The Gymnasiarchia from the Hellenistic Age to the Roman Empire: the Example of Rhodes

Abstract

Several gymnasiarchiai are testified for Hellenistic and Roman Imperial Rhodes: a gymnasiarchos of the presbyteroi, another of the neoteroi, and a tribal office connected to torch races. Within the predominantly epigraphic sources, the most revealing are Hellenistic CV inscriptions, a unique feature of Rhodian epigraphic habit. They enable us to place offices chronologically within the sequel of individuals’ public functions, showing that each gymnasiarchia was held at a certain age. Comparing Hellenistic and Roman Imperial inscriptions reveals a remarkable continuity in the representation of the Rhodian gymnasiarchiai, the single major divergence being a pronounced emphasis on the distribution of oil in the Imperial age.

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