Marcus wakes on the morning of the 25th of April with a wide
smile. Today is the day of the Robigalia.
Though Marcus enjoyed the seven-day long festivities of flame-tailed foxes
running around during the Cerealia,
he is partial to the Robigalia
because there will be ludi corsuribus.
There will even be two classes! The major class is for the senior racers who will
use a quadriga with four horses,
unlike the two-horsed bigae that the
junior racers use. Though he is ashamed
to admit how barbaric his taste is, Marcus’s favorite part about chariot-racing
is when the chariots reach the meta
and create chaos, resulting in several naufragiae.
Though this love of destruction and violence pleases Marcus, he has to settle
on betting on the aurigae, the professional
slave-racers, since he could never race himself. But he thinks his wife is
silly with her professed fears of his safety in these day-dreams; after all,
she would probably kill him before an upturned chariot could.
In the mid-morning, Marcus, Julia, and baby Titus make their way to the
Ager Romanus to join the other
revelers. It is a short walk down Palatine Hill to the location of the Circus Maximus so the trio is still
fresh and full of energy when they join the hustle and bustle of the spectators
lining the road which the parade will take. They find good seating near the
entrance of the Circus Maximus just
as the parade begins. As the pompa circensis makes its way through
the valley, Titus gurgles happily at every group, no matter if they are the
charioteers, musicians, costumed dancers, or images of the gods. Titus doesn’t
have preferences; he is only a baby and this is his first Robigalia.
The flamen Quirinalis begins
to speak. He and his fellow priests, all dressed in white, had performed their
ritual duties earlier in the morning, sacrificing the entrails of a dog in
order to keep away diseases from the grain crops. This is the most important
practical aspect of the Robigalia for
farmers, since the Robigalia marks
the time when the grain crops are most vulnerable. Without the sacrifice to
Robigus, the god could swoop down and infect all the crops, leaving Rome
without any grain. In order to protect the grain, sacrifices must be offered to
Robigus.
Marcus can’t wait. The Robigalia
is only just getting started.
