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ATHLETES AND ARTISTS IN
THE ROMAN EMPIRE
This is the first comprehensive study of the associations of athletes

and artists in the Roman empire. The xystic synod of athletes and
the thymelic synod of artists were the only ancient associations that
operated on a pan-Mediterranean scale. They were active from south-
ern Gaul to Syria and Egypt and were therefore styled ‘ecumenical
synods’. They played a key role in Greek festival culture during the
imperial period: not only did they defend the professional interests
of their members, but they also contributed to the organisation of
competitions and the maintenance of the festival network. Due to
their cultural activities, their connections with the imperial court and
their ramified social networks, they left a distinctive stamp on Greco-
Roman elite culture during the Principate. Drawing on all available
documentation, this book offers new insights into the history and
workings of these remarkable associations.
Br a m Faucon nier is a specialist on the associations of competitors

in the Roman empire. Having obtained his PhD from the University
of Amsterdam (2018), he worked as a postdoctoral researcher at
Ghent University. He currently teaches at Heilig Hart Institute in
Heverlee, Belgium.
AT H L E T E S A N D A RT I S T S
I N T H E ROM A N E M PI R E
The History and Organisation of the Ecumenical Synods
BR A M FAUCON N I ER
Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge CB2 8EA, United Kingdom
One Liberty Plaza, 20th Floor, New York, ny 10006, usa
477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, vic 3207, Australia
314–321, 3rd Floor, Plot 3, Splendor Forum, Jasola District Centre, New Delhi – 110025, India
103 Penang Road, #05–06/07, Visioncrest Commercial, Singapore 238467
Cambridge University Press is part of Cambridge University Press & Assessment,

a department of the University of Cambridge.
We share the University’s mission to contribute to society through the pursuit of
education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence.
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781009202831
doi: 10.1017/9781009202855
© Bram Fauconnier 2023
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions
of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take
place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press & Assessment.
First published 2023
A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Fauconnier, Bram, 1988– author.
Title: Athletes and artists in the Roman Empire : the history and
organisation of the ecumenical synods / Bram Fauconnier.
Description: Cambridge ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2022. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2022027073 | ISBN 9781009202831 (hardback) |
ISBN 9781009202855 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Athletics – Rome – Societies, etc. – History. |
Art – Rome – Societies, etc. – History. | Festivals – Rome | Civilization,
Greco-Roman
classification: LCC GV573 .f38 2022 | DDC 796.0937–dc23/eng/20221101
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022027073
isbn 978-1-009-20283-1 Hardback
Cambridge University Press & Assessment has no responsibility for the persistence
or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this
publication and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will
remain, accurate or appropriate.
To Sharyne, Jasmien and Nina
Contents
List of Figures page ix

List of Maps x
Acknowledgements xi
Note on Abbreviations xii
Introduction 1
Artists, Athletes and the Roman Oikoumene1
The Evidence 3
Names and Titles 6
The Scope of This Book 12
Pa r t I H i s t or y 17
1 Hellenistic Artists’ Associations 19
Festivals 22
Politics 26
Religion 30
The Coming of Rome 31
2 The Emergence of the Ecumenical Synods of Competitors 34

First Attestations 35
Mediterranean Integration and the Emergence of the Festival Network 49
The Roman Context 57
Conclusion 69
3 The Development of the Ecumenical Synods in

the First Century ad71
The Athletes 71
The Artists 90
Conclusion 101
vii
viii Contents
4 All Roads Lead to Rome 103
5 On Tour through the Festival World 117
Core 118
Periphery 135
Conclusion 166
6 The Decline of the Ecumenical Synods 169
Pa r t I I Org a n i s at ion 181

7 Internal Organisation 183
On Confederacies and Local Branches 184
On Assemblies, Representatives and Headquarters 186
The Officials of the Xystic Synod 195
The Officials of the Thymelic Synod 212
Artists and Athletes: A Comparison 217
The Finances of the Ecumenical Synods 221
The Ecumenical Synods and the Emperor 229
The Ecumenical Synods and City-Based Associations of Competitors 238
Conclusion 246
8 The Members of the Ecumenical Synods 249

The First-Class Competitors: Technitai/Athletai Hieronikai Stephanitai 249
Competitive Support: Epistatai, Phonaskoi and Synagonistai 267
Practical, Administrative and Religious Support 269
Conclusion 272
9 The Professional Interests of the Ecumenical Synods 274

Privileges 274
Local Support 300
Conclusion: Concessions through Connections 306
10 The Organisation of the Festival Network 308

The Synods and the Organisation of Single Agones 308
The Synods and the Agonistic Circuit 316
Conclusion 321
General Conclusion 323
Appendix i: The Members of the Ecumenical Synods 332

Appendix ii: The Titles of the Ecumenical Synods 361
References 369
Index Locorum 394
Subject Index 396
Figures
0.1 Terracotta plaque with depictions of Herakles and athletes

in a gymnasium, first or second century ad page 11
4.1 The south-western exedra of the baths of Trajan 109
5.1 The so-called temple of Diana in the Jardin de la Fontaine
in Nîmes 164
8.1 Artistic disciplines of members of the thymelic synod 259
8.2 Artistic disciplines (imperial age) in Stefanis 1988 260
ix
Maps
5.1 Greece and Asia Minor page 119

5.2 The western Mediterranean 120
5.3 The Levant and Egypt 151
x
Acknowledgements
The origin of this book goes back to 2014, when Sofie Remijsen, then
junior professor at the University of Mannheim, launched a research proj-
ect on the associations of athletes and artists in the Roman empire. Sofie
hired me as a doctoral researcher for this project, and I remain very grate-
ful to her for giving me this opportunity. I wish to thank her sincerely for
her trust, her support and her advice as supervisor and co-supervisor once
the project was moved to Amsterdam. I also owe much gratitude to Emily
Hemelrijk, who became my supervisor in Amsterdam and guided me in
the final months before my PhD defence on 26 January 2018.
Between 2018 and 2021, I thoroughly revised my dissertation in order to
publish it with Cambridge University Press. I very much appreciate work-
ing together with the Press’s editorial team. I would also like to extend my
gratitude to the anonymous referees of the first manuscript of this book,
whose detailed comments and feedback have greatly improved it. I also
wish to thank Lieve Van Hoof for her advice, Christian Mann for his kind
help and support and Jean-Yves Strasser and Jonathan MacLellan for send-
ing me copies of their unpublished PhD theses. Furthermore, this book
greatly benefited from my conversations with Alexander Meeus, Sebastian
Scharff, Lukas Kainz, Melanie Meaker and Konstanze Schiemann. Many
thanks also to Onno van Nijf and Mathieu de Bakker, whose epigraphy
course at the Netherlands Institute in Athens proved greatly enriching.
Several other people made an important contribution to this book. I
wish to thank my good friends and KU Leuven colleagues Pietro Zaccaria
and Gertrud Mager, who have never ceased to support me. I am also most
grateful to Geert Demol, Johanna Michels, Michiel Van Belle, Frederik
Maertens and Lore Willemse for reading parts of my manuscript. A last
and special word of thanks goes to Sharyne, my loving life companion,
and our wonderful daughters, Jasmien and Nina. This book is dedicated
to them.
xi
Note on Abbreviations
For epigraphic editions I have used the abbreviations of the

Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum (SEG), available online at
https://scholarlyeditions.brill.com/sego/abbreviations/.
Abbreviations of papyrological editions are based on the Checklist of
Editions of Greek, Latin, Demotic and Coptic Papyri, Ostraca and
Tablets, accessible online at https://library.duke.edu/papyrus/texts/
clist_papyri.html.
For literary sources I used the abbreviations of the Oxford Classical
Dictionary (OCD), accessible online at https://oxfordre.com/
classics/page/3993.
Journal abbreviations in the bibliography are those of the Année
Philologique, accessible online at https://about.brepolis.net/
aph-abreviations/.
xii
Introduction
Artists, Athletes and the Roman Oikoumene

