ABSTRACT
In the early Byzantine period, chariot racing was by far the most popular sporting event. This type of entertainment went back directly to the races of ancient Rome. A papyrus from Oxyrhynchus gives an example of the program of such races in a provincial city in the Greek East in the sixth century: six chariot races alternated with other performances, such as singing acrobats, dogs hunting a gazelle, mimes and a group of athletes.2 Although the presence of various entertainments in the hippodrome was in no way exceptional, the presence of the athletes in this setting is surprising, even for scholars of ancient sports. Cameron, author of standard works on Byzantine chariot racing, commented that these athletes were “blushing, no doubt, in such company.”3 Entertainers of the hippodrome and athletes are indeed two groups one does not expect to see mingling. Athletes traditionally had a high social status in the Greek world, quite unlike entertainers such as gladiators, acrobats, actors and charioteers. Athletics is, moreover, rarely mentioned in the Byzantine period.
