By the Hellenistic period, people were moving with ever greater frequency throughout the Mediterranean, such as athletes, ambassadors, (performing artists), attested to primarily through inscriptions, the earliest dated to ca. 279–277 BC, which travelled the Greek world to perform at festivals, of which there were ever more established in the Hellenistic period. These guilds could be defined by ethnicity, the games they attended, particularly Panhellenic games, and the regions within which they travelled. In addition to having Dionysus as their divine patron, the sometimes also took Hellenistic kings as their secular patrons. This can already be seen during the reign of Alexander the Great, who had several actors and artists from throughout the Greek world in his entourage, and others, such as Theodorus of Tarentum, who followed Alexander’s conquests in search of work and patronage. Consequently, theatrical productions had transformed into their own institutions backed by influential donors that could be found throughout the Mediterranean and the Hellenistic east.
