Definition: The curule aediles were two minor magistrates originally chosen from the patricians in response to the refusal of the plebian aediles in 365 B.C., to celebrate the ludi Romani for 4 days instead of 3, according to Livy. From this point onwards there were four aediles (at least 2 plebian, since Caesar added 2, and 2 curule), who superintended different parts of the city. The honors of the curule aediles were: the honorary chair known as a sella curialis, the toga praetexta, precedence in speaking in the senate, and the right of the nobility to have a wax mask in their likeness. Curule aediles could also announce edicts related to trade. Like a plebian aedile, the person of the curule aedile was sacrosanct.
The curule aediles had responsibility for the ludi Romani and the Megalenses, which could be very expensive.
Source: Aediles
from the
William Smith Dictionary
