Aedile (/ˈiːdaɪl/ EE-dyle, Latin: aedīlis [ae̯ˈdiːlɪs], from aedes, "temple edifice") was an elected office of the Roman Republic.
They also had powers to enforce public order and duties to ensure the city of Rome was well supplied and its civil infrastructure well maintained, akin to modern local government.
Originally intended as assistants to the tribunes, they guarded the rights of the plebeians with respect to their headquarters, the Temple of Ceres.
42), after the passing of the Licinian rogations in 367 BC, an extra day was added to the Roman games; the plebeian aediles refused to bear the additional expense, whereupon the patricians offered to undertake it, on condition that they were admitted to the aedileship.
[2] Although the curule aediles always ranked higher than the plebeian, their functions gradually approximated and became practically identical.
[3] Within five days after the beginning of their terms, the four aediles (two plebeian, two curule) were required to determine, by lot or by agreement among themselves, what parts of the city each should hold jurisdiction over.
These extravagant expenditures began shortly after the end of Second Punic War, and increased as the spoils returned from Rome's new eastern conquests.
3, 7) divides these functions under three heads: (1) Care of the city: the repair and preservation of temples, sewers and aqueducts; street cleansing and paving; regulations regarding traffic, dangerous animals and dilapidated buildings; precautions against fire; superintendence of baths and taverns; enforcement of sumptuary laws; punishment of gamblers and usurers; the care of public morals generally, including the prevention of foreign superstitions and the registration of meretrices.
(2) Care of provisions: investigation of the quality of the articles supplied and the correctness of weights and measures; the purchase of grain for disposal at a low price in case of necessity.
Ambitious persons often spent enormous sums in this manner to win the popular favor with a view to official advancement.
Under Augustus the office lost much of its importance, its judicial functions and the care of the games being transferred to the praetor, while its city responsibilities were limited by the appointment of an urban prefect.
[14] Examples of modern use of the term "edil" include: In his play Coriolanus, Shakespeare references the aediles.