Around ad 200, a statue was erected in a city in Asia Minor, probably
Philadelphia, in honour of a great actor. His name was immortalised in an
inscription on the statue base:
Μ(άρκον) Αὐρ(ήλιον) Χάρμον Φιλαδελφέα καὶ | {καὶ} Νεικομηδέα καὶ
Ἀθηναῖον | τραγῳδὸν παράδοξον, περιο|δονείκην, στεφανωθέντα ἱε|ροὺς
ἀγώνας τοὺς ἀπὸ τῆς οἰκου|μένης πάντας ἀπὸ Καπετωλεί|ων ἕως
Ἀντιοχείας τῆς Συρίας.
M. Aurelius Charmos, citizen of Philadelphia, Nicomedia and Athens, the
astounding tragic actor, winner of the periodos, crowned in all sacred agones
in the oikoumene from the Capitolia to Antiochia in Syria.1
Charmos was a ‘global’ celebrity: he was exalted in the theatres of Italy,
Greece, Asia and Syria for winning the crown in supposedly every one of
the prestigious dramatic competitions of the Graeco-Roman world or oik-
oumene. In just a few lines, the inscription reflects the essential features of
agonistic life in the Principate: agones – musico-dramatic or athletic competi-
tions held during religious festivals – flourished under the rule of the emper-
ors, as hundreds of poleis across almost the entire Mediterranean organised
their own agonistic festivals. Together, these agones formed an interlocking
whole, a network held together by travelling visitors as well as competitors
and supported by an official festival calendar that attuned the schedules of
the festivals to each other. Successful artists and athletes were the stars of
stage and stadium and were celebrated far and wide with statues, inscrip-
tions and honorary citizenships. Those who managed to win the Capitolia
in Rome even attracted the attention of the emperor, who could grant one
of the most prestigious honours available to provincials: Roman citizenship.
1 IGR 4 1636 (= Ritti 1981: no. 14).
1
2 Introduction
However, in its focus on the incredible achievements of Charmos the
inscription gives the false impression that competing in agones was an
individual affair. Charmos owed his victories as much to his personal tal-
ent as to the support of others. Since the beginning of the imperial period,
successful artists and athletes had come together in the form of two great
associations or synods (synodoi), the activities of which spanned almost
the entire Mediterranean. Hence, these synods were styled ‘ecumenical’
in the same way as Charmos’ victorious passage along the agones of the
ancient world. They were, however, not open to every athlete or artist
active in the Roman empire. Membership was restricted to competitors
in the traditional agonistic disciplines – performers in Roman-style spec-
tacles were considered to be of a lower status – and the relatively high
entrance fee was a barrier for less successful or less fortunate competi-
tors. As such, the ecumenical synods were essentially exclusive associa-
tions. Artists formed the thymelic synod, which brought together actors
as well as musicians in the traditional disciplines: trumpeters, heralds,
poets, rhapsodes, tragic and comic actors, aulos-players, kitharists and
kitharodes. The xystic synod was the association of athletes, that is run-
ners, pentathletes, wrestlers, boxers and pankratiasts. Together, the two
ecumenical synods created the conditions that allowed competitors like
Charmos to boast of victories from Rome to Syria. They would keep prac-
tising their trade until the very end of antiquity, when the festival network
unravelled and agones ceased to exist.
Today, the once great synods are nothing more than a footnote in the
history of Graeco-Roman culture, an obscure subject barely addressed by
historians and classicists. In the past decades, a lot of work has already
been done about Greek festival life in the Roman empire, but the history
of the ecumenical synods was often avoided, sometimes even deliber-
ately.2 This is in marked contrast with the scholarship on their predeces-
sors, the regional artists’ associations of the Hellenistic period, which
have been studied in great detail by Le Guen and Aneziri in the early
2000s. The history of the ecumenical synods of the imperial period is
accessible only in disparate articles and book chapters, and these often
have a single focus, on either athletes or artists, even if their histories
2 Some important works of the last few decades on Greek festival life in the Roman empire are Frisch
1986; Wörrle 1988; Roeuché 1993; Strasser 2000; Petzl and Schwertheim 2006; Manieri 2009;
Remijsen 2015. For avoidance, see Robert 1949: 122: ‘Nous n’avons pas ici à nous engager dans
l’histoire obscure et changeante des associations d’athlètes et de hiéroniques’.
The Evidence 3
run parallel.3 This book wants to make up for this lacuna by providing a
comprehensive study of both associations.
The Evidence
The main reason why no systematic account of the synods has been
attempted until now is the extremely fragmentary state of the epigraphical
and papyrological sources, which present a very complex and often contra-
dictory view. In 1955, Forbes described the evidence of the xystic synod as ‘a
patchwork, pieced together with difficulty almost wholly from inscriptions
and papyri, and marred by disturbing lacunae’.4 This is equally true for the
sources of the thymelic synod. Even if some new documents concerning
both synods have emerged since then, our source material remains patchy.
As ancient literati were apparently not interested in discussing associative
life, hardly any information can be found in the literary sources. The thy-
melic synod is mentioned only in passing by Cassius Dio, Plutarch and
Philostratos.5 The xystic synod is never mentioned as such, but Ammianus
Marcellinus and Tertullian do talk about xystarchs, the best-known ath-
letic officials.6 We therefore depend mostly on epigraphic material, which,
despite giving important insights into the affairs of the synods, poses spe-
cific challenges.
About 200 inscriptions have come down to us, originating from a huge
geographical area stretching from southern France to Egypt. They are often
mutilated and detached from their original context. Most of them are hon-
orary inscriptions on statue bases for competitors, officials or benefactors
and therefore give a rather one-sided view. Ordinary or negative aspects as
such remain concealed. The most informative inscriptions are the decrees
issued by the synods themselves, as they reveal, at least to a certain degree,
how decisions were taken. We have four epigraphic decrees drawn up by
the xystic synod and eight by the thymelic synod. They all have roughly
the same formal structure, resembling that of polis decrees, and use a
highly verbose language. The decrees were mostly drafted in assemblies
3 E.g. Poland 1895, 1909: 129–52, 1934; Forbes 1955; Pleket 1973; Millar 1977: 456–63; Lavagne 1986;
Caldelli 1992; van Nijf 2006; Aneziri 2009; Le Guen 2010; Remijsen 2015: 230–49; Slater 2015. I have
not been able to consult Di Stefano 2000, an unpublished PhD thesis on the artists of Dionysos in
Hellenistic and Roman times.
4 Forbes 1955: 238.
5 Cass. Dio 60.23.6; Plut. Mor. 87F; Philostr. Soph. 580, 597.
6 Amm. Marc. 21.1.4; Tert. Ad Martyras 3.3.
4 Introduction
held during agones; some were inscribed in the organising city, others were
sent to another city, for example the hometown of an honorand.7 Stelae
with copies of imperial letters are a special type of inscriptions. There was
a major discovery in 2003 in the city of Alexandria Troas, when German
scholars excavated a stele with three letters from Hadrian to the thymelic
synod.8 The letters respond to a series of requests and petitions of delegates
of the xystic and thymelic synods, cities and provincial assemblies (koina).9
The letters are a treasure trove of information about the agonistic world in
the second century ad. They deal with a large variety of issues experienced
by competitors and contain a reorganised calendar of the most important
agones of the Graeco-Roman world. They also give a unique insight into
the role of the emperor, the ecumenical synods and the Greek cities in the
organisation of agonistic life.
Papyri, preserved only in the dry climate of Egypt, are a helpful addi-
tion to these inscriptions. We have about thirty-five papyri dealing with
the ecumenical synods or their members, thus representing about 15 per
cent of our source material. They mostly deal with private matters and are
therefore a window on the daily affairs of synod members and their socio-
economic background. For instance, we have lease agreements, petitions,
parts of correspondences between synod members and letters testifying to
tensions between synod officials and civic functionaries.
The most important of these documents are the papyri containing mem-
bership certificates. We have but one certificate of a member of the xys-
tic synod, the Egyptian boxer Hermeinos. It was drawn up and signed by
officials of the synod in Naples in ad 194, during the famous agon called
the Sebasta. The certificate confirms his admission to the synod in the pres-
ence of the officials. Hermeinos carried it with him during his travels across
the Mediterranean, and at some point a second certificate was added deal-
ing with a priestly office he held during an agon in Sardis. When he went
back home to Hermopolis, it was filed away in the family archive kept by
7 Xystic synod: IMT Kaikos 830 (issued in Naples, found in Zeitindağ); I.Knidos 234 (found in
Cnidus); I.Aphr. 12.719 (probably issued in Ephesus, found in Aphrodisias); I.Aphr. 12.920 (issued
in Pisidian Antioch, found in Aphrodisias). Thymelic synod: I.Gerasa 192 (issued and found in
Gerasa); Sardis VII.1 13 (issued and found in Sardis); I.Ancyra 141 (issued and found in Ancyra);
I.Ancyra 143 (probably issued in Claudiopolis, found in Ancyra); IG XIV 2495 (issued in Naples,
found in Nîmes); I.Aphr. 12.27 (found in Aphrodisias); I.Nysa 440 (issued in Ephesus, found in
Nysa); I.Heraclea Pontica 2 (issued in Rome, found in Heraclea Pontica).
8 Petzl and Schwertheim 2006 (= SEG 56 1359). See the commentaries of Jones 2007; Slater 2008;
Strasser 2010; Le Guen 2010. See also An.Ép. 2006 1403.
9 SEG 56 1359, ll. 19, 60–2. The involvement of the xystic synod is clear from ll. 20–1, mentioning the
athletes, and l. 80, mentioning both synods.
The Evidence 5
his brother Theognostos.10 Hermeinos’ dossier not only provides invaluable
information about the xystic synod’s organisational structure but also casts
light on a regular synod member without a spectacular career, as opposed
to the great victors who are over-represented in the epigraphical sources.
Moreover, the certificate illustrates the remarkable ‘international’ charac-
ter of the xystic synod: no less than seventeen cities throughout the whole
Mediterranean are mentioned, either as the officials’ hometowns or on
account of their honorary citizenships. Of the thymelic synod, five member-
ship certificates have been preserved, all dating from the second half of the
third century ad.11 These certificates were filed in the archives of the town
council of Oxyrhynchus, as they were used by their holders to request finan-
cial privileges attached to synod membership. Despite the time gap of about
a century, the certificates of the xystic and thymelic synods are quite similar.
They contain a series of imperial letters confirming privileges, a circular letter
of the synod to its members confirming the new admittance and signatures
of officials. Because the imperial letters date back to the reign of Claudius,
the certificates are also a valuable source for the early history of the synods.
A chief problem posed by our sources is the fact that they are unevenly
spread between the xystic and thymelic synods. We have more decrees
and membership certificates of the thymelic synod, but the athletic offi-
cials, especially the xystarchs, are far better attested than those of the art-
ists. Furthermore, the synods are not equally represented in the different
regions of the agonistic circuit. For instance, almost all evidence from
Rome pertains to the xystic synod, whereas only the thymelic synod is
attested in southern Gaul. There is also a chronological difference: whereas
an early form of the xystic synod is already attested in the late first cen-
tury bc, the thymelic synod appears in our sources only from the reign of
Claudius on. The last source of the xystic synod dates from the late fourth
century AD, whereas the thymelic synod is last attested in the late third
century AD. We should refrain from jumping to far-reaching conclusions
on the basis of this distortion, as the scarcity of our sources is largely the
result of fortuitous archaeological discoveries. Furthermore, when study-
ing the inscriptions we have to take the epigraphic habit into consider-
ation: the almost total disappearance of inscriptions after ad 250 does not
necessarily imply a decline of the ecumenical synods.
10 P.Lond. 3 1178 (= Pap.Agon. 6). See the commentaries of Gerstinger 1954; Frisch 1986; Decker 2012:
no. 41. For a discussion of the archive as a whole, see Van Minnen 1989.
11 BGU 4 1074 (= Pap.Agon. 1); P.Oxy. 27 2476 (= Pap.Agon. 3); P.Oxy.Hels. 25 (= Pap.Agon. 4);
P.Oxy. 31 2610 (= Pap.Agon. 5); P.Oxy. 79 5208.
6 Introduction
Finally, it is interesting to compare the imperial-age evidence with the
sources of the regional artists’ associations of the Hellenistic period.12 In
many respects, continuity is clear: honorary decrees for members and bene-
factors as well as letters from rulers and documents concerning privileges
constitute our key evidence for both periods. Still, there are remarkable
differences as well. For instance, we have some Hellenistic sources deal-
ing with contracts and wages, but these are unfortunately lacking in the
imperial-age evidence.13 This silence is telling in its own right, as it points to
an important socio-cultural change in the transition from the Hellenistic
period to the Roman imperial period. As I will argue in Chapter 10, the
silence about contracts and wages can be explained by the influence of
Roman negative attitudes towards people who made a living from per-
forming in public. Since synod members cultivated their elitist image and
wanted to avoid being identified with lower-class performers, the actual
financial arrangements behind the competitions were hidden behind a
façade of honorific language. Throughout this book, I will often look back
to the Hellenistic material in order to contextualise or to complement the
evidence of the imperial-age synods.
Even if our source material remains patchy, the combined evidence,
together with a broader contextualisation, allows us to reconstruct some
key aspects of the synods’ development, organisation, activities and social
relations. Sometimes, our knowledge of one synod can be complemented
with sources of the other, but at the same time it is necessary to be aware
of differences between the two. A lot of questions remain unanswered, but
new discoveries of inscriptions and papyri may shed more light. Therefore,
I hope that in the future the findings in this book will be substantiated,
refuted or supplemented by new evidence.
Names and Titles

Apart from the limits posed by our source material, the most troublesome
obstacle for scholars investigating the history of the synods is the inconsis-
tency in their names and titles. This is hardly surprising, as it is well known
that ancient sources in general set only little store by terminological consis-
tency. A full list of synod titles can be found in Appendix II. Many scholars
have pondered over these, wondering whether a certain name refers to the
12 For the Hellenistic sources with commentaries and French translations, see Le Guen 2001: vol. 1.
13 E.g. the well-known law of Euboia: Le Guen 2001: vol. 1, TE 1; also I.Iasos 152 (= Le Guen 2001:
vol. 1, TE 53).
Names and Titles 7
ecumenical synod itself, to a local branch or to an entirely different associa-
tion. We should take into consideration, however, that many of our sources
were written by other bodies than the synods, such as city councils and
assemblies, which contributes to this confusing variety: each body abbre-
viated the long and complex titles of the synods in its own way. A some-
what clearer picture emerges when looking at the texts issued by the synods
themselves, even if they were not consistent in citing their titles either. The
full titles of the synods contained two parts: first, the word σύνοδος with a
series of pompous adjectives, which kept increasing throughout the second
and third centuries AD; second, the members of the synod with their tute-
lary deities, including the reigning emperor from the second century ad on.
The titles of the thymelic synod recurring most often are ἡ ἱερὰ
θυμελικὴ περιπολιστικὴ σύνοδος τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς οἰκουμένης περὶ τὸν
Διόνυσον τεχνειτῶν ἱερονεικῶν στεφανειτῶν (‘the holy thymelic wan-
dering synod of artists of the whole world who take part and win in sacred
crown games, gathered around Dionysos’). The typical titles of the xystic
synod are quite similar: ἡ ἱερὰ ξυστικὴ περιπολιστικὴ σύνοδος τῶν ἀπὸ
τῆς οἰκουμένης περὶ τὸν Ἡρακλέα ἀθλητῶν ἱερονεικῶν στεφανειτῶν
(‘the holy xystic wandering synod of athletes of the whole world who take
part and win in sacred crown games, gathered around Herakles’). Let us
now analyse the different elements:
• ἱερά (‘holy’) – The synods proudly displayed their piety towards the
gods and the emperor. After all, agones were religious celebrations,
and the participation of artists and athletes was considered as a
religious service.14 They were not unique in using the adjective, but it
seems that they used it more consistently than other associations.15 As
Poland noted, the term ‘holy synod’ was often used as an abbreviated
title in inscriptions as well as papyri, and readers were supposed to
know that it referred to one of the ecumenical synods.16
• θυμελική (‘thymelic’) – Apart from ἱερά, this adjective recurs most
often in the titles of the thymelic synod. It is derived from thymele,
a word referring to the stage in the theatre or even to the theatre as
a whole.17 In short, it was the place where the artists practised their
trade. The original meaning of thymele is a sacrificial hearth.18 Because
14 See the remarks of Le Guen 2001: vol. 2, 83–4.

