Augustus's Reinvention of Rome's Saecular Games as Political Propaganda

The Saecular Games, known as ludi Saeculares, were ancient Roman religious rites and public entertainments traditionally held to mark the transition between eras. Historical accounts trace their origins to early Roman legends involving figures like Valesius and rituals for underworld deities Dis Pater and Proserpina. During the Roman Republic, these ceremonies occurred sporadically, often during crises like the Punic Wars. Emperor Augustus fundamentally transformed the games in 17 BC, establishing a regular 100-year cycle and integrating them into his political program to legitimize his new regime, the Principate. He expanded the rituals to include sacrifices to major state gods like Jupiter and Juno, commissioned Horace's Carmen Saeculare hymn, and connected the festivities to Rome's mythical past through figures like Aeneas. Subsequent emperors, including Claudius, Domitian, Antoninus Pius, and Septimius Severus, continued the tradition, adapting its timing for their own political purposes. The games ceased with the rise of Christianity, criticized by later historians like Zosimus as marking Rome's decline.