The ancient pattern in the Crimean cultural landscape

Khlevnoi Vladimir Aleksandrovich lecturer of the Department of Fine and Decorative Arts, State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education of the Republic of Crimea "Crimean Engineering and Pedagogical University named after Fevzi Yakubov" 295015, Russia, Simferopol, lane Educational, 8 VladMir-rc@yandex.ru Other publications by this author

One of the founders of the civilizational approach to history, Russian sociologist and cultural critic Nikolai Yakovlevich Danilevsky (1882-1885) in his work "Russia and Europe: A Look at the cultural and political relations of the Slavic world to the Germanic-Roman" put forward the idea of cultural integrity, which is based on the interaction of various cultural subjects: ethnic groups and civilizations ^[3]. Danilevsky wrote: "Civilization, peculiar to each cultural and historical type, only reaches completeness, diversity and richness when the ethnographic elements that make up it are diverse - when they, without being absorbed into one political whole, using independence, form a federation or a political system of states" ^{[3, p. 113]}.

The definition of the ancient pattern in the Crimean culture is impossible without referring to the concept of "cultural landscape". The concept of cultural landscape consists of the definition of the noosphere by the Russian scientist-encyclopedist Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky (1863-1945), and the homosphere, put forward by Dmitry Sergeevich Likhachev (1906-1999) ^{[9, p. 91]}. In addition, D. S. Likhachev introduced the term historical landscape into scientific use, understood by him as a natural and cultural complex formed as a result of human interaction with the natural landscape ^{[9, p. 144]}.

Russian geographer Vladimir Leopoldovich Kagansky (born 1954) also included aesthetic, ethical and sacred components in the concept of cultural landscape. He represented the cultural landscape as a "carpet of places", an "iconic text", for the knowledge of the diversity of which it is necessary to study specific locations ^[5].

In the works of geographer and cultural critic Dmitry Nikolaevich Zamyatin (born 1962), the term humanitarian geography is revealed, including elements of anthropogeography and socio-economic geography. One of the directions of humanitarian geography is figurative (imaginative) geography. The author defines it as a system of interconnected archetypes, symbols characteristic of a certain landscape ^[4]. 

Russian cultural critic Andrey Yakovlevich Flier (born 1950) based on the works of the Russian semiotic Yuri Mikhailovich Lotman (1922-1993) ^[13], as well as the Russian philosopher Alexander Moiseevich Pyatigorsky (1929-2009) introduced the concept of cultural texts as "a set of cultural meanings expressed in a symbolic form" ^[11].

The Crimean cultural landscape, according to the Russian philosopher Oleg Arshavirovich Gabrielyan (born 1956), is autonomous, conditioned not only by the peninsular character of the place – topos, but also by its inner essence, idea, stable structure of being – logos ^{[1, p. 21]}.

The time frame of our study covers the period of the presence of ancient culture on the peninsula of the VI century BC–III century AD. During this period, the development of the Crimean peninsula by Greek settlers took place. On the shores of the Bosporus of Cimmeria, the Ionian Greeks, residents of the city of Miletus founded several polises: Nymphaeum, Ilurat, Tiritaka, Myrmekium, Kitei, Cimmerik, Theodosia, Phanagoria, Kepa, Hermonassa, Gorgipia and Panticapaeum, which later became the capital of the Bosporan kingdom. In addition, the Ionian Greeks founded cities on the western coast of the peninsula: Kerkinitida and Kalos Limen. The Dorian Greeks landed on the territory of the Heraclea Peninsula no later than the VI–V century BC, who founded the city of Chersonesos. In Greek written sources, there are the first mentions of non-written autochthonous peoples who inhabited the Crimea before the arrival of the Greeks ^[10].

The territories of the southern coast of Crimea were inhabited by the Taurians. Archaeologists associate the monuments of the Kizil-Kobin culture of the Bronze Age with the brands: stone burial grounds, molded ceramic dishes and figurines of people and animals, bronze products, bones. Modern researchers date the dogwood-Kobin culture to the period of the XI–III century BC.

