Megalesia

The Megalesia, Megalensia, or Megalenses Ludi, was a festival (with games, ludi) celebrated in Ancient Rome in the month of April in honor of the great mother of the gods (Cybele, μϵγάλη ϑϵός, from which the festival derived its name).

Origins

The statue of Cybele was brought to Rome from Pessinus (204 BC), and the day of its arrival was solemnized with a magnificent procession, lectisternia, and games, and lots of people carried presents to the goddess on the Capitol. The habitual celebration of the Megalesia, however, did not begin until twelve years later (191 BC), when the temple which had been vowed and ordered to be built in 203 BC, was completed and dedicated by Marcus Junius Brutus Although from another passage it seems that the Megalesia had already been celebrated in 193 BC.

Festival

The festival lasted for six days, beginning on April 4. The mood of this festival, like that of the whole month in which it took place, was full of general rejoicings and feasting. It was usual for the wealthy Romans on this occasion to invite one another mutually to formal meals, and the extravagant habits and the good living during these festive days were probably carried to a very high level. For that reason, the senate issued a decree in 161 BC stipulating that no one should go beyond a certain extent of expenditure.