AGONISTIC FESTIVALS IN ROMAN GREECE

A. J. S . SPAWFORTH

Under the principate, the celebration of contests in the Greek manner (agones) proved one of
the most resilient features of traditional Hellenism. In the propitious circumstances of the
second and third centuries, and with imperial encouragement, agonistic festivals proliferated in
the cities of the Roman East - including those of provincial Achaia, if there on a more modest
scale than in the richer provinces of Asia Minor and Syria. The comments offered here are
restricted to selected aspects of the province’s agones during the age of the Greek
“renaissance”.I
I begin by noting the peculiar and privileged position of Achaia in the agonistic world. It
arose from the fact that the province hosted the four festivals of the prestigious “ancient circuit”
(archaia periodos),2the Olympia, the Pythia, the Nemea and the Isthmia, to which we perhaps
should add another Argive festival, the Heraea, known to agonistai from the form of the prizes
simply as “the shield from A r g ~ s ” . ~
The prominence given to these festivals in records of
agonistic careers reflects their standing. To cite an unusual example, we find a boxer from
Syrian Laodicea of less than champion-class proudly recording that in 214 he had, not won, but
at any rate reached the finals, in the men’s boxing contest at the “winter” Nemea.4 Imperial
rescripts reveal that Achaia’s special agonistic status eventually became enshrined in Roman
law. In an attempt to prevent the abuse of contests by provincials seeking the personal and
civic immunities accorded to “sacred victors” (hieronikai), Diocletian restricted these privileges
to victors in certain festivals only, among them those of “old Greece” (antiqua Graecia), their
prestige ensuring that victory in them was difficult to a ~ h i e v e . ~
The immunities in question were the most significant of a package of honours associated
with victory in the highest-ranking agones, those by the later second century styled as hieroi
kai eisefastikoi. These honours also included the right to a cash-pension and a triumphal
procession (eisefasis),the financial burden in both cases (as with civic immunity) falling on the
home-cities of the hieronikai. Because these privileges had implications for civic finance,
Rome inevitably acquired a controlling interest in their further extension: the “gift of a sacred

I I am grateful to Professor C. P. Jones for helpful criticisms and comments; errors of course remain my own. On
agones in general under the principate: L. Moretti, Iscrizioni agonistiche greche (Rome, 1953), especially chs. iv
and v; L. Robert, “Discours d’ouverture”, Praktika of the VIIIth International Congress of Greek and Latin
Epigraphy, vol. A (Athens, 1984), 34-5. A useful study of agones in a regional context: R. Ziegler, Stiidtisches
Prestige und Kaiserliche Politik. Studien zum Festwesen in Ostkilikia im 2. und 3. Jahrhundert n. Chr.
(Diisseldorf, 1985). The only survey of agones in Achaia, lacunose and now out of date, remains I. C. Ringwood,
Agonistic Features of Local Greek Festivals (Poughkeepsie, 1927).
For this expression see Moretti (n.l), 11.85, 11. 16-17.
Shield: P. Amandry, Etudes argiennes, BCH Supplement vi (Paris, 1980), 231-2. The Heraea as a “periodic”
agon: Inschriften von Olympia n.231 with J. and L. Robert, REG 67 (1954), 113-5, with the doubts of P. Clement,
PHOROS. Tribute to B . D . Merritt, edd. D. W. Bradeen and M. F. McGregor (New York, 1974), 38.
Moretti (n.1), n.85, 11. 15-20.
C. x, 54 (53); L. Mitteis, Chrestomathie, n.381.

193
194 THE GREEK RENAISSANCE IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE

contest” (dorea hierou agonos) and the promotion to iselastic rank of established agones were
among the range of benefactions which the emperor could bestow on provincial cities and for
which they supplicated him.6
As well as the circuit-festivals at Elis, Delphi, Argos and Corinth, by the third century at
least six other agones in Achaia were recognised by Rome as iselastic. They included the
Asclepea at Epidaurus7 and the Olympia Commodea at Sparta, these last founded in honour of
the emperor Commodus, but perhaps owing their iselastic rank to benefaction by either Severus
or Caracalla.* Remarkably, the remaining four were hosted by Athens: the Panhellenia, the
Olympia, the Hadrianea and the Panathenaea. The first three were founded, it seems, by
Hadrian, who also promoted the Panathenaea, an ancient “sacred” contest, to iselastic rank.9
These benefactions, at a stroke turning Athens into a major agonistic centre, formed part of
Hadrian’s moves to endow Athens as the capital of Hellenism.
Iselastic contests formed an Clite among the much larger number of agones hieroi kai
stephaneitai - ones celebrated, that is, in honour of a deity and offering to victors a symbolic
prize (usually a crown) and often cash-prizes too.” In provincial Achaia, these lesser “sacred”
contests, most of them older than the Roman period, might be purely local affairs - as with the
Ithomaea at Messene, for instance.” Some, however, were able, like the iselastic contests, to
attract agonistai from far and wide, as with the Urania at Sparta. These were founded under
Nerva as a pentaeteric agon and festival in honour of Zeus Uranius and offered cash-prizes
funded by the generosity of a local notable, C. IuliusAgesilaus.’2 Three Boeotian festivals also
require notice ,here. In the third century they are listed in agonistic careers among agones
known to have been of iselastic rank and may themselves have shared in that status, although
firm evidence is lacking. These were the Eleutheria at Plataea, prestigious for their historic
association with the Persian wars and for their inclusion of a famous foot-race under arms,
victory in which conferred the title “Best of the Greeks” (aristos Hellenon); the Trophonea at
Lebadea; and the venerable Heraclea at Thebes. Like the Asclepea at Epidaurus, by the third
century these last two had acquired the epithet “Olympia”, suggesting their recent
reorganisation on the fashionable model of the Olympia at Elis.13
Achaia’s remaining contests with a panhellenic appeal seem to have belonged to the less
prestigious category of agones themateitai (“prize-games”). At Phocian Ambryssus, a small
city, the highest prizes in the Gorgas festival, founded by a local worthy in the Severan period,
amounted to no more than 15 denarii; not surprisingly, its catchment area was local or at best

Iselastic rank: Robert (n.1); P. Henmann, “Eine Kaiserurkunde der Zeit Marc. Aurels aus Milet”, IM 25 (1975),
149-66; P. Weiss, ZPE 48 (1982), 125-32. Privileges of hieronikui: M. Amelotti, “La posizione degli atleti di
fronte a1 diritto romano”, SDHI 21 (1955), 123-56 (fundamental); J. David Thomas, “Notification of a Victory at
the Games”, in A. E. Ellison (ed.), Collectanea Papyrologica. Texts published in honor of H . C . Youtie (Bonn,
1976), 471-83. I have not seen H. Pleket, “Games, Prizes, Athletes and Ideology: some Aspects of the History of
Sport in the Greco-Roman World”, Stadion 1 (1975), 49-89.
’ Moretti (n.l), 11.76, 1. 13; nos. 87, 1.9 and 90, 11. 16-17 provide the epithet “Olympia”.
* See A. Spawforth, “A Severan Statue Group and an Olympic Festival at Sparta”, ABSA 81 (1986), 313-32.
9Moretti(n.l),nos.71, 11 9-11;84a, 11. 10-12.
loFor the distinction see H. Pleket, HNIR 36 (1974), 85 11.140.

‘ I IG V. 1. 1467-1469.

IG v. 1. 667. For a partial list of victors see A. M. Woodward, ABSA 26 (1923-1925), 217-8, up-dated, along with
a full discussion of Roman Sparta’s agones, in P. Cartledge and A. Spawforth, Hellenistic and Roman Sparta. A
Tale of Two Cities (London, 1989),ch. 13 with app. IV.
l 3 Moretti (n.1) nos. 87, 11. 10-11; 88, 11. 16-18; 90, 11. 15-18. Eleutheria: L. Robert, REA 31 (1929), 13ff.; see too
N. Robertson, “A point of precedence at Plataia: the dispute between Athens and Sparta over leading the
procession”, Hesperia 55 (1986), 88-102. Heraclea: P. Roesch, “Les HCrakleia de Thbbes”, ZPE 17 (1975), 1-7.
 A. J. S. SPAWFORTH 195

