S. 333, - Tab. 142.

Translated from ancient Greek, Olbia translates as "happy, rich." The population of the ancient Greek city was 15 thousand people. Olbia was one of the four major ancient cities of the Northern Black Sea region. It existed from the 6th century BC to the 4th century AD. Olbia was founded by settlers from Miletus - now this city is located in Turkey. Before the Greeks, the Scythians lived here, and the latter did not object to such a neighborhood. The legend says that they really liked the wine that the settlers brought with them.

Some time after the landing, the Milesians turned to the oracle, who chose this name for the city, calling it a happy city. True, at that time the natural resources of the region chosen for the colony were already known, and the oracle knew what he was talking about.
In the 1st century AD, Olbia became a Roman city that was destroyed by the Huns. The survivors left these places. The city was restored several times, but never reached its former prosperity. Olbia was mentioned in the writings of Herodotus, Strabo, Pliny the Elder. She traded with Greece, was a member of the Athenian Union. The population was engaged in crafts, fishing and agriculture. Olbia was a center for the supply of wine, olive oil, fabrics, jewelry, tableware and luxury goods.
In 1926, Olbia was declared state reserve. Excavations are still being carried out on the site to this day. The main altar has survived. central square, foundations of temples and residential buildings, remains of the market, crypts, elements defensive structures, roads and much more. The search for the theater continues, but it may be flooded by the estuary, as well as about a third of the territory of the ancient Greek city. According to archaeologists, no more than 1/80 of Olbia has been excavated.

On the territory of the reserve there is a museum, which is located in the small building of the old lighthouse. You can look at the finds from the time of the existence of Olbia - amphoras, children's burials in amphorae, terracotta and much more.

Remains of a residential area. After the Greeks got used to the new place, they began to build houses according to the classical Greek scheme. All interior spaces were located on two, three or four sides of a rectangular or square courtyard. The rich houses had porticos with columns, those with a more modest income made columns from wood, and the houses of the poor did not have columns and porticos.
Windows and doors opened only to the courtyard, except for one front door. On the streets of residential areas one could see only blank walls and fences. The houses closely adjoined each other, the streets were close - about 2-3 m. narrow streets residential areas.

Views of the estuary and that part of the reserve, in which excavations are currently underway.

Remains of defense structures

Mound of Zeus. The noble inhabitants of Olbia were buried in the crypt under it.

Temples of Zeus and Apollo

Altar in the sacred place Temenos. Temenos - a site that is set aside for the service of a deity. It was believed that being in such a place, a person can feel the presence of a deity.

Water pipes. Sewerage was also throughout the city.

Gymnasium. Here they taught sciences and arts, as well as engaged in physical training of students and held competitions. educational institution from Ancient Greece. By the way, the word gymnos is translated from Greek as "naked" - physical exercises were done here without clothes. For adult residents, the gymnasium was something like a club where one could listen to speeches by philosophers, exchange news, etc. The gymnasium had a swimming pool, rooms for rubbing oil, washing, etc.
Hercules and Hermes were considered the patrons of the gymnasiums. By the way, according to Greek mythology, Hercules was in the lower reaches of the Borisfen, perhaps he visited Olbia.

Agora is the market square, the center of business and social life of the city. She had both commercial and administrative functions. By the way, almost everywhere you look, there are shards on the ground. Almost in any bushes there are pieces of ancient Greek amphorae, and near the agora there are most of them. We were lucky to find the upper and lower parts of the amphorae, and before this impressive event, we still had doubts - well, old shards can’t just lie like that right on the paths. It turned out that they can, and such finds can be taken as a souvenir - the museum does not need so many worthless fragments, at the exit they even gave a few more fragments with the remains of drawings.

Dugout of the very first settlers of Olbia

The burial mound of Eurysia and Arete, under it there is also a crypt.

The play of light in the lower right corner is very similar to a ghost)

State-political structure

The Northern Black Sea policies were slave-owning democratic or aristocratic republics, where slaves, women and foreigners did not have the rights of citizenship (though, for great services to the policy, foreigners could be granted such rights). the highest authorities Legislative power was the people's assembly ("the people") and the council.

The people's assembly, in which all full citizens took part, resolved issues of foreign policy, defense, money circulation, providing the population with food, granting privileges to merchants, civil rights to some persons, etc. The council prepared certain issues for consideration at the meeting, controlled the actions of the executive branch, and checked the business qualities of candidates for public office. The executive power consisted of various collegiums - magistracies or individual officials - magistrates. Usually the colleges of archons who convened the people's assembly, led other colleges, and monitored the state of finances used the greatest rights.

There were special boards that dealt exclusively with financial or military affairs (the board of strategists), trade (the board of agoranoms), the improvement of the city (the board of astinoms), etc.

