Chapter 10 - The Organisation of the Festival Network

Summary

This chapter analyses how the ecumenical synods contributed to the organisation of the festival network. It first discusses their involvement in the organisation of individual agones. The sources indicate that there was a broad spectrum of synod involvement: the old, well-established agones probably did not require a lot of organisational assistance, whereas the organisation of some newly founded agones was entirely outsourced to one of the synods. Between these two extremes, synod involvement varied according to specific circumstances. Second, this chapter investigates how the synods helped maintain the festival network as a whole. Due to the combined experiences of their travelling members, they had a unique overview of the agonistic circuits and as such could provide valuable input when the festival calendar was reformed. Communication went the other way around as well: for instance, they communicated changes in schedules and imperial decisions to their members. In sum, the synods were the lubricant that kept the agonistic machine running. The synods were thus not simply a by-product of the ‘agonistic explosion’ of the Principate but rather a key factor that made it possible.