15 See Poland 1909: 169–70 for examples of other associations.
16 Poland 1934: col. 2483.
17 Le Guen 1998: 61–2.
18 Gow 1912.
8 Introduction
the orchestra of early theatres would have contained such a hearth,
the word came to denote a raised platform in the orchestra or
even the entire orchestra itself in the Classical and Hellenistic periods.
By the late Hellenistic period, the meaning again shifted and was
applied to the stage.19 As such, thymelike synodos is the pendant of
thymelikos agon. In the Classical and Hellenistic periods, thymelic
agones were normally reserved for musicians, who performed in the
orchestra of the theatre. As the meaning of thymele shifted, however,
thymelikos agon could be used as an umbrella term for musical as
well as dramatic competitions. In this way, it became a synonym
of mousikos agon, that is a contest that brought together all arts
pertaining to the Muses. It is not surprising, therefore, that in some
papyri and inscriptions the artists used the term mousike synodos as an
alternative to thymelike synodos.
• ξυστική (‘xystic’) – This is the athletic counterpart of thymelike. It
refers to the athletes’ place of activity, the xystos. Originally a levelled
and raked terrain, in the Classical period it came to denote a portico
covering a running track in a gymnasium, where athletes could train
even in rainy weather.20 The term xystos or sympas xystos (‘the entire
xystos’) could also be used for the athletic community, that is the
people who met in the porticoes of the gymnasium.21 As opposed
to thymelikos, however, xystikos was never applied to agones. Athletic
contests remained to be referred to as gymnikoi agones (‘gymnic
contests’).
• περιπολιστική (‘wandering from city to city’) – Athletes and artists
spent a large part of their careers travelling from agon to agon across
the Mediterranean, in accordance with the rotations of the festival
calendar. They were of course not the only performers to do so, as
travelling mimes, acrobats, conjurers and jugglers are quite frequently
attested in our sources as well.22 Yet whereas the travels of these are
often considered in a negative way – the astrologer Vettius Valens
talks about plane or aleteia (‘vagabondage’) – the term peripolistike
had a more distinguished connotation and was as such proudly
19 Cf. the remark of the second-century grammarian Phrynichus (Praep. soph. 74.9): ‘but now we call
the stage of the theatre thymele’. For a detailed discussion of the evolution of the word, see Manieri
2009: 27–32.
20 Vitr. 5.11.3–4. Cf. Glotz and Graillot 1919: 1025–27.
21 Remijsen 2014b: 247. For the sympas xystos, see the discussion in Chapter 3, subsection ‘The
Development of the Ecumenical Synod of Athletes’.
22 Blümner 1918; Dickie 2001.
Names and Titles 9
advertised by the athletes and artists of the ecumenical synods.23 In
Chapter 7, I will argue that the mobility of competitors and officials
alike was a key feature of the synods’ organisational structure.
• σύνοδος (‘synod’) – In the Greek-speaking world, this word had
already been used for centuries to refer to an association. It retained,
however, a double meaning: it could either refer to the association in
general or to a gathering of a group of synod members in a specific
context. This double meaning has important implications for our
understanding of the synods’ organisational structure, which is
discussed in Chapter 7.
• ἀπὸ τῆς οἰκουμένης (‘of the whole world’) – This clause points
to the ‘global’ orientation of the synods. There has been some
discussion whether apo tes oikoumenes referred to the place of origin
of its members (‘competitors coming from the whole world’24) or
to the range of their activities (‘competitors having won victories
all over the world’25). Aneziri argued for a partial combination of
both: the members’ place of origin would be defined on the basis
of the place of activity rather than that of birth, since successful
competitors often became citizens of the cities where they had won
important victories.26 The discussion is maybe a bit superfluous. As
in the inscription for the actor M. Aurelius Charmos, the oikoumene
essentially corresponds to the universe of first-class competitors,
that is a world dominated by Rome where agones were celebrated
far and wide. By the third century AD, the clause apo tes oikoumenes
could be replaced by the adjective oikoumenike, hence the expression
‘ecumenical synods’ used in this book.
• περὶ τὸν Διόνυσον and περὶ τὸν Ἡρακλέα (‘those gathered around
Dionysos/Herakles’) – Dionysos, the god of the theatre, and
Herakles, the god of physical prowess, were the patrons respectively
of the artists and the athletes. The clause peri ton Dionyson was already
used by the forerunners of the thymelic synod, the Hellenistic artists’
associations. In Hellenistic as well as Roman-age literature, therefore,
members of one of the artists’ associations were commonly called hoi
peri ton Dionyson.27 From the early second century ad on, the xystic
23 Vett. Val. 1.1.39: ‘the strongmen or mimes, who make their living from shows, and besides from
roaming, vagabondage and restlessness’.
24 Friedländer 1874: 3; Pleket 1973: 200–1.
25 Lüders 1873: 74; Keil 1911: 130; Poland 1934: col. 2515; Forbes 1955: 241.
26 Aneziri 2009: 228.
27 Le Guen 2001: vol. 1, 29–30. For a linguistic analysis of περὶ τὸν + god, see Ceccarelli 2004: 109–13.
10 Introduction
and thymelic synods started adding the name of the reigning emperor
after Dionysos and Herakles, which reveals their growing affinity with
the imperial court.
• τεχνῖται (‘artisans’) – Since the fourth century BC, artists of the
stage were referred to as technitai, as their profession was seen as a
specialised art.28
• ἱερονῖκαι στεφανῖται (‘victors in sacred crown games’) – These
are victors in the most prestigious contests of the Greek world, the
‘sacred agones’. These victors were highly regarded and enjoyed many
financial and honorary privileges. The most famous sacred agones
were the four games of the periodos of the Greek mainland, the
Olympia, Pythia, Isthmia and Nemea. In the imperial period, however,
a large number of other agones had acquired this privileged status, for
instance the Italian agones and the contests organised by the koinon
Asias, the provincial assembly of Asia. In the Hellenistic period, a
status upgrade of an agon had to be recognised by the other Greek
poleis, but in the imperial period the Roman emperor was the only
one who could decide upon this matter.29
The term hieronikai stephanitai was used by the athletes’ synod for the
first time in the first century BC, when sacred agones were still defined as
hieroi kai stephanitai agones (‘sacred crown agones’).30 Though the word
stephanites was dropped in the terminology of agones in the first century
AD, it was nonetheless preserved in the titles of the synods as a classy archa-
ism. There has been some discussion in scholarly literature whether tech-
nitai/athletai and the hieronikai stephanitai constituted one group in the
synods or whether the former only referred to those who had not (yet)
won a victory in a sacred agon. A further analysis will be undertaken in
Chapter 8, dealing with the synods’ membership categories. For now, it
suffices to state that when technitai/athletai and hieronikai stephanitai are
mentioned together, we should see them as one group that encompasses
true hieronikai as well as athletes or artists aspiring to become hieroni-
kai, hence my translation ‘athletes/artists who take part and win in sacred
crown games’.
Interestingly, the xystic synod’s title is visually represented by a series
of so-called Campana reliefs, even if a straightforward link between these
28 Poland 1934: cols. 2473, 2484; Le Guen 2001: vol. 1, 26–7; Aneziri 2003: 21.
29 Remijsen 2011: 107.
30 Remijsen 2011: 100–1.
Names and Titles 11
Figure 0.1 Terracotta plaque with depictions of Herakles and athletes in a gymnasium,
first or second century AD. © KMKG, Brussels
works of art and the synod cannot be established. The reliefs depict
Herakles in a building that can be identified as a gymnasium with four
xystoi. In the two left-hand xystoi, two boxers are depicted, whereas the
two on the right show an athlete with a strigil and another one holding
a victory palm; in short, ‘athletes who take part and win in sacred crown
games, gathered around Herakles’ (Figure 0.1).31
Some notes, finally, to the English terminology used throughout this
book. Several authors have used the words ‘guild’, ‘guilde’ or ‘Gilde’ to
refer to the ecumenical synods.32 I refrain from doing this, however. Even
if a guild can refer to any association pursuing the same activities and
31 For the reliefs, see Hartwig 1903. See also Miller 2004a: 204–5, who links one of the reliefs to the
xystic synod.
32 E.g. Forbes 1955; Lavagne 1986: 132–7; Pleket 1973; Strasser 2002: 140; van Nijf 2006: 232; Aneziri
2009: passim; Potter 2012: 279–92; Wallner 2014: 323.
12 Introduction
goals, it is mostly used in the context of medieval associations of merchants
and craftsmen. Ogilvie described the basic European merchant guild as ‘a
local association among the merchants of a particular town or city, which
obtained privileges from a local ruler, giving its members exclusive rights
to practise certain commercial activities’.33 These features can be recognised
to a certain extent in the city-based occupational associations of antiq-
uity,34 but less so in ecumenical synods. The latter were not locally based,
they had nothing to do with manufacturing or trade and they did not seek
to hold a monopoly over their profession. They were of course concerned
about the professional interests and privileges of their members, but they
also played a structural role in the organisation of agonistic life in the
empire, as I will argue in Chapter 10. In other words, I find the term ‘guild’
too restrictive to denote associations with such a wide scope and range of
activities. This is also why I refrain from using the word ‘union’, as it has
a strong connotation of workers’ organisations primarily concerned about
the economic representation of their members.35 Therefore, I prefer more
neutral expressions such as ‘associations’ or ‘synods’. I generally avoid their
longer titles, using the abbreviations ‘xystic synod’ and ‘thymelic synod’
instead. This is not wholly arbitrary: the abbreviations were commonly
used in the ancient sources, especially when the two synods were juxta-
posed to each other, for instance when they jointly issued a decree.
The Scope of This Book

This book revolves around two main questions. First, how did the ecumeni-
cal synods develop, evolve and decline? Second, how did the synods oper-
ate? The focus lies mainly on organisational and institutional aspects; it is
not within the scope of this book to provide an extensive discussion of the
culture of Greek festivals and performers in the Roman empire. Still, impor-
tant aspects of Greek festival culture and the art of the competitors will be
discussed insofar as these can help us contextualise the workings of the ecu-
menical synods. For instance, the sources indicate that the specialisations of
the competitors were linked to the prevalent hierarchies within the synods.
Part I deals with the first question, offering an overview of the history of
the ecumenical synods. It starts with a concise discussion of the ecumeni-
cal synods’ precursors, the regional artists’ associations of the Hellenistic
33 Ogilvie 2011: 20.
34 Van Nijf 1997: 11–23.
35 E.g. Harris 1966: 45, who described the xystic synod as ‘an early example of the trade union as an
instrument of the state’.
period (Chapter 1). Since these associations have been exhaustively stud-
ied before, they are not the focus of this book. Instead, this chapter is
restricted to the aspects that are relevant for understanding the develop-
ments in the Principate. Chapter 2 offers a thorough analysis of the earli-
est sources of the ecumenical synods dating from the first century BC,
followed by a broader investigation of the socio-cultural environment
of the late Hellenistic period. I argue that the ecumenical synods came
into existence as a result of a larger societal development in the ancient
Mediterranean: the expansion of Rome accelerated a process of growing
interconnectedness on the political, economic and cultural levels, resulting
in the creation of the Roman oikoumene in the first century BC. Next, I
investigate the synods’ further development in the first century AD, when
they gradually strengthened and expanded their role in the agonistic world
(Chapter 3). I then proceed to the second and third centuries AD, which
marked the apogee of the ecumenical synods (Chapters 4 and 5). A key
moment was their permanent settlement in Rome, which brought them
close to the empire’s centre of power. I aim to explain how and why the
synods had their headquarters in the capital, after which I investigate a
coinciding development: the expansion of the synods’ activities to even
the remotest corners of the agonistic world. Chapter 6, the final chapter of
Part I, maintains this focus on the broader agonistic context: it examines
how and why the synods declined and eventually disappeared by looking
at the general demise of agones in late antiquity.
Part II leaves the chronological and geographical framework and takes
a more thematic approach in order to understand the functioning of the
ecumenical synods. It begins with a discussion of their organisational struc-
ture and membership categories (Chapters 7 and 8). I then take a closer
look at the synods’ activities and professional interests, aiming to explain
why competitors would choose to join one of the synods (Chapter 9). Our
sources indicate, for instance, that there were significant economic and
social privileges attached to membership. Finally, I discuss the synods’ role
in the organisation of agones and the maintenance of the festival circuit
in order to better understand their contribution to the functioning of the
agonistic world at large (Chapter 10).
Throughout these ten chapters, the following six aspects form the core
of my argumentation:
1) The chronology of the synods – This book sketches a continuous

