ABSTRACT
The Severan celebration of the Ludi Saeculares highlighted the emperor's power in two ways: through tradition and innovation. This act indicated that the Severan games had become a link in a chain of hundreds of years, initiated by Augustus himself. Located next to the earlier monuments in one of the most important and most holy places of the capital, the inscription recording the games and preserving them in public memoria sent the message to all its onlookers, even to those who could not read, that Septimius Severus was a legitimate follower in the lineage of Roman emperors. The inclusion of Julia Domna as the leader of Roman mothers is perhaps one of the most striking family themes in Ludi Saeculares. An even more dramatic act of generosity was the announcement of the celebration of Ludi Honorarii after the actual Secular Games. Besides the notions of family values and generosity, the third theme rising from the Severan Ludi Saeculares is universalism.
