Athletes, Artists and Citizens in the Imperial Greek City 1 Onno van Nijf Introduction In the last decades of the second century AD, the oicials of the sacred athletic synod in Rome set up a monument for one of their leading members: the former pankratiast M. Aurelius Demostratos Damas, archiereus (high priest) and xystarches (oicial) of the association, and director of the imperial baths in Rome. He had settled in Rome after a long and impressive career. As pankratiast and boxer he had been a periodoneikes (which meant that he had won twice the agonistic circuit of Olympia, Nemea, Isthmia and Delphi). He was never defeated (aleiptos) and he had even achieved the amazing feat of triumphing in two diferent disciplines at the same games (paradoxos) 2 . Damas was a near-global celebrity: apart from Rome, inscriptions with largely overlapping details of his impressive career were found in Sardeis, Ephesos and Delphi 3 . he same monuments also state that he was a citizen of Sardeis, Alexandria, Antinoopolis, Athens, Ephesos, Smyrna, Pergamon, Nikomedia, Miletos and Sparta, and it is likely that monuments for him were set up in all these cities. Not only his many athletic achievements, but also his multiple civic status must have been shared knowledge throughout the empire. he same applies to hundreds of successful athletes and performers who proudly recorded the citizenship titles that they had obtained in the Greek cities of the Roman empire, alongside their agonistic achievements. Among them we ind champions in all major disciplines: runners 4 , pentathletes 5 , as well as wrestlers and other heavy athletes 6 . Beside athletes we also ind other performers, such as poets, actors, and musicians 7 . Even gladiators and fair-ground performers, including a strong man from Corinth, were the recipient of multiple grants of citizenship 8 . Apparently civic status was well worth advertising for the top athletes and star performers of the Greek world under Rome. 1 Due to unforeseen circumstances this paper could not be read at the Tours conference. I am grateful to the editors for their ofer to include my paper in the publication. I thank Andrew Farrington, Christina Kokkinia, Harry Pleket and Soia Voutsaki for their help, and Anna Heller for discussing the results of the conference with me. 2 IG, XIV.1, 1105 = IGUR, I, 243. 3 For a reconstruction of his career and the identiication of further monuments see the excellent article by Strasser: Strasser 2003. 4 E.g. SEG, 53, 1437. 5 E.g. TAM, V.2, 1006. 6 E.g. TAM, V.2, 1368; TAM, II, 944. 7 E.g. SEG, 54, 517; FD, III.1, 542 and 551. 8 E.g. FD, III.1, 216; IGR, III, 215.