history of the ecumenical synods, from their emergence in the late
first century bc to their demise in the fourth and fifth centuries
14 Introduction
AD. Earlier scholars have refrained from doing this due to the
fragmentary character of our sources. Nevertheless, a thorough
source analysis combined with a broader contextualisation indeed
allows us to write a comprehensive study.
2) The geographical extension of the synods’ activities – Important articles
on the xystic synod, for instance those of Pleket and Caldelli, kept
a particular focus on its Roman headquarters. However, in order to
come to a more complete understanding of the synods we need to
pay equal attention to their activities in the provinces. Chapters 4
and 5, therefore, examine the synods’ Roman headquarters as well
as their activities from southern Gaul to Syria and Egypt, and when
possible, the discussion follows their activities along the different
agonistic circuits of the empire. These are best attested in Asia Minor,
the most urbanised region of the empire and as such a hotbed of
agonistic activity. This is also the reason why the ecumenical synods
probably came into being in this region, as I argue in Chapter 2.
3) The unity of the xystic and thymelic synods – Since the late nineteenth
century, when the first scholarly works on the associations of
competitors appeared, several authors have argued that apart from
the xystic and thymelic synods there existed other ecumenical
associations of athletic and artistic hieronikai (victors in the
prestigious sacred agones).36 In his 1973 article, Pleket argued that
there were two ecumenical athletes’ synods, which would have
merged in the reign of Hadrian: one consisting solely of athletic
hieronikai (victors in the most prestigious agones) and another one of
regular athletes without the title of hieronikes. However, in this book
I argue that there had been but one ecumenical athletes’ association
all along.37 Initially, it consisted solely of athletic hieronikai, but in
the first century ad it gradually opened its ranks to athletes without
the prestigious title. As for the artists, there are no indications that an
ecumenical synod consisting solely of artistic victors ever existed. As
such, the xystic and thymelic synods were the only two ecumenical
associations of competitors. The relevant evidence is discussed
throughout Parts I and II. Still, there is limited evidence of local,
city-based associations of competitors existing independently from
the ecumenical synods. These are discussed in Chapters 7 and 8.
36 E.g. Brandis 1897: 520–1; Poland 1909: 150–2; Forbes 1955: 241–2; Roueché 1993: 53–4; Aneziri
2009: 221.
37 Cf. also Remijsen 2015: 235.
4) The ecumenical synods and the development of agonistic culture in the
Roman empire – This book continues along the lines set out by van
Nijf, Aneziri, Slater and Remijsen, who studied the synods and
agonistic culture as interconnected phenomena. Moreover, the two
synods operated in the same political, cultural and socio-economic
framework and therefore need to be studied together. As for the
interconnection between the synods and agones, I argue in Chapter
10 that the synods were not simply a by-product of the agonistic
explosion of the Principate but that they actively contributed to it.
5) The organisation of the ecumenical synods and the travelling careers of
their members – A large number of authors assumed that the synods
had a kind of ‘federal’ structure, consisting of local branches under
the umbrella of their Roman headquarters.38 However, this is out
of keeping with the organisation of agonistic life in the Principate:
competitors constantly travelled from agon to agon and were not
settled in one place. In Chapter 7, I argue that the sources point to a
flexible yet uniform structure of mobile synod representatives, who
assisted competing members during their travels along the agonistic
circuit and who were ultimately accountable to the headquarters
in Rome.
6) The agency of the ecumenical synods – From the earliest works in the
nineteenth century until today, several scholars have stressed the
dominant role of the emperor in the development and organisation
of the synods.39 This book, on the other hand, qualifies the
omnipotence of the emperor and focusses on the active role and the
professional interests of the competitors. In Chapters 2 and 3, I argue
that the initiative to found the synods came from the competitors
themselves and that this was made possible by structural changes in
the Mediterranean world of the first century BC. Chapter 7, section
‘The Ecumenical Synods and the Emperor’, further focusses on
the dealings between the synods and the emperor, offering a more
balanced assessment of the relationship.
Studying the ecumenical synods of competitors helps to bring the charac-
teristics of Greek culture in the Roman empire into sharper focus. It was
a competitive culture that expressed itself in agonistic festivals as much
as in internal political rivalry, hence its strong admiration for victorious
38 See for instance Roueché 1993: 54, and the discussion in Chapter 7.
39 E.g. Poland 1895: 20–1, 1909: 143–4; Harris 1966: 45; Lavagne 1986; Le Guen 2010: 238; Strasser
2010: 589.
16 Introduction
athletes and artists. It was a hierarchical culture that rewarded people of
high status with concrete economic and political privileges. It was a proud
culture that held on to the traditions of the past but that at the same time
came to terms with Roman rule by establishing long-lasting connections
with the emperor through embassies and cultic worship. Above all, it was
an urban culture that flowered in a unified and integrated Mediterranean,
with innumerable links connecting the hundreds of poleis from southern
France to Syria and Egypt to each other. Festivals were a key factor in
upholding these transregional links. Let us begin our investigation, there-
fore, with an examination of the integration of the agonistic world and the
role of the associations of competitors in this process, which had begun
long before the first Roman set foot on Greek soil.
Part I
History
The history of Greek festivals stretches over a period of more than thousand
years, from its obscure roots in archaic times until the early fifth century
ad. A defining feature of Greek culture as a whole, agones evolved over
time as Greek societies themselves changed. Although agonistic culture
remained until the very end connected to polis life and identity, its history
is marked by a constant scaling-up, thereby defying the bare polis level.
Already in archaic times, the prestigious festivals Olympia, Isthmia, Nemea
and Pythia were expressions of local identity and simultaneously hubs of
broader connections between poleis. The increasing transregional aspect
of agonistic culture is especially clear when concentrating on the main
actors of agones: the competing artists and athletes. Over the centuries,
the organisation of their professional life became more and more detached
from their native hometowns; instead, they gradually took matters in their
own hands, which resulted in the formation of associations working on a
larger scale. This was, however, not a straightforward process. Especially
striking is the discrepancy between artists and athletes: whereas the former
united in regional associations from the third century bc onwards, the lat-
ter remained embedded in the polis framework for another two to three
centuries. From the late first century bc, athletes formed an association
with ecumenical ambitions, skipping the regional phase the artists had
gone through. In about the same period, the latter also joined together on
a pan-Mediterranean scale.
The emergence of regional associations of artists on the one hand and
of ecumenical associations of athletes and artists on the other are closely
connected to two pivotal moments in the history of Greek agones. The
first is the spread of Greek culture and agones to large parts of the eastern
Mediterranean in the wake of the Macedonian conquests; the second is the
creation of the Roman empire and the development of a pan-Mediterranean
festival network under the aegis of Rome. From a long-term perspective,
the latter cannot be seen in isolation from the former. Therefore, this
17
18 History
book is necessarily an extension of the works of Le Guen and Aneziri, who
have investigated the Hellenistic artists’ associations in detail. In order to
understand the emergence of ecumenical associations of competitors in
the Roman empire, it is first of all necessary to recapture some aspects of
their Hellenistic forerunners (Chapter 1). Thereafter, Chapter 2 tries to
answer how and why the ecumenical associations came into being in the
late first century bc, taking into account the broader political, social and
economic changes of the late Hellenistic period.
Similarly, the further development of the ecumenical synods through-
out the first, second and third centuries ad as discussed in Chapters 4–6 is
closely connected to two broader developments in the agonistic world: the
growing importance of Rome and the Roman emperor on the one hand
and the expansion of the festival network to the periphery of the Graeco-
Roman oikoumene on the other. A large number of epigraphical and papy-
rological sources from the second and third centuries ad reveal that this
period marked the apex of Greek agonistic culture and consequently of the
ecumenical synods as well. This stands in marked contrast to the dearth
of sources from the fourth century ad. It appears that the synods’ heyday
suddenly turned into a period of decline. The final chapter of this part,
therefore, investigates the decline and final disappearance of the ecumeni-
cal synods in late antiquity, which coincided with the unravelling of the
agonistic network.
chapter 1
Hellenistic Artists’ Associations
In 386 bc, a group of tragedians produced a tragedy preliminary to the

regular city Dionysia in Athens. This was recorded in an inscription belong-
ing to the so-called didascaliae, a chronological victory list of the Dionysia:
‘In the archonship of Theodotos the tragedians first produced alongside
the competition an old play.’1 Csapo rightfully describes this event as a
watershed in the history of the acting profession: ‘It is the first time we
see actors assuming a corporate identity, acting in concert (so to speak)
and organizing the entirety of a production, thus asserting their indepen-
dence of sponsors, poets, and state bureaucracy.’2 The first formal artists’
associations appeared only a century later, yet their emergence was in all
probability the result of the growing fame and professionalism of actors.3
Already in the late fifth century bc, some actors were real stars with all the
corresponding economic benefits. In the fourth century bc, actors’ troupes
became increasingly mobile as they travelled to dramatic competitions that
had spread throughout large parts of the Greek-speaking world and that
had become integral parts of several first-class agones.4 The technical and
organisational complexity of dramatic performances may also have been
a factor that enabled actors to take matters into their own hands. Not all
cities had the experience Athens had; travelling troupes therefore not only
led to actors being available outside Athens but also to the dissemination of
technical know-how – not without reason were they called technitai.5
Since most contests combined dramatic with musical performances,
the actors stood in close contact with those other technitai, the musi-
cal artists. Both groups had common interests, such as the protection
1 IG II/III² 2.2 2318, ll. 201–3: ἐπὶ Θεοδότου | παλαιὸν δρᾶμα πρῶτο[ν] | παρεδίδαξαν οἱ τραγ[ωιδοί]
(trans. Csapo 2004).
2 Csapo 2004: 69, 2010: 106–7.
3 For the growing professionalism of actors, see Csapo and Slater 1995: 221–4; Easterling 2002: 327–33;
Aneziri 2003: 262–3; Csapo 2004, 2010: 83–107; MacLellan 2016: 34–50.
4 Cf. Green 1994: 106–41; Le Guen 1995; Csapo 2004: 66–7. See also Lightfoot 2002: 210–11.
5 Poland 1934: cols. 2474–8.
19
20 Hellenistic Artists’ Associations
of privileges. In the volatile political climate of the late Classical and
Hellenistic periods, privileges were essential for travelling performers,
who saw their sphere of activity increasing with each new foundation
of an agon throughout the third century bc.6 These common interests
may have been the strongest inducement to band together in formal
associations, the koina or synodoi of artists around Dionysos (hoi peri ton
Dionyson technitai). In the time of Demosthenes, before the emergence of
the associations, privileges were granted on an individual basis, and not
as a matter of course.7 The newly formed associations, on the other hand,
had more bargaining power and could obtain privileges for all their mem-
bers. Indeed, the first unequivocal testimony of an artists’ association is
a decree of the Amphictyonic league between 279 and 277 bc, confirm-
ing privileges such as asylia (‘inviolability’), asphaleia (‘safety’), astrateusia
(‘freedom from military obligations’) and ateleia (‘tax exemption’) to the
Athenian association.8 Protecting and enlarging these privileges would
remain one of the core pursuits of the synods of competitors until their
disappearance in late antiquity.
It is still not clear which association was established first.9 If the first asso-
ciation evolved from the actors’ troupes of the fourth century bc, we should
look for it on the Greek mainland, with the Athenian synod as the most
plausible candidate.10 Others have argued, however, that the Egyptian asso-
ciation came first.11 This association first appears in the description of the
great procession of Ptolemy II, which was held between 279 and 270 bc.12
As it was strongly centred on the Ptolemaic court, it was probably formed
top-down by the king instead of bottom-up by the artists themselves in
pursuit of mutual interests. Yet as Csapo remarks, it is difficult to find the
same dynamic on the Greek mainland.13 Different models of development
may have coexisted in the Hellenistic world. With the possible exception of
Egypt, the artists themselves were probably the main driving force behind
the formation of the associations: they, after all, profited most of all from
6 For new panhellenic festivals in the Hellenistic period, see Le Guen 2001: vol. 2, 10; Parker 2004.
7 Pickard-Cambridge, Gould and Lewis 1968: 279; Le Guen 2001: vol. 1, 61; Lightfoot 2002: 211.
8 CID 4 12 (= Le Guen 2001: vol. 1, TE 2).
9 Le Guen 2001: vol. 2, 5–11.
10 Cf. Pickard-Cambridge, Gould and Lewis 1968: 279. It is tempting to identify the tragic actor
Neoptolemos in the decree of the Delphic Amphictyony (CID 4 12, l. 34) as the grandson and name-
sake of the famous actor and ambassador of the fourth century Bc (Dem. or. 5.6). Evidence is lacking,
though, despite the assertions of Ghiron-Bistagne 1976: 157. See also Stefanis 1988: no. 1796.
11 Rice 1983: 55.
12 Kallixeinos in Ath. 5.198c (= FGrH 627 F 2). See Le Guen 2001: vol. 1, 345–7 (TL 17); Aneziri
2003: 110.
13 Csapo 2002.
Hellenistic Artists’ Associations 21
joining forces.14 Similarly, the athletes in the first century bc formed their
ecumenical synod on their own initiative, without the direct involvement
of the Roman authorities, as I will argue in Chapter 2.
The specific circumstances and reasons behind the emergence of the
artistic synods remain in the dark; we can only note that four important
associations were established in the course of the third century bc. Below
I list them with their Greek names.15 I leave out smaller associations in
Rhodes and Sicily, since our material and knowledge about these groups
are extremely limited.16
1. The Athenian synod (ἡ σύνοδος / τὸ κοινὸν τῶν περὶ τὸν Διόνυσον
τεχνιτῶν τῶν ἐν Ἀθήναις)
2. The koinon of Isthmia and Nemea (τὸ κοινὸν τῶν περὶ τὸν Διόνυσον
τεχνιτῶν τῶν εἰς (ἐν) Ἰσθμὸν καὶ Νεμέαν συμπορευομένων/συντελούντων /
τὸ κοινὸν τῶν περὶ τὸν Διόνυσον τεχνιτῶν τῶν ἐξ Ἰσθμοῦ καὶ Νεμέας)
3. The synod of Ionia and the Hellespont (τὸ κοινὸν τῶν περὶ τὸν
Διόνυσον τεχνιτῶν τῶν ἐπ’ Ἰωνίας καὶ Ἑλλησπόντου), which merged
with the artists’ association of Pergamum in the second century bc
(τὸ κοινὸν τῶν περὶ τὸν Καθηγεμόνα Διόνυσον τεχνιτῶν)
4. The Egyptian synod (οἱ περὶ τὸν Διόνυσον καὶ θεοὺς Ἀδελφοὺς
τεχνῖται)
As indicated by their names, the associations were regionally organised, each
with its own sphere of influence, though there is evidence that several associ-
ations could perform at some important agones at once. Sometimes they had
conflicting interests and vied with each other for power, as a dispute between
the Athenian synod and the koinon of Isthmia and Nemea illustrates.17 Their
organisation diverged to a great extent, and not only because their officials
were different. The Athenian synod had not become fully detached from
its hometown: in the words of Csapo, it can be described as ‘a sort of semi-
independent diplomatic corps’, the interests of which largely collided with
those of the Athenian state.18 The koinon of Isthmia and Nemea was, on the
other hand, a loose confederation of local branches present in several cities
in the Peloponnese, Boeotia, Euboea and Macedon.19 The association in Asia
14 Cf. Easterling 2002: 332. Also MacLellan 2016: 16–17.

