LŪDI

the common name for the whole variety of games and contests which were held at Rome on various occasions, but chiefly at the festivals of the gods; and as the lud i at certain festivals formed the principal part of the solemnities, these festivals themselves are called lud i. Sometimes lud i were also held in honour of a magistrate or a deceased person, in which case they may be considered as lud i privati. All lud i were divided by the Romans into two cla es, lud i cir censes and lud i scenic i , accordingly as they were held in the circus or in the theatre; in the latter case they were mostly theatrical representations with their various modifications; in the former they consisted of all or of a part of the games enumerated in the articles Circus and Glad i a to res . Another division of the lud i into stat i , imperativi , and votivi , is analogous to the division of the feriae. [ Feriae . ] The superintendence of the games, and the solemnities connected with them, was in most cases intrusted to the aediles. [ Aediles . ] If the lawful rites were not observed in the celebration of the lud i, it depended upon the decision of the pontiffs whether they were to be held again ( instaurari ) or not. An alphabetical list of the principal lud i is subjoined. Ludi A poll in a res were instituted at Rome during the second Punic war, after the battle of Cannae (212 B.C. ), at the command of an oracle contained in the books of the ancient seer Marcius, in order to obtain the aid of Apollo. They were held every year under the superintendence of the praetor urban us, and ten men sacrificed to Apollo, according to Greek rites, a bull with gilt horns and two white goats also with gilt horns, and to Latona a heifer with gilt horns. The games themselves were held in the Circus Maximus, the spectators were adorned with chaplets, and each citizen gave a contribution towards defraying the expenses. In B.C. 208, it was ordained that they should always be celebrated on the 6th of July. Ludi August a les. [ August a les . ] Ludi Capitol in i were instituted B.C. 387, after the departure of the Gauls from Rome, as a token of gratitude towards Jupiter Capitol in us, who had saved the Capitol in the hour of danger. The superintendence of the games was entrusted to a college of priests called Capitol in i . Ludi Cir censes , Romani or Magni , were celebrated every year during several days, from the fourth to the twelfth of September, in honour of the three great divinities, Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, or, according to others, in honour of Jupiter, Consus, and Neptunus Equestris. They were superintended by the curule aediles. For further particulars see Circus . Ludi Comp italic i i. [ Compital i a . ] Ludi Florales. [ Floral i a . ] Ludi Funebres were games celebrated at the funeral pyre of illustrious persons. Such games are mentioned in the very early legends of the history of Greece and Rome, and they continued with various modifications until the introduction of Christianity. It was at such a lud us funebris, in B.C. 264, that gladiatorial fights were exhibited at Rome for the first time, which henceforwards were the most e ential part in all funeral games. [ Glad i a to res . ] Ludi Liber a les. [ Dionysia . ] Ludi Mega lenses. [ Me gales i a . ] Ludi Plebeii were instituted probably in commemoration of the reconciliation between the patricians and plebeians after the first sece ion to the Mons Sacer, or, according to others, to the Aventine. They were held on the 16th, 17th, and 18th of November, and were conducted by the plebeian aediles. Ludi Saeculares. During the time of the republic these games were called lud i Tarentini , Terentini , or Taurii , and it was not till the time of August us that they bore the name of lud i saeculares . The names Tarenti or Taurii are perhaps nothing but different forms of the same word, and of the same root as Tarquinius. There were various accounts respecting the origin of the games, yet all agree in stating that they were celebrated for the purpose of averting from the state some great calamity by which it had been afflicted, and that they were held in honour of Dis and Proser pin a. From the time of the consul Valerius Publicola down to that of August us, the Tarentine games were held only three times, and again only on certain emergencies, and not at any fixed period, so that we must conclude that their celebration was in no way connected with certain cycles of time ( saecula ). Not long after August us had a umed the supreme power in the republic, the quindecimviri announced that according to their books lud i saeculares ought to be held, and at the same time tried to prove from history that in former times they had not only been celebrated repeatedly, but almost regularly once in every century. The festival, however, which was now held, was in reality very different from the ancient Tarentine games; for Dis and Proser pin a, to whom formerly the festival belonged exclusively, were now the last in the list of the divinities in honour of whom the lud i saeculares were celebrated. The festival took place in summer, and lasted for three days and three nights. On the first day the games commenced in that part of the Campus Martius, Which had belonged to the last Tarquin, from whom it derived its name Tarentum, and sacrifices were offered to Jupiter, Juno, Neptune, Minerva, Venus, Apollo, Mercury, Ceres, Vulcan, Mars, Diana, Vesta, Hercules, Latona, the Parcae, and to Dis and Proser pin a. The solemnities began at the second hour of the night, and the emperor opened them by the river side with the sacrifice of three lambs to the Parcae upon three altars erected for the purpose, and which were sprinkled with the blood of the victims. The lambs themselves were burnt. A temporary scene like that of a theatre was erected in the Tarentum, and illuminated with lights and fires. In this scene festive hymns were sung by a chorus, and various other ceremonies, together with theatrical performances, took place. During the morning of the first day the people went to the Capitol to offer solemn sacrifices to Jupiter; thence they returned to the Tarentum, to sing choruses in honour of Apollo and Diana. On the second day the noblest matrons, at an hour fixed by an oracle, a embled in the Capitol, offered supplications, sang hymns to the gods, and also visited the altar of Juno. The emperor and the quindecimviri offered sacrifices which had been vowed before, to all the great divinities. On the third day Greek and Latin choruses were sung in the sanctuary of Apollo by three times nine boys and maidens of great beauty, whose parents were still alive. The object of these hymns was to implore the protection of the gods for all cities, towns, and officers of the empire. One of these hymns was the carmen saeculare by Horace, which was especially composed for the occasion and adapted to the circumstances of the time. During the whole of the three days and nights, games of every description were carried on in all the circuses and theatres, and sacrifices were offered in all the temples. The first celebration of the lud i saeculares in the reign of August us took place in the summer of B.C. 17. Ludi Tarentini or Taurii . [ Ludi Saeculares . ]