Overview
acclamation
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Vocal expressions of approval and good wishes in ritual form were an important part of Roman life, both private (e.g. at weddings) and public (for actors and the presiding magistrate at public performances, and above all at a triumph). The title of imperator was based on the soldiers' acclamation. A magistrate leaving for his province was escorted by crowds shouting ritual acclamations, and his return was received in a corresponding way. (See provincia, 2.) Under the empire, these rituals were magnified, but confined to the emperor and approved members of his family. They were also ritually greeted at public appearances, esp. at games and on their birthdays. By the late republic, rhythmical shouting at games, sometimes organized, expressed approval or disapproval of politicians. Cicero takes it seriously, as expressions of public opinion (which counted only in the city of Rome), and Clodius Pulcher organized such shouting at contiones to simulate public opinion. Under the empire, such acclamations, esp. at games, became the only expression of public opinion, and they could rarely be suppressed. They were normally combined with ritual greetings of the emperor to express approval or disapproval of prominent persons and demand rewards or punishments for them. Ritualized acclamations spread to recitations (see recitatio) and declamations, and claques could be collected and even paid for this. Nero formed a large claque for his performances, importing the Alexandrian tradition of musical accompaniment to their chants.
In the senate ritual shouts of greeting and approval for the emperor appear very early. They were used to attract the emperor's notice by demanding punishment of ‘traitors’ (see maiestas), and at the death of a hated emperor would demand (probably with more spontaneity) his damnatio memoriae and punishment for his creatures. On Trajan's accession the acclamations welcoming him were first recorded on published documents, and that practice spread. By this time acclamations also greeted (e.g.) the announcement of the names of designated consuls.