15 Cf. Aneziri 2003: 25, 51–2, 71, 109–10. Many variations of these names and titles existed.
16 For these, see Fountoulakis 2000; Aneziri 2001; Le Guen 2001: vol. 1, 327, vol. 2, 36–8; SEG 50 1025.
17 See Chapter 1, section ‘The Coming of Rome’.
18 Csapo 2002; Aneziri 2003: 35–7; Le Guen 2006: 351–7.
19 Aneziri 2003: 56–61.
Minor was settled in Teos but was not strictly bound to that city: it formed a
kind of state within a state there and could have different economic interests,
which led to a major dispute between polis and koinon and eventually the
eviction of the artists from the city.20 Finally, the Egyptian association was
strongly connected to the Ptolemaic court. This goes for its local branch on
Cyprus too.21
What, now, are the specific functions and characteristics of the
Hellenistic artists’ associations? While trying to answer this question in the
following section, I focus on the aspects that are relevant for the broader
evolution of the ecumenical associations at the dawn of the Principate.
With this discussion in mind, the reader will find many continuities as
well as discontinuities in the later chapters. Yet in essence it is incontest-
able that the synods under the empire built on the experiences of their
Hellenistic forerunners, who started experimenting with a new organisa-
tional form: associations held together by professional interests that took
them beyond the traditional polis framework.22 The experiment would
turn out to be extremely successful.
Festivals
As Aneziri stresses, the artists’ associations had a fundamentally agonistic
character.23 One of the reasons why they came into being is the increase in
agonistic festivals in the Hellenistic period, with which cities tried to link
up with the prestigious Olympia, Pythia, Isthmia and Nemea.24 However,
they were not simply a by-product of this increase in festivals but also an
active catalyst, contributing directly to the growth of festival culture in the
Hellenistic Mediterranean.25 The associations met the needs of an evolving
agonistic landscape: the need to find enough competitors to host a success-
ful festival as well as the need for technical know-how to produce musico-
dramatic competitions. Although clear information is lacking, it appears
that the artists’ associations mainly focussed on big, ambitious agones that
wanted to stage first-class performances of the musical and dramatic arts.
Organisers of such contests seem to have been less eager to turn to the
smaller actors’ troupes led by a protagonist (the leading actor). The artists’
20 Le Guen 2001: vol. 1, 243–50, vol. 2, 33–4, 100–2; Aneziri 2003: 71–109.
21 Aneziri 2003: 109–20.
22 Lightfoot 2002: 223.
23 Aneziri 2003: 298.
24 Le Guen 1995: 61, 2001: vol. 2, 10; Aneziri 2003: 291.
25 For this thesis, see MacLellan 2016: 275.
Festivals 23
associations could offer the full package: all kinds of competitors, synagoni-
stai (‘supporting competitors’, i.e. secondary actors, choir members etc.),
support crew, necessary props and organisational know-how.
The name of the koinon of Isthmia and Nemea shows its attachment
to two festivals of the ‘great four’ (later called the periodos); it was fur-
ther active at several prestigious agones in Delphi and in Boeotia, a region
with a strong artistic tradition. Although settled at the other side of the
Aegean, the association of Asia Minor also took part in the prestigious
agones of these regions: the Pythia and Soteria at Delphi, the Mouseia
in Thespiae and the Agrionia in Thebes.26 It is quite probable that the
Egyptian association also travelled to the famous contests of Delphi, Argos
and Thespiae.27 Furthermore, when cities tried to upgrade a festival to the
prestigious stephanitic status, they turned not only to other cities but also
to the associations. Stephanitic or ‘crowned’ agones were of a higher status
than other agones and gave victors specific privileges in their hometowns.
As the Hellenistic world had no central authority, organising cities had
to make a large diplomatic effort in order to get the upgrade approved by
other entities.28 The association of Asia Minor, for instance, acknowledged
the Leukophryenia of Magnesia, and the koinon of Isthmia and Nemea did
the same for agones in Boeotia.29 The associations’ wide cultural networks
helped the organising poleis in gaining international acknowledgement
and attracting artists as well as visitors from far and wide.30
Nevertheless, the artists’ associations did not limit themselves to presti-
gious contests. Organisers of smaller festivals could also approach them, as
did the Iasians for their Dionysia.31 Distance and the funding available may
have been major factors in the decision whether to turn to the associations.
It is important to note that the association of Asia Minor sent its artists
free of charge to the Iasian Dionysia – Iasos probably did not have enough
money to pay the associated technitai themselves.32 Other small cities, which
could not count on the goodwill of an association, had to staff their festi-
vals in the old way. The agonothetes or festival organiser of the Dionysia on
Corcyra seems to have turned to smaller actors’ troupes in order to engage
26 IG XI.4 1061+1136, ll. 15–20 (= Le Guen 2001: vol. 1, TE 45), with Aneziri 2003: 280.
27 Indications are the theoroi sent to Egypt by Argos and Delphi and the interest of Ptolemy IV and
Arsinoe III for the Mouseia of Thespiae. See Aneziri 2003: 281.
28 In the second century Bc, the term stephanitic was gradually replaced by hieros (‘holy’), hence
hieronikai (‘sacred victors’). See Remijsen 2011; Slater 2012.
29 I.Magnesia 54; Syll.³ 457.
30 MacLellan 2016: 79–123.
31 I.Iasos 152 (= Le Guen 2001: vol. 1, TE 53).
32 I.Iasos 152, ll. 27–8 (= Le Guen 2001: vol. 1, TE 53): ἐν τοῖς ἀναγκαιοτάτοις καιροῖς.
three aulos-players, three tragedians and three comedians, as implied by
the rules of the festival’s sponsors. Still, in this case it cannot be entirely
excluded that the artists referred to in the inscription belonged to an asso-
ciation such as the koinon of Isthmia and Nemea on the Greek mainland.33
Monopolising the agonistic sector was anything but the associations’
goal. Le Guen has shown that of the approximately 450 artists known to us
from the Hellenistic period only 73 certainly belonged to one of the asso-
ciations.34 We are dealing with exclusive associations that were anxious to
preserve their privileges and their role in the most prestigious agones of the
Hellenistic world. The artists’ associations can be seen as a factor that con-
tributed to the quality and prestige of existing, major agones and as a neces-
sary body to turn to in case a city wanted to upgrade a festival from a mere
local happening to an event with an ‘international’ cachet. How else could
an agon fulfil its ambitions than by inviting the best of the best to perform?
This, however, also made the organising cities dependent. In Slater’s
words, ‘the Artists always had some say in the organization of festivals,
sometimes officially with priests and theoroi, but always behind the
scenes’.35 This gave them the power to promote their own interests, even if
this conflicted with the interests of the poleis. Money matters were heavily
on their mind. An interesting example is the conflict between the city of
Teos and the association of Asia Minor, which was based there. The artists
organised their own Dionysiac festival in Teos (the staging of agones by
professional associations is in itself a remarkable novelty), which, in their
view, gave them the right to collect tax revenues deriving from the festival
through their own officials. Teos objected, and the Attalid king had to
intervene to settle the problems.36 The emergence of artists’ associations
thus added another layer of complexity to the growing agonistic sector:
important agones could not do without the associations, yet this could also
make them a serious nuisance. As we will see in Chapter 7, not all rulers
would follow the example of the Attalid king and back the cities against
far-reaching claims of competitors acting in concert.
The allocation of artists to a particular festival (nemesis) is still a mat-
ter of debate. We know that artists who were not a member of any of the
associations were represented by an ergolabos, a leader of a small troupe (e.g.
33 IG IX.1 694. The mentioning of ergolaboi implies that the agonothetes had to turn to actors’ troupes
rather than to one of the big associations, as argued by Le Guen 2004a: 97–9. Slater 2010: 264–5, on
the other hand, seems to assume that Corcyra dealt with one of the associations.
34 Le Guen 2004a: 86–91.
35 Slater 2004a.
36 Cf. Le Guen 2001: vol. 2, 33–4; Aneziri 2003: 90–100.
Festivals 25
the protagonist) who had the authority to negotiate contracts for his col-
leagues.37 Cities sent delegates to these artists in order to hire them and their
troupes. Matters seem to have been somewhat different in the case of the
great associations, although our source material is mostly silent about the
practicalities of contracts and allocations.38 The clearest information comes
from the aforementioned decree from Iasos.39 This city had sent delegates to
the association of Asia Minor in Teos in order to request competitors and
support staff for their Dionysia, after which the artists selected some of their
members to travel to Iasos to take part in the agon. As Le Guen remarks,
the allocation of the artists was no longer in the hands of city magistrates
or ergolaboi but was decided in a democratic way in the artists’ general
assembly. The actual contracts were concluded between the selected artists
and the city organising the agon in question. According to the Iasos decree
when an artist committed a breach of contract, he was answerable both to
his association and to the city where he ought to have performed.40
Aneziri, on the other hand, argued that this was not necessarily the
standard procedure.41 She distinguished three different models in the
organisation of agones. 1) An agon fully organised by an association: in this
case, the artists were evidently selected by the association itself. 2) An agon
jointly organised by an association and a political body (cities or koina):
it appears that the association in question was responsible for the alloca-
tion of artists, as a decree of the Amphictyonic league about the Agrionia
of Thebes shows. 3) An agon organised by a political body alone. Aneziri
stated that the procedure of the Iasos decree described above could be an
exception, since the artists were sent free of charge by the association of
Asia Minor. In regular cases, it would equally be possible that the artists
were not selected in the associations’ assembly but requested or chosen by
delegates from the polis organising the agon in question. Furthermore, she
believed that artists allocated to a festival were in general answerable only
to the organising body (the agonothetes, for instance) and would therefore
have concluded contracts with the organisers without interference of the
associations.42 Nevertheless, Le Guen is probably right when she argues
37 The most important sources in this respect are IG XII.9 207 + addendum p. 176 (the so-called law
of Euboea from 294–288 Bc) with Le Guen 2001: vol. 1, 41–56 and IG IX.1 694 (from Corcyra, end
of the third or beginning of the second century Bc; see note 33).
38 Cf. Slater 2004b.
39 I.Iasos 152 (= Le Guen 2001: vol. 1, TE 53).
40 Le Guen 2004a: 91–4.
41 Aneziri 2003: 267–89.
42 Aneziri 2003: 285, endorsing the views of Stephanis (non vidi).
for a stronger involvement of the associations in the negotiation of con-
tracts and the allocation of artists, as indicated by a few inscriptions.43 It
is of course also possible that there was no uniform procedure but that
this varied according to the time, the place and the customs and laws of
the respective associations. For instance, it appears that the association of
Ionia and the Hellespont had a stronger autonomy in negotiating con-
tracts with poleis than other associations.44
What the four associations certainly had in common, though, was the
organisation of their members’ travels and activities. The associations and
their local branches had fixed residences in cities such as Argos, Thebes,
Athens and Teos, where their members lived and from where they set out
to take part in agones. This is one of the reasons why the Hellenistic associa-
tions remained regionally based and why conflicts could arise between them.
Yet in spite of this fragmentation the agonistic activities of the associations
played a key role in the development of a ‘cultural koinon’ in the ancient
Mediterranean, which gradually came to transcend regional differences.45
Politics
Since the rise of the acting profession in the late fifth and fourth centu-
ries bc, successful actors had become important citizens of their respective
poleis. Their performances at agones and other artistic events made them
famous and influential, even in politics. Since they enjoyed safe-conduct,
they were the perfect ambassadors: as such, the fourth-century tragic actors
Aristodemos and Neoptolemos were ambassadors of Philip II of Macedon.46
Musicians, too, could use their art to represent their hometowns during
diplomatic missions, swaying the poleis they visited by performing pieces
from the local repertoire.47 Not only individuals but also associations could
take up diplomatic responsibilities on behalf of a polis: the artists’ synod of
Athens, being strongly intertwined with the Athenian state, played a signifi-
cant diplomatic role at several key moments in its history, for instance when
dealing with Ariarathes V of Cappadocia and Mithridates VI of Pontus.48
At the same time, the associations were a kind of political entities
themselves, existing parallel to the poleis and koina. Their organisational
43 Le Guen 2004b: 297–8, 2004a: 91–2. Also Lightfoot 2002: 211.

44 MacLellan 2016: 224.
45 This is the main thesis of MacLellan 2016.
46 Dem. or. 19.315.
47 Chaniotis 1988.
48 Aneziri 2003: 44–8; Le Guen 2006, especially p. 352.
Politics 27
structures mirrored those of the democratic polis: they had their own
laws (nomoi), held assemblies issuing decrees (psephismata), used the typi-
cal polis vocabulary in their inscriptions and had officials such as priests,
epimeletai, treasurers, archons and secretaries.49 This, however, was far from
exceptional: most other associations – in contrast to the technitai integral
parts of their respective poleis – were constituted in the same way.50 Yet the
artists’ associations carried this polis-mimicry to a higher plane: what set
them apart from all other associations is the fact that they were recognised
by cities, koina and rulers as separate political bodies in their own right,
with which they could maintain diplomatic ties – in the case of cities and
koina even on an equal basis.51 In my opinion, the associations achieved
and maintained this independence through a combination of factors: first,
the elite status of their members from different cities gave them experi-
ence in political manoeuvring, which led for instance to the support of
Hellenistic kings and the Delphic Amphictyony; second, cities, koina and
rulers depended on their expertise to stage prestigious musico-dramatic
agones, which strengthened the associations’ agency in pursuing their own
professional interests.
As such, the artists’ associations were independent players in the
complex network of reciprocal relationships that was so characteristic of
the Hellenistic period.52 They sent their own ambassadors for instance
to the Delphic Amphictyony, individual cities, courts of rulers and the
Roman senate, in order to confer honours, settle disputes or discuss
the protection of their privileges.53 When one considers their essential
role in the prestigious contests of the Greek world, it comes as no sur-
prise that they had their own theoroi. These technitai were delegated to
attend festivals and take part in religious rites and were also sent out to
announce contests (co-)organised by their association.54 Theorodokoi, for
their part, were responsible for welcoming theoroi sent by other parties
to the artists’ associations.55 Finally, they also appointed proxenoi. These
were not technitai themselves but rendered all kinds of services in their
respective hometowns to artists who had travelled there, from practical
49 Le Guen 2001: vol. 2, 65–9; Aneziri 2003: 125–67.

