a.d. XVIII Kal. Dec.
November 14 in Ancient Rome
Theodosius II orders surviving temples destroyed
religionAD 435
Julian date · ≈ Nov 15 on our calendar
A law of Theodosius II and Valentinian III banned pagan sacrifice and ordered any shrines still intact to be pulled down and purified with the sign of the cross.
Theodosius II
Background
By the 430s traditional sacrifice had been illegal for decades, yet laws kept repeating the ban, a sign that rural shrines and household rites persisted. This law of 14 November 435, issued in the names of Theodosius II and Valentinian III, ordered that all sacrifice cease and that any shrines, temples or sanctuaries still standing be destroyed by order of the magistrates and purified by placing the sign of the Christian religion on them. Anyone who resisted faced death.
For ordinary villagers this meant that local festivals tied to a spring, a grove or a small country temple were now outlawed, and holy places became targets for officials and zealous monks. In practice enforcement was patchy: many temples survived, some converted into churches, others simply left to decay modern archaeological view.
Ancient source: Theodosian Code 16.10.25 · Reference
Sources
Read moreLudi Plebeii (Plebeian Games), Nov 4–17
Ludi Plebeii (Plebeian Games), Nov 4–17
festivalRepublic & Empire (annual)
Roman calendar date
The Plebeian Games filled two weeks of mid-November with theatre, a cavalry parade on the 14th and chariot races on the 15th–17th.
Ludi Plebeii (Plebeian Games)
Background
The Plebeian Games were the second great festival of games in the Roman year after the Ludi Romani of September. They were run by the plebeian aediles, junior magistrates who used them to win popularity before seeking higher office. Livy first mentions them in 216 BC; by the late Republic they filled roughly two weeks of November.
The programme mixed theatre, a sacred banquet for Jupiter (the Epulum Iovis, on the Ides), a parade of the cavalry and chariot races in the Circus Maximus at the end. Plautus' play Stichus was staged at these games in 200 BC, according to its production notice.
For ordinary Romans, games days were public holidays when shops and courts closed. Entry to the theatre and circus was free, though seating was arranged by rank. A family could spend a day watching comedies and races, but a day not working also meant a day without wages for labourers who depended on daily hire.
Ancient source: Fasti Maffeiani (Inscr. Ital. XIII.2: ludi plebeii 4–17 Nov.); Chronography of 354 (LVDI PLEBEI 12–15 Nov.); Livy 25.2.10 · Reference
Sources
☁ Rome today (1991–2020 avg): 17°/9°C (63°/48°F) · rain 40% of days
Rome in NovemberFor farmers, the weeks of ploughing and sowing were long and wet.
Fields & crops
Main sowing of wheat and beans; Columella marks winter's start around 10 November and advises finishing sowing by the Kalends of December per Columella 11.2.
Courts & law
The Plebeian Games (4–17 Nov.) closed courts on many days; legal business resumed in late November late Republic.
Senate & politics
Elections for the next year's magistrates were sometimes delayed into autumn in troubled years; Cicero's First Catilinarian was delivered in November 63 BC.
Military
Sailing largely stopped from around 11 November per Vegetius, a late source; armies moved into winter quarters.
Festivals & religion
Ludi Plebeii with the Epulum Iovis on the Ides; in late antiquity the Isia of Isis (28 Oct.–1 Nov.) and the start of the Brumalia (24 Nov.) per the Chronography of 354.
Daily life
For farmers, the weeks of ploughing and sowing were long and wet. In Rome, the Plebeian Games brought free shows, but a holiday meant no pay for day labourers. With sea traffic stopped, city grain prices depended on what had been stored before winter.
The poor lived in crowded apartment blocks (insulae), where upper floors had no water or heating and braziers caused fires; Juvenal mocks the risk of collapse and fire satire, Juvenal 3.
Sources: Columella 11.2 · Chronography of 354 · Juvenal, Satire 3
All days in November →
LATIN LINE OF THE DAY
Quod sis esse velis nihilque malis.
“Wish to be what you are, and prefer nothing else.”
Martial, Epigrams 10.47 · translation ours (literal)
