The Emperor, the Church, and Chariot Races: The Imperial Struggles with Christianity and Entertainment in Late Antique Constantinople (original) (raw)
Ancient Rome Entertainments in the cultural studies discourse: Chariot racing., 2020
The scientific and popular science literature is devoted to entertainment ancient culture and its individual forms. The authors of some of these cultural studies, philosophical, historical, literary and pedagogical studies have already become classics and indisputable authorities in this field: F. Cowell, O. Losiev, Th. Mommsen, G. Hyofling, I. Schiffman, R.C. Beacham, J. Nelis-Clement, T. Wiedemann, G. Woolf. Therefore, the author of this thesis aims to define the genesis and evolution of the chariot racing as the entertainment form in the ancient Rome, to investigate its functions, to establish how the Antiquity chariot racing arose in the cultural tradition of their social universe. The genesis and evolution of chariot racing as the entertainment form of events of Antiquity, functional features of cultural and leisure practices, specific features of spectacular culture of Antiquity can be investigated by analyzing the historical works of Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, annals of Publius Cornelius Tacitus, Cassius Dio, letters of Gaius Pliny the Younger, poetry pages of Publius Ovidius Naso and others. Chariot racing as the entertainment form of the Ancient Rome became an effective instrument of political domination. This sphere is truly a Roman art sphere, as it shows with utmost clarity and expressiveness, according to A.F. Losiev, how legal absolutism is synthesized in Rome with sensual diversity and internal sensual exaltation [3]. The Imperial Rome is a country of complete and true absolutism, kingdom of some state mysticism, before which a separate individual simply does not exist, he is only a screw in this universal machine. The chariot racing as the entertainment form of events in the era of the ancient Rome were not just a form of everyday or social behavior, realization of religious and public festivals and mass spectacles, but largely reflected certain life positions, served as an important criterion for assessing the social role of person in the community, specified political power, reflected social and cultural transformations in society. The Roman entertainments were a public demonstration of power, including military. Quite often chariot racing are carried out at the expense of the state, which significantly distinguishes them from the spectacles of sacred content, or are organized due to allowances of the officials who dream of relevant state positions. New leisure paradigm is being created that depends on many factors – social conditions, cultural resources, dominant ideologies and beliefs. In the ancient Rome, labor and events differentiate becoming independent spheres of human life. They are closely intertwined with popular culture, folklore and folk festivals in the representatives of the broad circles. The leisure of wealthy and noble people takes new forms enriching with new content. The professions are born, the representatives of which are engaged in organization of entertainment of nobility in free time, as well as engaged in artistic crafts, art and philosophy. The specialists organizing public festivals and mass entertainment appear. The state plays an important role in organizing the chariot racing, honoring festivals, as it is interested in formation of appropriate stereotypes of thinking and behavior of citizens, and forming public opinion. For citation: Goncharova O. M. Ancient Rome Entertainments in the cultural studies discourse: Chariot racing. Relevant trends of scientific research in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Riga, Latvia: Baltija Publishing, November 20, 2020. р. 60-66. DOI: https://doi.org/10.30525/978-9934-26-002-5-19 http://www.baltijapublishing.lv/omp/index.php/bp/catalog/view/78/1876/4123-1 Goncharova Olena Mykolaivna, Doctor of Science in Cultural Studies, professor, professor of the Event Management and Leisure Industry Department, Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts, Ukraine, Kyiv, 01601, E. Konovalets Str., 36. ORCID. http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8649-9361 Researcher ID: F-6473-2015 Scopus ID: 57217102458 o.m_goncharova@yahoo.com
The Emperor and His People at the Chariot Races in Byzantium
The International Journal of the History of Sport, 2020
The hippodrome, where Byzantine chariot races took place, was central to the relationship between the emperor and his people. They all watched races and cheered for their favorite racing teams, with both people and emperors sometimes notorious for their rabid fandom. Some of the direct dialogue between emperor and people in the hippodrome also revolved around racing – for example, which racing team might be ‘gifted’ a particular skilled charioteer. In addition to conversation about the sport, the people expected the emperor to hear their complaints and requests and even exercised their collective power in the hippodrome to try to topple an emperor on occasion. The emperor showed up, despite the potential danger of the peoples’ anger, because this dialogue with the spectators was an important part of the legitimization of his power. To refuse to attend the races would have been to cut himself off from the people, which would have been considered unacceptable and caused him even more serious problems. Among many examples of this phenomenon, the dialogue between Emperor Anastasius and the people in the hippodrome in 512 stands out (John Malalas, Chronographia 16.19).
