Philip I Arab AD 244-249. Ludi Saeculares (Secular Games)/1000th Anniversary of Rome issue. Rome
Antoninianus AR

22 mm, 3,02 g

IMP PHILIPPVS AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right / SAECVLARES AVGG, Lupa Romana (she-wolf) standing left, head lowered right, suckling the twins Romulus and Remus; II in exergue.

Good Very Fine

RIC 15.

The Secular Games, originally known as Ludi Tarentini, were a Roman religious celebration lasting three days and nights to mark the end of a saeculum (either 100 or 110 years) and the beginning of the next. According to Roman mythology, the Games originated when a Sabine man, Valesius, prayed for his children's cure and was instructed to sacrifice to underworld deities. While the first celebrations are unclear, the Games were attested in 249 and 140s BC. Augustus revived them in 17 BC, connecting nocturnal sacrifices to Moerae, Ilythiae, and Terra Mater. Daytime sacrifices were introduced to Roman deities on the Capitoline and Palatine hills, followed by theatrical performances. Before the Games, heralds invited citizens to witness an unparalleled spectacle. Quindecimviri distributed torches and purifying substances. Augustus and Agrippa performed key roles, and sacrifices were made to Greek and Roman deities on specified dates. The Carmen Saeculare hymn, composed by Horace, was sung, adding complexity by addressing Greek deities under Latin names. The subsequent days featured Greek and Latin plays, chariot racing, and hunting displays. Later emperors, such as Claudius, celebrated the Games, using different calculation systems for their dates. Domitian and Septimius Severus continued the tradition in AD 88 and AD 204, respectively, maintaining the ritual's structure. However, as the Roman Empire declined, the Secular Games were neglected, with the last known celebration occurring in AD 204 under Philip I. The Christian Constantine I, by AD 314, marked the end of the Games, according to the pagan historian Zosimus.