 So today, we are talking about the Ludi Romani, the Roman games. And we're going to look at a bunch of art. This one here is from Quasimassimo, which the American Institute for Culture has filmed. It's one of four museums that are part of the Museo Nacional Romano. This particular piece dates to late antiquity from the property of Junius Bassus on the Esquiline Hill. And it does figure a scene from the Circus Maximus. So what is the Ludi Romani all about? Well, it is ostensibly to honor Jupiter Optimus Maximus, the king of the gods on the Capitoline Hill. We're not exactly sure who started who creates it. Was it the Tarquin? So we're going into the end of the regal period. Or as more sources like Cicero and Dionysus of Pala Carnassus say in the late Republican slash Augustan period, it was for the victory that the Romans won against the Latins in 496 BC. Now, what does it take place? That's another great question for the historians. As we look at the sources, it's not September 4th to the 19th from the Getco. It's just one day. But when something is successful, when something works, well, continue in that vein. So over time, through greater wealth, through continued success, you add more days to that festival. And not just this Ludi Romani festival, but other festivals in the Roman calendar are going to be having days added to them over time. And the last day is going to be added after the death of Julius Caesar. And that's because his statue is added in the procession. He is now a god upon his death. And so his statue will join the procession of the gods. And we'll talk about which gods are being shown around in this performance, in this celebration, ostensibly in honor of Jupiter Optimus Maximus. But it's a typical thing. When we look at the Roman calendar, there's an idea. It's inserted into the calendar. And then over time, you simply add to that celebration. Because you have greater funds, you have more victories to celebrate, you have more cash on hand. And of course, you have a way of appeasing and winning over the crowd initially for elections and so forth. So it's not actually annual. We think it to the fourth century. And at that point, you have specific ediles that are going to be selected to run those particular games. So again, it's all about Jupiter Optimus Maximus. Here's this temple on the left from one of the panels of a series of reliefs that are attributed to a victory arch of Marcus Aurelius. Here he is making a sacrifice. And in the background, it is, in fact, the pediment, the best preserved pediment representation we have of the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus. There's a coin from about 78 BC depicting the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus. Again, we're spending a lot of time talking about this because we also want to enter into the physical spaces of ancient Rome. So here we are on the right, looking at a map of the Capitoline Hill. And what figures prominently is the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus or Jupiter that lives on the Capitoline Hill. And that is where the procession will start that will eventually culminate in the Circus Maximus. And then that is where the bulk of the activities honoring Jupiter will be held. You also see, just off the area of the temple of Giove Capitolino, you actually have the Clevis Capitolinas, which is the road that leads you down into the form. And we will walk through this procession route just shortly. But who are our sources? We have a number of ancient sources. I mentioned Cicero earlier. I mentioned Dionysus of Hela Carnassus. He's writing in the Augustan age, what he actually cites, quotes a particular earlier source we don't really have anymore. And that is Quintus Fabius Pictor, who's writing there at the third century BC. So here, 200 BC. The third century BC, a very ancient and prominent source that Dionysus of Hela Carnassus dips into. He is writing in Greek. Quintus Fabius Pictor, a Roman, also wrote in Greek. He was a great early historian for us and a great source for Dionysus of Hela Carnassus. And he's the great source, really, of what we are talking about in the ensuing slides. That is what took place in terms of the games, honoring Jupiter, Optimus Maximus, and the procession. Because before you start any event in the Colosseum, so the amphitheaters, in the circus, there is a procession. And it's all, you could say, modeled after or referring to a number of Greek processions, but also the triumphal procession of the victorious general, snaking his way with his procession, his goods as spoils of war through the city of Rome. But here are our ancient sources, an Augustan source, and a much earlier Republican source. OK, so these are the places that we will cover. So you start off on the Capitoline Hill, and you're going to make your way into the forum, and you're going to make your way over to the Circus Maximus. Now, who's actually in the procession? We'll talk about that later. Right now, I just want to talk about the actual processional route that, by the imperial period, can be modified and changed. It will evolve over time. The triumphal procession evolves over time. The pompa, the procession of the Ludi Romani will also evolve and change over time and basically expand into the campus marshes. But you can see here we have a lot of videos that are already at your disposal. The Capitoline Hill, the Clevis Capitolinas, Roman Forum, we have several. The Temple of the Castlers is one of the individual monuments that we filmed inside the Roman Forum. The Vigis Tuscus is the road that connects you from the forum to the Circus Maximus, screening along the base of the Palatine Hill, and finally culminating in the Circus Maximus where we have another video. So we start at the Capitoline Hill. There's the large Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus in the imperial period. We leave the sanctuary of the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus. Of course, there are many other temples around here. And go down the slope of the Capitoline Hill on this road, the Clevis Capitolinas. As you go down, you see to your right, the impressive, still impressive remains of the Temple of Saturn. Here it is again. You're gonna make your way through that road that we see there in the distance. That's then another word. You're going down the Clevis Capitolinas around the Temple of Saturn and then down straight the road to your left is the Piazza of the Forum. To the right, the remains of the Basilica Giulia about the size of a football field. And when you get to those three columns of the Temple of the Castlers, you hang a right. There is where the Vigis Tuscus starts. Vigis Tuscus gets his name from the Etruscans that lived in that area, like an Etruscan quarter. And here we have again a plan of the Roman Forum itself. You can see at the bottom of the plan, all the colonnades of the massive Basilica Giulia. And then you have the Temple, which is represented on the right by a Piazza print. And then you're gonna turn and write in that space between the Basilica Giulia and the Temple of the Castlers. And you're gonna start your Vigis Tuscus procession. So we're gonna talk about who's in