Individual magistrates led specific city mortgages (gymnasiarchs, heralds, secretaries, priests, etc.). There were also judicial institutions, which consisted of several departments. Judges and witnesses took part in the proceedings, and at times changes took place in the state and political life. So, the policies of the Cimmerian Bosporus in 480 AD. united under the rule of the Archaeanactids into a single Bosporus kingdom, although even after that they remained practically independent in their internal affairs. And when, in the first centuries of the new era, Chersonese, Olbia and Tyra became part of Lower Moesia (see above), they also retained local self-government.

Cities of the Northern Black Sea

3.1 Olbia

The area of ​​the settlement, which has been preserved, is about 10 hectares. The remains of dugouts were discovered, which in the last quarter of the VI century. BC. are changed by ordinary Greek ground houses. The city in some of its districts had a rectangular planning. Olbia (in ancient Greek means "happy") - a cell of the Olbian state. Located on the right bank of the Yuzhnobugsky estuary near the modern village. Parutin of the Ochakovsky district of the Nikolaev region. Founded around the middle of the VI century. BC. immigrants from the Miletus region and existed by the middle of the III century. AD After this life in Olbia was barely smoldering by the beginning of the 4th century. AD, but by that time it had already completely lost the features inherent in the ancient center.

Topographic Olbia consisted of three parts - Upper, Terasnaya and Lower. The latter, after the death of the city, was largely destroyed by the waters of the estuary. At the stage of prosperity - at the end of IV - in III Art. BC. - Olbia occupied an area of ​​about 55 hectares, the number of its inhabitants was close to 20 thousand people.

In the history of the city and the state as a whole, two large periods can be traced. The first covers the time from the establishment of a colony here to the middle of the 1st century. BC. Built up in the second half of the VI Art. BC. single-chamber garlic and semi-dugouts, in the V century. BC. Olbia takes on the usual form for an ancient Greek city. In the V Art. BC. in it, behind Herodotus, fortifications already existed, as well as the palace of the Scythian king Skil. Residential buildings in Olbia are usually one-story with basements, less often two-story. The remains of an agora were discovered - a square around which shopping arcades, court houses, various magistracies, and gymnasiums were concentrated. Sacred sites were also found - temenos (one of them is dedicated to Apollo Delphinus, the second - to Apollo the Doctor), altars, the remains of temples, auxiliary buildings, the remains of defensive structures, in particular the Western Gate, flanked by two large towers.

Olbia was well known in the ancient world. In the V Art. BC. it, we recall, was visited by Herodotus. For some time it was part of the Athenian Maritime Union, its trade and cultural ties reached not only the Black Sea cities, but also Eastern Mediterranean- Greece, Asia Minor, Alexandria of Egypt. The Olbian state had its own money - at first it was cast "dolphins", a little later - aces (large coins with the image of the face of the Gorgon Medusa, the goddesses Athena or Demeter on the obverse, and the symbols of the policy on the reverse), and from the middle of the 5th century. BC. begins to mint coins common to the ancient world. The economic base of the policy was agriculture - at present, the rural district of Olbia occupied the coast of the Dniester, Yuzhnobugsky, Berezansky and Sositsky estuaries, as well as the Kinburn Peninsula. The total number of rural settlements at different stages of the existence of the state approached two hundred. Crafts and trade developed. Crafts played a relatively small role.

In the period from the last third of IV to the middle of III Art. to AD Olviyskoye the state has reached the highest economic recovery. At present, in particular, a new type of rural settlements has emerged in the form of the so-called collective estates. However, from the end of III Art. BC. begins a gradual decline.

In II Art. BC. Olbia is under the protectorate of the king of Scythia Minor (in the Crimea) Skilur. From the end of II Art. BC. to the 70s of the 1st century. BC. it was in the power of Mithridates VI Eupator (121-63 AD) - the king of the Pontic state.

However, already at the end of the 1st century. BC. begins a gradual revival of Olbia and the settlements of its rural district, which becomes the beginning of the second period, which generally passed under the sign of Roman influences. At this time, the territory of the settlement was reduced by almost three times, its buildings were crowded and generally poor. Around the middle of the 1st century. AD Olbia falls into dependence on the Scythian or Sarmatian kings, however, she is soon freed. In the middle of II Art. AD, for the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius (138-161), the Roman provincial troops build a citadel here and place their pledge in it, and for the emperor Septimius Severus (193-211), the city became part of Lower Moesia. II - first half of III Art. AD became the period of the highest prosperity of Olbia in Roman times. From these times, the remains of protective structures, residential buildings, pottery kilns, and citadel structures have been preserved. Among the townspeople, the percentage of people from the barbarian environment is increasing. Nevertheless, as part of Moesia Inferior, Olbia retains its autonomy, mints its own coin, trades with ancient world and surrounding tribes. Rural settlements in the first centuries of our era already have fortifications from ditches and ramparts or walls under construction. In the 40s and 70s, then those years III Art. AD Olbia is ready to test the bulk; the Roman pledge leaves her to her fate. Among the ruins of the city for some time - by the first half of the IV century. AD - a few inhabitants live, which, probably, come across people from the Chernyakhov tribes. Life in Olbia finally freezes no later than the second quarter of the 4th century. AD

Abstract on the basics of archeology on the topic:

Greek cities of the Northern Black Sea region. Olvia.

