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Papers by Bram Fauconnier
Historia
Ecumenical synods of artists and athletes were an important feature of Greek festival life in the... more Ecumenical synods of artists and athletes were an important feature of Greek festival life in the Roman empire. In the previous decades, epigraphical findings and a renewed scholarly interest have revealed new aspects, yet their transregional organisation remains difficult to grasp. This paper shows that they consisted of flexible local representations, between which the mass of competitors travelled. At the same time, they were organised according to central decisions, which ensured their internal coherence. As such, these complex associations illustrate the high degree of political, economic and cultural integration in the Roman Mediterranean.
The Hellenistic period came to a turbulent end in the first century BC, when Roman power gained d... more The Hellenistic period came to a turbulent end in the first century BC, when Roman power gained direct control over the whole Mediterranean. This had an significant impact on Greek festival culture, too. This paper discusses two closely related changes in the agonistic world in the first century BC: the emergence of ecumenical synods of competitors which replaced the Hellenistic regional associations of artists, and the development of an integrated festival network in Italy, Greece and Asia Minor. An overview of the first sources about the ecumenical synods is followed by an analysis of societal circumstances which strengthened the interconnectedness of agones and encouraged experiments with new organisational forms. A special focus lies on economic, political and cultural dynamics in Asia Minor, which drove the development of a new agonistic world under the aegis of Rome.status: publishe
Mededelingenblad van de Belgische Vereniging voor Nieuwste Geschiedenis, 2015
In the first three centuries of the Roman imperial period, Greek festival culture flourished as n... more In the first three centuries of the Roman imperial period, Greek festival culture flourished as never before. Hundreds of cities organised their own agones, competitions for athletes and artists, which were linked to each other in an official festival calendar. Successful athletes and artists spent their entire careers travelling from one agon to the next and from one province to the other. These wandering professionals were represented by two extraordinary associations or ‘synods’: the xystic synod of athletes and the thymelic synod of artists. They styled themselves ‘ecumenical’, as they were active in every city where agones were organised, in a region spanning from southern Gaul to Syria and Egypt. With headquarters in Rome and representatives travelling across the Mediterranean, they gave the ancient competitors a powerful lobby, and a bureaucracy typically associated with modern rather than ancient sports. This thesis is the first comprehensive monograph on the two ecumenical ...
Klio
Summary This paper investigates the Athenian gymnasiarchy, an office that remains badly understoo... more Summary This paper investigates the Athenian gymnasiarchy, an office that remains badly understood. Originally a festival liturgy, the gymnasiarchy was transformed into a magistracy at the end of the fourth century BC. This paper first examines the reasons for the shift and argues that it was connected to broader political currents in late Classical Athens. Secondly, it sheds new light on the nature of the office in the Hellenistic period. Whereas earlier scholars assumed that the Athenian gymnasiarch was a minor official under the kosmetes, epigraphic and literary sources reveal that he was a fully-fledged gymnasium director, just as in other poleis.
Lampas, 2020
This paper discusses the two ‘international’ or ecumenical associations of athletes and artists i... more This paper discusses the two ‘international’ or ecumenical associations of athletes and artists in the Roman empire, the so-called xystic and thymelic synods. These associations played a key role in the world of Greek competitive festivals (agones). They not only provided practical assistance to their members and protected their professional and economic interests, they also contributed to the organisation of the competitions and supported the central authorities in keeping up an official festival calendar. Hence, they were not merely a side effect of the expansion of Greek festivals across the Roman empire, they were an important factor in making this expansion possible.
Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik, 2020
The Hellenistic period came to a turbulent end in the first century BC, when Roman power gained d... more The Hellenistic period came to a turbulent end in the first century BC, when Roman power gained direct control over the whole Mediterranean. This had an significant impact on Greek festival culture, too. This paper discusses two closely related changes in the agonistic world in the first century BC: the emergence of ecumenical synods of competitors which replaced the Hellenistic regional associations of artists, and the development of an integrated festival network in Italy, Greece and Asia Minor. An overview of the first sources about the ecumenical synods is followed by an analysis of societal circumstances which strengthened the interconnectedness of agones and encouraged experiments with new organisational forms. A special focus lies on economic, political and cultural dynamics in Asia Minor, which drove the development of a new agonistic world under the aegis of Rome.
Klio
Lampas, 2020
This paper discusses the two ‘international’ or ecumenical associations of athletes and artists i... more This paper discusses the two ‘international’ or ecumenical associations of athletes and artists in the Roman empire, the so-called xystic and thymelic synods. These associations played a key role in the world of Greek competitive festivals (agones). They not only provided practical assistance to their members and protected their professional and economic interests, they also contributed to the organisation of the competitions and supported the central authorities in keeping up an official festival calendar. Hence, they were not merely a side effect of the expansion of Greek festivals across the Roman empire, they were an important factor in making this expansion possible.