The steppe regions of the peninsula have been inhabited by nomadic tribes since ancient times. The Greek poet Homer (VIII–VII centuries BC) was the first to describe the Cimmerians who inhabited the steppe part of the peninsula presumably from IX to the first half. VII century BC. The Cimmerians are associated with burials near the villages of Zolnoye and the village of Tselinnoye in the Crimea, in which details of horse harness made of bone, bronze arrowheads, a golden scabbard tip, and gold ornaments of a horse bridle were found.

In the 7th century BC, the Cimmerians were displaced by the Scythians. The sources of Scythian material culture were burial mounds discovered by archaeologists. An example is the Kul-Oba mound (burial of the Scythian king) on the territory of modern Kerch, dating back to the IV century BC. The base of the embankment was a stone crypt with a stepped vault. Among the finds from the mounds are weapons, numerous gold jewelry: plaques, bracelets that decorated people and harness, gold, silver and bronze embossed vessels. The fine plastic of the gold jewelry included numerous stylized images of animals: a horse, a panther, a deer, a lion, a griffin, which later became known as the "Scythian animal style". It is noteworthy that his wife, who was buried with the king, was most likely Greek, which may be evidence of close interaction between the Scythians and the Greeks. The dominance of the Scythians on the peninsula ends around the III century BC and completely disappears after the conflict of the Scythians with the Pontic kingdom, which went down in history as the Diophantine Wars (114-111 BC) ^[10].

The multilingual Sarmatian tribes are considered to be related to the Scythians, whose striking artifact of material culture is the Nagaichinsky kurgan (Nizhnegorsky district) - a rich female tomb. The Sarmatians adopted the Scythian animal style, but its distinctive feature was the polychrome inlay of gold products with precious and semi-precious stones. Among the precious finds of the Sarmatian mound, dated by archaeologists to the middle of the I century BC, a golden hryvnia in the Sarmatian animal style inlaid with turquoise, a dolphin-shaped fibula made of rock crystal and gold, a gold bottle with enamel inserts, a gilded goblet, a bronze mirror, many ornaments made of agate and carnelian. A distinctive feature of the Sarmatian culture are the Sarmatian signs of the Northern Black Sea region, which were the brand symbols of the genus. Around 10 AD, the Sarmatian dynasty came to power, the ancestor was King Aspurgus (10-37). The power of Aspurgus over the Bosporus was recognized by Octavian Augustus ^[10].

The autochthonous ethnic groups also include the tribe of Meots, who lived in the I millennium BC on the eastern coast of the Sea of Azov, called by the Greeks Meotides. The founder of the dynasty ruling the Bosporan kingdom (438-109 BC), Spartocus I (438-433 BC), supposedly descended from the Meotians ^[10].

Thus, we can observe the close interaction of the alien ancient civilization, and the autochthonous tribes of the Crimea and the Northern Black Sea region: the Taurians, Meots, nomadic peoples – the Cimmerians, Scythians, Sarmatians.  All of them influenced the formation of Crimean cultural texts in one way or another. In the works of the Russian cultural critic Diana Sergeevna Berestovskaya (1934-2020), two vectors of dialogue are presented: diachronic – provoking changes (values, worldviews), and synchronous – dialogue within a single socio-cultural space ^[1]. The dialogue of texts of cultures of different ethnic groups of Crimea, expressed through art, architecture and its elements, is an example of the formation of a unique Crimean cultural landscape. Let's look at some examples from the ancient period, in which the antique style is dominant, but is influenced by autochthonous tribes.

The ancient order – "order, order" (Latin) is a set of architectural elements and structures adopted in Greek culture, primarily the temple. A common parameter for all ancient architecture is the geometric clarity of the design (Greek temples were rectangular in plan, less often round). The triangular cornice of the gable roof was supported by a number of columns, built more often than was necessary from the point of view of technical design. The triangular pediment of the facade and the frieze of the temple were traditionally decorated with relief. A distinctive feature of the Greek style is the proportionality of the sizes of the supporting structures (columns) and the ceiling – entablature, corresponding to the proportions of the human body, so that when people are outside or inside the building, a sense of harmony is created, despite the impressive size of some temples (Fig. 1).

