Augustalia
In 19 BC Augustus concluded a treaty with the Parties that allowed him to bring the kingdoms that were west of the Euphrates, including Judea, under the control of Rome as well as strengthening relations with others were already clientes as Cilicia, Commagene, Nabatea, Itturea and Emesa.
It was certainly a victory for the pax augusta, a diplomatic and political victory. When news of the treaty reached Rome, the Senate decided to bestow honors to Augustus and built an altar outside Porta Capena which was named Ara Fortunae Reducis. It was Augustus himself when he arrived in Rome to inaugurate the altar on October 12th; the dedicatio was made on December 15 and since then the temple has appeared in many coins.
The literal meaning of Goddess who favors returns
and was a particular form of the Goddess Fortuna; hers attributes were the cornucopia of fortune, to symbolize the specific function, and a rudder and sometimes a globe.
After 19 A.D. Fortuna Redux received annual sacrifices from the college of pontiffs and vestals with ceremonies at the Ara near Porta Capena.
The cult of Fortuna Redux was widespread throughout the Roman Empire and there are temples and altars in different cities where soldiers, who had saved themselves, went to fulfil theirs vows made to Goddess during the war.
About the honor that Senate paid him and of the Ara tells the same Augustus in the Res Gestae:In honor of my return, the Senate consecrated the Ara of Fortuna Redux in front of of Honor and Virtue temples at Porta Capena; ordered that in the altar pontiffs the vestals every year celebrate a sacrifice on the day I returned to the city from Syria, under the consulate of Quintus Lucretius and Marcus Vinicius, and named Augustalia that day, from my cognomen.
The name Augustalia after the death of Augustus, also went to indicate the ludi divo Augusto et Fortunae Reducis
, games in honor of the divinized emperor and the goddess Fortuna which took place at first starting from 5 October; when the games were institutionalized, in 14 A.D. after the death of Augustus, they were enrolled in the Fasti and celebrated every year from 3 to 12 October. The festival was then associated with circus games and the solemn celebration of a sacrifice in the temple of Augustus on the Palatine Hill.
The Ludi, at the behest of Tiberius, took place in Boville - so much so that they are also known as Ludi of Boville - because they also became celebratory of the gens Julia which was indicated as original by Boville. The town of Boville was located in the ager romanus (the town is now known as Frattocchie near Marino) as early as the 6th century. B.C. and it was the first inhabited center to be found after leaving Rome.
In Boville, for the chariot races, a very large circus was built, well 337.50 meters in length for a width of mt. 68,60; it was larger than the Vatican Circus and held up to 10,000 spectators .
For the celebrations a college of sodales augustales had also been established and it was composed by 21 members all belonging to the senatorial class who were iin charge of providing the cult dedicated to gens Julia. Sodales had to offer sacrifices in the temple dedicated to Augustus at the Palatine foot, and then all the people could take part in the Ludi of Boville that were offered by most important citizens.
Even in the provinces the Augustalia were celebrated and soon being among the Sodales of the Collegium Augustales allowed to stand out by becoming part of a sort of aristocracy of the provinces. In some cities of Asia Minor and in Naples they were called Sebastai and celebrated according to Greek custom with gymnastic and musical competitions.
by M.L. ©ALL RIGHTS RESERVED (Ed 1.0 - 04/07/2020)