Wandering performers

By the Hellenistic period, people were moving with ever greater frequency throughout the Mediterranean, such as athletes, ambassadors, and artists. Among these many travellers were guilds or associations of Dionysiac technitai (performing artists), attested to primarily through inscriptions, the earliest dated to ca. 279–277 BC, which travelled the Greek world to perform at festivals, of which there were ever more established in the Hellenistic period. These guilds could be defined by ethnicity, the games they attended, particularly Panhellenic games, and the regions within which they travelled. In addition to having Dionysus as their divine patron, the technitai sometimes also took Hellenistic kings as their secular patrons. This can already be seen during the reign of Alexander the Great, who had several actors and artists from throughout the Greek world in…

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Ancient History (Digital) - 1 Issue, AH 48

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