Ludi Romani
Encyclopedia
The Ludi Romani were a religious festival in ancient Rome
. They were held annually starting in 366 BC
from September 12 to September 14, later extended to September 5 to September 19. In the last 1st century BC, an extra day was added in honor of the deified Julius Caesar
on 4 September. The festival first introduced drama to Rome
based on Greek drama.
These games (the chief Roman festival) were in honour of Jupiter
, and are said to have been established by Tarquinius Priscus on the occasion of his conquest of the Latin Apiolae; though Dionysius of Halicarnassus
and Cicero
refer the establishment to the victory over the Latins at Lake Regillus.
At first they lasted only one day. A second day was added on the expulsion of the kings in 509 BC (Dionys. vi. 95), a third after the first secession of the plebs in 494 BC
. From the year 191 to 171 they lasted ten days, and shortly before Caesar's death they apparently lasted fifteen days, September 5 to September 19. After Caesar's death a day was added. This day must have been September 4, because Cicero says that there were 45 days from the ludi Romani to the Ludi Victoriae Sullanae on October 26, so September 19 in the time the Verrines were composed must have been the last day of the Ludi Romani.
And so it appears in the Calendars of the Augustan
time, the days of the games being September 4 to September 19. There was the Epulum Jovis
on the 13th, and the Equorum probatio on the 14th. Circus games lasted from the 15th to the 19th. In the Calendar of Philocalus (year 354) they run from September 12 to 15. The celebration was in the hands at first of the consul
s, later of the curule aediles.
These games were not necessarily held every year from their inception. In many cases, games began from a vow by the commander, and were celebrated as a special festival after his triumphal
procession. As the army used to go forth as a general rule each summer, it became customary when it returned in autumn to celebrate such games, though connected with no triumph, and though no signal victory had been gained. But still in all cases they were celebrated as extraordinary games, and not as games regularly established by law. They were sollemnes, "customary," but had not yet become annui, "yearly" (sollemnes, deinde annui mansere ludi Romani magnique varie appellati, Liv. i. 35, 9); for we must remember that sollemnes need not mean anything more than customary. Indeed, in the passage quoted, Livy identifies the two kinds, the ludi magni and the ludi Romani, and so do Cicero (Repub. ii. 20, 35), Festus (l. c.), and Pseudo-Asconius; but in all his other books Livy observes a distinction which has been pointed out by Friedrich Wilhelm Ritschl
(Parerga zu Plautus
, &c. p. 290), that ludi magni is the term applied to extraordinary games originating in a vow (ludi votivi), while ludi Romani is that applied to the games when they were regularly established as annual (ludi stati). Ludi Romani is first used by Livy in viii. 40, 2 (see Weissenborn ad loc.); and after that the terms varied according as the games are stati (e.g. x. 47, 7; xxv. 2, 8) or votivi (xxii. 9, 10; 10, 7; xxvii. 33, 8; xxxvi. 2, 2; xxxix. 22, 2, &c.; Suet
. Aug. 23). The distinction drawn by Ritschl is to be considered proven. But when was the fixed festival, the ludi Romani, definitely established as annual?
Most probably, says Mommsen, on the occasion of the first appointment of the curule aediles
in 367 BC
, who were to be the curatores ludorum sollemnium (Cic. Leg. iii. 3, 7). For in the oldest Roman calendars which date from the time of the Decemvirs (cf. Mommsen, Die röm. Chronologie, &c. p. 30) these festivals are not engraved in capitals but in small characters, so they must be additions (C. I. L. i. 361) made after 449 BC
. Also, in 322 BC
, the ludi Romani are mentioned as a regular annual festival (Liv. viii. 40, 2), so they must have finally become established between these dates; and the year 367 BC, when so many changes were effected, and when we are told a day was added to these games and curule aediles appointed to superintend them, seems the most reasonable to assume.
Yet Livy and the other authors who identify the ludi magni and Romani are not altogether in error: for the arrangement of the two kinds of games was similar. An incidental proof of this is that when Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus ludi votivi in 70 BC
, they lasted 15 days (Cicero In Verrem i. 1. 0, 31), like the ludi Romani; and we find similar sums, viz. 200,000 asses
, bestowed for both ludi magni and ludi Romani. The actual ludi Romani consisted of first a solemn procession (pompa
), then a chariot race
in which each chariot in Homer
ic fashion carried a driver and a warrior, the latter at the end of the race leaping out and running on foot (Dionys. vii. 72; and cf. Orelli, 2593, where a charioteer is spoken of as pedibus ad quadrigam). This is a practice confined to the ludi Romani. In the exhibitions of riding, each rider had a second horse led by the hand (Festus, s. v. Paribus Equis), as it appears the Roman horsemen in early times often used two horses in battle, like the Tarentini
in Greek warfare (Liv. xxxv. 28, 8). Such riders were called desultores.