2013
This series provides sophisticated and authoritative overviews of periods of ancient history, genres of classical literature, and the most important themes in ancient culture. Each volume comprises between twenty-five and forty concise essays written by individual scholars within their area of specialization. The essays are written in a clear, provocative, and lively manner, designed for an international audience of scholars, students, and general readers.
2022
Chariot races were the earliest, most popular, and longest-lived of all forms of ‘spectacles’ in the Roman world. This essay surveys the spatial and architectural framework of the Circus Maximus, the primary chariot racing venue at Rome, and circuses around the empire; the organization of the races, including the role of the factions; the symbolic representations of victories and athletic victors, as well as the charioteers’ actual prizes; and the horses that were bred for racing. Throughout I also briefly discuss the sport’s spectators and fans, for whom the sport was a socially binding religion. The essay focuses on the first through the fourth centuries A.D., with the bulk of the evidence (literary, epigraphic, artistic, and archaeological) drawn from the first two centuries. In keeping with current directions in the study of ancient sport and spectacle, the approach adopted here places less emphasis on the legal and technical aspects of the chariot races (‘event-oriented sport history’) and more on these competitions as ‘part of a broader social canvas’ (the ‘social history of sport and spectacle’).
Spectatorship and Fandom of the Roman Chariot Races
2020
This dissertation is concerned with the spectators of the Roman chariot races throughout the empire. It addresses how the sport was experienced and engaged with in the Roman context, with consideration of the everyday lives of circus fans, social networks and consumer patterns. By making use of a variety of sources, including the structural remains of circuses, material culture, epigraphic evidence, and both literary and historical writings, it is possible to gain a picture of a vibrant community of circus fans that as a group were able to make an impact on the sport as well as on Roman society and culture more broadly.
2020
Chariot races were the earliest, most popular, and longest-lived of all forms of ‘spectacles’ in the Roman world. This essay surveys the spatial and architectural framework of the Circus Maximus, the primary chariot racing venue at Rome, and circuses around the empire; the organization of the races, including the role of the factions; the symbolic representations of victories and athletic victors, as well as the charioteers’ actual prizes; and the horses that were bred for racing. Throughout I also briefly discuss the sport’s spectators and fans, for whom the sport was a socially binding religion. The essay focuses on the first through the fourth centuries A.D., with the bulk of the evidence (literary, epigraphic, artistic, and archaeological) drawn from the first two centuries. In keeping with current directions in the study of ancient sport and spectacle, the approach adopted here places less emphasis on the legal and technical aspects of the chariot races (‘event-oriented sport history’) and more on these competitions as ‘part of a broader social canvas’ (the ‘social history of sport and spectacle’).
CHARIOT RACING AS THE ENTERTAINMENT FORM OF ANCIENT ROME EVENTS IN THE CULTURAL STUDIES DIMENSION.
