THE MEDITERRANEAN WORLD IN LATE ANTIQUITYdrawn in to take sides (Chapter 9). As Liebeschuetz points out, the factions
could hardly fail to be drawn in, since ‘after the army, the imperial administra-
tion and the church, they were easily the largest organizations in the Empire’,
with branches in every major city, large staffs and substantial patronage.^69
Emperors also favoured particular colours and the potential of the factions
could be exploited to their own advantage by individuals, including members
of the elite and the ‘notables’ who were now prominent in urban affairs. By
the end of the sixth century, there were faction groupings even in small towns
in Egypt, as we learn from the Chronicle of John of Nikiu and other sources.^70
Finally, the factions also acquired a military capacity and came to have a role
in urban defence. The Blues and Greens were not political parties, and while
their members might well adopt particular positions in specifi c cases, the fac-
tions as such followed no consistent policy. But in general, and despite the
fact that our evidence is patchy, they seem to have taken on wider roles by the
seventh century, and urban violence to have increased in level and frequency,
a trend associated in general terms by Liebschuetz with the phenomenon of
‘failing curial government’.^71
It is true, as Whitby points out, that the level and frequency of factional
disorders must be read chronologically, and that factions and their support-
ers were not infrequently involved in incidents of religious violence. But the
ceremony and the public theatre that were the hallmarks of urban life in late
antiquity, and which had their roots very far back in the Principate, had always
been conducive to public manifestations that could easily turn into disorder.
In the late antique period, not only did the emperor confront the people (and
vice versa) in the Hippodrome at Constantinople, but provincial governors
also behaved similarly in their local setting. Great churches were the scene of
similar manifestations; here, too, large crowds often gathered in emotional
circumstances, and passions could be easily infl amed. When rioting broke out,
symbols of authority such as imperial or offi cial statues, or the portraits of pa-
triarchs and bishops, were frequently torn down or damaged. The people, or
rather, some among them, acquired a real opportunity to express their views
on public occasions, which they often did by chanting acclamations of the
authorities, mixed in with political messages.
Chariot racing, and the context of the hippodrome, offered an obvious
physical setting for such outbursts, and many riots began in the circus, but
theatres were also frequently the scene of violent episodes. In both places a
contributory factor was provided by the highly structured festivals and per-
formances in late antique Greek cities, in which each social and professional
group had its own designated place, as was the case in the theatre at Aphro-
disias.^72 The so-called ‘Brytae’ had been abolished by Anastasius in 501 after
episodes of violence; this involved aquatic displays or contests and dancing,
and a similar festival held at Edessa was also abolished. However, festivals
continued to be held in Constantinople and elsewhere in the sixth century,
such as the Brumalia, celebrated in winter and known from several literary
and documentary accounts. Choricius of Gaza describes such a festival at