Cambridge Ancient Hi.. - Index of

the cities of the east 225
fewer of them and there was less variety. Athletic games and gladiatorial
shows came to an end. Theatrical shows continued, and chariot racing of
the Roman type – that is, as a professional spectator sport – became more
widespread. It seems to have become the principal entertainment in larger
cities, perhaps in most provincial capitals – and not only in capitals. 138
Organization of shows was fundamentally affected by the decline of the
councils and the passing of power to the notables. Under curial government
games were paid for and administered by decurions, who took turns
to perform these duties. There must have been some permanent organizational
infrastructure to maintain the buildings and equipment, and endowments
to pay for them. There were also guilds of performers, with the help
of which the decurions would be able to engage actors, hunters, gladiators,
charioteers or whatever they needed for their particular show. This system
of course depended on decurions and could not survive the loss of power
and resources of the councils. Reorganization was inevitable. It seems that
in the course of the fifth century the liturgical organization was replaced in
very many, if not all, cities of the east by an organization ultimately modelled
on that of the games at Rome and Constantinople. This gave a principal
part in the production of shows to the ‘factions’, the Greens and the
Blues. These were large organizations that provided all the personnel,
animals and equipment needed for the show, and as there were two of them
(in a sense, four), they provided the competition as well. 139 They thus took
over the role of the decurions as well as of the guilds of performers, 140 and
they were paid largely, but not entirely, out of taxation – that is, by the
emperor. So the new organization involved a kind of ‘imperialization’.
Subsequently the emperor paid, and his representative, the provincial governor,
or at Constantinople the emperor himself, presided.
What had been celebrations of the city-community became occasions of
celebration of the emperor. For the factions not only produced the games,
but also had the duty of leading the spectators in formal acclamations 141 of
the emperor and his representative, and not only in the theatre or the hippodrome
but on other ceremonial occasions as well. For this purpose each
faction paid a chorus, which had the double duty of leading applause for
the emperor and of rousing the fans to enthusiasm on behalf of the competitors
of one colour or the other. The choruses were large and included
not only the unemployed and the rootless, but also young men of good
family with money to spend.
Once the factions had come into existence, they attracted the permanent
loyalty of very large numbers of fans. Cities became divided into supporters
of the Greens and supporters of the Blues. The relationship of the fans
138 Cameron, Alan, Factions 210–14, 314–17; Gascou (1976a).
139 Cameron, Alan, Factions 214–21. 140 Roueché, Performers and Partisans 44–7.
141 Roueché (1984) 181–99.
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