regi0na1.I~The case was otherwise with a third Spartan festival, the pentaeteric Euryclea. As is
shown by an inscription now in the Sparta Museum which G. Steinhauer is to publish, this
festival was founded under Hadrian, evidently with funds bequeathed by C. Iulius Eurycles
Herculanus, the Spartan senator.I5 The Euryclea attracted a world-wide clientele, largely
because the prize-money was substantial. A partially preserved set of agonistic accounts from
an early Antonine celebration of an anonymous Spartan agon, probably to be identified with
the Euryclea, records prizes of up to 4000 denarii.I6 Anonymous prize-games at nearby
Mantinea, celebrated under the auspices of the Arcadian koinon, were also attracting champion-
class agonistai under the Antonines and Severi.I7 These can probably be identified with the
Antinoea, a pentaeteric agon founded by Hadrian and presumably well endowed;‘*the same
emperor was evidently responsible for reviving the koinon, of which Mantinea became a centre.
Boeotian Thespiae should also be noted for its two agonistic festivals, the Musea and the
Erotidea, the last at least classed as a prize-contest. Both continued to attract overseas
competition under the Antonines and the Severi.19
Under Augustus numerous Caesarea or Sebastea were established in the cities of Achaia in
connection with local imperial cult. Most of these, it seems, were only modestly endowed,
although in the first century the Caesarea at Sparta attracted at least the occasional overseas
contestant.20The case was otherwise with the Caesarea at colonial Corinth, which also seem to
have been classed as an agon themateites.21 These regularly attracted world-wide competition,
a success which probably reflects in part the fact that they were celebrated at the sanctuary of
Poseidon in conjunction with the renowned Isthmian festival.22
Such competition could be attracted by a variety of factors. Chief among these, no doubt,
were the rewards of victory, whether iselastic privileges or sizeable cash-prizes. Certainly with
the contests of the periodos, their ancient renown no doubt mattered, as, generally, did the
standard of agonistic amenities provided by the host-city. It is surely significant that these are
known to have been improved in a number of the cities and sanctuaries so far mentioned. At
Corinth, for instance, a local notable undertook to build fifty lodgings at the Isthmian sanctuary
for athletes to stay in free of charge; new gymnasia were built at Athens and Sparta; and the
great sanctuaries of Olympia, Delphi and Epidaurus saw considerable building activity under
the prin~ipate.~~ Timing was probably also a factor: the ease, that is, with which an agonistes
could fit a visit to a particular meeting into a longer professional itinerary: it is probably not
accidental, for instance, that victories at Mantinea and Sparta are listed successively in several

l4 SIC3 1063 with 1. 14.

l7 Moretti (n.l), nos. 75, 1. 15; 79, 1. 35; 84b, 1. 15; IGRR iv 1432, 1. 19 (here the agon is apparently classed as
“sacred”, perhaps reflecting a certain looseness of usage, arising from the fact that a contest could be both
“sacred” and also award cash-prizes: Pleket [n. lo]).
Paus. 8.9.7; J. Keil and A. von Premerstein, Denkschrifen d. kaiserl. Akad. d. Wiss.in W e n 53,2 (1910), 23.
I9 Note SEG iii, 334-5; Moretti (n.l), n.84b, 1. 3; L. Robert, Hellenica ii (Paris, 1946), 5-14.
2o Moretti (n.l), n.66, 11. 5-6.

21 [KCCUJ&~]ELO! instead of [ ‘ E h h & ] ~ ~aa ,festival otherwise unattested at colonial Corinth, can probably be
restored in id.,n.84b, 1. 21.
22 See the references cited by Clement (n.3), 38-9, who hesitated needlessly over the location of the contest, which
inscriptions place dv KopivOcp (in the sense of city and territory) and specifically dv ’IoOpQ.
23 J. Kent, Corinth viii. 3. The Inscriptions (Princeton, 1966) 11.306; A. Spawforth and S. Walker, JRS 75 (1985), 94
(Athens); Paus. 3.14.6 (Sparta).
196 THE GREEK RENAISSANCE IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE

agonistic careers.24 All in all, the identification of major contests can provide a useful guide to
the political, cultural and economic standing of the cities of Achaia.
The impact of agonistic celebrations on local economies deserves further exploration. The
celebration of agones with a panhellenic appeal temporarily swelled the local population by a
considerable, if unquantifiable, factor. This influx comprised the contestants themselves,
selected through an admissions process from a larger pool of hopefuls.25 In addition, it
included outsiders who came primarily to be entertained - the inhabitants of the region, as
well as the province’s domi nobiles and leisured overseas “tourists”. It also embraced those
who came primarily to display their wares, such as traders and itinerant showmen.
The wealth-creating potential of such an influx was appreciated by Dio of Prusa,
commenting on the advantages of being a provincial assize-centre. “Consequently”, he
observes, “not only can those who have goods to sell obtain the highest prices, but also no-one
in the city is out of work ... And this contributes not a little to prosperity, for wherever the
greatest crowd of people gathers together, there we are bound to find the most money”.26 Dio
here is observing the economically obvious fact, that a temporary influx of outsiders enlarged
the market for local services and produce, both agricultural and man~factured.~~ As elsewhere
in the Greek world, in Achaia it was probably not unusual for agonistic festivals to be
accompanied by fairs or markets placed under civic regulation. At Augustan Epidaurus, for
instance, there existed the post of “agoranomos in the festivals”.28
The province’s agones also offer material for the social historian. Here I limit myself to
some remarks on their social setting. On the one hand, they were closely linked in a variety of
ways with the province’s urban Clites. From this social level were drawn the citizens who
organised and often funded agonistic celebrations. We even find one super-rich provincial
(Herodes Atticus, inevitably) celebrating a private agon on his own property.29 In this leisured
milieu, attendance at agonistic festivals, whether in one’s own city or further afield, was taken
for granted as an aspect of social life - as the sympotic writings of Plutarch show, using as
dramatic settings the deipna or dinner-parties thrown by his real-life friends in Elis or Corinth
on the occasion of local a g ~ n e s The
. ~ ~presence of such polite society helps to place in context
the revival of rhetorical activity at Greek festivals in the age of the Second sop his ti^.^' As well
as attending, young members of these Clites also competed in equestrian and running events,
classes of contest traditionally associated with Greek aristocracy. To give but two examples, in
the early second century a horse-racing victory at a Corinthian agon was awarded to a close
kinsman of Cn. Cornelius Pulcher, a distinguished eques from Epidaurus. At Severan Sparta,
two generations of a family with senatorial connections, the Aelii, found success as champion
runners.32 At this social level, the appeal of agones, which celebrated traditional categories of
Greek cultural activity, often in association with old local cults, can be seen in part as an aspect

24 Above, n.17.
25 See D. R. Jordan and A. Spawforth, “A new document from the Isthmian games”, Hesperia 51 (1982), 65-8.
26 Or. xxxv, 15-16.

27 Note at Roman Corinth the production of terracotta lamps apparently aimed at the local tourist-trade: Ph.
Bruneau, BCH 101 (1977), 263-5.
28 IG iv2 653. Elsewhere: Henmann (n.6), 157, n.29.

29 L. Robert, AJPh 100 (1979), 160-5, with W. Ameling, Herodes Atticus I1 (Hildesheim, 1983), n.72.

30 Moralia 66413; 675d.

3 1 For example, Dio Chrys. Or. viii, 9; Philostr. VS 617.

of the attachment to civic tradition so marked among the Greek urban Clites in the second and
third centuries.33
Agones also provided popular entertainment, of course. At this level, an increasingly valued
aspect of agonistic celebrations seems to have been the free hand-outs which could accompany
them: at Roman Argos, for instance, local agonothetai vied with each other in the distribution
of cash and olive-oil and the provision of free Such actions point to the evolution of
agones into a form of social panacea. In this connection it is significant to find evidence for the
modification of traditional agonistic programmes, so as to include popular spectacle of a
contemporary kind. Under Commodus, for instance, the Thebans added a contest for
pantomime-artists to the H e r a ~ l e a . Louis
~ ~ Robert long ago drew attention to the fair-ground
acts which, by the second century, were regular features of agonistic meetings. Thus
inscriptions attest displays at Elis, Delphi and Sparta variously by a muscle-man from Carthage,
an Aeginetan conjuror and a tight-rope walker from Alexandria. The popularity of these
itinerant showmen is shown by the grants of honorary citizenship and even bouleutic status
which they received. Such grants, in the gift 9f the local authorities, suggest how the urban
Clites accommodated themselves, in the interests of civic concord, to a certain vulgarisation of
the agon under the p r i n ~ i p a t e . ~ ~
To sum up: agonistic festivals point to an aspect of cultural activity in which Achaia's
inheritance from the Classical past, combined with a limited number of new initiatives, chiefly
at Athens and Sparta, allowed the province a certain primacy within the larger Greek world.
The study of these festivals, an area in which there remains work to be done, can also shed
useful light on provincial economy and society.

Dept. of Classics,
University of Newcastle upon Tyne

33 On this phenomenon see now the articles on the Panhellenion by A. Spawforth and S. Walker, JRS 75 (1985),
78-104, and JRS 76 (1986), 88-105.
34 IG ivl 597; 602; 606.

35 Inschrifen von Ephesos vi n.2072.

36 Fouilles de Delphes iii. I , nos. 26; 226; 469, with L. Robert, BCH 25 (1978), 422-5. Cf. too Dio Chrys. Or. viii. 9
(Isthmian festival).