Latomus, 2020
This paper offers new insights in the relation between the Roman emperor and the two ecumenical a... more This paper offers new insights in the relation between the Roman emperor and the two ecumenical associations of competitors, the xystic synod of athletes and the thymelic synods of artists. These associations defended the interests of first-class competitors in Greek agones, competitive festivals in the tradition of the Olympic Games that were widespread in the Roman empire. Since the earliest studies on the two synods, scholars have maintained that they were a tool in the hands of the emperor with which he could keep the Greek festival world under control. A thorough analysis of both epigraphical and papyrological sources reveal, however, that the synods had more agency than has been previously assumed. This paper argues that they were embedded in a network of reciprocal relationships, in which lobby work and symbolic communication in the context of the imperial cult gave them ample room to pursue their specific professional interests.
Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 214, 2020
Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte, 2017
Ecumenical synods of artists and athletes were an important feature of Greek festival life in the... more Ecumenical synods of artists and athletes were an important feature of Greek festival life in the Roman empire. In the previous decades, epigraphical findings and a renewed scholarly interest have revealed new aspects, yet their transregional organisation remains difficult to grasp. This paper shows that they consisted of flexible local representations, between which the mass of competitors travelled. At the same time, they were organised according to central decisions, which ensured their internal coherence. As such, these complex associations illustrate the high degree of political, economic and cultural integration in the Roman Mediterranean.
In: C. Mann, S. Remijsen, and S. Scharff (eds), Athletics in the Hellenistic World, Stuttgart, 2... more In: C. Mann, S. Remijsen, and S. Scharff (eds), Athletics in the Hellenistic World, Stuttgart, 2016, p. 73-93.
Historia
Ecumenical synods of artists and athletes were an important feature of Greek festival life in the... more Ecumenical synods of artists and athletes were an important feature of Greek festival life in the Roman empire. In the previous decades, epigraphical findings and a renewed scholarly interest have revealed new aspects, yet their transregional organisation remains difficult to grasp. This paper shows that they consisted of flexible local representations, between which the mass of competitors travelled. At the same time, they were organised according to central decisions, which ensured their internal coherence. As such, these complex associations illustrate the high degree of political, economic and cultural integration in the Roman Mediterranean.
The Hellenistic period came to a turbulent end in the first century BC, when Roman power gained d... more The Hellenistic period came to a turbulent end in the first century BC, when Roman power gained direct control over the whole Mediterranean. This had an significant impact on Greek festival culture, too. This paper discusses two closely related changes in the agonistic world in the first century BC: the emergence of ecumenical synods of competitors which replaced the Hellenistic regional associations of artists, and the development of an integrated festival network in Italy, Greece and Asia Minor. An overview of the first sources about the ecumenical synods is followed by an analysis of societal circumstances which strengthened the interconnectedness of agones and encouraged experiments with new organisational forms. A special focus lies on economic, political and cultural dynamics in Asia Minor, which drove the development of a new agonistic world under the aegis of Rome.status: publishe
Mededelingenblad van de Belgische Vereniging voor Nieuwste Geschiedenis, 2015
In the first three centuries of the Roman imperial period, Greek festival culture flourished as n... more In the first three centuries of the Roman imperial period, Greek festival culture flourished as never before. Hundreds of cities organised their own agones, competitions for athletes and artists, which were linked to each other in an official festival calendar. Successful athletes and artists spent their entire careers travelling from one agon to the next and from one province to the other. These wandering professionals were represented by two extraordinary associations or ‘synods’: the xystic synod of athletes and the thymelic synod of artists. They styled themselves ‘ecumenical’, as they were active in every city where agones were organised, in a region spanning from southern Gaul to Syria and Egypt. With headquarters in Rome and representatives travelling across the Mediterranean, they gave the ancient competitors a powerful lobby, and a bureaucracy typically associated with modern rather than ancient sports. This thesis is the first comprehensive monograph on the two ecumenical ...
Klio
Summary This paper investigates the Athenian gymnasiarchy, an office that remains badly understoo... more Summary This paper investigates the Athenian gymnasiarchy, an office that remains badly understood. Originally a festival liturgy, the gymnasiarchy was transformed into a magistracy at the end of the fourth century BC. This paper first examines the reasons for the shift and argues that it was connected to broader political currents in late Classical Athens. Secondly, it sheds new light on the nature of the office in the Hellenistic period. Whereas earlier scholars assumed that the Athenian gymnasiarch was a minor official under the kosmetes, epigraphic and literary sources reveal that he was a fully-fledged gymnasium director, just as in other poleis.