50 Gabrielsen 2007: 188–90.
51 Cf. van Nijf 2006: 230. In the middle of the second century Bc, the association of Asia Minor even
minted its own coins: Lorber and Hoover 2003. See also Rigsby 1996: 246; Aneziri 2003: 159.
52 Ma 2003.
53 Aneziri 2003: 159–64.
54 Aneziri 2003: 156–8; Rutherford 2013: 248–9.
55 Aneziri 2003: 158–9.
aid to legal representation.56 This, again, illustrates the broader organ-
isation of the Hellenistic artists’ associations: since they were settled
more or less permanently in a city, they went truly ‘abroad’ when trav-
elling to another polis and therefore needed local assistance from prox-
enoi.57 As we will see in Chapter 9, the wholly different organisation of
the ecumenical synods under the empire would render the interference
of proxenoi obsolete.
The independent political constitution of the artists, combined with
their precious privileges, gave them a certain power, which, as we have
seen, even allowed them to confront poleis when their own particular
interests were at stake. However, it also made them quite vulnerable. In
contrast to other political bodies, artists could not appeal to law enforce-
ment or physical violence themselves. The job of travelling artists remained
a dangerous one, and no privilege could guarantee absolute protection. It
therefore comes as no surprise that some associations turned to the stron-
gest players on the political scene: the Hellenistic kings. The symbiosis
of artists and rulers held great advantages for both parties. The successful
formula was later passed on to the Roman Principate.
Many scholars have regarded the artists’ attachment to kings, and
later to emperors, as a defining feature of the associations. As we have
seen, some argue that the Egyptian association was created by Ptolemy II
Philadelphos to act as a cultural agent in his pursuit of dynastic legitima-
tion. Similarly, Ceccarelli maintains that the phrase hoi peri ton Dionyson
technitai came into being in the context of the courts of Hellenistic kings,
many of whom were all too eager to identify themselves with the god
of the theatre.58 More specifically, she argues that the Athenian associa-
tion was formed when Demetrios Poliorketes – a man interested in drama
who eagerly posed as a ‘new Dionysos’ – sojourned in Athens.59 Indeed,
Dionysos played an important role in the ideological self-presentation of
the Hellenistic kings, thereby continuing the trend Alexander had set.60
Strootman notes that ‘like Dionysos (a “royal god” par excellence), the
king was a harbinger of joyful tidings, bringing good fortune to the cities
he enters’.61 The technitai, outstanding devotees of the god, could represent
56 Aneziri 2003: 218–20; Mack 2015: 228.

57 Le Guen 2001: vol. 2, 79.
58 Ceccarelli 2004: 110: ‘Dionysos, le Dionysos de la périphrase, est le dieu, bien sûr, mais il est égale-
ment une figure du pouvoir politique’.
59 Ceccarelli 2004: 134–8.
60 For Alexander and Dionysos, see Bowersock 1994; Bosworth 1998: 119–32.
61 Strootman 2014: 50. Also Tondriau 1953.
Politics 29
these ideological aspirations better than anybody else. Their performances
in theatres and processions helped, in the words of Lightfoot, ‘to inscribe
royal power into the cycle of city life’.62 Conversely, public appearances of
kings had become strongly theatrical themselves.63 Le Guen also underlines
the convergence of dionysism, royal power and the world of the theatre.64
This convergence is especially recognisable in the activities of the
Egyptian association. Whichever way it had come into being, it was closely
connected to the Ptolemaic king and his court. Its participation in the
Dionysiac procession of Ptolemy II has already been mentioned, and in
contrast to the other associations it included the title of the royal couple
in its name: οἱ περὶ τὸν Διόνυσον καὶ θεοὺς Ἀδελφοὺς τεχνῖται (‘the art-
ists gathered around Dionysos and the sibling-loving gods’).65 Similarly,
the association of Asia Minor had a strong relationship with the Attalid
dynasty. It had a priest responsible for the ruler-cult, who was at the same
time agonothetes of the synod’s own Dionysiac festival.66 Furthermore, it
had an affiliated synod in Pergamum itself, the koinon around Dionysos
Kathegemon – not incidentally the patron deity of the Attalid kings.
Kraton, one of the leading figures of the association of Asia Minor in
the second century bc, even founded a separate cultic organisation, the
Attalistai.67 The Athenian association, finally, conferred godlike honours
on Ariarathes V of Cappadocia in the 130s bc, and when they welcomed
Mithridates’ envoy in Athens in 88 bc they called the Pontic king a ‘new
Dionysos’.68
Nevertheless, we also need to make some necessary differentiations. In
my opinion, identification with a monarchical figure was no conditio sine
qua non for the artists’ associations, as Di Stefano suggested.69 Aneziri rightly
states that the Egyptian synod seems to have thrived in a centralist political
system, but she did not apply this as a general principle to all other associa-
tions.70 The koinon of Isthmia and Nemea, with its decentralised organisa-
tion, appears to have operated effectively for two centuries without attaching
itself to a Hellenistic king. In honouring Ariarathes and Mithridates the
62 Lightfoot 2002: 221.

63 Cf. Chaniotis 1997.
64 Le Guen 2001: vol. 2, 88–90, 2007: 275–8.
65 OGIS 50 (= Le Guen 2001: vol. 1, TE 60).
66 Aneziri 2003: 130.
67 For Kraton and the Attalists, see especially Le Guen 2007. The Attalists were probably not exclu-
sively technitai.
68 Ath. 5.212 d-e (from Poseidonios: FGrH 87 F 36).
69 Di Stefano 2004a: 176.
70 Aneziri 2009: 229.
Athenian association seems to have followed the diplomatic policy of its
hometown; in both cases, the kings were living far away and had no direct
influence on the daily activities of the artists. As for the association of Asia
Minor, it must be noted that it could pursue its policy quite independently,
without Attalid interference. As in the Roman empire, the role of the ruler
seems to have been mostly reactive: when the association came into conflict
with Teos about the financial aspects of its Dionysia, the king was petitioned
to settle the affair. Significantly, he chose the side of Teos.
Thus, it is essential to acknowledge the diversity in the experiences of the
artists’ associations in the Hellenistic world. Rather than being agents of a
royal ideological project, artists were extremely good at adapting themselves
to the specific political circumstances that surrounded them. In mainland
Greece before the coming of the Romans, there was no single political author-
ity, which is why a decentralised system of local branches suited the koinon of
Isthmia and Nemea very well. In regions where the influence of a king was
strong, as in the western part of Asia Minor, the associations participated just
as poleis in the system of reciprocal relationships with the ruling power. Do ut
des: the artists represented royal rule with the help of Dionysiac imagery, and
in return they received prestige, protection and privileges. In Chapter 7, sec-
tion ‘The Ecumenical Synods and the Emperor’, I will further investigate the
relation between artists and ruler: the former operated within the boundaries
set by the latter, yet had many opportunities to act autonomously.
Religion
Research of the last decades has shown that traditional Greek religion in
the Hellenistic and Roman periods was anything but an empty shell. It had
powerful roots and would disappear only in late antiquity.71 Similarly, Le
Guen stresses that theatrical performances did not ‘degenerate’ into purely
secular spectacles to entertain the masses after the death of Alexander the
Great.72 They remained profound expressions of religious attachment to one
or more gods and can be considered as a kind of religious service. Le Guen
further argues that the civic world with its festivals and agones was not com-
pletely demarcated from the more secretive realm of the mystery cults. In
Dionysos, at once god of the theatre, god of the mystery cult and god of
the triumphant king, all of these seemingly separate aspects came together.73
71 E.g. Rigsby 1996: 1.

72 Le Guen 1995: 87–90.
73 Le Guen 2001: vol. 2, 92–3.
The Coming of Rome 31
Indeed, the religious aspect of the artistic profession was quintessential to
the associations and also illustrates the enduring vitality of traditional Greek
religion.74 Nothing indicates that the professionalism and independence of
the associations went hand in hand with a disregard for traditional cults;
instead, they prided themselves on being ‘the most pious of the Greeks’,75
and they stressed their religious devotion more than their artistic expertise.
They were particularly attached to Dionysos, but their devotion also went out
to the other gods of the Greek pantheon, and in some associations to the dei-
fied dynast. Their religious self-understanding is reflected in their vocabulary:
their headquarters were called temene (sanctuaries), and their important offi-
cials served as priests of Dionysos. Their significant role in religious services
was, furthermore, acknowledged by other parties. It was the main reason why
they were granted privileges, as a decree of the Delphic Amphictyony shows:
[T]he technitai are to be exempt from military service on land or sea and all
special taxes, so that the honours and sacrifices for which the technitai are
appointed can be carried out for the gods at the appropriate times, as they
are free from all other activities and devoted to the services for the gods.76
In a fragment of Aristophanes of Byzantium, the Spartan Pantakles was
struck by divine retribution after he had hindered a group of technitai on
their way to Cythera – hindering them equalled hindering religious service
to the gods and therefore came down to sacrilege.77 Finally, it must be noted
that the religious activities of the artists went beyond those performed dur-
ing the competitions themselves: they took part in sacrifices, prayers, proces-
sions and other cultic actions, in agonistic as well as non-agonistic contexts.78
The Coming of Rome

If the inscriptions give us a representative image of the activities of the artists’
associations, then the second century bc appears to have been their heyday.
The coming of the Romans was initially not earth-shaking. The associations,
eager for political support, quickly turned to them in order to safeguard
74 See especially Le Guen 2001: vol. 2, 83–93.

75 CIG 3067, l. 21 (= Le Guen 2001: vol. 1, TE 45): ἐκ πάντων τῶν Ἑλλήνων εὐσεβέστατοι.
76 CID 4 12, ll. 71–7 (= Le Guen 2001: vol. 1, TE 2): εἶ|[ν]αι δὲ τοὺς τεχνίτας ἀτελεῖς στρατείας πεζικᾶς
καὶ ναυτι|[κ]ᾶς, καὶ εἰσφορᾶς πάσας, ὅπως τοῖς θεοῖς αἱ τιμαὶ καὶ αἱ θυ|[σίαι], ἐφ’ ἅς εἰσι τεταγμένοι
οἱ τεχνῖται, συντελῶνται ἐν τοῖς | [καθήκουσιν χρόνοις, ὄντων αὐτῶν ἀπολυπραγ|μονήτων καὶ]
ἱερῶ̣[ν π]ρὸς ταῖς [τῶν θεῶν λειτουργί|αις]. Restorations based on a copy of the inscription from
Athens: IG II/III² 1.2 1132.
77 Ael. NA 11.19 (= Le Guen 2001: vol. 1, TL 12).
78 Le Guen 2001: vol. 2, 83.
their precious privileges. Like the Hellenistic kings before them, the Romans
obliged as generous patrons, confirming privileges and ensuring that festivals
continued to be celebrated, even after catastrophes such as the destruction
of Corinth in 146 bc.79 Nevertheless, the fact that several associations now
fell under one political authority was wholly new, and this had an impact
on the relationships between them, as they were now vying for the support
of the same ruler. This is illustrated by the conflict between the Athenian
synod and the koinon of Isthmia and Nemea in the late second century bc.
The cause of this conflict was the growing overlap of both synods’ spheres of
activity. At one point they decided to work together in Thebes and Argos,
and even to create a common treasury. Apparently, the Isthmian technitai
resisted this decision by excluding the Athenians from their assemblies and
by diverting money from the common treasury to their own. The case was
eventually brought before the Roman senate, which decided in favour of the
Athenian association.80 Yet altogether the artists’ associations kept operating
as they had always done, now under the patronage of the Romans, who were
not interested in getting involved personally in the affairs of the associations.
During the first decades of Roman supremacy in the Greek East, their rule
generally did not intervene deeply in the Greek societal fabric.
Things began to change in the early first century bc. This is the moment
when the epigraphic record ends rather abruptly. The last attestations of
the Athenian association do not give a rosy picture. Since this associa-
tion was strongly intertwined with the Athenian state, it fully backed the
city’s unfortunate choice to side with Mithridates, another neos Dionysos,
in the 80s bc. The Athenian technitai played a prominent role in welcom-
ing Mithridates’ envoy Athenion in Athens, even performing sacrifices in
honour of his presence in their precinct.81 Sulla’s reprisals against the city
did not spare the artists: the last inscription tells us that their sacred prem-
ises in Eleusis had been destroyed in the war. The association honoured
their epimeletes Philemon for restoring the premises with money out of his
own pocket, which may suggest that the association’s own finances were in
a bad state.82 The artists’ association of Asia Minor fared considerably bet-
ter, though. After having brought the rebellious province of Asia to heel,
Sulla imposed draconic indemnities on the Greek cities there. The artists’
79 For the safeguarding of privileges, see Corinth 8.3 40 (= Le Guen 2001: vol. 1, TE 26bis) and IG VII
2413–2414 (= Le Guen 2001: vol. 1, TE 34). Also I.Iasos 152, l. 6 (= Le Guen 2001: vol. 1, TE 53). For
the protection of festivals, see Knoepfler 2004: 1271–3.
80 Le Guen 2001: vol. 1, 98–113; Aneziri 2003: 306–16.
81 Ath. 5.212 d-e (from Poseidonios: FGrH 87 F 36). See Aneziri 2003: 30–48; Le Guen 2006.
82 IG II/III2 1.2 1338 (= Le Guen 2001: vol. 1, TE 15).
Another random document with
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+ Sat R 129:187 F 21 ’20 1250w
“Lord Haldane’s defence of the policy adopted by the liberal

government towards Germany between 1906 and 1914 deserves
attentive reading. His little volume, mainly composed from the
articles which he has published recently in various periodicals, has
been hastily put together and contains a certain amount of
repetition, but it is an obviously sincere attempt to explain and
justify a policy that has brought much unmerited odium on the
author.”
+ − Spec 124:83 Ja 17 ’20 950w
HALE, FREDERICK. From Persian uplands. *$5

