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The ''Lusus Troiae'', also as ''Ludus Troiae'' and ''ludicrum Troiae'' ("Troy Game" or "Game of Troy") was an equestrian event held in ancient Rome. It was among the ''ludi'' ("games"), celebrated at imperial funerals, temple foundings, or in honor of a military victory. The ''lusus'' was occasionally presented at the Saecular Games, but was not attached regularly to a particular religious festival.〔Daniel P. Harmon, "The Religious Significance of Games in the Roman Age," in ''The Archaeology of the Olympics'' (University of Wisconsin Press, 1988), p. 250.〕 Participation was a privilege for boys of the nobility (''nobiles'').〔John Scheid and Jesper Svenbro, ''The Craft of Zeus: Myths of Weaving and Fabric'' (Penn State Press, 1996), p. 41.〕 It was a display of communal skill, not a contest.〔Francis Cairns, ''Virgil's Augustan Epic'' (Cambridge University Press, 1989, 1990), pp. 226 and 246 (online. )〕 ==Description== The fullest description of the exercise is given by Vergil, ''Aeneid'' 5.545–603, as the final event in the games held to commemorate the anniversary of the death of Aeneas's father, Anchises. The drill features three troops ''(turmae)'' — each made up of twelve riders, a leader, and two armor-bearers — who perform intricate drills on horseback: :'' … The column split apart As files in the three squadrons all in line Turned away, cantering left and right; recalled They wheeled and dipped their lances for a charge. They entered then on parades and counter-parades, The two detachments, matched in the arena, Winding in and out of one another, And whipped into sham cavalry skirmishes By baring backs in flight, then whirling round With leveled points, then patching up a truce And riding side by side. So intricate In ancient times on mountainous Crete they say The Labyrinth, between walls in the dark, Ran criss-cross a bewildering thousand ways Devised by guile, a maze insoluable, Breaking down every clue to the way out. So intricate the drill of Trojan boys Who wove the patterns of their prancing horses, Figured, in sport, retreats and skirmishes …''〔Translation by Robert Fitzgerald of Vergil, ''Aeneid'' 5.580–593: ''olli discurrere pares atque agmina terni / diductis soluere choris, rursusque uocati / conuertere uias infestaque tela tulere. / inde alios ineunt cursus aliosque recursus / aduersi spatiis, alternosque orbibus orbis / impediunt pugnaeque cient simulacra sub armis; / et nunc terga fuga nudant, nunc spicula uertunt / infensi, facta pariter nunc pace feruntur. / ut quondam Creta fertur Labyrinthus in alta / parietibus textum caecis iter ancipitemque / mille uiis habuisse dolum, qua signa sequendi / frangeret indeprensus et inremeabilis error; / haud alio Teucrum nati uestigia cursu / impediunt texuntque fugas et proelia ludo.''〕 Complex intertwining manoeuvres as a display of horsemanship were characteristic of Roman cavalry reviews on the parade ground. The Greek military writer Arrian describes these in his book ''The Art of Military Tactics'' (''Technē Taktikē''), and says they originated among the non-Roman cavalry units provided by the allies (''auxilia''), particularly the Gauls (that is, the continental Celts) and Iberians.〔As described by Arrian, ''Technē Taktikē'' (Latin ''Ars tactica'') 32–44; see description and diagram, Brian Campbell, ''Greek and Roman Military Writers: Selected Readings'' (Routledge, 2004), p. 44 (online ), and A.M. Devine, “Arrian’s Tactica,” ''Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt'' II.34.1 (1993), p. 331 (online. )〕 The Troy Game, however, was purely ceremonial and involved youths too young for military service. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Lusus Troiae」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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