Athletics, festivals and Greek identity in the Roman east*

Abstract

Ceremonial life (contests and festivals) was a major preoccupation of the inhabitants of the cities of the Roman East in general and of Roman Asia Minor in particular. Processions meandered through the streets every week, and perhaps even every day, carrying processional statues and driving along sacrificial animals. The air was frequently filled with the smells and sounds of sacrificial banquets. In public places benches were set up, on which people sat to drink and eat together. On some days flocks of people could be seen rushing towards the theatre or the stadium, eager to take up their places in the auditorium, from where they could watch traditional Greek athletic or artistic contests. It must have seemed as though at any given time some part or other of the population was involved in some public ritual. The Greek city in the Roman period was – to borrow a phrase of Walter Burkert – a Festgemeinschaft, a festive community. Greek festive life was not the last resort of traditionalists, however, trying to insulate themselves from new and unpleasant social and political realities. Traditional Greek festivals were very much part of the contemporary world. I shall argue here that Greek festivals played a central part in civic life under Roman rule. I also intend to discuss how they were reformed and adapted to fit into a world where the centre of power was located in Rome. And finally, I want to assess their importance for the self-identification of the local élites.