Capitoline Games

Ancient Roman games

In Ancient Rome, the Capitoline Games (Latin: Ludi Capitolini) were annual games (ludi). They started out as religious holiday celebrations that "called upon divine support to ensure continued prosperity for the state." They were instituted by Camillus, 387 BC, in honor of Jupiter Capitolinus, and in commemoration of the Capitol's not being taken by the Gauls that same year. The games lasted sixteen days, starting on October 15. According to Plutarch, a part of the ceremony involved the public criers putting up the Etruscans for sale by auction. They also took an old man, tying a golden bulla (amulet) around his neck, such as were worn by children, and submitting him to public derision. Festus said that they dressed him in a praetexta, and hung a bull around his neck, not in the manner of a child, but because this was an ornament of the kings of Etruria. From then on, these games were held every four years, a tradition held by today's contemporary Olympic Games. He built the first and only permanent building, the Stadium of Domitian in the Campus Martius, to house these Greek games. Previously, Greek games had appeared sporadically since early second century BC but had not been enduring until the first century AD. The Campus Martius lay just west of the seven hills and outside of the pomerium. which was a hallowed, public space and had its separate grounds away from Rome itself. It had training rooms connected to baths, a concept that beforehand was not conceived due to the pre existing Roman thought that bathing and physical exercise were separate on the whole (they considered physical training as warfare preparation and therefore had no place near baths). This bath/training room was a uniquely Greek custom.

The typical Greek games included events for javelin, long jump, and discus. Other events had wrestling and boxing. Greek styled games had several initial functions. One of them was to celebrate generals’ successes in Greece. Other functions involved power moves exercised by rulers. Roman emperors had considerable decisions over the Campus Martius. Julius Caesar had temporary stages in the Campus, including ones with an artificial lake designed for mock water fights. The Saepta Julia was a building located in the Campus that was reserved for voting and other such political matters. It was planned by Julius Caesar. Such tokens included lamps decorated with foliage, flowers, and crowns. this shows a multifaceted empire made up of different parts around the Mediterranean area. Greek arts, luxuries, and ideas were infused into Roman culture, so much so that it was not abnormal to see even Romans enact special sporting events like the ones above. The Romans merely adapted such values to their own lifestyle. In other ways, having Greek styled games could be a tactic on the part of the Romans enjoying the culture of conquered lands.