Ceremonial Opening of the Ludi Megalenses

The Megalesia were opened by a religious ritual and sacrifice to Magna Mater by pontifex, quaestor, praefectus rei publicae Cn. Cornelius Lentulus, followed by a ceremonial opening speech by the senior aedilis curulis P. Annaeus Constantinus Placidus which you can read below:

Aedilician Opening Speech

P. Annaeus, aedilis curulis
Album Civium

Ædilis Curulis P. Annæus Constantinus Placidus omnibus in Foro s. p. d.

I am really pleased and honoured to introduce to all of you this 2774 a.U.c. edition of the LUDI MEGALENSES, also in the name of my collega Ædilis A. Iulius Paterculus.

In Ancient Rome the Megalesia were held to celebrate and honour the great goddess Cybele, Magna Mater - the Great Mother. She was venerated as the mother of gods and of nature, the mother of all and of everything. In the same way, Nova Roma of today is to be honoured as the mother of all of us Nova Romans, the mother of the spirit of Romanitas which pervades and unites all of us, making all of the Nova Romans feel as one. So fervent, indeed, is Nova Roma's devotion to the Great Mother, that in the recent past the archaeological research project known as MAGNA MATER PROJECT was a very important part of it - the most ambitious and most serious project that our community ever embarked into for the benefit of the world and Roman culture.

It is in the honour and in the spirit of the Great Mother that this year's Megalesia are held. Among other activities, these Ludi Megalenses shall include a live Nova Roman theatrical presentation, real, live Gladiatorial Games, a Latin grammar contest, a new edition of my long-running quiz IPSE DIXIT, and a Virtual Ludi Circenses. Therefore this is a call to attention to all citizens to join and participate in these Ludi. Participating in the games is a form of prayer or sacrifice. If you participate, you can ask something for you, for your loved ones and for Nova Roma from MAGNA MATER! Taking part in the Megalesia is the best way in which all of you, Citizens of Nova Roma, can express your wishes for yourself to our Magna Mater.

Now, without any further hesitation, I hereby declare the 2774 a.U.c. edition of LUDI MEGALENSES officially OPEN!!

Optime valete omnes!

P. Annæus Constantinus Placidus

Ædilis Curulis

Programs of the Megalesia

Ludi Scaenici: Theater Play Tribute Live

Hosted by C. Petronius Stephanus Turpilianus, quaestor

Theater plays, the ludi scaenici were the most traditional element in the Ludi Megalenses in ancient Rome, and this year the aediles are offering you something special: a live presentation of a theater play from Shakespeare! For the current Megalesia, quaestor C. Petronius Stephanus Turpilianus, quaestor Cn. Cornelius Lentulus, quaestrix T. Popillia Laenas and tribunus plebis D. Aurelius Ingeniarius, the working team of the aediles of Nova Roma offer a little surprise for Magna Mater, and for you, fellow citizens: a real little theater play scene presentation! Watch the Megalesia ludi scaenici here on YouTube:

Mark Antony's Speech at Caesar's Funeral from "Julius Caesar" by W. Shakespeare:

• WATCH HERE THE NOVA ROMAN LUDI SCAENICI FOR THE MEGALESIA on YouTube

This little "theatre scene" is a small tribute of Nova Roma towards this ancient tradition, as a gesture of honoring the Megalesia in a true sense of community. All the contributors are citizens (members) of the international Roman reconstructionist community, Nova Roma. The actor, C. Petronius Stephanus Turpilianus, quaestor, the creator (Samuel Cockings, T. Petronius), and the voice actors all hail from different countries and continents: M. Valerius from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the quaestor Cn. Lentulus and quaestrix Popillia Laenas from Hungary, the tribunus plebis D. Aurelius from Australia, and the creator of the video, Petronius the Younger, from Britain again.

The voice actors recorded their lines from separate countries and continents, and their voices are added as if they were shouting to Mark Antony from the crowd.

With this little gesture, we, the Nova Romans, pay our tribute to the great Romans of many centuries, who, at this time of the year, between 4-10 April, at the time of the Megalesia, visited their theaters and watched the ludi scaenici in honor of this archaic tradition. We chose this most famous scene from Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar", because this is one of the most characteristic theater scenes ever in connection with Rome, and we wished to demonstrate how the everlasting legacy of Rome influenced great authors, even many centuries after the end of the Roman Empire. It is designed to show how connected our universal human culture is to Roman culture in every sense of the word.