Dutton 915.5
(Eng ed 20–11662)
“Mr Hale was stationed from 1913 to 1917 at Birjand, in eastern

Persia, and from 1917 onwards at Kermanshah, near the western
frontier. This book contains his letters to a friend at home, describing
the ordinary course of life in sleepy Persia, and touching lightly on
the German and Turkish intrigues and the measures taken to
counteract them. Mr Hale declares that the Persians are far more
intelligent than their neighbors, and that they only need good schools
and a tolerable administration. Mr Hale was engaged at Kermanshah
in the preparations for General Dunsterville’s romantic little
expedition to Baku.”—Spec
“Here is a vivid picture of Persia during the war made by one who
can describe his own times in delicate phrasing and neat speech.” R.
C. T.
+ Ath p506 Ap 16 ’20 600w
“His comment on current topics ... is extremely diverting, always

in good taste, and enlivened with a dash of humor reminiscent of
Howells. It is the charming style and manner which make the book
worth while.”
+ Bookm 52:272 N ’20 100w
“Mr Hale is a charming writer, and he evidently knows and likes

the Persian people. Thus his unpretentious book gives perhaps a
truer picture of modern Persia than some more ambitious works.”
+ Spec 124:526 Ap 17 ’20 220w

The Times [London] Lit Sup p248 Ap
22 ’20 530w
HALE, LOUISE (CLOSSER) (MRS WALTER

HALE). American’s London. il *$2 (1½c) Harper
914.21
20–26752
An American actress goes to London for a season and talks wittily

and ramblingly about her experiences on and off the stage. She gives
many a glimpse of the aftermath of the war in London streets, in
London houses, and in London heads in the form of opinions and
judgments. The book is illustrated.
“Pleasing, spontaneously humorous, keen often, and clever,

though the author’s self-consciousness will seem to some to be
intrusive.”
+ − Booklist 17:111 D ’20
“From her first page to her last, Mrs Hale is distinctly entertaining.
Her philosophy of life is a genial one and her style of presenting it
agreeably light and pleasantly tinged with humor.” F. A. G.
+ Boston Transcript p4 D 29 ’20 870w
“Mrs Hale has a very pleasant style, a nice discrimination in the

incidents she relates, and a gently humorous way of recording her
experiences that makes her book delightful reading.”
+ Lit D p94 N 20 ’20 1550w
“‘An American’s London’ is no solemn study of social economics,

but it is fully as illuminating as a dozen scholarly tomes and far more
likely to make an impression on the lay reader’s memory. Its pages
are lightened by a sprightly sense of humor, and the enjoyment of
reading is further heightened by the author’s generous sharing of her
most intimate confidences.”
+ N Y Times p10 S 26 ’20 2200w

“The book is more Hale than London, but under the circumstances
who would have it otherwise?”
+ Springf’d Republican p10 O 21 ’20 280w
HALE, WILLIAM BAYARD. Story of a style.

*$2 Huebsch
An analysis of President Wilson’s literary style by the author of

“Woodrow Wilson; the story of his life.” “Mr Woodrow Wilson,” says
the author, “is a man of words.... What he has accomplished—and his
has been a wonderful record of accomplishment—has been
accomplished through statement, argument, appeal. His scepter is
his—pen; his sword is his—tongue; his realm is that of—words.
Therefore it ought to be, it infallibly will be, in his language that Mr
Wilson’s real self will be revealed.” Beginning with the essay on
“Cabinet government in the United States,” written at the age of
twenty-two, Mr Hale examines Mr Wilson’s writings and speeches,
pointing out his excessive use of adjectives, his habits of repetition
and interrogation, etc., and drawing his inferences therefrom. The
book was written before the President fell sick, and was completed
on Sept. 26, 1919. Contents: Prophetic symptoms; Aristocratic
affectations; Learned addictions; Symbolism; Phonetic phenomena;
Doubt and the flight from the fact; A typical manuscript; Concerning
popular repute; The story of the League of nations speeches.
[2]
HALL, AMANDA BENJAMIN. Blind wisdom.
*$1.90 (1½c) Jacobs
20–17531
Joan Wister was and remained a character of incorruptible
sincerity and spontaneity. Because she was clear as crystal and
trusted her own impulses she was a puzzle. Expelled from boarding
school on account of her inconvenient questionings of the things that
were taught her, she found a friend in Jerry Callendar, her brother-
in-law’s law partner. For years he was her friend, adviser and father
confessor and when one day Joan found herself precipitantly in love
with Bret Ballou and her course beset with obstacles and temptations
more than she could bear, she fled to Jerry for protection and
demanded that he should marry her, the better to secure this end.
Although Jerry truly loved her he took upon himself the rôle of
protector only and for a year even gave her every chance to try out
her infatuation for Bret. Before the end of the year the make believe
marriage had gone through various stages, finally arriving at the real
thing.
“The entire book has many delightful descriptions, and some bits
of whimsy humor. The ending of the story with its subduing veil of
pathos, is a flash of pure inspiration, worthy of the poet as well as the
novelist.” W. T. R.
“In Joan Miss Hall shows to great advantage not only as a teller of
tales but as an acute and dramatic delineator of character.”
+ N Y Evening Post p16 D 4 ’20 520w
Reviewed by Marguerite Fellows
Pub W 98:1886 D 18 ’20 260w

HALL, ARNOLD BENNETT. Monroe doctrine
and the great war. (National social science ser.) *75c
McClurg 327
20–2059
“The author has aimed ‘to present in simple form an accurate but
brief account of the origin and development of the doctrine and some
of its relations to the present problems of peace.’ He concludes that
the League of nations is the logical method of extending the
principles of the Monroe doctrine to the larger diplomatic problems
of the present.”—Booklist
“The narrative is generally clear and in most respects quite

conventional.” J. S. R.
+ Am Hist R 26:150 O ’20 370w
“A convenient summary.”
+ Booklist 16:262 My ’20

+ Dial 68:669 My ’20 80w
“Professor Hall furnishes us with a compendious account of the

Monroe doctrine, which not only skillfully skims the cream from
more extensive compilations, but churns it, salts it, and serves it up
ready for the table. When, however, it comes to making bread and
butter of the doctrine and the covenant, Mr Hall’s success is not
conspicuous.” E. S. Corwin
+ − Review 3:70 Jl 21 ’20 1100w
HALL, GRACE. Stories of the saints. *$1.50 (2c)

Doubleday 922
20–7587
“For children, young and old” these stories of the saints are retold
in the form of legends. The contents fall into two parts. Some of the
saints whose story is told in part 1 are St Thomas, in The palace of
Gondoforus; St Patrick; St Bridgit of Kildare; St Ursula and the
eleven thousand virgins; St Edward’s smile, and the seven sleepers;
St Louis of France; St Margaret of Scotland; St Anthony of Padua; St
Elizabeth of Hungary. Part 2 under the caption “The saints and their
humble friends” contains in part: St Francis, the birds and the
beasts; St Roch and his dog; St Deicolus and the wild boar; St Felix
and the spider. The chronological order of the saints gives a list of
the saints according to their century and one according to their days.
Booklist 16:316 Je ’20
HALL, GRANVILLE STANLEY. Morale, the

supreme standard of life and conduct. *$3 Appleton
170
20–13129
The background of this book, as the war-term “morale” suggests, is
the war. The author holds that the war itself revealed the bankruptcy
of the old criteria and that our human standards and values must
now be subjected to a redefinition. This the book sets out to do, using
morale with a psychophysic connotation in its individual, industrial
and social applications. “It implies the maximum of vitality, life
abounding, getting and keeping in the very center of the current of
creative evolution; and minimizing, destroying, or avoiding all
checks, arrests, and inhibitions to it.” (Chapter I) The long list of
contents is in part: Morale as a supreme standard; Morale,
patriotism and health; The morale of placards, slogans, decorations,
and war museums; Conscientious objectors and diversities of
patriotic ideals; The soldier ideal and its conservation in peace; The
labor problem; Morale and feminism; Morale and education; Morale
and “The Reds”; Morale and religion; Bibliography.
+ Booklist 17:6 O ’20
“Of course, Dr Hall has many valuable things to say in his book. He
colors up his quasi-physical norm of morality with a good dash now
and again of Christian sentiment. Still it is a pity that he, like so
many of our ‘advanced’ collegiate thinkers, can find so little room for
Christ.”
− + Cath World 112:696 F ’21 490w
“The book is keenly analytic, a little coloured by the Freudian

trend of what philosophy people will read nowadays, but helpful in
its breadth and application, to any one concerned with studying or
directing the rest of the race.” E. P.
+ Dial 70:109 Ja ’21 90w
“The style of the book under review is symbolic of its weakness. It

appears to be the product of what he calls ‘exuberant, euphorious,
and eureka moments.’” Preserved Smith
− Nation 111:595 N 24 ’20 780w
“Some of the psychologic explanations in this volume are

undoubtedly ingenious. But as to the reality of the facts which he
explains it is not so easy to be certain. But considerations of fact are,
after all, not primary in the author’s regard. He believes that facts
‘cannot and must not’ change certain treasured beliefs.”
− + New Repub 24:126 S 29 ’20 1400w
“No writer of modern times has so completely freed himself from

every vestige of scholastic methods, nor dared so freely to apply to
religion, ethics, education and social reconstruction, every last and
newest product of psychogenetic, psychoanalytic, experimental and
differential psychology. The result is that Dr Hall’s style is peculiarly
stimulating, refreshing and invigorating.” G. T. W. Patrick
+ N Y Times p18 O 24 ’20 1300w
“To speak seriously, these vivacious lectures are the readable

improvisations of a clever ready writer who possesses a facility of
association that Emerson would have envied, but who persistently
overworks and overloads his faculty or facility with undigested
reminiscences of his German studies and his subsequent dabblings
in all the sciences and all the philosophies.” Paul Shorey
− + Review 3:378 O 27 ’20 1600w
“Dr Hall’s views will often be found ‘stimulating’ for their

independence, whether one agrees with them or not. But there is no
groundwork of a new ethics or new sociology here. As with some
other books of Dr Hall’s, better organization of the material and
more careful writing would improve this one.”
+ − Springf’d Republican p11a Ag 8 ’20

1400w
“On the whole the work will hardly enhance the reputation of the
author of ‘Adolescence.’ First presented as a series of lectures during
the war, it reveals in many places the highly colored effects induced
by war-time emotions. Besides it views the psychologic features in
life out of all due proportion.” H: Neumann
− Survey 45:332 N 27 ’20 280w

+ The Times [London] Lit Sup p782 N 25
’20 190w
HALL, GRANVILLE STANLEY. Recreations of

a psychologist. *$2.50 Appleton
20–20441
“Vacation skits” the author calls this collection of short stories,

whose merit he claims to be their illustration of psychological
principles. The first of these stories, “The fall of Atlantis,” is a new
version of the Platonic myth, and records what happened to the
world after the year 2000—the record purporting to have been made
by the writer’s subliminal self while his conscious mind was in a state
of amnesia. The other stories are: How Johnnie’s vision came true; A
conversion; Preëstablished harmony—a midsummer revery of a
psychologist; Getting married in Germany; A man’s adventure in
domestic industries; A leap year romance; Note on early memories.
“Dr Hall is in error when he styles his work in these fields ‘crude
and amateurish if judged from the standpoint of literature’; he is
right when he claims a distinct merit for it as a means to the
enunciation of scientific principles. The literary touch and the
psychological implication characterize the book throughout.” E. N.
HALL, HERSCHEL SALMON. Steel preferred.

