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The Shows, or De Spectaculis

Tertullian

Chapter 5

About this work

Author: Tertullian

In the matter of their origins, as these are somewhat

‹ Chapter 4 Chapter 6 ›

obscure

and

but

little

known

to

many

among

us

,

our

investigations

must

go

back

to

a

remote

antiquity

,

and

our

authorities

be

none

other

than

books

of

heathen

literature

.

Various

authors

are

extant

who

have

published

works

on

the

subject

.

The

origin

of

the

games

as

given

by

them

is

this

.

Timæus

tells

us

that

immigrants

from

Asia

,

under

the

leadership

of

Tyrrhenus

,

who

,

in

a

contest

about

his

native

kingdom

,

had

succumbed

to

his

brother

,

settled

down

in

Etruria

.

Well

,

among

other

superstitious

observances

under

the

name

of

religion

,

they

set

up

in

their

new

home

public

shows

.

The

Romans

,

at

their

own

request

,

obtain

from

them

skilled

performers

—

the

proper

seasons

—

the

name

too

,

for

it

is

said

they

are

called

Ludi

,

from

Lydi

.

And

though

Varro

derives

the

name

of

Ludi

from

Ludus

,

that

is

,

from

play

,

as

they

called

the

Luperci

also

Ludii

,

because

they

ran

about

making

sport

;

still

that

sporting

of

young

men

belongs

,

in

his

view

,

to

festal

days

and

temples

,

and

objects

of

religious

veneration

.

However

,

it

is

of

little

consequence

the

origin

of

the

name

,

when

it

is

certain

that

the

thing

springs

from

idolatry

.

The

Liberalia

,

under

the

general

designation

of

Ludi

,

clearly

declared

the

glory

of

Father

Bacchus

;

for

to

Bacchus

these

festivities

were

first

consecrated

by

grateful

peasants

,

in

return

for

the

boon

he

conferred

on

them

,

as

they

say

,

making

known

the

pleasures

of

wine

.

Then

the

Consualia

were

called

Ludi

,

and

at

first

were

in

honour

of

Neptune

,

for

Neptune

has

the

name

of

Consus

also

.

Thereafter

Romulus

dedicated

the

Equiria

to

Mars

,

though

they

claim

the

Consualia

too

for

Romulus

,

on

the

ground

that

he

consecrated

them

to

Consus

,

the

god

,

as

they

will

have

it

,

of

counsel

;

of

the

counsel

,

forsooth

,

in

which

he

planned

the

rape

of

the

Sabine

virgins

for

wives

to

his

soldiers

.

An

excellent

counsel

truly

;

and

still

I

suppose

reckoned

just

and

righteous

by

the

Romans

themselves

,

I

may

not

say

by

God

.

This

goes

also

to

taint

the

origin

:

you

cannot

surely

hold

that

to

be

good

which

has

sprung

from

sin

,

from

shamelessness

,

from

violence

,

from

hatred

,

from

a

fratricidal

founder

,

from

a

son

of

Mars

.

Even

now

,

at

the

first

turning

-

post

in

the

circus

,

there

is

a

subterranean

altar

to

this

same

Consus

,

with

an

inscription

to

this

effect

:

“

Consus

,

great

in

counsel

,

Mars

,

in

battle

mighty

tutelar

deities

.

”

The

priests

of

the

state

sacrifice

at

it

on

the

nones

of

July

;

the

priest

of

Romulus

and

the

Vestals

on

the

twelfth

before

the

Kalends

of

September

.

In

addition

to

this

,

Romulus

instituted

games

in

honor

of

Jupiter

Feretrius

on

the

Tarpeian

Hill

,

according

to

the

statement

Piso

has

handed

down

to

us

,

called

both

Tarpeian

and

Capitoline

.

After

him

Numa

Pompilius

instituted

games

to

Mars

and

Robigo

(

for

they

have

also

invented

a

goddess

of

rust

)

;

then

Tullus

Hostilius

;

then

Ancus

Martius

;

and

various

others

in

succession

did

the

like

.

As

to

the

idols

in

whose

honour

these

games

were

established

,

ample

information

is

to

be

found

in

the

pages

of

Suetonius

Tranquillus

.

But

we

need

say

no

more

to

prove

the

accusation

of

idolatrous

origin

.