National Academy of Culture and Arts Management Нerald., 2021
Goncharova O. (2021). Chariot racing as the entertainment form of ancient Rome events in the cultural studies dimension. National Academy of Culture and Arts Management Нerald: Science journal, 1, 3-12. [in English]. https://nakkkim.edu.ua/images/Instytuty/nauka/vydannia/visnyk/Visnyk\_1\_2021.pdf#page=3 The purpose of the article is the introduction into the cultural discourse of analytically processed and summarized information on the genesis and evolution of chariot racing as the form of entertainment events in ancient Rome, their functional features, specific features of mass events of Antiquity in the context of entertainment culture of Rome. The methodological basis consisted of the methods of critical analysis of cultural, historical, and literary sources, specific and historical analysis, and interdisciplinary synthesis, induction, and deduction. The problematic and chronological, system and structural, comparative, descriptive methods and methods of social and phenomenological analysis were applied from specific and scientific methods. Scientific novelty. The article analyzes the genesis and evolution of chariot racing as a form of events in the context of entertainment culture in ancient Rome. Based on the ancient literary reflection, through the prism of works of culturologists, philosophers, historians, poets, writers of the ancient Rome Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, annals of Publius Cornelius Tacitus, Cassius Dio, ethic works of Lucius Annaeus Seneca, letters of Gaius Pliny the Younger, poetry pages of Publius Ovidius Naso, epigrams of Marcus Valerius Martialis and others. The author revealed the essence and content of chariot racing as an entertainment form of events in ancient Rome, statistics, and specific features of entertainment events and instruments of ruling the Roman emperors. The author describes the moral aspects of chariot racing in the context of the entertainment culture of antiquity. Conclusions. The place of entertainment culture of Antiquity in the system of cultural knowledge and cultural tradition of their social universe is revealed. The transformations of chariot racing as a social and humanitarian experience of ancient society, the political instrument of government in Rome are explored. The role of entertainment of Antiquity for modern cultural practices is established. Key words: chariot racing, gladiatorial shows, events, entertainment, mass spectacles, spectacular events, morality, Roman emperors, ancient Rome. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/c7b7/528d67a270f3de323cb34e614e0745ed6bd2.pdf Гончарова Олена Миколаївна, доктор культурології, професор, професор кафедри івент менеджменту та індустрії дозвілля Київського національного університету культури і мистецтв. Перегони на колісницях як розважальна форма івентів Давнього Риму у культурологічному вимірі. Метою статті є введення до культурологічного дискурсу аналітично обробленої та узагальненої інформації щодо ґенези та еволюції перегонів на колісницях як форми розважальних івентів у Давньому Римі, їх функціональних особливостей, особливостей масових подій Античності в контексті розважальної культури Риму. Методологічну основу склали методи критичного аналізу культурологічних, історичних та літературних джерел, конкретно-історичний аналіз та міждисциплінарний синтез, індукція та дедукція. Проблемні та хронологічні, системні та структурні, порівняльні, описові методи та метод соціального та феноменологічного аналізу застосовувались із конкретних та наукових методів. Наукова новизна. У статті проаналізовано ґенезу та еволюцію перегонів на колісницях як форми подій у контексті розважальної культури у Давньому Римі. Використовуючи античну літературну рефлексію, крізь призму творів культурологів, філософів, істориків, поетів, письменників Давнього Риму Гая Светонія Транквілла, анналів Публія Корнелія Тацита, історичних праць Кассія Діона, моральних творів Луція Аннея Сенеки, листів Гая Плінія Молодшого, елегій Публія Овідія Назона, епіграм Марка Валерія Марціала та ін. Розкрито сутність та зміст перегонів на колісницях як розважальної форми івентів у Давньому Римі, статистику й особливості розважальних заходів та інструменти правління римських імператорів. Описано моральні аспекти перегонів на колісницях в контексті розважальної культури Античності. Висновки. Розкрито місце розважальної культури Античності в системі культурологічних знань та культурних традицій їх соціального універсуму. Досліджено трансформації перегонів на колісницях як соціального та гуманітарного досвіду античного суспільства, політичного інструменту управління в Римі. Встановлено роль розваг Античності для сучасних культурних практик. Ключові слова: перегони на колісницях; гладіаторські шоу; івенти; розваги; масові видовища; видовищні івенти; розважальні івенти; мораль; римські імператори; Стародавній Рим. https://nakkkim.edu.ua/images/Instytuty/nauka/vydannia/visnyk/Visnyk\_1\_2021.pdf#page=3 Olena M. Goncharova, Doctor of Science in Cultural Studies, Professor, Professor of Museum Studies and Examination of Historical and Cultural Values Department, Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts. Ukraine, Kyiv, 01601, E. Konovalets Str., 36. ORCID. http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8649-9361 Researcher ID: F-6473-2015 Scopus ID: 57217102458 o.m_goncharova@yahoo.com
Constantinopolitan Charioteers and Their Supporters
Studia Ceranea, 2019
Support in sport is certainly one of the oldest human passions. Residents of the eastern Roman imperial capital cheered the chariot drivers The passion for supporting the drivers was common for all groups and social classes. The hippodrome was visited by the representatives of the aristocracy, artisans and the poor of the city alike. The popularity of chariot racing is evidenced by their frequency 66 days were reserved for circenses, that is racing. Organizing the competition along with all the accompanying events has been an essential task of circus factions (demes) In the empire, there were four factions named Blues, Greens, Whites and Reds. These factions were real sports associations, which can be compared to modern clubs. They had significant financial resources at their disposal. Each faction had their own racing team. They paid for and supported a number of drivers, runners, trainers of horses and wild animals, mimes, dancers, acrobats, poets, musicians and singers. They care...
