International Journal of Social Inquiry

Abstract

Agonistic festivals are perhaps the most
important religious and cultural activity of the Greco-Roman world and have
maintained its popularity and are phenomenon that have marked the history of
culture since the first day. Prior to the Hellenistic Period, Colonial
movements initiated by the Greeks, while preparing the ground for the formation
of a new Greek cities in Asia Minor, on the other hand it has led to the spread
of Hellenic culture and religious elements of the city in Asia Minor.
Hellenistic culture, which spread to wide geographical with Alexander the
Great's Asia campaign, increasingly rooted in Anatolia. Following this process,
agonistic festivals, which were the most important religious city, the cultural
and social activity of the era, began to organize firstly in the cities where
compose of most of the Greek people, then in almost all cities of the Asia
minor.

Compared to other parts of Asia, Pisidian
cities start to organize agonistic festival in the later periods and when
reached to the Roman Imperial Period, it becomes competing with the rest of the
city by revealing its potential in this regard. In the scope of this study, the
agonistic festivals organized in Selge, one of the most important cities of the
region, are examined.