Ludi Romani - When and Why

When and Why

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. August 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.