Horse Races and Chariot Races in Ancient Greece: Struggling for Eternal Glory
Routledge eBooks, 2021
The essay is about ancient Greek horse and chariot races. The architecture of Greek hippodromes was very rudimentary, but-at least at Olympia-the organizers put much effort in constructing a starting mechanism which was meant to guarantee all starters equal chances for winning. Concerning the prizes, symbolic prizes were common as well as valuable prizes. In ancient Greece, it was the owner of the horses who counted as the participant. The jockeys' and charioteers' strength and skill obviously had a strong impact on the outcome of the race, but they are very rarely mentioned in the ancient texts. Equestrian victors had two means of representation at their disposal: the erection of agonistic victor monuments or the commission of epinikia. It is equally true for both forms of representation that the way the victor was showcased was not up to the artistic license of the poets, but was controlled by the victors. Victory poetry was poetry on commission for which the victors reached deeply into their pockets. The poems dealt with important political implications. This is why epinikia and victory monuments constitute amazing pieces of evidence for the ancient historian, since they allow him to reconstruct the protagonist's view.
Spectacle and Sport in Constantinople in the Sixth Century CE
A Companion to Sport and Spectacle in Greek and Roman Antiquity, 2013
A summary of spectacles in Constantinople in the sixth century, with an argument that young men joined the factions of public sports in part to engage in sport themselves. This sport occasionally manifested in rioting.
The Circus and the Cosmopolis (Marcus Aurelius and Roman Chariot Racing)
Another Stoic to be found in Rome’s grandstands, albeit in the luxury box of the emperor, was Marcus Antoninus Aurelius. Remembered mostly for the Meditations that he wrote while battling barbarians at the edge of the empire, Aurelius the philosopher was a man of peace. He articulated a Stoic ideal of cosmopolitanism or world citizenship that privileges human commonality over difference and seeks to appreciate our fundamental interdependence. As he says in Meditations XI.8: ‘A branch cut off from its neighbouring branch must of necessity be cut off from the whole tree. So a man who severs himself from a single other man falls away from the whole human community.’ As emperor of the vast second-century CE Roman Empire, Marcus found himself nearly at the centre of the world, responsible for keeping peace and promoting unity within the city and the empire at large. Roman sport was one of the means at his disposal. Chariot racing on the Circus Maximus was a Roman passion that self-consciously promoted unity through sport and was even interpreted by one intellectual as a symbolic representation of the universe – with the emperor at its centre, of course. Like gladiators, charioteers were usually slaves or hirelings who raced not for themselves but for their owners. Unlike ancient Greece however, it was not the owner of the chariot that claimed the glory, but rather the color that represented one of four official factions – red, blue, green or white. By having the circus’s chariot teams represent colours rather than sponsors, institutions or even the points on a compass, Rome gave its ethnically and culturally diverse population a common place to come together and a common thing to root for. As in the ancient Olympic Games, fierce competition paradoxically served the cause of unity. Observed through a cosmopolitan lens, the Circus Maximus expressed what Marcus Aurelius called our natural purpose to associate in a community (Meditations V.16).
AbstrAct There can be no single explanation for the violence connected with the circus factions of the fifth-seventh centuries AD. Some demonstrations were event related, being sparked by the immediate results of the competition while others stemmed from the perception, evidently common amongst faction members that their views aligned the moral compass of the average person (such riots often had a religious dimension and could be connected with anti-Jewish pogroms). The most serious violence, resulting in actions that threatened the authority of the emperor stemmed from overly close associations between emperors and specific factions. Such association encouraged factions, whose members included officials of the government, to view themselves as having a role in determining the direction of the state. Emperors who were uncertain of their position were more likely to form such associations than others. It is significant that Justin II, the successor of Justinian, a noted partisan of the Blues, eschewed association with the factions and that Anastasius renounced his partisanship of the Blues after a particularly violent event with the result that there seems to have been a decline in faction violence. Extreme factional violence reappears in the reign of Phocas, with a new religious dimension linked with post-Chalcedonian religious disputes. The movement of Roman government to the East occasioned and was accompanied by major changes in the public spectacle and entertainment. In so far as civic entertainments had reflected the relationship between the imperial government and cities since the late Republic the proposition of the previous sentence is unremarkable. What is remarkable is the level of change. The later third through fourth centuries AD witnessed the most complete transformation of the venues, structures and forms of entertainment since the archaic age of Greece. A new, more limited, system of entertainment based on theatrical events and, in major cities, circus chariot racing replaced the widespread network of civic festivals largely funded on the local level and managed through the collaboration of civic aristocrats with professional associations of athletes and actors from 'traditional' Greek style events and lanistae, who organized events derived from the Roman amphitheater. Studia Patristica LIV, 1-00.
