The Augustalia, also known as the ''Ludi Augustales'' ("Augustan Games"), was a

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...

celebrated October 12 in honor of

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

, the first Roman emperor. It was established in conjunction with an altar to

Fortuna Redux ''Fortuna Redux'' was a form of the goddess Fortuna in the Roman Empire who oversaw a return, as from a long or perilous journey. Her attributes were Fortuna's typical cornucopia, with her specific function represented by a rudder or steering oar ...

to mark the return of Augustus from Asia Minor to Rome in 19 BC. The pontiffs and Vestals conducted

sacrifices Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exis ...

, and the date became a holiday ''(

feria In the liturgy of the Catholic Church, a feria is a day of the week other than Sunday. In more recent official liturgical texts in English, the term ''weekday'' is used instead of ''feria''. If the feast day of a saint falls on such a day, the ...

)'' on the official religious calendar of Rome. The altar to Fortuna Redux was inaugurated on October 12, 19 BC, but dedicated on December 15. Until Augustus died in 14 AD, Fortuna Redux was the recipient of the day's religious honors, and the name ''Augustalia'' does not appear in sources before that time. During his lifetime, Augustus was honored with ''ludi Augustales'', games ''(

ludi ''Ludi'' ( Latin plural) were public games held for the benefit and entertainment of the Roman people (''populus Romanus''). ''Ludi'' were held in conjunction with, or sometimes as the major feature of, Roman religious festivals, and were also ...

)'' presented on the initiative of individual

magistrates The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...

. Strictly speaking, the Augustalia was the anniversary sacrifice, though ''Augustalia'' can also refer to commemorations of Augustus on his birthday, September 23. Augustus lists the establishment of the festival in his posthumously published first-person account of his achievements ''( Res Gestae)'', emphasizing that it takes its name from his ''

cognomen A ''cognomen'' (; plural ''cognomina''; from ''con-'' "together with" and ''(g)nomen'' "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became here ...

''. Roman festivals were often named for the

deities A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greater ...

they honored ( Neptunalia for

Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 time ...

, Cerealia for Ceres), and the unstated implication was that Augustus was to be accorded divine status. The establishment of the Augustalia thus marks a major development in what was to become Imperial cult. The Augustalia, abbreviated as ''AVG'', appears on calendars in large, capital letters like some of the oldest festivals for deities of Rome's archaic religion. It occurs between the Meditrinalia (October 11) and the

Fontinalia Fontus or Fons (plural ''Fontes'', "Font" or "Source") was a god of wells and springs in ancient Roman religion. A religious festival called the Fontinalia was held on October 13 in his honor. Throughout the city, fountains and wellheads were ado ...

(October 13), both of great antiquity.Peter Thonemann, "The Tragic King: Demetrios Poliorketes and the City of Athens," in ''Imaginary Kings: Royal Images in the Ancient Near East, Greece and Rome'' (Franz Steiner, 2005), p. 85.

References

* {{Roman religion (festival) Ancient Roman festivals October observances

See also

References