Students of the 1st year of the 11th group

Faculty of History

Kolesnikova Olga

Moscow. 1998

Introduction ________________________________________________________ 2

History of excavations and study ___________________________________ 3

Ancient City_________________________________________________ 4

Pre-Getic period _____________________________________________ 5

Temenos before the defeat of the Gets ___________________________________ 7

Agora before the Geta rout __________________________________________ 9

Post-Getic era ___________________________________________ 10

Decline of the 3rd century_______________________________________________ 12

Olbia necropolis _______________________________________________ 13

The population of Olbia in the VI-I centuries BC____________________________ 14

References ___________________________________________ 16

Colonization Black Sea coast Greeks began in the middle of the 7th century BC. The first settlement was founded by them on the island of Berezan.

Ancient Olbia was settled by the Greeks in the middle of the 6th century BC. In the same VI, as well as the V century BC. the Greeks founded Panticapaeum (7th century BC, now Kerch), Phanagoria (Taman Peninsula), Feodosia, Chersonesos (near Sevastopol), Tira and many other cities in the Northern Black Sea region.

The reasons for colonization were the contradictions in ancient Greek society between the supporters of land ownership and tribal nobility. Convinced of this confrontation, they had to move to new territories. This flow of migrants was supplemented by farmers forced out by slaves. The bulk of the settlers in Olbia were Milesians, as well as residents of other cities in Greece.

Olbia was located at the mouth of the Bug and the Dnieper, there were fertile and rich lands around the city. The Greeks most often settled on the site of already existing settlements. Therefore, some archaeologists believe that Olbia was founded on the site of an older settlement.

The ancient city was surrounded by a number of Scythian tribes. To the east lived the Scythians farmers. Directly adjacent to Olbia were the Pollimedes, whom Herodotus called the Hellenic-Scythians. To the north and northwest were the Alazons. Relations at that time with the Scythian tribes were very good, which was explained by mutual trade and economic benefits.

However, in the III century BC. the picture is changing. The surrounding tribes were opposed to Olbia. Often the Scythians of the Sarmatians undertook military raids on the city.

The location of Olbia was established by Russian scientists - Academician Pallas during his scientific expedition to the south of Russia in 1794 (the work on this expedition was published in 1801) and Pavel Sumarokov, who published the book "Journey through the Crimea and Bessarabia in 1799 ". The description of the area in 1819 was made by P.I. Koppen. The first excavations were carried out by Sukhtelen in 1801, and more significant work was carried out in 1847 and 1853 on behalf of the Moscow Archaeological Society A.S. Uvarov. The following studies were done by Zabelin and Tizehausen in 1873. They outlined the boundaries of the city, the burial ground and obtained ancient dishes, utensils, coins.

It should be noted the publication of the work of V.V. Latyshev in 1885 containing inscriptions from Olbia. However, despite all this, research throughout the 19th century was only episodic.

During the first half of the 20th century, 37 expeditions visited Olbia. They can be divided into two periods: from 1901 to 1915 and the Soviet one. The first period is associated with the name of B.V. Farmakovsky, who carried out scientifically delivered field work with fixing the results. His task was also to find out the topography of the city, its boundaries, defense systems, the nature of buildings, etc. In 1901-1903 Farmakovsky unearthed central part Upper city, where a large rich house of the 3rd-2nd centuries BC was found. In 1903, excavations were carried out in the south-west of the city, in the north-west of the city, on Zayachaya Balka. In 1905-1906, the northern border of the citadel was opened. The scientists also excavated more than 1,500 burials of the Olbian burial ground.

In the Soviet period, excavations were resumed after the Second World War by Professor S.A. Semyonov-Zuser.

The relief of the area on which ancient Olbia was located determined the shape of the fortress in the form of an irregular triangle. Olbia occupied a plateau of three parts: the Upper City, the Middle part (slope) and the Lower City. Part of the Lower City is now under water.

The history of Olbia is divided into two periods, the boundary of which is the Geta defeat in the middle of the 1st century BC.

There is still no single point of view on the date of the founding of Olbia. Some researchers speak of the turn of the 7th-6th centuries BC, others believe that the city was founded at the beginning or during the 6th century BC.

Excavations have shown the singularity of ceramic fragments of the last quarter of the 7th century BC. and the mass character of materials dating back to the 6th century BC.

In the VI century BC. the entire territory of the Upper City was mastered, with the exception of the northern part, occupied by the Necropolis. The northern border of the city apparently passed just north of the Zeus mound, where the remains of dwellings of the 6th-early 5th centuries BC were unearthed. In its southern borders, the city reached Zayachaya Balka.

The growth of the city also came from the south. By the end of the VI century BC. The lower city passed to the borders of the Northern beam.

In the second half of the VI century BC. in the Upper City, Temenos and Agora appear on the line of the main street.

At the turn of the VI-V centuries BC. there is a residential area in the suburbs with an area of ​​1500 m 2 . The dwellings were mostly dugouts of a rectangular shape. In the floor of some of them, recesses from the corner and central pillars have been preserved. Imported ceramics of the late 6th-5th centuries BC were found in dugouts. and terracotta figurines. In addition to the dugouts in the southern part of the suburb, the remains of a structure slightly buried in the ground were discovered. In the VI century BC. it consisted of one room, and at the beginning of the 5th century BC. - out of four. In the central room adjoined from the north was a room with an ashpit, from the east - a pantry for storing wine and olive oil. In the western room there was adobe utensils. Yu.I. Kozub interprets this complex as a sanctuary, believing that the ash pan is an altar, and the platform had a cult significance.

Time of the 5th century BC and the third part of the 4th century BC. - the heyday of Olbia. Herodotus reported that in the first half of the 5th century BC. defensive walls were built. The northern line of defense of the city of the 5th century BC. coincided with the border of the city of the VI century BC. In the 5th century BC. the city takes on a new look, in accordance with the developed layout, which in some places corresponds to the hippodama system, but in general does not have clearly defined squares.

The district of citywide significance, in the immediate vicinity of the Agora and Temenos, continued to be intensively built up. Until the middle of the 5th century BC. there were still dugouts in the outskirts of the city.

From the last quarter of the 4th century BC. the second stage of economic and political prosperity begins. This was reflected in the new growth of the chora, the development of local production, the revival of trade relations, and intensive construction. The city of the Hellenistic era, the most fully preserved, makes it possible to recreate individual urban ensembles, the layout of houses, and urban facilities as a whole.

In the IV century BC. the city expands and occupies the territory of the Necropolis of the VI-V centuries BC. near the North Bay. The northern line of defense is being built in accordance with the borders. According to A.N. Karaseev was created by the Olviopolites in the 6th century BC. vaults that stretched from the North Gate to the West.

In the outskirts, where mostly artisans lived, the houses had from three to eleven rooms. The improvement of houses was supplemented by the presence of water tanks, which were especially needed in the Upper Town. The cisterns were dug into the mainland and their walls were covered with hydraulic mortar. Their depth reached 7-8 meters. In the Lower City, all houses had wells. The improvement also includes the presence of water pipelines in the yards, which diverted water into the city highways.

So far, only local ceramics testify to ceramic production. On the development of foundry production - numerous finds of casting molds, especially in layers of the 4th-3rd centuries BC.

By the end of the 4th century BC. Olbia entered a period of protracted crisis. Most of the settlements on the chorus of Olbia cease to exist. Relations with neighbors are deteriorating, as a result of which walls are being built along the coastline. Construction public buildings stops. By the end of the II century BC. ends its existence Temenos and Agora. In the middle of the 1st century BC. Olbia was destroyed by the Getae, as evidenced by the traces of numerous fires recorded by excavations in various parts of the city.

The excavations of Temenos began in 1951. In 1955, the eastern fence was opened and the entrance from the side of the "eastern" Agora street. Building remains of Temenos from the 6th century BC have come down to us in fragments. This is a stone path, preserved for 20 meters, which led from the Agora to the sacred grove. A small grove of planted trees occupied the northern half of the currently uncovered territory of Temenos. To the east of the "sacred" path stood the earliest altar of Temenos, from which only the plinth has come down to us. To the south of the altar there was a square building, 4.80 x 4.80 meters in size. Only the lower row of log masonry has been preserved. It is difficult to say whether it was a temple. The entrance to the building was from the west. In the 5th century BC. the building is being rebuilt. In the grove itself, there were probably small religious buildings, which include an oval depression, which was later filled with a very dense rammer. So far, we can only say that already in the last quarter of the 6th century BC. sacred services connected with the cult of Zeus, Athena, Apollo Delphinius were performed here. A large number of The materials of this time show that even then the cult site was the center of the spiritual life of the Olviopolites. The approximate border of the sanctuary is determined in the south by early depressions in the mainland, in the north and west it apparently coincided with the later border.

In the 5th century BC. there is an intensive development of Temenos, which gave it a completely different look. Instead of a scattered and unformed sanctuary, where a significant place was given to "sacred" trees and other objects characteristic of the early Greek religion, a complex appears clearly limited by buildings. By the 5th century BC. include the construction of the limestone main altar next to the pre-existing altar, the temple of Apollo Delphinius and the altar for the burning of sacrifices located among the still preserved grove. To the north of the burning altar, the remains of another altar were found, of which only the base has survived. Grove in the 5th century BC was reduced at the expense of the temple.

There is no doubt that on the site of the temple of Zeus in the northwestern part of Temenos, there was an earlier temple. There, in the western part, there was a large stone reservoir for collecting rainwater.

