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The article deals with theatre claqueurs of the 4 th century in Roman Empire as a progenitor of deme-odious «parties of hippodrome» of the 5 th – 6 th centuries. Based on Libanius’ speech, the article describes the number of claqueurs, their social status, activity beyond theatres, interactions with government (both local powers and Emperor representatives), their role in mass riots. The methodology of the study is based on the principles of science, historicism, consistency, as well as on the use of general scientific methods (induction and deduction , analysis and synthesis) and special-historical methods(historical-systemic , historical-genetic , historiographical and source-analysis ). The scientific novelty is that for the first time in the national historiography the activity of the theatre claqueurs has been investigated separatelyas a powerful organization, which has become an important factor in urban life since the end of the 4 th century . The conclusions are as follows: the claque phenomenon was spread in Antique times even before that. People were hired by the theatre actors to back up the theatrical plays with claps and yells, encouraging other people to do the same. Other way to support actors was to repeat rhythmic phrases that were called acclamations. But in the 4 th century, theatre claqueurs went further and became a political force in the cities of the Roman Empire. This perturbation was pictured in Libanius’s speech «To Timocrates». Libanius himself was the most famous orator of the 4 th century, originally from Syrian Antioch, spending most of his life in that city and dedicating most of his speeches to its problems. Antique author was very hostile towards claqueurs, he considered them to be a menace to the city, while describing their existence in full details . Analyzing Libanius’s speech, other sources and scientific literature, one can see claqueurs as an organized association of young people who have set themselves the goal of making money both legitimate and not so legitimate. In the city of Antioch, their number was about 400 men. In addition to receiving funding from the actors of the theater, the claqueurs demanded money from officials for the approval of their person, also engaged in a simple extortion of money of ordinary people in Antioch. In social terms, most theatrical «screamers» were from the poor, but there were some representatives of wealthy families. The theory that the claqueurs were one of the initiators of the rebellion in Antioch against the emperor in 387 renders sound is justified. This means that they have gained the value of an independent political force.

LIBANIUS’S SPEECH «TO TIMOCRATES» AS A SOURCE FOR THE LATE ANTIQUE THEATRE CLAQUEURS STUDIES