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The ''Ludi Romani'' ("Roman Games"; see ''
ludi ''Ludi'' (Latin plural) were public games held for the benefit and entertainment of the Roman people (''populus Romanus''). ''Ludi'' were held in conjunction with, or sometimes as the major feature of, Roman religious festivals, and were also ...
'') was a religious festival in ancient Rome. Usually including multiple ceremonies called ''
ludi ''Ludi'' (Latin plural) were public games held for the benefit and entertainment of the Roman people (''populus Romanus''). ''Ludi'' were held in conjunction with, or sometimes as the major feature of, Roman religious festivals, and were also ...
''. 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 Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...
on 4 September. The festival first introduced drama to
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
based on Greek drama.


Origins

These games—the chief
Roman festival Festivals in ancient Rome were a very important part in Roman religious life during both the Republican and Imperial eras, and one of the primary features of the Roman calendar. ''Feriae'' ("holidays" in the sense of "holy days"; singula ...
—were held in honor of
Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousandth t ...
, and are said to have been established by
Tarquinius Priscus Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, or Tarquin the Elder, was the legendary fifth king of Rome and first of its Etruscan dynasty. He reigned for thirty-eight years.Livy, ''ab urbe condita libri'', I Tarquinius expanded Roman power through military conq ...
on the occasion of his conquest of the Latin town of
Apiolae Apiolae (also Appiolae) was a town in ancient Latium, Italy. During the early semi-legendary history of Rome, in the reign of Rome's fifth king, Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, it is said that the Latins went to war with Rome. Tarquinius took Apiolae ...
. However,
Dionysius of Halicarnassus Dionysius of Halicarnassus ( grc, Διονύσιος Ἀλεξάνδρου Ἁλικαρνασσεύς, ; – after 7 BC) was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Emperor Augustus. His literary styl ...
and
Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...
date them to the Roman victory over the
Latins The Latins were originally an Italic tribe in ancient central Italy from Latium. As Roman power and colonization spread Latin culture during the Roman Republic. Latins culturally "Romanized" or "Latinized" the rest of Italy, and the word Lat ...
at
Lake Regillus Regillus was an ancient lake of Latium, Italy, famous in the legendary history of Rome as the lake in the neighborhood of which occurred (in 496 B.C.) the Battle of Lake Regillus between the Romans and the Latins which finally decided the hegemo ...
during the early
Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
, ca. 496 BC. The games were originally organized by the
consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...
s and later by the
curule aedile ''Aedile'' ( ; la, aedīlis , from , "temple edifice") was an elected 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 enf ...
s. At first they lasted only a day. A second day was added on the expulsion of the kings in 509 BC, and a third after the first secession of the plebs in 494 BC. From 191 to 171 BC they lasted ten days, and shortly before Caesar's death they apparently lasted fifteen days, from September 5 to 19. After Caesar's death a day was added. This day must have been September 4, because Cicero says in " Against Verres" that there were 45 days from the ''Ludi Romani'' to the ''Ludi Victoriae Sullanae'' on October 26. Thus, when this speech was composed in 70 BC, September 19 was already the last day of the ''Ludi Romani''. In calendars of the Augustan era, the days of the games are noted as September 4 to September 19. The
Epulum Jovis In ancient Roman religion, the Epulum Jovis (also Epulum Iovis) was a sumptuous ritual feast offered to Jove on the Ides of September (September 13) and a smaller feast on the Ides of November (November 13). It was celebrated during the '' Ludi ...
was celebrated on the 13th and the ''Equorum probatio'' (a cavalry revue) on the 14th. Circus games lasted from the 15th to the 19th. In the Calendar of Philocalus (354 AD) they run from September 12 to 15.


