From Democracy to Oligarchy – the Role of the Civic Elite Within the Community in Roman Delphi

Abstract

Oligarchization was a widespread phenomenon that had similar features throughout the Greek world. The differences and variants, however, should not be overlooked. My goal is to present the Delphic version of oligarchization — a task that has not been undertaken so far. The article aims to present how the leading families of Delphi accumulated power and how they operated within a wider Roman world-system. I use the epigraphical and literary sources to assess the degree to which the illustrious families of Delphi entered the wider provincial and imperial elite, and indicate whether careers were of a more local nature. I conclude the paper by analyzing the relationship between the city and its elite and focus on the benefactions recorded in the epigraphic material.

Keywords

• Delphi
• Imperial period
• oligarchization
• civic elite