Meaning "gifts", a reference to privately sponsored and organized games, outside the domain of the civic administration.

They could be presented anytime a wealthy family lost a member, either immediately following the loss, or at some time in the future, well after the death had actually taken place.

It was through the medium of the munera that gladiatorial combats were first introduced into Rome, and the munera remained the primary (though not exclusive) outlet for this sort of spectacle until the beginning of the Imperial period.