Ludi Scaenici

The Ludi Scaenici were the Roman games with a theatrical component. 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: Ludi Romani
  God Honored: Jupiter Optimus Maximus
  Month Celebrated: September
  Magistrate in Charge: Curule Aediles
  Length of Games:

  (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.)

• Name of the Ludi: Ludi Plebeii
  God Honored: Jupiter
  Month Celebrated: November
  Magistrate in Charge: Plebeian Aedile
  Length of Games:

  (Source: Frank Berndstein, Ludi publici, Stuttgart 1998)

  November 4-17, starting c. 220 B.C.

• Name of the Ludi: Ludi Apollinares
  God Honored: Apollo
  Month Celebrated: July
  Magistrate in Charge: City Praetor
  Length of Games:

  (Source: Frank Berndstein, Ludi publici, Stuttgart 1998)

  July 6-13, starting 208 B.C.

• Name of the Ludi: Ludi Megalenses
  God Honored: Magna Mater [Cybele]
  Month Celebrated: April
  Magistrate in Charge: Curule Aediles
  Length of Games:

  (Source: Frank Berndstein, Ludi publici, Stuttgart 1998)

  April 4-10, starting 191 B.C. See Megalesia for more on these dates.

• Name of the Ludi: Ludi Ceriales (Cerealia)
  God Honored: Ceres
  Month Celebrated: April
  Magistrate in Charge: Plebeian Aedile
  Length of Games:

  (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.