URBAN CHANGE AND THE LATE ANTIQUE COUNTRYSIDEGaza, probably from the 530s, and such events provided a ready focus for
crowd excitement; pantomimes always spelt trouble.^73 A remarkable example
of organized crowd control is provided by the theatre claque known at An-
tioch in the late fourth century, but surely not unique to Antioch: these were
professional cheerleaders who could manipulate audiences to powerful effect;
since local governors were also expected to attend the theatre, they were often
at the claque’s mercy.^74 On the other hand, enthusiasm for star performers,
especially charioteers, was also a major factor which could destabilise urban
life: many contemporary epigrams celebrate famous charioteers, among them
one of the most famous of all, Porphyrius, in whose honour as many as thirty-
two are known. Two great statue bases survive, inscribed with these epigrams,
which once bore his statues; they were erected, side by side with many other
monuments, on the spina of the Hippodrome in Constantinople, round which
the chariots raced.^75 To mark special feats, Porphyrius and his rivals might be
commemorated in statues made of silver, gold, silver and bronze, or gold
and bronze, the gifts of their loyal fans, the Blues and Greens,^76 and the peak
of such commemoration, to judge from the surviving evidence, was reached
under Justinian. The importance and prestige of the Hippodrome is indicated
by the fact that it was also a showcase for some of the most famous of the
many ancient statues collected in late antique Constantinople,^77 as well as the
scene of several imperial accessions. The theatre at Aphrodisias remained in
use in the sixth century, as is clear from the factional inscriptions, but early in
the seventh century the stage building collapsed and was not repaired, and a
wall-painting of the archangel Michael shows that at least part of the building
was already being differently used.^78 Alan Cameron suggests that increasing
fi nancial diffi culties are likely thereafter to have made the continued mainte-
nance of chariot racing diffi cult. Procopius characteristically complains that
Justinian closed down theatres, hippodromes and circuses so as to save mon-
ey,^79 but while this may fi t other indications, such as the fact that the circus at
Carthage seems to have gone out of use during the sixth century, it is hardly
the whole explanation. In fact factional disturbances continued in Egyptian
towns and in Jerusalem, and into the seventh century, and even in Alexandria
at the time of the Arab invasions.^80
The early Byzantine city was a place of continual public confrontation, and
the frequent mentions of rioting in our sources suggest that it was highly un-
stable. Ecclesiastical rivalries were just as likely to give rise to such episodes
as others, and episcopal elections and other occasions were also accompanied
by crowd participation and acclamations. But perhaps we should put urban ri-
ots in the same historiographical category as earthquakes: they are commonly
recorded, but we have no very accurate way of judging their intensity except
where the information happens to be especially detailed. Buildings such as
the Senate House and the Baths of Zeuxippos, which housed great collec-
tions of ancient statuary in Constantinople, were burnt during the Nika revolt
of 532, but the fate of their statues is less clear.^81 Late antique cities did not
decline or collapse because of urban violence, and the riots were never fully