When and why

These games were not necessarily held every year from their inception. In many cases, games were based on a vow ''( votum)'' by a military 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". Livy identifies the two kinds, the ''
ludi magni ''Ludi'' (Latin plural) were public games held for the benefit and entertainment of the Roman people (''populus Romanus''). ''Ludi'' were held in conjunction with, or sometimes as the major feature of, Roman religious festivals, and were also ...
'' and the ''ludi Romani'', and so do Cicero (Repub. ii. 20, 35), Festus (l. c), and Pseudo-Asconius. In all his other books, however, Livy observes a distinction which has been pointed out by
Friedrich Wilhelm Ritschl Friedrich Wilhelm Ritschl (6 April 1806 – 9 November 1876) was a German scholar best known for his studies of Plautus. Biography Ritschl was born in Großvargula, in present-day Thuringia. His family, in which culture and poverty were heredita ...
(''Parerga zu
Plautus Titus Maccius Plautus (; c. 254 – 184 BC), commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the ...
'', &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 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''. The distinction drawn by Ritschl is to be considered proven, but it is unclear when the "established" games became annual. Most probably, says Mommsen, the games became annual when the first
curule aediles ''Aedile'' ( ; la, aedīlis , from , "temple edifice") was an elected 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 enf ...
were appointed in 367 BC, as these officials – distinct from the existing plebeian aediles – were described as ''curatores ludorum sollemnium''. In the oldest Roman calendars, which likely date from the time of the
Decemvirs The decemviri or decemvirs (Latin for "ten men") were some of the several 10-man commissions established by the Roman Republic. The most important were those of the two Decemvirates, formally the " decemvirate with consular power for writing ...
in 450-449 BC (cf. Mommsen, ''Die römische Chronologie'', &c. p. 30), these festivals are engraved in small letters rather than capitals, so they must be additions made after that time. Also, in 322 BC, the ''ludi Romani'' are mentioned as a regular annual festival, so they must have become established by then. Therefore, the most reasonable date for their institution is 367 BC, when many changes in government and society were effected, including the addition of one day to the games and the appointment of ''curule aediles'' to superintend them.


Facts of Ludi Romani

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 Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...
''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 Chariot racing ( grc-gre, ἁρματοδρομία, harmatodromia, la, ludi circenses) was one of the most popular ancient Greek, Roman, and Byzantine sports. In Greece, chariot racing played an essential role in aristocratic funeral games f ...
in which each chariot in
Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the '' Iliad'' and the '' Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of ...
ic fashion carried a driver and a warrior, the latter at the end of the race leaping out and running on foot (Dionysius of Halicarnassus, ''Roman Antiquities'' 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 (Livy xxxv. 28, 8). Such riders were called '' desultores''.Livy xxiii. 29, 5 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, ''Roman History'' 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 The Laws of the Twelve Tables was the legislation that stood at the foundation of Roman law. Formally promulgated in 449 BC, the Tables consolidated earlier traditions into an enduring set of laws.Crawford, M.H. 'Twelve Tables' in Simon Hornblowe ...
, 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 is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode ha ...
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 Phormio ( el, Φορμίων ''Phormion'', ''gen''.: Φορμίωνος), the son of Asopius, was an Athenian general and admiral before and during the Peloponnesian War. A talented naval commander, Phormio commanded at several famous Athenian v ...
'' of
Terence Publius Terentius Afer (; – ), better known in English as Terence (), was a Roman African playwright during the Roman Republic. His comedies were performed for the first time around 166–160 BC. Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, brought ...
was acted at these games.


History of scholarship

The classic work on the ''Ludi Romani'' is Mommsen's article "Die Ludi Magni und Romani" in his ''Römische Forschungen'', ii. 42-57 = Rheinisches Museum, xiv. 79-87; see also his ''Roman History'', i. 235-237 (where the Greek influences on the Roman games are traced), 472, 473; and Friedländer in Marquardt's ''Staatsverwaltung'', iii. 477, 478.


Notes

{{Multi-sport events Ancient Roman festivals Recurring sporting events established before 1750 September observances la:Ludi publici Romani