{{short description|Expression of enthusiasm in Ancient Roman and Byzantine tradition}} In Ancient Roman and Byzantine tradition, '''acclamatio''' (Koiné {{lang|grc|ἀκτολογία}} '''aktologia''') was the public expression of approbation or disapprobation, pleasure or displeasure, etc., by loud acclamations. On many occasions, there appear to have been certain forms of acclamations always used by the Romans; as, for instance, at marriages, ''{{lang|la|Io Hymen}}'', ''{{lang|la|Hymenaee}}'', or ''{{lang|la|Talassio}}''; at triumphs, ''{{lang|la|Io triumphe, Io triumphe}}''; at the conclusion of plays the last actor called out ''{{lang|la|Plaudite}}'' to the spectators; orators were usually praised by such expressions as ''{{lang|la|Bene et praeclare}}'', ''{{lang|la|Belle et festive}}'', ''{{lang|la|Non potest melius}}'', etc.<ref name=SmithDGRA/>

Under the Roman Empire, the name of ''{{lang|la|acclamationes}}'' was given to the praises and flatteries which the senate bestowed upon the emperor and his family. These {{lang|la|acclamationes}}, which are frequently quoted by the ''Scriptores Historiae Augustae'', were often of considerable length, and seem to have been chanted by the whole body of senators.<ref name=SmithDGRA/> Acclamations were also means of political expression and participation, especially in cities.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fafinski |first=Mateusz |date=2024-04-04 |title=A Restless City: Edessa and Urban Actors in the Syriac Acts of the Second Council of Ephesus |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09503110.2024.2331915 |journal=Al-Masāq |language=en |pages=1–25 |doi=10.1080/09503110.2024.2331915 |issn=0950-3110|doi-access=free }}</ref> While formulaic, they could play a powerful role in late antique governance.

There were regular {{lang|la|acclamationes}} shouted by the people, of which one of the most common was ''{{lang|la|Dii te servent}}''. Other instances of {{lang|la|acclamationes}} are given by Franciscus Ferrarius (Francesco Bernardino Ferrari), in his ''{{lang|la|De Veterum Acclamationibus et Plausu}}'', and in Graevius, ''{{lang|la|Thesaurus antiquitatum Romanarum}}'' vol. vi.<ref name=SmithDGRA>{{SmithDGRA|article=Acclamatio|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511133856/http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-dgra/0010.html|inline=1}}</ref>

== See also == {{Portal|Ancient Rome}} * Constantine VII * De Ceremoniis

== Bibliography == Aldrete, G.S. (2003) ''Gestures and Acclamations in Ancient Rome''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Fafinski, M. (2024) ‘[https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09503110.2024.2331915?src=exp-mr A Restless City: Edessa and Urban Actors in the Syriac Acts of the Second Council of Ephesus]’, ''Al-Masāq'', pp. 1–25. Available at: <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.1080/09503110.2024.2331915</nowiki>.

Gregory, T.E. (1979) ''Vox populi: Popular opinion and violence in the religious controversies of the fifth century A.D''. Columbus: Ohio State University Press.

Kelly, C. (2009) ''Ruling the Later Roman Empire''. Harvard: Harvard University Press.

Magalhães De Oliveira, J.C. (2021) ‘Informal Expressions of Popular Will in Late Roman Africa’, in C. Brélaz and E. Rose (eds) ''Cultural Encounters in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages''. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols Publishers, pp. 145–165. Available at: <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.1484/M.CELAMA-EB.5.123819</nowiki>.

Roueché, C. (1984) ‘Acclamations in the Later Roman Empire: New Evidence from Aphrodisias’, ''The Journal of Roman Studies'', 74, pp. 181–199.

Wiemer, H.-U. (2004) ‘Akklamationen im spätrömischen Reich. Zur Typologie und Funktion eines Kommunikationsrituals’, ''Archiv für Kulturgeschichte'', 86, pp. 27–74.

==References== {{reflist}}

== External links == {{wikisource|A_Dictionary_of_Greek_and_Roman_Antiquities/Acclamatio|Acclamatio}} {{wiktionary| acclamatio}} *{{cite web|last1=Smith|first1=William|title=Acclamatio|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0063:entry=acclamatio-cn&highlight=acclamatio|website=A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities|date=1890}}

Category:Society of ancient Rome Category:Genres of Byzantine music