Daily Roman History:

An interesting celebration of the Romans was the Secular or Saecular games. This were held every 100 or 110 years. The concept was that due to the length of time between games there was no longer a living soul that saw that previous celebration. They typically lasted days and included sacrifices to either underworld deities, or the gods of fate, childbirth, and 'Mother Earth' followed by theatrical performances. During the reign of Philip the Arab the Ludi Saeculares were held, which were also celebrating the 1000th anniversary of the founding of Rome. These games are described as being truly magnificent, with over 1000 gladiators participating and numerous exotic animals killed includomg hippos, lions, and one rhinoceros. With the emergence of Christian Emperors the games eventually fell into obscurity.

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