Lampas, 2020
This paper discusses the two ‘international’ or ecumenical associations of athletes and artists i... more This paper discusses the two ‘international’ or ecumenical associations of athletes and artists in the Roman empire, the so-called xystic and thymelic synods. These associations played a key role in the world of Greek competitive festivals (agones). They not only provided practical assistance to their members and protected their professional and economic interests, they also contributed to the organisation of the competitions and supported the central authorities in keeping up an official festival calendar. Hence, they were not merely a side effect of the expansion of Greek festivals across the Roman empire, they were an important factor in making this expansion possible.
Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik, 2020
The Hellenistic period came to a turbulent end in the first century BC, when Roman power gained d... more The Hellenistic period came to a turbulent end in the first century BC, when Roman power gained direct control over the whole Mediterranean. This had an significant impact on Greek festival culture, too. This paper discusses two closely related changes in the agonistic world in the first century BC: the emergence of ecumenical synods of competitors which replaced the Hellenistic regional associations of artists, and the development of an integrated festival network in Italy, Greece and Asia Minor. An overview of the first sources about the ecumenical synods is followed by an analysis of societal circumstances which strengthened the interconnectedness of agones and encouraged experiments with new organisational forms. A special focus lies on economic, political and cultural dynamics in Asia Minor, which drove the development of a new agonistic world under the aegis of Rome.
Klio
Lampas, 2020
This paper discusses the two ‘international’ or ecumenical associations of athletes and artists i... more This paper discusses the two ‘international’ or ecumenical associations of athletes and artists in the Roman empire, the so-called xystic and thymelic synods. These associations played a key role in the world of Greek competitive festivals (agones). They not only provided practical assistance to their members and protected their professional and economic interests, they also contributed to the organisation of the competitions and supported the central authorities in keeping up an official festival calendar. Hence, they were not merely a side effect of the expansion of Greek festivals across the Roman empire, they were an important factor in making this expansion possible.
Latomus, 2020
This paper offers new insights in the relation between the Roman emperor and the two ecumenical a... more This paper offers new insights in the relation between the Roman emperor and the two ecumenical associations of competitors, the xystic synod of athletes and the thymelic synods of artists. These associations defended the interests of first-class competitors in Greek agones, competitive festivals in the tradition of the Olympic Games that were widespread in the Roman empire. Since the earliest studies on the two synods, scholars have maintained that they were a tool in the hands of the emperor with which he could keep the Greek festival world under control. A thorough analysis of both epigraphical and papyrological sources reveal, however, that the synods had more agency than has been previously assumed. This paper argues that they were embedded in a network of reciprocal relationships, in which lobby work and symbolic communication in the context of the imperial cult gave them ample room to pursue their specific professional interests.
Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 214, 2020
Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte, 2017
Ecumenical synods of artists and athletes were an important feature of Greek festival life in the... more Ecumenical synods of artists and athletes were an important feature of Greek festival life in the Roman empire. In the previous decades, epigraphical findings and a renewed scholarly interest have revealed new aspects, yet their transregional organisation remains difficult to grasp. This paper shows that they consisted of flexible local representations, between which the mass of competitors travelled. At the same time, they were organised according to central decisions, which ensured their internal coherence. As such, these complex associations illustrate the high degree of political, economic and cultural integration in the Roman Mediterranean.
In: C. Mann, S. Remijsen, and S. Scharff (eds), Athletics in the Hellenistic World, Stuttgart, 2... more In: C. Mann, S. Remijsen, and S. Scharff (eds), Athletics in the Hellenistic World, Stuttgart, 2016, p. 73-93.
by Foteini Spingou, Michael Höckelmann, Ming Kin Chu, Christophe Erismann, Bram Fauconnier, Michael Fuller, Elena Gittleman, Jaakko Hämeen-Anttila, Marina Loukaki, Christopher Nugent, Daphne (Dafni) / Δάφνη Penna / Πέννα, Alberto Rigolio, Jonathan Skaff, Elizabeth M Tyler, Milan Vukašinović, and Julian Yolles
The PAIXUE symposium explores how public performances of classicising learning (however defined i... more The PAIXUE symposium explores how public performances of classicising learning (however defined in different cultures) influenced and served imperial or state power in premodern political systems across Eurasia and North Africa.
Further information in: http://paixue.shca.ed.ac.uk/node/12