Figure 1. The ancient Greek temple of the Parthenon, the center of the Athenian Acropolis, 447-438 BC. Columns of the Doric order.

 The column is especially close in proportions to the human figure, and in a number of examples the columns were actually made in the form of human figures (Fig. 2). However, in the classical sense, the columns are similar to human figures: it is no coincidence that the supporting part of the column is called the body, and the column is crowned by a capital – "head" (Latin). The very principle of the rack-and-beam structure of the order system is universal, which was the reason that it became the basis of all subsequent architectural styles (Gothic, Baroque, Rococo, classicism, Art Nouveau), until the twentieth century, when the appearance of reinforced concrete structures was able to modify the supporting system of architecture. However, even since the twentieth century and to this day, the order system continues to exist in many buildings no longer as the only possible constructive basis, but as a stylistic harmony.

Figure 2. Niki Apteros Temple, Athens, 427-424 BC

Caryatids supporting the vault, in the form of female figures.

Figure 3. Niki Apteros Temple, Athens, 427-424 BC

Columns of the Ionic order.

Figure 4. The capital of the Ionian order, Crimea, Bosporus, the end of the IV–III century BC.

Figure 5. The capital of the Ionian order, Crimea, Panticapaeum (Kerch), the second quarter of the fifth century BC.

In ancient Greek architecture, there were three orders that arose sequentially: Doric (Fig. 1), Ionic (Fig. 3, 4, 5), Corinthian (Fig. 6, 7). Later, in the Roman era, a composite order was added to them, including elements of different orders. The main stylistic marker of the order is the configuration of the column capital, as well as a number of other, less pronounced features. In accordance with the similarity to the human figure and proportional features, the most ancient, Doric order is called "male", since the body of the column is powerful, massive, and the capital is simple, consisting of a rectangular plate – an abacus and a round "pillow" – an echina. The Ionic and Corinthian orders are called "feminine" in proportion, because in them the body of the columns is thinner, more elegant than in the Doric order, and the capitals are decorated with stucco elements. The Ionic capitals are crowned with volute curls, and the Corinthian ones are crowned with acanthus leaves, and sometimes flowers.

Figure 6. The remains of the temple of Olympian Zeus in Athens, VI century BC–II century AD.

Figure 7. Chersonesos (Sevastopol) "Basilica of 1935" (named after the year of opening), IV century.

Figure 7 shows the remains of an ancient synagogue, and later an early Christian basilica of the IV century in late Antique Chersonesos. Its columns belong to the Corinthian order, however, in comparison with the Corinthian columns of the temple of Olympian Zeus (Fig. 6), it is obvious that the proportions of the columns in the Chersonese temple have been changed: they are more squat, more in line with the "male" Doric style than the elegant Corinthian. Despite the fact that the shape of the capitals generally corresponds to the Corinthian order, however, the plastic of the curls is less sharp, streamlined, which is more consistent with the "barbaric" style of the autochthonous tribes of the Crimea. In addition, the Chersonese columns lack fluted grooves on the body of the columns, which is also a significant departure from the order. The same can be said about other capitals found in the Crimea (Fig. 8, 9) – they obviously depart from the Greek classical pattern, there is no order in its pure form, it is complemented by various elements not characteristic of Greek plastics: openwork leaves, ornamental rapports, niches like balustrades, etc. In Fig. 9, the capital is completely different from the sample: it is made in the form of a barbarian's bearded head. Thus, on these examples there is a synthesis of the ancient classical style and the elements of endemic styles introduced into it.

Figure 8. Capitals of late Antique columns found on the territory of Chersonesos.

Figure 9. Capitals of late Antique columns found on the territory of Chersonesos.

