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7Soon after this, clad in the triumphal dress, he dedicated the shrine of Augustus. Boys of the noblest families, both of whose parents must be living, together with maidens similarly circumstanced, sang the hymn, the senators with their wives and also the people were banqueted, and there were spectacles of all sorts. 2For not only all kinds of musical entertainments were given, but also horse-races took place on two days, twenty heats the first day and forty the second, because the latter was the emperor’s birthday, being the last day of August. 3And he exhibited the same number of events on many other occasions, as often as it suited him; previously to this, it should be explained, not more than ten events had been usual. He also caused four hundred bears to be slain on the present occasion together with an equal number of wild beasts from Libya. 4The boys of noble birth performed the equestrian game of “Troy,” and six horses drew the triumphal car on which he rode, something that had never been done before. In the races he did not give the signals himself to the charioteers, but viewed the spectacle from a front seat with his sisters and his fellow-priests of the Augustan order. 5He was always greatly displeased if any one stayed away from the theatre or left in the middle of the performance, and so, in order that no one should have an excuse for failing to attend, he postponed all law-suits and suspended all mourning. And thus it came about that women who had lost their husbands were allowed to marry before the regular time, unless they were pregnant. 6Furthermore, in order to enable people to come without formality and to save them the trouble of greeting him (for before this all who met the emperor in the streets always greeted him), he forbade them to greet him thus in the future. 7Any who wished might come barefoot to the games; in fact, from very ancient times it had been customary for those who held court in the summer to do this, and the practice had been frequently followed by Augustus at the summer festivals, but had been abandoned by Tiberius. 8It was at this time that the senators first began sitting upon cushions instead of upon the bare boards, and that they were allowed to wear hats at the theatres in the Thessalian fashion, to avoid discomfort from the sun’s rays. And at any time that the sun was particularly hot, they used instead of the theatre the Diribitorium, which was furnished with tiers of benches. 9These were the acts of Gaius during his consulship, which he held for two months and twelve days; for he surrendered the remainder of the six-months’ period to the men previously designated for it.
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