Herodes Atticus and the Quintilii of Alexandria Troas: Elite Competition and Status Relations in the Graeco-Roman East

Abstract

The article analyzes the circumstances of the antagonism between the Athenian notable Herodes Atticus and the «Quintilii brothers», Sex. Quintilius Maximus and Sex. Quintilius Condianus, of the Roman colony of Alexandria Troas. An examination of the origin and the underlying cultural, socioethnic and political levels of the conflict between the two prominent senatorial families from the Greek East offers profound insight into contemporary attitudes and mindsets surrounding such key issues as the incorporation of Eastern provincials with different socio-cultural profiles into the Roman status system, the role of cultural identity, eugeneia and the idea of Graecia vera for the concept of elite rank, and aspects of the power struggle and status wrangling in the inner circles of the Roman aristocracy during the 2^nd c. AD.