Sculptures were also placed on the stylobate (the platform for the temple) or in front of it. The ancient Greek sculpture depicting gods and heroes was harmonious and corresponded to the ideas of the Greeks, the founders of the Olympics, about the beauty of a sporty, strong man in body and spirit (Fig. 10). The sculpture of Ancient Rome became more realistic, moved away from the Greek generality, focusing on portrait characteristics, however, it still glorified a strong and athletic body. The skill of the ancient Greeks and Romans sculptors was based on the study of nature, knowledge of anatomy, and dynamics of the human body. The same can be said about paintings and mosaics: the artists of antiquity not only skillfully conveyed the proportions of a person, but also brilliantly mastered composition and plastic stylization, thanks to which they managed complex dynamic compositions and angles.

The sculpture of the ancient time in the Crimea (Bosporus, Chersonese, Kerkinitide) (Fig. 11, 12, 13), as well as architectural details, differed from classical Greek models not only in proportions and stylization, but also in generalization of forms, as well as subjects. Unlike the idealistic realism of Greek sculpture, the Bosporan masters did not set out to idealize the human body, and did not possess sufficient anatomy. The sculpture of the Bosporus is streamlined, monolithic, small details are not worked out or poorly worked out in it. Obviously, the purpose of the sculpture was to embody an iconic image, but not to detail it, it is secondary. It can be said that ancient Greek sculptural samples are mostly concrete, while the sculpture of the Northern Black Sea region is more philosophically generalized, symbolic, and the signified is more important in it than the signifier. The subjects of the Crimean sculpture of the ancient period are also different: they include both Greek and Scythian mythology, sometimes intricately intertwined, such as the legend of the Greek princess Iphigenia, daughter of King Agamemnon, who was transported to the land of the Tauri (Taurida) and became a priestess of the Great Goddess.

Figure 10. Miron, "Discobolus", Ancient Greece. The original has not been preserved, it was made in bronze around 450 BC.

Figure 11. The Scythian snake-footed goddess, the ancestor of the Scythians. Pantikapei (Kerch), c. I century A.D.

Figure 12. Sculpture of Bosporus, Kerch.

Figure 13. Antique Bosporan coin, Pantikapei (Kerch).

Vase painting has become a separate authentic type of ancient art, in which harmonious proportionality has reached unsurpassed heights (Fig. 14, 15). The shapes of ancient Greek vessels (craters, lecithes, amphorae, pythons, etc.) were typified and, like architecture, proportional in accordance with the proportions of the size of the human body and natural forms. The black-figure (black-lacquer) and red-figure painting of clay vessels, which was carried out using black lacquer prepared according to a special recipe, was based on dynamic silhouette compositions decorating the walls of vessels. Black-figure painting refers to examples of vases in which human figures and ornaments are made using black silhouettes against a background of red clay, inside which the contours of the drawing are left in the form of gaps. Red-figured, respectively, is called vase painting, in which the background is made with black lacquer, and the silhouettes of the figures represent the color of burnt red clay ^[2]. Dynamism and elegant slimness of silhouettes, seemingly weightless, is a distinctive feature of ancient Greek mainland vase painting. The skill of the vase painters was characterized by increased complexity, since the compositions unfold not on a plane, but on the convex surface of the vase, which, accordingly, created errors in the image and required the greatest skill from the artists in creating an overall proportionally harmonious image. It is also worth noting the stylization used by vase painters, plastics and compositional perfection, as well as attention to small details (feet, hands, details of the face, clothes), the processing of which especially testifies to the knowledge of anatomy and realistic vision of the artists. The subjects of ancient Greek vase painting, as in sculpture, wall paintings and mosaics, were mainly mythological scenes from the life of the gods of Olympus, but they also contained images of athletes, heroes, and individual historical figures. The plots were complemented by thin, well-structured geometric and floral ornaments, among which the meander (square spiral), as well as the stylized palmette, are especially common.

Figure 14. Ancient Greek red-figure crater.

Figure 15. An ancient Greek black-figure amphora.