In the last quarter of the 4th century BC. Temenos is being rebuilt again. The main reason was the low position compared to the city of places of worship. The entire level of Temenos was raised, after which new construction began. The temple of Apollo Delphinius was the first to be built. The new temple was much larger and occupied not only the area of ​​the old one, but also part of the buildings adjacent to it. Only the remains of a layered foundation have reached us from this temple, the width of which was 16 meters, and the length was at least 30-35 meters.

In the III century BC. a new temple was built in the northwestern part of the sanctuary, oriented to the southeast. This temple was dedicated to Zeus.

During the Hellenistic period, another square building was apparently built. To supply Temenos with water, a huge cistern about 9 meters deep was built to the north of the exit, greatly expanding towards the bottom. The cistern was filled with rainwater, probably collected from the roof of the new temple of Apollo Delphinius. Even to the north, a larger workshop for the manufacture of terracotta figurines was being built on the site of an earlier metalworks workshop.

In front of the entrance to the Temenos of the Hellenistic period, a small area of ​​​​20x20 meters was arranged, in the middle of which there was a reservoir.

Temenos began to collapse long before the defeat of Olbia by the Getae in the middle of the 1st century BC. The main altar of the sanctuary was completely destroyed.

We do not have direct data that could indicate what events in the history of ancient Olbia could be associated with the destruction of the fundamental structures of Temenos. Most likely, the temples were dismantled during the subordination of Olbia to the state of the late Scythians in the second half of the 2nd century BC.

The excavations of the Agora began in 1946 and continued systematically until 1953. This was followed by a break, and in 1958 work resumed in the southeastern part. In 1959, an opening of the northeastern part of the city square was undertaken.

One of the most important results of the excavations of the mountain in recent years is the discovery of the remains of the Great Stoya. It was a very fundamental structure, the length of which reached 45 meters, and the width in the first construction period was 14.5 meters, in the second - 17.5 meters. Initially, it seemed that the Stoa, which separated Temenos from the Agora, was two-aisled and that its southern half was intended for the Agora, and the northern half for Temenos. And when three separate layered foundations were opened inside the Stoa in 1958, located along the same axis, it became obvious that there was a nine-column colonnade inside. As a result of the discovery of the Great Stoia, the border of the Agora of the Hellenistic period was clarified.

Excavations of the northeastern part revealed buildings with trading complexes of the 4th-2nd centuries BC. The remains of a complex hydraulic system built in the 5th century BC were also found. From it survived: a stone reservoir, a semi-basement stone building, a round mine, 3 meters deep, an underground passage, two wells.

A complex of the 4th-2nd centuries BC was also explored, where three basements were discovered, stone walls selected in the 1st century AD. 133 coins were found in one of the cellars. Accumulation of coins in any particular part of the room was not observed. They were evenly distributed over its entire area. All coins of Olbian minting. Borysthenes predominate.

The scarce ceramic material of the new Hellenistic complex was close to pottery from the backfill. We meet the same products of the Pergamon workshops of the 3rd-2nd centuries BC. - fragments of black-lacquer vessels, lutheriums with carved ornaments. Fragments of brown-lacquered "Megar" cups. On one of them, a kirbya is partially preserved. The thin-walled black-lacquer ceramics stand out.

Thanks to the excavations, it was found out that the Bolshaya Stoya was not the northern border of the entire Agora, but only the design of a square free from buildings.

One of the most interesting is a fragment of a Tennian crater dating back to the 4th century BC. The excavations of the Agora also yielded the remains of inscriptions on marble slabs.

After the Geta defeat, the population returned to Olbia at the request of the Scythians, who were interested in the emergence of the city as a trading and intermediary center. The choir of Olbia begins to revive. Judging by the message of Dion Chrysostom, a large number of non-Greek people settled in the city, which had a significant impact on the culture of Olbia. The appearance of the city is changing dramatically, and its area is shrinking.

The line of the walls of the 1st century AD. indicates an artificially dug ditch, on the site of which a second transverse beam later formed. Traces of the wall were recorded on the Upper Plateau, excavated in 1908. Some idea of ​​the wall is given by its remains discovered in the Lower City. Several rows of foundations with stone facing have been preserved. The width of the wall (only 1.7 meters) does not correspond to the scale of the 5th-4th centuries BC.