Rome’s seat of passion: An assessment of the archeology and history of the Circus Maximus
It is a place where the general public can gather communally to watch ludi, provisionally erasing invisible boundary lines which sharply divide one social class from another. The Circus is also a location which has the capability to eradicate personal and societal perceptions potentially rendering a crowd in an intoxicated, wanton state. The association existent between society and its predetermined allocation of space in many venues (e.g. hippodromes, theaters, amphitheaters, etc.) which exhibit sports and spectacles, more generally, is well attested to in the Circus Maximus’s history. Using this as the conceptual framework, this article attempts to assess the recurrent, measured, and far-ranging evolutions and interdependencies between the aristocracy and the Circus they constructed. The construction methodology, I argue, was constantly being adapted to suit specific political agendas beginning with its legendary foundation under the Etruscan kings in the sixth-century BCE and ending with its usage during late Empire in the fifth-century CE. The fictional rape of the Sabine women, for example, relates Roman notions of losing self and spatial awareness as a hazardous mistake which can be purposely leveraged by manipulating a predestined, popular situation “monstra.” The organization of this article which traces the Circus’s transitions will begin with the Regal Period, move to the Republican Period, then to the Empire. The variations and modifications the Circus Maximus has undergone since the sixth-century BCE—architecturally and usage wise—serves as evidence to both the flexibility of public spaces and usages by the aristocracy from pre-Roman times through the Roman Empire.
Racing with rhetoric: a Byzantine ekphrasis of a chariot race
Michael Hagiotheodorites' poem describing a chariot race is usually dismissed as an imitation of the earlier text composed by Christopher of Myti-lene. Such an approach ignores the poetical and rhetorical qualities of Hagio-theodorites' work, who, in the introduction, skilfully connected the rhetorical framework with the content. The poem is addressed to an unnamed addressee and a definite identification is not possible. However, certain similarities between this text and the works of Constantine Manasses allow a hypothesis that Manasses might have been the recipient of Hagiotheodorites' letter-poem.
Despised and Idolized: The Lives of Roman Charioteers
Ancient History, 2021
They came from a despised social class and were without honour, but charioteers were idolized by the Roman public and considered exemplars of glory. High-speed spectacles of triumph and destruction made chariot racing the most addictive of Roman sports. As with gladiatorial combats, beast shows, and the novel ways in which the condemned were tortured and dispatched, charioteers provided the visceral entertainment that the Romans adored. Published in Ancient History 32 (2021), 36-39.
Caesar, the Circus and the charioteer in Vergil's Georgics
Le cirque romain et son image, p. 497 à 520 R eferences to and descriptions of chariot racing are not uncommon in ancient epic poetry, beginning with the race during the funeral games for Patroclus at Homer, Iliad, 23.262-652. In Latin epic, a section of the fifth book of Vergil's Aeneid (114-284) describes a boat race in a way that makes it obvious that Vergil has in mind both Homer's contest and chariot races in the Circus Maximus 1 . From very fragmentary evidence we can see that Vergil also had a model in Ennius, who had a regatta which he compared to a chariot race, probably in the seventh book of the Annales 2 . There are also descriptions of chariot races in Statius, Thebaid, 6.296-549, and Silius Italicus, Punica, 16.312-456, not to mention, outside the epic genre, Ovid, Amores, 3.2 and Ars Amatoria, 1.135-170, and Sidonius Apollonaris, Carmina, 23.307-427 3 . Once the generic boundary of epic crossed, further examples come to mind. Greek tragedy offers the famous account of Orestes' death in Sophocles' Electra, 698-763 4 . Pindaric and Bacchylidean epinician celebrates victories in chariot races and repeatedly exploits the image of the chariot of the Muses in doing so 5 . And it is well known that chariot imagery is prevalent in didactic poetry, from Parmenides on 6 . This paper will attempt to trace the role of chariot racing and related imagery in Vergil's Georgics, a didactic poem in which generic identity is a vital ingredient and in which epic and epinician elements are of considerable importance 7 . In doing so, it will attempt to study Vergil's creation of a nexus of references to charioteering at key moments in the poem in light of the Roman political context, involving both recent historical events and contemporary architectural developments in the Circus Maximus, including the reorganisation of chariot racing as a mass spectacle of considerable ideological importance 8 .
