Augustus and the Secular Games Reborn in 17 BCE

In 17 BCE, Augustus revived the ancient Ludi Saeculares, a centurial festival that had nearly slipped from memory. Lucas and Luna explore the religious vision behind the Secular Games: how Augustus and the quindecimviri sacris faciundis orchestrated three nights of sacrifices to the Moirae, Ilithyiae, and Tellus on the Campus Martius and at the Tarentum. They unpack the Carmen Saeculare composed by Horace, the role of the Sibylline Books, and the political symbolism of the festival as a marker of a new Golden Age. Why did Augustus make the secular games his own, and how did the event's timing and rituals assert the dawn of the Pax Romana? This episode also looks at the Acta of the Secular Games, the stone record that preserves the official schedule, and what the fires, hymns, and theatrical shows reveal about Augustan religion and propaganda. #Augustus #LudiSaeculares #SecularGames #Horace #CampusMartius #Tarentum #Moirae #Ilithyiae #Tellus #CarmenSaeculare #Quindecimviri #SibyllineBooks #PaxRomana #AncientRome #RomanReligion #RomanHistory #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo