plaque (1st century) depicting a
venatio, or human-animal
blood sport Originally, all
ludi seem to have been votive offerings (
ludi votivi), staged as the
fulfillment of a vow to a deity whose favor had been sought and evidenced. In 366 BC, the
Ludi Romani became the first games to be placed on the
religious calendar as an annual event sponsored by the
state as a whole. Games in the circus were preceded by a parade
(pompa circensis) featuring the competitors, mounted youths of the
Roman nobility, armed dancers, musicians, a
satyr chorus, and images of
the gods. As the product of military victory,
ludi were often connected to
triumphs. The first recorded
venatio (staged beast hunt) was presented in 186 BC by
M. Fulvius Nobilior as part of his
ludi votivi, for which he paid with booty displayed at his triumph. As religious ceremonies,
ludi were organized at first by various
colleges of priests; during the
Republic, they were later presented by
consuls, but became most associated with the responsibilities of the
aediles. Although public money was allocated for the staging of
ludi, the presiding official increasingly came to augment the splendor of his games from personal funds as a form of
public relations. The sponsor was able to advertise his wealth, while declaring that he intended to share it for public benefit. Although some men with an eye on the consulship skipped the office of aedile for the very reason that massive expenditures were expected, those with sufficient resources spent lavishly to cultivate the favor of the people. The religious festivals to which the
ludi were attached also occasioned public banquets, and often public works such as the refurbishing or building of temples. Following the
assassination of Julius Caesar at the Ides of March in 44 BC,
Marcus Brutus realized that a significant segment of the
populus regarded him not as a liberator, but as the murderer of a beloved champion, and among other gestures of goodwill toward the people, he arranged to sponsor the
Ludi Apollinares, held annually July 6–13. Caesar's heir
Octavian at once upstaged him with
Ludi Victoriae Caesaris, "games in honor of Caesar's victory," which ran July 20–28 in conjunction with a festival to honor
Venus Genetrix, Caesar's patron deity and divine matriarch of the
Julian gens. During these
ludi, which also served as funeral games, a
bright comet appeared, which was taken as a sign of
Caesar's newly divine status. Octavian recognized the value of the festivals in unifying the people, and as
Augustus instituted new
ludi within his program of religious reform; public spectacles and entertainments were thus subsumed by
Imperial cult.
Ludi compitalicii The
ludi compitalicii ("crossroads games") were entertainments staged by the neighborhoods or community associations of Rome (
vici) in conjunction with the
Compitalia, the
new year festival held on movable dates between the
Saturnalia and January 5 in honor of the crossroads
Lares. In the late Republic, performances were held at the main intersections of neighborhoods throughout the city on the same day. During the
civil wars of the 80s, these
ludi gave rise to often unruly
plebeian political expression by the neighborhood organizations.
Freedmen played a leading role, and even slaves participated in the festivities. In 67 BC, the Compitalia had been disrupted by a riot at the
ludi, which were also the scene of disturbances in 66–65 BC. This unrest on the first occasion was a response to the trial of
Manilius, who had backed reforms pertaining to the
voting rights of freedmen, and on the second is attached to the murky events later referred to misleadingly as the
First Catilinarian Conspiracy. Along with some forms of occupational guilds (
collegia) and neighborhood associations, the
ludi compitalicii were consequently banned by the
senate in 64 BC. An unnamed
tribune of the plebs supported efforts to stage the
ludi for 61 BC, but the consul-designate
Metellus Celer halted the attempt. In 58 BC,
Clodius Pulcher, who had given up his
patrician status to become one of the people's tribunes, restored the
right of association, but even before his law was enacted, his aide
Sextus Cloelius had prepared the way by organizing new-year
ludi. The consul
Calpurnius Piso, father-in-law of Caesar, permitted the games, even though the organizations that ran them were still outlawed. Caesar banned the
collegia and
ludi again in 46 BC. In 7 BC,
Augustus reorganized Rome for administrative purposes into 265 districts which replaced but which were still called
vici. An image of the
Genius of Augustus now stood between the Lares at the crossroads shrines, and the
ludi once considered dangerously subversive became expressions of Imperial
piety. ==
Ludi circenses==