Among the examples of the Crimean vase painting of the ancient period found on the territory of Bosporus (Kerch), Kerkinitida (Yevpatoria) and Chersonesos (Sevastopol), there are also beautiful antique samples, obviously brought from mainland Greece. However, most of the local artifacts are distinguished by less skill, scrupulousness, small details in them are coarse, ornaments are often asymmetrical. The overall shape of the vessels also differs from the strict classical proportions adopted in Ancient Greece. In addition, the use of white in local vases is absolutely unacceptable for classical vase painting (Fig. 16, 17). Of particular interest are the subjects of the Crimean vase painting: along with Greek, local mythology is found in them, and, most characteristically, many oriental images reminiscent of the subjects of ancient Mesopotamia: Assyrian winged bulls, griffins, women and men in oriental trousers and turbans (Fig. 18).

Figure 16. Red-figured amphorae found on the territory of the Bosporus.

Figure 17. Fish dish, Pantikapei (Kerch).

Figure 18. Red-figured amphora, Panticapaeum (Kerch).

The antique style became the basis of the Crimean architecture of the modern period (late XIX–first third of the twentieth century) – a kind of architectural compositional eclecticism, in which architects used elements of various previous styles (classicism, Gothic, Baroque, Rococo, ethnic styles) in an arbitrary ratio, which marked the beginning of the unique appearance of South coast palaces and mansions, as well as recognizable Crimean urban style ^[6]. Talented architects of the Crimean Art Nouveau, such as N. P. Krasnov, P. Ya. Saferov, A. L. Henrikh and others, managed to integrate the classical order system, creating architectural structures based on it, characterized by a bright recognizable handwriting of the architect, and at the same time reflecting the cultural patterns of the multiethnic Crimea ^[7]. As a vivid example, the Livadia Imperial Palace (Fig. 19), built by N. P. Krasnov in Bolshaya Yalta in the Renaissance style, for which the architect used the Doric and Ionic order system ^[8].

Figure 19. Livadia Summer Imperial Palace of Nicholas II, Yalta, 1909-1911. Architect N. P. Krasnov.

As an example of the modern use of the classical style, we can consider the gallery building on Yekaterininskaya Street in Simferopol (Fig. 20), built in 2019, and in connection with the requirements of urban planning integrity, inscribed in the general style of Crimean Art Nouveau, to which the historical buildings of the city center belong. The elements of the antique order system (Doric order), Renaissance entrance arches, balustrades and frieze relief harmoniously coexist with a large area of facade glazing necessary for boutique showcases. Crimean craftsmen embody ancient traditions in modern vase painting, monumental painting, mosaics, sculpture and relief, interior design of public buildings, cafes, hotels, sanatoriums, etc. Thus, the antique style has entered into the modern design of Crimean architecture, embodying the continuous continuity of times and styles.

Figure 20. Modern building 2019, Simferopol, Yekaterininskaya str.

Conclusions. The ancient pattern occupies a significant place in the cultural landscape of Crimea. The ancient Greek order system became the basis for all subsequent architectural styles, including modern (Neo-Gothic, Neo-Renaissance, Neo-Baroque, neo-Vampire, etc.), and also continues to exist at the present time, both in connection with the requirements of urban integrity and unsurpassed aesthetic categories. Classical proportions commensurate with the parameters of the human body, which became the basis of anthropomorphism in architecture and art, remain the main parameter of harmonious relations up to the present time. This applies, in addition to architecture, also to sculpture, monumental art (wall paintings, mosaics), vase painting, and in general classical composition in art.

At the same time, the classical antique style in the diaspora, which included the Crimean polis, underwent changes due to the influence of local autochthonous cultures: Taurian, Meotian, Cimmerian, Scythian-Sarmatian. This could very likely be due both to the fact that local craftsmen, using Greek samples, did not always reproduce them accurately, introducing local changes, and to the fact that visiting Greek craftsmen (in particular, on the Bosporus) fulfilled the order of the ruling Scythian elite. Thus, there is an example of a synthesis of stylistics and semiotic connotations, which makes the ancient pattern in Crimea a unique cultural phenomenon.