Ludi palatini
Ludi palatini After Augustus died, Livia and Tiberius had dedicated an altar to the Numen of Augustus (Plin. Nat. 12.94). We know from the Fasti Praenestini (in C. I. L. i. p. 312; cf. p. 385) that on January 17 the Pontiffs, Augurs, Quindecimviri, and Septemviri sacrificed victims on this altar. On Jan. 21, 22, and 23, theatrical exhibitions were held in a private theatre erected in front of the palace. These exhibitions were strictly private, and only the highest nobles and their families invited (D. C. 56.46, 59.16; J. AJ 19.1, 11; Tac. Ann. 1.73). In the year Caligula was murdered there was just for that year an extra day added, viz. Jan. 24 (ix. Kal. Febr.): cf. Suet. Cal. 56, 58; D. C. 59.29; Joseph. l.c. In the Calendar of Philocalus (354 A.D.) the 23rd was removed and the 17th to 19th added (C. I. L. i. pp. 334 and 385).
From William Smith (ed.), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. Text provided under a CC BY-SA license by Perseus Digital Library, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu, with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and Tufts University. Data accessed from https://github.com/PerseusDL/canonical-pdlrefwk/ on 17 October 2026.