*$2 Dutton
20–12451
“‘Steel preferred’ is a punning title, the point being that Wellington

Gay, born and brought up in the steel industry, can not be tempted
away from it. There his personal success or failure must be made,
and which it may be is a matter of secondary importance. Steel is his
lode-star and his love. All he asks is to be permitted to take a hand
somehow, somewhere, in the great game of steel-making. Chance
takes him away from Steelburg, as chance has brought him there—in
the same boxcar, to round out the coincidence. He has an uncommon
knack for clerical work, and is presently offered a promising position
in a city office. But chance once more sets him down at Steelburg,
and the old spell takes him. Once more he becomes a cheerful
drudge, overworked, unrecognized, and happy in the service of his
mistress Steel. He is discovered after a while by a new manager, and
given his first step upwards on the climb from roustabout to master
of Steelburg. The point is that, whether as roustabout or ‘old man,’
the main thing with him is love of work and not love of personal
reward or ‘success.’”—Review
“Boys and men will like this.”
“A good story well told and a vivid picture of the life of a big steel
plant are combined in this very readable novel.”
+ N Y Times 25:26 Jl 25 ’20 420w
Reviewed by H. W. Boynton
+ Review 3:214 S 8 ’20 650w
“An entertaining and inspiring story.”
+ Springf’d Republican p5a Ja 30 ’21

220w
HALL, JAMES NORMAN, and NORDHOFF,

CHARLES BERNARD, eds. Lafayette flying corps;
associate editor, Edgar G. Hamilton. 2v il *$15
Houghton 940.44
20–17744
“In offering this record of the Lafayette flying corps to the families
and friends of the men who served in it, and to the public at large,
the editors feel that a few words of explanation are necessary. Their
purpose has been twofold: to furnish a record as complete and
authentic as possible, and to reconstruct an atmosphere.” (Preface)
The contents of the first volume comprise: The origin of the
Escadrille Américaine; The Escadrille Lafayette at the front; The
Lafayette flying corps and Biographical sketches. Volume 2 is
devoted wholly to letters and personal reminiscences, arranged
under the headings: Enlistment and early training; Adventures in
action; Life on the front; Combats; Prisoners of war. Lists of dead,
wounded, prisoners of war, etc. are given in an appendix. The
volumes are very fully illustrated.
+ Booklist 17:108 D ’20
“One hoped, upon learning that such a history was to appear, that
at least a fair proportion of the possibilities might be compassed, and
it is a great satisfaction to find in the finished book these hopes more
than realized and expectations generally surpassed. The editors are
to be congratulated and heartily thanked for their achievement.” J.
W. D. Seymour

+ Outlook 126:654 D 8 ’20 120w
“The brief biographies are touched off, not always quite happily,
with the jocularity of a college class book. Everything is written from
the point of view of the insider. Thus the outsider will have to pick
and choose. The picking, however, is excellent.” F. J. Mather
+ − Review 3:476 N 17 ’20 640w
HALLIBURTON, WILLIAM DOBINSON, ed.

Physiology and national needs. *$4 Dutton 613
(Eng ed SG20–168)
“The physiologists in this country and in England were called upon

during the war to give expert advice in food rationing, food
conservation, health preservation, etc., and a series of public lectures
on these topics given at King’s college by men of eminence in their
profession have now been edited by Mr Halliburton. Some of them
are worthy of special notice owing to the amount of new scientific
knowledge they contain, knowledge that as yet has hardly penetrated
beyond well-informed medical circles. Such, for example is the
lecture by Professor Hopkins on vitamines. In the lecture by
Professor Harden on scurvy a great deal of new and important
information is collected and presented. In the article by Professor
Dendy on ‘The conservation of our cereal reserves’ the difficulties
connected with the storage of grain are described, and evidence is
given for the great saving that might be effected by the adoption of a
system of air-tight storage.”—Review
Ath p418 Mr 26 ’20 1300w
“The book as a whole is extraordinarily interesting from many

different aspects, as much perhaps for the questions it asks as for
those it answers.” A. E. B.
+ − Nature 105:286 Mr 6 ’20 1000w
“The addresses selected for publication are well written in popular

style, free from scientific terminology, and may be read with profit by
any intelligent person interested in such topics.”
+ Review 3:505 N 24 ’20 370w
“In all probability the reader will find the first three lectures
dealing with foods and vitamines the most interesting of the series,
but each one is well worth studying.”
+ Spec 124:870 Je 26 ’20 1200w
HAMBIDGE, JAY. Dynamic symmetry: the

Greek vase, il *$6 Yale univ. press 738
20–15783
“The life-suggesting quality of Greek art by which generation after

generation of art-lovers have been impressed is the true theme of the
book. To get back of appearances to the source of this quality has
been a task occupying more than twenty years of the author’s
concentrated mental labor. Why should the Greek masterpieces
suggest the life and growth of nature in their design while inferior
designs suggest inertia and fail to stimulate the mind? The secret was
simple enough, although it has called for an elaborate and extended
process of proving by mathematical tests. It consists in the fact that
the Greeks did all their measuring for works of art in areas, and that
by finding the proportions of these areas in growing organisms such
as plants, and especially the human figure, they provided themselves
with a guide to the arrangement of areas in design that enabled them
to capture vitality in all their works.”—N Y Times
“The make-up of the book is beautiful and the illustrations and

general idea are interesting to the lay student, though the study of
the text is for the artist.”
+ Booklist 17:60 N ’20
“What seems to distinguish this study is the effort, apparently

quite subconsciously made, to cover the whole matter with an air of
mystery. This has been done by the familiar device, prehistoric in
origin and perennial in its growth, of creating a new vocabulary.
Stripped of its mystery and set forth in simple language it would have
been an interesting work.” D: E. Smith
− + Nation 111:326 S 18 ’20 1600w
“A contribution to the literature of art more searching and

revealing than anything published within this field during the last
century.”
+ N Y Times 25:20 Jl 4 ’20 1700w

“On the side of aesthetic appreciation ‘Dynamic symmetry’ affords,
at least to one critic, very little help.... Mr Hambidge’s patient and
modestly presented researches should cause a restudy of the whole
problem, which can only be beneficial.” F. J. Mather, Jr.
+ − Review 3:456 N 10 ’20 1400w
“In this book through his re-discovery of the principles used by the
Greek artists of the classic age, Mr Hambidge has opened up a new
field in modern art.”
+ School Arts Magazine 20:187 N ’20 70 w

+ Springf’d Republican p6 Jl 13 ’20 110w
“At first sight his results appear little short of marvellous, and yet
it may be doubted whether they are so convincing as appears to their
author.”
+ − The Times [London] Lit Sup p700 O 28

’20 1750w
HAMILTON, CICELY MARY. William—an

Englishman. *$1.25 (2c) Stokes
20–8361
Mild-mannered, pale-faced, undersized, painstaking and obedient

—thus is William Tully characterized in this biographical novel. At
his desk in a London insurance office he is vaguely conscious that his
too well regulated life has been ordered by his masterful mother. Her
sudden death leaves him adrift and chance lands him among the
reformers. Like a new garment he puts on their cult and convictions,
finds him a wife among them—and is surprised by the war while on
his honeymoon in Belgium. Inwardly and outwardly his world
collapses about him and his wife is crushed in the ruins. Stunned he
returns to England, his pacifism changed into patriotism. After
several rejections he is accepted in the army and eventually finds
himself caught in the rat-trap of a military clerkship from whence he
is rescued from growing bitterness by an aerial bomb.
“The book is earnest, realistic and very well written, the emotional
and dramatic portions of it getting a real hold on the reader’s
imagination. It is an unpretentious volume, and a very moving, very
interesting one.”
+ N Y Times 25:307 Je 13 ’20 400w
“Vividness of characters and a keen study of human emotions

under abnormal strain, are the more noticeable traits of ‘William—an
Englishman.’”
+ Springf’d Republican p11a Je 27 ’20

300w
HAMILTON, CLAYTON MEEKER. Seen on
the stage. *$1.75 (3c) Holt 792
20–21431
The author wishes this informal collection of essays to be

considered as a suffix to his other books on the theatre. In the first
paper, “Life and the theatre,” he quotes the Athenians who regarded
our world as “the valley of soulmaking” and states that the aim of art
should be to provide a sense of life for men who, in themselves, are
not sufficiently alive to create art by their very living. Some of the
other papers are: Personal greatness on the stage; Hero-worship in
the drama; Acting and impersonation; The laziness of Bernard Shaw;
Satire on the American stage; Le Théâtre du Vieux Colombier; In
praise of puppet-theatres; Understanding the Russians; Ibsen once
again; The Jewish art-theatre; Booth Tarkington as a playwright; The
Athenian drama and the American audience; A reminiscence of the
Middle Ages—Guibour; Edmond Rostand. The book is indexed.
+ Booklist 17:144 Ja ’21
“One of his most thorough criticisms is that of Eugene O’Neill,

whom he thinks the greatest dramatist of the present day. Other
essays in the volume are of less importance; they are correct but
commonplace, and interesting chiefly for the gossip they contain.”
+ − N Y Evening Post p10 D 31 ’20 160w

“He has studied the drama of the past as thoroughly as he has
mastered the drama of the present. In other words, his preparation
for dramatic criticism is far more than adequate; it is exceptionally
ample. To this substantial equipment for his task he adds also the
other three qualifications which a critic ought to possess—insight
and sympathy and disinterestedness.” Brander Matthews
+ N Y Times p4 Ja 30 ’21 1600w
HAMILTON, COSMO. Blue room. il *$1.90 (2c)

Little
20–18662
Bill Mortimer comes back from the war with an intense desire to
settle down and be happy with a wife and family. His past has been
lurid, and he has memories locked in his “Blue room” which he
wishes he could forget. His pal, Teddy Jedburgh, on the other hand,
having walked the paths of rectitude in his youth, is inclined to kick
over the traces and go the pace now. Both men fall in love with the
same girl, a “Miss Respectable,” a “flower of a girl, with the dew on
her and a morning hymn in her eyes.” Bill is the successful suitor and
plans for the wedding are quickly made. Then just on the eve of the
ceremony, Martha discovers Bill’s blue room, and, disillusioned and
bitter, knows not which way to turn. It is Teddy who decides for her
whether she shall, at the last moment, run away and refuse to marry
Bill, or, letting the dead past bury its dead, carry on and marry him.
“The tale is told in a style of consistent and complacent banality,

the very style of the movie commentator.” H. W. Boynton

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Athletes and Artists in the Roman

Empire Bram Fauconnier

The Colonate in the Roman Empire Boudewijn Sirks

Music and Philosophy in the Roman Empire 1st Edition

Christianity and the Roman Empire From Nero to

I Am Not a Label 34 disabled artists thinkers athletes

Frankness Greek Culture and the Roman Empire Routledge

Greek Roman Sculpture An Image Archive for Artists and

Western Herbs for Martial Artists and Contact Athletes

From the Later Roman Empire to Late Antiquity and

This is the first comprehensive study of the associations of athletes

Br a m Faucon nier is a specialist on the associations of competitors

Cambridge University Press is part of Cambridge University Press & Assessment,

List of Figures page ix

2 The Emergence of the Ecumenical Synods of Competitors 34

3 The Development of the Ecumenical Synods in

6 The Decline of the Ecumenical Synods 169

Pa r t I I Org a n i s at ion 181

8 The Members of the Ecumenical Synods 249

9 The Professional Interests of the Ecumenical Synods 274

10 The Organisation of the Festival Network 308

General Conclusion 323

Appendix i: The Members of the Ecumenical Synods 332

0.1 Terracotta plaque with depictions of Herakles and athletes

5.1 Greece and Asia Minor page 119

For epigraphic editions I have used the abbreviations of the

Artists, Athletes and the Roman Oikoumene

1 IGR 4 1636 (= Ritti 1981: no. 14).

Names and Titles

14 See the remarks of Le Guen 2001: vol. 2, 83–4.

The Scope of This Book

1) The chronology of the synods – This book sketches a continuous

Hellenistic Artists’ Associations

In 386 bc, a group of tragedians produced a tragedy preliminary to the

14 Cf. Easterling 2002: 332. Also MacLellan 2016: 16–17.

43 Le Guen 2004b: 297–8, 2004a: 91–2. Also Lightfoot 2002: 211.

49 Le Guen 2001: vol. 2, 65–9; Aneziri 2003: 125–67.

56 Aneziri 2003: 218–20; Mack 2015: 228.

62 Lightfoot 2002: 221.

71 E.g. Rigsby 1996: 1.

The Coming of Rome

74 See especially Le Guen 2001: vol. 2, 83–93.

“Lord Haldane’s defence of the policy adopted by the liberal

+ − Spec 124:83 Ja 17 ’20 950w

HALE, FREDERICK. From Persian uplands. *$5

“Mr Hale was stationed from 1913 to 1917 at Birjand, in eastern

+ Ath p506 Ap 16 ’20 600w

“His comment on current topics ... is extremely diverting, always

+ Bookm 52:272 N ’20 100w

“Mr Hale is a charming writer, and he evidently knows and likes

+ Spec 124:526 Ap 17 ’20 220w

HALE, LOUISE (CLOSSER) (MRS WALTER

An American actress goes to London for a season and talks wittily

“Pleasing, spontaneously humorous, keen often, and clever,

+ − Booklist 17:111 D ’20

+ Boston Transcript p4 D 29 ’20 870w

“Mrs Hale has a very pleasant style, a nice discrimination in the

+ Lit D p94 N 20 ’20 1550w

“‘An American’s London’ is no solemn study of social economics,

+ N Y Times p10 S 26 ’20 2200w

+ Springf’d Republican p10 O 21 ’20 280w

HALE, WILLIAM BAYARD. Story of a style.

An analysis of President Wilson’s literary style by the author of

2 The Emergence of the Ecumenical Synods of Competitors 34

6 The Decline of the Ecumenical Synods 169

8 The Members of the Ecumenical Synods 249

9 The Professional Interests of the Ecumenical Synods 274

10 The Organisation of the Festival Network 308

General Conclusion 323

5.1 Greece and Asia Minor page 119