Most likely, originally there was only one contest of each kind, and only two competitors in each contest (Liv. xliv. 9, 4), since at all periods in the Roman chariot-race only as many chariots competed as there were so-called factions, which were originally only two, the white and the red (Mommsen, R. H. i. 236, note). These few events allowed further minor exhibitions, such as boxers, dancers, competition in youthful horsemanship (ludus Trojae
). It was allowed that the wreath the victor won (for this in Greek style was the prize of victory) should be put on his bier when dead (Twelve Tables
,, 10, 7, and Mommsen's remarks, Staatsrecht, i.2 411, note 2). Also, during the festival the successful warrior in real warfare (as opposed to imaginary warfare) wore the spoils he had won from the enemy, and was crowned with a chaplet.
After the introduction of the drama
in 364, plays were acted at the ludi Romani, and in 214 BC
we know that ludi scenici took up four days of the festival (Liv. xxiv. 43, 7). In 161 BC
the Phormio
of Terence
was acted at these games.
Religion in ancient Rome
Religion in ancient Rome encompassed the religious beliefs and cult practices regarded by the Romans as indigenous and central to their identity as a people, as well as the various and many cults imported from other peoples brought under Roman rule. Romans thus offered cult to innumerable deities...
. They were held annually starting in 366 BC
366 BC
Year 366 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Mamercinus and Lateranus...
from September 12 to September 14, later extended to September 5 to September 19. In the last 1st century BC, an extra day was added in honor of the deified Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
on 4 September. The festival first introduced drama to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
based on Greek drama.
These games (the chief Roman festival) were in honour of Jupiter
Jupiter (mythology)
In ancient Roman religion and myth, Jupiter or Jove is the king of the gods, and the god of the sky and thunder. He is the equivalent of Zeus in the Greek pantheon....
, and are said to have been established by Tarquinius Priscus on the occasion of his conquest of the Latin Apiolae; though Dionysius of Halicarnassus
Dionysius of Halicarnassus
Dionysius of Halicarnassus was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Caesar Augustus. His literary style was Attistic — imitating Classical Attic Greek in its prime.-Life:...
and Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
refer the establishment to the victory over the Latins at Lake Regillus.
At first they lasted only one day. A second day was added on the expulsion of the kings in 509 BC (Dionys. vi. 95), a third after the first secession of the plebs in 494 BC
494 BC
Year 494 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Tricostus and Geminus...
. From the year 191 to 171 they lasted ten days, and shortly before Caesar's death they apparently lasted fifteen days, September 5 to September 19. After Caesar's death a day was added. This day must have been September 4, because Cicero says that there were 45 days from the ludi Romani to the Ludi Victoriae Sullanae on October 26, so September 19 in the time the Verrines were composed must have been the last day of the Ludi Romani.
And so it appears in the Calendars of the Augustan
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
time, the days of the games being September 4 to September 19. There was the Epulum Jovis
Epulum Jovis
In ancient Roman religion, the Epulum Jovis was a sumptuous ritual feast offered to Jove on the Ides of September and a smaller feast on the Ides of November . It was celebrated during the Ludi Romani and the Ludi Plebeii .The gods were formally invited, and attended in the form of statues...
on the 13th, and the Equorum probatio on the 14th. Circus games lasted from the 15th to the 19th. In the Calendar of Philocalus (year 354) they run from September 12 to 15. The celebration was in the hands at first of the consul
Consul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
s, later of the curule aediles.
These games were not necessarily held every year from their inception. In many cases, games began from a vow by the commander, and were celebrated as a special festival after his triumphal
Roman triumph
The Roman triumph was a civil ceremony and religious rite of ancient Rome, held to publicly celebrate and sanctify the military achievement of an army commander who had won great military successes, or originally and traditionally, one who had successfully completed a foreign war. In Republican...
procession. As the army used to go forth as a general rule each summer, it became customary when it returned in autumn to celebrate such games, though connected with no triumph, and though no signal victory had been gained. But still in all cases they were celebrated as extraordinary games, and not as games regularly established by law. They were sollemnes, "customary," but had not yet become annui, "yearly" (sollemnes, deinde annui mansere ludi Romani magnique varie appellati, Liv. i. 35, 9); for we must remember that sollemnes need not mean anything more than customary. Indeed, in the passage quoted, Livy identifies the two kinds, the ludi magni and the ludi Romani, and so do Cicero (Repub. ii. 20, 35), Festus (l. c.), and Pseudo-Asconius; but in all his other books Livy observes a distinction which has been pointed out by Friedrich Wilhelm Ritschl
Friedrich Wilhelm Ritschl
Friedrich Wilhelm Ritschl was a German scholar best known as a student of Plautus.-Biography:He was born in Großvargula, Thuringia. His family, in which culture and poverty were hereditary, were Protestants who had migrated several generations earlier from Bohemia...
(Parerga zu Plautus
Plautus
Titus Maccius Plautus , commonly known as "Plautus", was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest surviving intact works in Latin literature. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the genre devised by the innovator of Latin literature, Livius Andronicus...
, &c. p. 290), that ludi magni is the term applied to extraordinary games originating in a vow (ludi votivi), while ludi Romani is that applied to the games when they were regularly established as annual (ludi stati). Ludi Romani is first used by Livy in viii. 40, 2 (see Weissenborn ad loc.); and after that the terms varied according as the games are stati (e.g. x. 47, 7; xxv. 2, 8) or votivi (xxii. 9, 10; 10, 7; xxvii. 33, 8; xxxvi. 2, 2; xxxix. 22, 2, &c.; Suet
Suetonius
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, commonly known as Suetonius , was a Roman historian belonging to the equestrian order in the early Imperial era....