The dwellings of the Olviopolites were built close to the wall. These were one-room semi-basement buildings with hearths and adjacent stone walls. They were stretched out in one row between the defensive wall and narrow street from the south side. To the buildings of the 1st century AD. they also include an altar made of wood, erected on the site of a destroyed marble one. This is evidenced by dark round spots - traces of the installation of wooden supports that surrounded the limestone altar. This altar repeated the shape of the earlier one, slightly exceeding its dimensions. Being outside the city wall by the end of the 1st century AD. the altar stopped working. At the end of the 1st century AD. The temple of Zeus was erected in the city. By the middle of the 1st century AD. production facilities were built in the Temenos region: two pottery kilns, a winery and a large granary. At the turn of the I-II centuries AD. wineries were established in the western part of the Agora. The production area was protected from the north by a dug moat - the first line of defense of the post-Getic Olbia. The creation of an economic region speaks of the revival of Olbia in the 1st century AD. Several districts with pottery workshops testify to the development of pottery. One such area grew up in the Upper City, away from the walls, on the abandoned outskirts of the Hellenistic era. Another district with pottery kilns was created in the Lower City, near its line of defense. In the pottery area near the Northern beam, five kilns for firing vessels were opened. From one of them, in the best condition, came the furnace compartment with pillars in the center and part of the firing chamber, 1.2 meters in diameter. Of the two ovens, one, round in shape and small in size, served for the manufacture of vessels, the other, rectangular 2x3 meters, for the manufacture of tiles. Traces of almost square pillars have been preserved. Ingots for molding rounded calipters and pieces of defective tiles were found.

The pottery district in the Lower City began to function in the 1st century AD. and lasted until the end of the 3rd century AD.

A large granary 2x3 meters with stone necks was covered with slabs. The granary of the Upper City stops functioning at the turn of the 1st-2nd centuries AD.

However, it was in the territory of Temenos. The granary consisted of pits cut into the mainland with their base. The meaning of the pits became clear after finding out the patterns in their location. Covers began to be found in their mounds. One of the pits miraculously reached us in complete safety. It was closed with a stone lid, lying on a stone lining of a rounded neck. Its walls turned out to be branched passages of rodents. It is clear that it was filled with grain.

From winemaking on the territory of Temenos, only the bottoms of three tanks and the weight of a lever press have survived. From the winery on the west side of the Agora we have the remains of two sites and three tanks. The remains of a winery in the northwestern part of the Upper Town have been preserved. Despite the economic upsurge in the 1st century AD. The foreign policy situation created an unstable situation in the city. At the end of the 1st century AD. Olbia turned out to be again, albeit for a short time, dependent on the kings of Forzai.

By the 2nd century AD Olbia achieves economic growth. The outlying district in the Lower City is being improved. Drainage ditches are being built along its streets. The construction of public buildings is underway: educational institutions, baths, a portico. Houses are getting bigger. In one of them, a room with a mosaic floor made of multi-colored pebbles was found. Another house had eight rooms, one of which served as a shop. A large house has been opened in the Upper Town.

Particular attention in the second century was paid to the construction of defensive walls and the reconstruction of old ones. When the Olbiopolites oppressed by the barbarians turned to the Romans for help, a fortified citadel was built in the southern part of the city. Its northern wall was 3 meters. It was built from slabs 1.5 meters long. The towers, the remains of which we have, were located at the main entrance, to which a street led, which preserved the direction of the main thoroughfare until the Geta period. The towers to the east of the gate were different from those of the main entrance. The northern wall of the citadel, the remains of which have come down to us, was accompanied by a moat along its entire length.

Inside the citadel, the remains of two buildings associated with the stay of the Roman garrison were discovered.

A trough has been preserved near the northern wall big building. In one of its rooms there was a cistern. The basement floor of seven large rooms has been opened. On the territory of the citadel around the main entrance, the ruins of monumental slabs from the temple of Apollo Prostate were discovered. The definition of them as belonging to the temple was made by Farmakovsky, on the basis of the accumulation here of cult inscriptions dedicated to Apollo.

In the second century, the pottery district in the Lower City grew. Round-shaped kilns with a diameter of 2 meters were opened for the manufacture of vessels and small items, and large rectangular kilns with two supporting pillars, similar to the kiln for firing tiles, opened outside the city wall.

In the II century AD. wineries continue to operate in the Upper Town. Instead of the old granary, a new one is being built, including more than a hundred pits.

In the area of ​​the northern defensive wall of the city on the territory of the Lower Plateau, at the turn of the 1st-2nd centuries AD. bakeries are set up. Its semi-oval building with an area of ​​290 m 2 adjoined East Street and had seven rooms. A central room stands out with a large oval oven. Two pithoi were found in the northern half of the building. One of them served to store flour, the second - for water. In the western part were living rooms. A number of outbuildings were erected outside the city.

All production facilities cease to exist in the first half of the 3rd century AD. Life also comes to a standstill in most of the settlements of the Olbian chora. The minting of Olbia coins ceases. In the III century AD. do not build new buildings. From the buildings of the 4th century AD. only the remains of a blacksmith shop have been preserved.

The Olviopolites could not resist the ever-increasing onslaught of nomadic tribes. In the IV century AD. residents left the city.

