Ludi

[4] Although their entertainment value may have overshadowed religious sentiment at any given moment, even in late antiquity the ludi were understood as part of the worship of the traditional gods, and the Church Fathers thus advised Christians not to participate in the festivities.[7] The late-antique scholar Isidore of Seville, however, classifies the forms of ludus as gymnicus ("athletic"), circensis ("held in the circus," mainly the chariot races), gladiatorius ("gladiatorial") and scaenicus ("theatrical").[9] 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.[12] 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.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.[20] 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.[26] Circus games were held in various provinces throughout the empire, as indicated by archaeological remains of tracks and supporting structures, although many areas would have lacked costly permanent facilities and instead erected temporary stands around suitable grounds.
Chariot races, as depicted on this 2nd-century relief , were among the ludi presented at Roman religious festivals
Terracotta plaque (1st century) depicting a venatio , or human-animal blood sport
Octavian crowned as Augustus
Ludus (disambiguation)reliefRoman people (populus Romanus)Roman religiouscult of statecircusvenationestheatrical performancesImperial eralate antiquityChurch FathersChristiansPanhellenic Gameslate-antiqueIsidore of Sevillechariot racesGladiatorTerracottavenatioblood sportLudi Romanireligious calendarpompa circensisRoman nobilitythe godstriumphsM. Fulvius Nobiliorcolleges of priestsRepublicconsulsaedilespublic relationsassassination of Julius CaesarMarcus BrutusLudi ApollinaresOctavianJulian gensAugustusImperial cultCompitalianew yearSaturnaliacivil wars of the 80splebeianFreedmenManiliusvoting rightscollegiasenatetribune of the plebsMetellus CelerClodius Pulcherpatricianright of associationCalpurnius PisoAugustus reorganized Rome for administrative purposesGeniusCircus MaximustriumphFloraliaLudi Romani ("Roman Games")Ludi Plebeii ("Plebeian Games")provincesRoman calendarMagna MaterMegalensiaCerealiaLudi PiscatoriiFather TiberHannibalsenatorialJulius Caesartemple of VenusBattle of PharsalusFather LiberLudi TriumphalesChalcedonAugustaliaLudi PlebeiiChristian eraLudi CapitoliniJupitersiege of the GaulsDomitianvictory at ActiumemperorLudi Saecularesexpulsion of the kingsSibylline booksEtruscan Great YearquindecimvirichoralCarmen SaeculareHoracefounding of RomeHonoriusLudi TauriiLudi VolcanaliciParthialegionary standardsBattle of CarrhaeLusus TroiaeRoman festivalsSpectacles in ancient RomeMary BeardRoman RepublicOxford Latin DictionaryHelen LovattIda ÖstenbergNeighborhood associationcalendar of PhilocalusPolemius SilviusT.P. WisemanAsconiusAndrew LintottCiceroSuetoniusWilliam Warde Fowler