2014
"A Companion to Sport and Spectacle in Greek and Roman Antiquity" presents a series of original essays that apply a socio-historical perspective to myriad aspects of ancient sport. Featuring contributions from a wide range of international scholars in various Classical antiquity disciplines, readings focus on the status and roles of participants, organizers, and spectators while addressing such themes as class, gender, ethnicity, religion, violence, and more. Introductory essays on the historiography of Greek and Roman sport are followed by specialized readings relating to Greek sports in specific locales such as Athens and Sparta. Subsequent readings relating to the Roman Empire focus on sport and spectacle in the city of Rome and in various Roman cities and provinces. Distinctions between “sport” and “spectacle” are examined and understanding sport and spectacle as part of a broader social canvas, rather than isolated activities, is emphasized. Offering a wealth of insights to our current understanding of the role of sport and spectacle in the ancient world, "A Companion to Sport and Spectacle in Greek and Roman Antiquity" represents an invaluable scholarly contribution to ancient sport studies.
Virtual Halls of Fame. Imagined Communities of Equestrian Victors in the Hellenistic Period
Virtual Halls of Fame. Imagined Communities of Equestrian Victors in the Hellenistic Period, 2019
Les épreuves hippiques et les chevaux Les odes hippiques de Pindare, par Nadine Le Meur The stray charioteer: Athletic connotations in the shaping of tragic Orestes, par Nikos Manousakis Organisateurs de concours et épreuves hippiques, par Clément Sarrazanas Logistics and requirements for overseas participants in the Olympic Games: The example of Sicily, par Sandra Zipprich Spectacle hippique et spectacle gymnique en Grèce ancienne : approche comparée et effet Carpentier, par Jean-Manuel Roubineau Le cheval de course : invention zootechnique ou création culturelle ?, par Christophe Chandezon Samphoras and Koppatias. The brand-name horses of Sikyon and Corinth, par Stamatis A. Fritzilas Heroes and hooves: Outstanding horses in Posidippus' Hippika, par Christian Mann Identification of some winners in the keles race in Posidippus' epigrams, par Filippo Canali De Rossi Virtual halls of fame. Imagined communities of equestrian victors in the Hellenistic period, par Sebastian Scharff Vainqueurs, dédicaces et politique Concours hippiques et politique : un sport d'élite, entre promotion personnelle et intérêt public, par Athina Dimopoulou Too many horses: A dedication by Alcibiades revisited, par Angeliki Kosmopoulou Agones hippikoi and votive offerings, par Heide Frielinghaus Ἀφιπποδρομά, προσδρομή, ἀφιππολαμπάς et σκοπὸς ἱππέων, par Fernando García Romero Ἑρμῆς Ἵππιος. Hermes and his association with horses, par Martin Schäfer Bibliographie Index Résumés Liste des auteurs Table des matières
Greek athletics were of high political significance in view of their place in religion and communal festivals. This is reviewed in terms of votive offerings; the status of a group, a ruler, or an individual within a community; interstate rivalries, colonization and state for mation; elite status, kudos, and political capital, especially in chariot-racing. The exam ples of Cleisthenes of Sikyon and the Alcmaeonids of Athens, among others, are dis cussed. The rivalry of Athens and Sparta in athletics and chariot events is also examined, e.g. the cases of the Spartans Lichas, Cynisca, and Agesilaus, and the Athenian Alcibi ades. The participation of 'peripheral' Greek cities (Italy, Sicily, Cyrene) in Panhellenic games bolstered their Greek identity and served their rulers too. Macedonian rulers, e.g. Alexander I, Philip II and Alexander the Great, notably took part in Greek games for the fifth century on, and so asserted their Greek identity and their domain. The Panathenaic Games served political aims not only for Athenian elite, but also for Ptolemies and Mace donians.