the procession shortly, but just imagine already, a lot of people, a lot of animals, a lot of guys on horseback are gonna be going through relatively speaking, tight spaces, but how impressive it would have been to see that procession going from the Capitoline Hill down to Clevis Capitolinas and through the Roman Forum then on the Vigis Tuscus. And you see three arrows that are connecting you along the route of the Vigis Tuscus. And at the bottom right of the screen, it says Circus Maximus. So you finally get your way into the Circus Maximus. You can see to the left of the screen, the Capitoline Hill, the Capitolium. You make your way into the Forum and then down the Vigis Tuscus into the Circus Maximus. Here is the Circus Maximus. Today as it stands with the medieval tower in it. And on the right, one of the impressive coins in the time of Trajan, who really does build and give us the Circus Maximus built to its greatest and most magnificent state. And that's some of the brick remains that you see in the photo. On the left of the Circus Maximus today, which you can visit as a site. It's very impressive to go to that archeological site of the Commune of Rome. And we have actually a video also of the archeological site visit on the Circus Maximus on ancientromelive.org. Okay, it's the events that take place principally in the Circus Maximus, our chariot races with chariots pulled by two horses, three horses and four horses. The Lusus Troyae is something that doesn't always happen, but by the time of Vigisus, it becomes pretty standardized, and we're harkening back to that idea that the Romans are descended from Aeneas, who escapes the destruction of Troy. There are boxing matches, there are dancing competitions, and there are even theatrical performances by the fourth century BC. Of course, those dramatic performances will be held in other places where the venues are of theaters. Finally, by the time of Pompey, the great, then Augustus, those theaters are becoming permanent. Also the theater of Balbus. But we do want to think that it's more than just one venue. Although this is, in the Circus Maximus, the main venue for the procession and the experiences. Now, look at some of the images of charioteers. We can go immediately to Plaza Massimo, which is part of Museo Nacional de Romano, where we have filmed a fantastic video, and these charioteers, here's one of them, dressed in blues, of the blue team, comes from a private villa, Villa di Decano, in Rome. Here's another famous fragment relief of chariote racing. You can just get a sense of the violence and the drama and the movement, and this is also from Plaza Massimo, part of Museo Nacional de Romano. Now, what is the procession actually all about? This pompa chivcensis. You've got Roman youth, so you've got to start off with the creme de la creme, the youth, the people that are just about to become men, on horseback if they can afford it, otherwise on foot, so they'll be infantrymen, and that is just part of a lavish procession to say, here are our young men that are eventually going to be fighting for you, and eventually write the connection with Jupiter Optimus Maximus, who leads and protects the Roman state. The charioteers that will be performing, the athletes that will be competing, the dance groups that will be performing and competing, musician groups. The chorus is about people that dress up like satyrs in Silene, and they are going to be lampooning a lot of the dancer and musician groups. So there's some fun there, and of course when you think of satyrs in Silene, maybe you think of Dionysus, maybe you think about Greek traditions, and of course, yes, what the Romans eventually have, what we see, what we have described by Dionysus and Alcarnassus, are indeed indebted to a lot of Greek traditions and processions. There'll be bowls of perfume, they're gonna be burning incense, a lot of pageantry, of course you are honoring Jupiter Optimus Maximus. You're also honoring lots of other gods. Gods are carried on litters called Fircula and displayed on couches of Puglinar in the surface itself. Who are the gods? Three main groups. The standard pantheon led by Jupiter. The older gods, kind of the precursors to the 12 gods like Saturn, Ops, Thenus, the tonic of the Parkae, Minosinae, okay? And then find the gods of the underworld. Persephone, Lucina, the Nymphs, Muses, Seasons, the Graces, Lieber, Demigods. Okay, a lot of people are involved here. It gets to be quite crowded. Then you have separate chariots or wagons that will also pull the exuviai which are basically attributes themselves of those deities. So a thunderbolt or a mural crown or a lion or some sort of attribute that is sacred as well as the actual cult statues that go first. So the procession is massive. You can think about the numbers. You can think about the long train of people, individuals. And finally, of course, the gods themselves are participating. What does a pharaecula look like? I'll give you this one example. This one comes from Praneste, the sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia which is also tied to the cult of Fortuna of Anciam on the coast. And so you have two cult statues, two different variation representations of the Fortuna of those two cities which you can see here. The knobs at the bottom of the below their torsos would be, there is a representation in marble of the kind of poles that would have been attached to the cult statues and then lifted up by men and then placed here on, in this case here, a marble stone couch. So we have a great example of a pharaecula with actual representations of the gods themselves, two deities from Anciam and Praneste, both in Lazio. So that's really what I wanted to say about this incredible moment in time, in antiquity and of course, what we have here is a perpetuation of that kind of idea when we look at society beyond the Romans, we look around the world, we look at the way in which we have pageantry, build up to the start of a sports season, we have the procession of the performers before the start of the match, kind of getting everyone worked up and of course, the culmination with most people then, most of the activities will be focused on the circus matches. Of course, it's also the greatest, the largest venue of the entire city. That's why it's the best place to look at the triumphal procession as well. And there are many other games, or Puglian games, there are many other games that take place throughout the course of the year, the games of Sola, the games of Caesar, but this one here in particular is the greatest, because it is the Ludi of the Romans and who is a featured star who's being venerated, who's being lavished with attention is Jupiter Optimus Maximus, of course, king of the gods. So you want the other gods there present as well. So this has been Ancient Rome Live. You can subscribe to Ancient Rome Live by going to AncientRomeLive.org. Subscribe to our YouTube channel. We dig Rome. Very easy to follow all of our activities. Of course, you can follow us on social media, at Save Rome and at DariusRIAdigs, on Instagram, on Twitter and Facebook. And we're gonna have a great fall. 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