Competing for the Emperor: Games and Festivals in Honour of Hadrian

Abstract

This article analyzes the agonistic events that were held in honour of the emperor Hadrian by the cities of East Mediterranean during the first two cen­turies AD, with a special focus on the city-elites’ attempt to obtain the emper­or’s favour by means of these games. In the first part of the article, the cities that organized these agones are classified ac­cording to four categories: 1) cities that introduced agonistic contests dedicated to the emperor within their traditional agones; 2) cities that organized games ex novo and presumably celebrated them on a single occasion; 3) cities that organized games ex novo and made them permanent events; 4) cities whose games, which were created ex novo, are included in the new Hadrianean calen­dar. This classification will allow, in the second part of the article, to underline both the degree of closeness between Hadrian and the various city-elites and the special status acquired by those cit­ies whose agones were included in Had­rian’s nea periodos.