Ludi Scaenici

The ludi scaenici were the Roman games with a theatrical component. Like the circus games (ludi=games), which started earlier, the ludi scaenici were essentially religious festivals with entertainment.

The Punic Wars, the Greeks and Roman Drama

While the Romans may have had song, dance, farce, or other musical entertainment at the early games, the performance of actual Roman plays started after contact was made with the Greeks during the 1st Punic War (264-241 B.C.). They were performed the year following the conclusion of that war. The first playwright of Rome was the 3rd century Livius Andronicus. [See Golden Age of Roman Drama.]

Name of the Ludi:	God Honored:	Month Celebrated:	Magistrate in Charge:	Length of Games:
Ludi Romani	Jupiter Optimus Maximus	September	Curule Aediles	(Source: Frank Bernstein, Ludi publici: Untersuchungen zur Entstehung und Entwicklung der öffentlichen Spiele im republikanischen Rom. Historia Einzelschrift 119. HistoriaEinzelschriften 119. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1998.)
				September 5-19, starting 509 or 507 B.C. (There would not have been anything resembling dramatic performances so early.)
Ludi Plebeii	Jupiter	November	Plebeian Aedile	(Source: Frank Berndstein, Ludi publici, Stuttgart 1998)
				November 4-17, starting c. 220 B.C.
Ludi Apollinares	Apollo	July	City Praetor	(Source: Frank Berndstein, Ludi publici, Stuttgart 1998)
				July 6-13, starting 208 B.C.
Ludi Megalenses	Magna Mater [Cybele]	April	Curule Aediles	(Source: Frank Berndstein, Ludi publici, Stuttgart 1998)
				April 4-10, starting 191 B.C. See Megalesia for more on these dates.
Ludi Ceriales (Cerealia)	Ceres	April	Plebeian Aedile	(Source: Frank Berndstein, Ludi publici, Stuttgart 1998)
				April 12-19, starting 220 or 219 (other information sources say by 202/201.)

For references, see Ludi Florales. Another excellent resource is The Cambridge Companion to Greek and Roman Theatre, by Marianne McDonald and J. Michael Walton. Cambridge University Press, 2007.