. Aug. 23). The distinction drawn by Ritschl is to be considered proven. But when was the fixed festival, the ludi Romani, definitely established as annual?
Most probably, says Mommsen, on the occasion of the first appointment of the curule aediles
Aedile
Aedile was an office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to enforce public order. There were two pairs of aediles. Two aediles were from the ranks of plebeians and the other...
in 367 BC
367 BC
Year 367 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Tribunate of Cossus, Maluginensis, Macerinus, Capitolinus, Cicurinus and Poplicola...
, who were to be the curatores ludorum sollemnium (Cic. Leg. iii. 3, 7). For in the oldest Roman calendars which date from the time of the Decemvirs (cf. Mommsen, Die röm. Chronologie, &c. p. 30) these festivals are not engraved in capitals but in small characters, so they must be additions (C. I. L. i. 361) made after 449 BC
449 BC
Year 449 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Third year of the decemviri and the Year of the Consulship of Potitus and Barbatus...
. Also, in 322 BC
322 BC
Year 322 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Rullianus and Curvus...
, the ludi Romani are mentioned as a regular annual festival (Liv. viii. 40, 2), so they must have finally become established between these dates; and the year 367 BC, when so many changes were effected, and when we are told a day was added to these games and curule aediles appointed to superintend them, seems the most reasonable to assume.
Yet Livy and the other authors who identify the ludi magni and Romani are not altogether in error: for the arrangement of the two kinds of games was similar. An incidental proof of this is that when Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus ludi votivi in 70 BC
70 BC
Year 70 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magnus and Dives...
, they lasted 15 days (Cicero In Verrem i. 1. 0, 31), like the ludi Romani; and we find similar sums, viz. 200,000 asses
As (coin)
The , also assarius was a bronze, and later copper, coin used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire.- Republican era coinage :...
, bestowed for both ludi magni and ludi Romani. The actual ludi Romani consisted of first a solemn procession (pompa
Pompa circensis
In ancient Rome, the pompa circensis was the procession that preceded the official games held in the circus as part of religious festivals and other occasions.-Description:...
), then a chariot race
Chariot racing
Chariot racing was one of the most popular ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine sports. Chariot racing was often dangerous to both driver and horse as they frequently suffered serious injury and even death, but generated strong spectator enthusiasm...
in which each chariot in Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
ic fashion carried a driver and a warrior, the latter at the end of the race leaping out and running on foot (Dionys. vii. 72; and cf. Orelli, 2593, where a charioteer is spoken of as pedibus ad quadrigam). This is a practice confined to the ludi Romani. In the exhibitions of riding, each rider had a second horse led by the hand (Festus, s. v. Paribus Equis), as it appears the Roman horsemen in early times often used two horses in battle, like the Tarentini
Taranto
Taranto is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto and is an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base....
in Greek warfare (Liv. xxxv. 28, 8). Such riders were called desultores.
Most likely, originally there was only one contest of each kind, and only two competitors in each contest (Liv. xliv. 9, 4), since at all periods in the Roman chariot-race only as many chariots competed as there were so-called factions, which were originally only two, the white and the red (Mommsen, R. H. i. 236, note). These few events allowed further minor exhibitions, such as boxers, dancers, competition in youthful horsemanship (ludus Trojae
Lusus Troiae
The Lusus Troiae or Ludus Troiae was an equestrian event held in ancient Rome. It was among the ludi, or games, celebrated at imperial funerals, temple foundings, or in honor of a military victory...
). It was allowed that the wreath the victor won (for this in Greek style was the prize of victory) should be put on his bier when dead (Twelve Tables
Twelve Tables
The Law of the Twelve Tables was the ancient legislation that stood at the foundation of Roman law. The Law of the Twelve Tables formed the centrepiece of the constitution of the Roman Republic and the core of the mos maiorum...
,, 10, 7, and Mommsen's remarks, Staatsrecht, i.2 411, note 2). Also, during the festival the successful warrior in real warfare (as opposed to imaginary warfare) wore the spoils he had won from the enemy, and was crowned with a chaplet.
After the introduction of the drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
in 364, plays were acted at the ludi Romani, and in 214 BC
214 BC
Year 214 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Verrucosus and Marcellus...
we know that ludi scenici took up four days of the festival (Liv. xxiv. 43, 7). In 161 BC
161 BC
Year 161 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Messalla and Strabo...
the Phormio
Phormio (satire)
Phormio is a Latin comic play by the early Roman playwright Terence. It was first performed at the Ludi Romani of 161 BC.Phormio is based on a play by Apollodorus of Carystus.-Text:* Latin text edited by Edward St. John Parry at Perseus:...
of Terence
Terence
Publius Terentius Afer , better known in English as Terence, was a playwright of the Roman Republic, of North African descent. His comedies were performed for the first time around 170–160 BC. Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, brought Terence to Rome as a slave, educated him and later on,...
was acted at these games.