DOMITIAN AR Denarius (88 AD) – Saecular Games issue

DOMITIAN AR Denarius (88 AD) – Ludi Saeculares – Saecular Games issue

Obverse : IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM P M TR P VIII. Laureate head right.

Reverse : COS XIIII LVD SAEC FEC. Herald advancing left, wearing feathered cap and holding wand and shield.

Rome mint

3,36 g.

RIC² 596.

A religious ceremony involving various sacrifices and theatrical performances, the Ludi Saeculares, or Secular Games, were allegedly first celebrated early in Rome’s history in response to a pestilence which afflicted the city.

After a number of sacrifices to Pluto and Proserpine, the plague was said to have ceased, and the sacrifices, along with other events, were added to ensuing ceremonies.

These latter celebrations were set to occur for three days and nights to mark .the end of one saeculum and the beginning of the next

Domitian celebrated the Ludi Saeculares in AD 88, a practice which was followed by Septimius Severus in AD 204 (220 since the events under Augustus).