| Summary: | <p>The aim of this paper is to study the letters that the Emperor Hadrian sent to the <em>neoi</em> of Pergamum, one of which contains the complete text and is preserved in two copies, and another of which only fragments have come down to us and whose recipients I suggest here were the <em>neoi</em>. These letters allow us to gain further insights into the emperor’s attitude towards the Greek gymnasiums and <em>poleis</em>. Hadrian strengthened the ties that Trajan had established with the Greek cities during the Parthian War, understanding that he could win over their living forces by supporting their gymnasiums. This was a step further in converting the civic oligarchies of the East into some of the most staunch supporters of imperial power. A number of individuals who acted as mediators were prime movers in the process of forging links between these cities and the emperor. With firm roots in their <em>poleis</em>, they were people who, due to some or other particular circumstance, had direct access to the emperor. One of the most outstanding was Aulus Julius Quadratus, the promoter of the second imperial cult temple at Pergamum. He also collaborated in the enlargement and adornment of the gymnasium of the neoi and was behind this association’s links to the emperor. Another key figure was Polemo of Smyrna. After having convinced the emperor to build a splendid gymnasium at Smyrna, he also promoted its counterpart at Pergamum, where he settled at the end of his life. Through the gymnasiums, Hadrian and the Greek aristocrats discovered a sphere of fruitful social and political collaboration that allowed the emperor to make himself felt at the very heart of civic life.</p>
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