Munera Gladiatoria Live

Hosted by C. Aurelius Cotta Iovius, aedilis plebis

Honor Magna Mater, participate, MAKE YOUR BETS, and win Census Points in Nova Roma as a prize! Aedilis plebis M. Aurelius Cotta Iovius presents you for these current Ludi Megalenses, a LIVE GLADIATORIAL GAMES, held in fact some years ago, but made from footage that has never been published previously, but for the current Ludi Megalenses only! The aedilis M. Cotta is the lanista of the FAMILIA GLADIATORIA PANNONICA (Hungary), and gladiators from this group are presented for your entertainment, Quirites! What is special in these gladiatorial games, that the ENDING IS MISSING from the fight. The result is still open, and YOU ARE INVITED TO MAKE YOUR BETS! Aedilis M. Cotta offers you one fight for the current Megalesia, and you can bet who was the winner in that. The person who makes the most accurate bets, or if there are more players who make equally accurate bets, one of them chosen by lot, will receive the prize: 3 Census Points for the bet winner, 2 CP for the second best, and 1 CP for the third best.

HOW CAN YOU PARTICIPATE? Watch this munera gladiatoria video of the Familia Gladiatoria Pannonica in which VELOX, the hoplomachus (half-naked with red feathers on his helmet) and ARCHILLA, the murmillo (the gladiatrix girl in blue clothes) will fight in honor of the current Ludi Megalenses. After watching it, make your bets on the following TWO THINGS:

(1) Who will win the fight, Velox or Archilla?

(2) What will the audience judge to the loser, "life" or "death"?

Write your bets in comment to the this post (or in the mailing forum of Nova Roma).

WATCH THE LIVE GLADIATOR FIGHT FOR BETTING ON FACEBOOK

Ludi Circenses: Virtual Chariot Race

Hosted by A. Iulius Paterculus, aedilis curulis

We will be running the traditional (virtual) chariot race on April 10th, the traditional Roman date of Megalesia chariot races. If you are interested in participating, please send the following information to: arthur.f.waite@gmail.com (details in the forums, see above):

• JOIN THE VIRTUAL CHARIOT RACE HERE

Certamen Latinum

Hosted by Cn. Cornelius Lentulus, quaestor

The Ludi Megalenses celebrate Magna Mater, one of the patrons of ancient Rome and Nova Roma. If we want to prove worthy of the Roman name, we shall undertake virtuous efforts! One such effort could be learning Latin. But wait, what? Effort!? But when it's pure joy! And what is our Roman identity, without Roman language? Have you ever tried to learn some bits of Latin? Do you think it is impossibly hard and difficult? Let's see, and you will find that your fears will prove false! Participate in the Certamen Latinum, and learn that Latin is learnable! There will be 5 questions in total distributed in 4 days including today, but today on the first day we will have 2 questions out of the 5, the two introductory questions. Details, questions, rules and everything is here, click on the link:

• ALL QUESTIONS OF THE CERTAMEN LATINUM on the Forum of Nova Roma

Certamen De Picturis

Hosted by A. Iulius Paterculus, aedilis curulis

As part of our celebration of the Megalesia, we are having a three-part quiz on identifying images of ancient sites. All citizens and friends of Nova Roma are invited to participate. Please send your responses in English to the email address "arthur.f.waite (at) gmail.com", including the words "Certamen de Picturis" in the subject line. The deadline for all responses will be 6:00 A.M. Rome Time on Saturday, April 10th. Publicly sharing the answers prior to this deadline will lead to disqualification. Details, questions, rules and everything is here, click on the link:

• ALL QUESTIONS OF THE CERTAMEN DE PICTURIS on the Forum of Nova Roma
• ALL QUESTIONS OF THE CERTAMEN DE PICTURIS on Facebook

Ispe Dixit Quiz

Hosted by P. Annaeus Constantinus Placidus, aedilis curulis

Below here you will find the links to the questions for the new LUDI MEGALENSES edition of the long running quiz IPSE DIXIT, a linguistic and cultural challenge based on Latin quotations - famous and relatively obscure, literary and poetical, classical and modern - all kinds! Each item will feature questions, and each question will feature a score. The challenge is, of course, scoring as many points as possible. So, citizens, join us in our journey along the illustrious linguistic footsteps of our ancestors and not only, for a bit of fun and - why not? - a bit of learning as well. You can access all quiz questions for these ludi here:

• ALL QUESTIONS OF IPSE DIXIT on the Forum of Nova Roma
• ALL QUESTIONS OF IPSE DIXIT in the Facebook Group of Nova Roma