The area of ​​the necropolis was approximately equal to that of the city. A large number of mounds, concentrated mainly at the outer borders, gave grounds for naming the Olbian necropolis "the tract of a hundred graves." The necropolis was crossed by a series of country roads that ran from the northern and western city gates. Other roads divided the territory of the necropolis into a number of sections. The historical topography has not yet been fully elucidated, but it can be said that the burials of the 6th-5th centuries BC. were concentrated to the west of the northwestern edge of the settlement, occupying at that time the northern outskirts of the city of the Hellenistic era. In the 5th century BC. the territory expands significantly to the west of Zayachya Balka, and from the end of the 4th century BC. - to the north of it. From the II century BC. until the first centuries A.D. they were buried mainly on the western slope of Zayachaya Balka, as well as in an abandoned part of the city of the pre-Getic era.

The main rite of burial of Olbia was the laying of a corpse. The burial was carried out in graves of three types: earthen, side-cut and crypts. Ground graves were a rectangular well 1-3 meters long, 0.35-1.55 meters wide, let into the mainland to a depth of 0.70-2.70 meters. In side-pit graves, burial was carried out in a rectangular niche dug in the first of the walls of the well, which was then laid with stone, mud or amphoras. The depth of the graves is 1.15-3.20 meters, the length is 1.20-3.10 meters, the width is 1 meter, the height of the lining is 0.30-1 meter. The land crypts were distinguished by their large size and by the fact that gentle or stepped dromos led to them from the surface. Opposite the entrance, a rectangular chamber with a rounded vault was cut out, which was also closed with stone slabs after the burial. The depth of the crypts is 2-7 meters, the length is 3.50-3.80 meters, the width is 1.50-2.50 meters. In some crypts there were couches.

In Hellenistic times, small crypts were built. The two best preserved are the first under the Zeus Mound, and the second is the crypt of Eurysivus and Arete (2nd century AD). There are also burials of babies in amphoras.

The orientation of the graves is different. Mostly west-east. The position of the dead is extended on the back. Crooked rare. Burials were made in wooden coffins and their bottom was usually covered with grass or resin. Along with the cremation in Olbia, especially in the early period, there was cremation. Separate cases of cremations were recorded within the city. Of interest are the remains of two bonfires in a circle of amphoras.

During the excavations of the necropolis, a huge number of various items were found: vases, weapons, jewelry, amulets, coins, amphoras, etc. There are bones from pieces of meat placed in the grave. Extremely few tombstones have been found, but Farmakovsky believed that they were plundered in antiquity. In terms of types of burials and rituals, the necropolis of Olbia is basically similar to the necropolises of Greek cities.

The problem of the composition of the population of Olbia is still not sufficiently developed. All kinds of written and archaeological sources should be used here. Among the actual written sources, i.e. texts of the authors, only one contains a direct indication of the population of Olbia - the Borysthenitsky speech of Dion Chrysostom. Much more extensive material is contained in epigraphic sources. In some cases, the inscriptions contain quite specific data about the population of Olbia. There are several inscriptions where the name corresponds to the place of birth. These are mostly inscriptions about foreigners. There is some indicative information only about the ruling elite of society, but data about ordinary Olviopolites also occur, although they are rare. A significant part of the townspeople is Greek. In the first centuries of our era, Roman ones are found among them. There are also not quite clear Jewish or Persian names.

The huge predominance of Greek names in the Olbian inscriptions of the 4th-1st centuries BC. causes the assumption that only or almost only Greeks lived in Olbia of this period. But it's not. Undoubtedly, the names found in the inscriptions do not reflect the composition of the population. Recently, an attempt has been made to find out the composition of the population of Olbia according to archaeological data. For Olbia of the period of interest to us, the presence of non-Greek elements in the composition of the population is established in two ways: by examining the burials of the city necropolis and by studying production. The Olbian necropolis gives especially significant results. The fact of the presence in it of graves with non-Greek burial rites cannot be in doubt. This applies primarily to the group of crouched burials. In addition to the burials, other burials can be indicated by the hockey player, whose belonging to the Scythians is also probable, and sometimes indisputable. Among them are characteristic burials of the so-called Scythian warriors with inventory typical of the Scythian period - a sword, arrows, a quiver. With other groups of burials, which are referred to as non-Greek, it is more difficult. Neither the presence of plant litter, nor the presence of wooden ceilings, nor things in the Scythian style can in themselves serve as a sign that speaks of the non-Greek origin of the buried. The type of burial cannot be considered an indisputable sign of this kind.

The presence of non-Greek elements in the composition of the population of Olbia is evidenced by some features of Olbian production. The most characteristic in this regard is the metallurgical industry. The manufacture of bronze art products in molds, and not chasing, is, undoubtedly, a local technique that existed in the Northern Black Sea region both in the Scythian and even in pre-Scythian times. Probably the Greek masters influenced the appearance of the products of the Scythians. Non-Greek production is also reflected in something else: for example, in the performance of some Greek ornaments by the master not understood.

As for the Scythian ornaments of items made in Olbia, this fact is interesting as an indicator of the connection between Olbia and the Scythians, but it can hardly be considered as evidence of the presence in Olbia of the Scythian population who used such things. Things of this kind were made, obviously, for their sale in Scythia, which is confirmed by the cases of finds of these things in the territory of Scythia. A certain number of them could have been used in Olbia, but not necessarily by the Scythians living there.

Summing up, we should note that the population of Olbia in the first centuries of the city’s existence was certainly not purely Greek: this is evidenced by the presence in the necropolis of burials with non-Greek rituals and handicraft production. As for the role played by the non-native element in the political administration of the state, it was most likely insignificant, since the inscriptions do not in any way reflect the belonging of the non-Greek population to the ruling elite.

The presence of non-Greek names in the inscriptions in the first centuries of our era makes us recall the message of Dion Chrysostomos about “crowds of barbarians” who flooded into the city restored after the Getic invasion. This radically changes the ratio between the Greek and non-Greek population of the city. Non-Greeks begin to hold public office together with the descendants of the Greeks, and in no less numbers.

1. Knipovich T.N., article in "Materials and research on the archeology of the USSR" No. 50, 1970

2. Levi E.I., "Olbia: the city of the Hellenistic era"

3. "Archaeology of the USSR: ancient states of the Northern Black Sea region"

4. Slavin L.M., "The ancient city of Olbia"

5. "Temenos and Agora"

Snow-white stone walls above the water. Shine sentinel helmets. The screams of merchants from the agora. The clatter of seagulls. The splash of waves. The creak of ship ropes. Such a picture would be found by a traveler, if he happened to visit the shore in the period from the 4th century BC to the present. e. to 4th century AD e.

He would have seen the happiest city in the Black Sea region. Olbia. More than one century has passed since then. Long destroyed a beautiful city. But we can still see a piece of its beauty. Thanks to archaeologists - people who returned ancient history.

History of Olbia

"Olbia" (direct translation from Greek - "Happy") was founded by immigrants from Miletus (Asia Minor) in the first half of the 6th century BC. e., during the Great Greek colonization. First, Borisfenida arose, and a century later the time came for our heroine.

The founders knew where to put the city. High hills, full-flowing Dnieper and Southern Bug, the presence of natural barriers - beams and ravines that block the path of the steppes, a lot of fish, fertile land, few natives.

Two terraces, Upper and Lower town. Strong wall. Citadel. Water pipes.

And there was a place for trade - you can’t imagine better. The Olviopolites saddled one of the most convenient routes from Greece to Europe. And use these benefits wisely.

Over time, at the peak of its power, the population of Olbia reaches 20 thousand people living on an area of ​​about 50-55 hectares. Do not forget about the many rural settlements that provide the city with grain and grow it for sale.

Then a bunch of events took place, including the visit of the Father of History, the siege by the Macedonian commander Zopyrion, the Scythian protectorate, the subjugation of Mitiridates of Pontus, the defeat of the Geto-Dacians by the troops, inclusion in the Roman Empire, the devastating invasion of the Goths.

In the third quarter of the 4th century, having existed for almost a thousand years, life in Olbia fades away.

And only at the end of the 18th century did the descendants find the location of the city, which had a significant cultural impact on the fate of the region. And in the middle of the next century, the first archaeological excavations, which entered the system at the beginning of the 20th century and continue to this day.

Until now, only a third of ancient Olbia has been discovered.. The work, as archaeologists say, is at least another 200 years old.

Unfortunately, despite the assignment of the status of the National Historical and Archaeological Reserve "Olvia" back in 2002, its funding could never be called generous. What to say about archaeological expedition, heart and blood of Olbia, providing us with magical antiquities. In recent years, state subsidies for its activities have completely rushed to zero.

Volunteers and students who come to practice helped out. Plus, do not forget about the existence of "black archaeologists" who seek to get ahead of their official colleagues, intercepting all noteworthy artifacts from them for sale in private collections. Even had to hire armed guards. As you can see, the problems of the reserve are higher than the roof.

But still, today we can get acquainted with the fruits of the efforts of enthusiasts by seeing at least a piece of the ancient city.

What can be seen in the reserve "Olvia"

It is located in the village of Parutino, Ochakovsky district, Nikolaev region, 40 km from Nikolaev and 30 km from Ochakov.

You can get there either by a regular bus from these cities, or with an organized group that gathers at camp sites or sanatoriums of the same Ochakov / Nikolaev / Rybakovka.

A tour of Olbia takes about two hours and costs 20 UAH. This is if there are at least 10 people in the group. The services of a guide for one person will result in one and a half hundred diligently losing weight Ukrainian money. Let's be honest, very godly. In return you visit museums with very interesting archaeological finds.

And also get acquainted with the foundations, cellars, the remains of the walls of residential buildings, the terraces of the Upper City, the agora, the temenos sanctuary, hydraulic systems, a gymnasium, a defensive wall, pottery workshops, and a dicastery court.