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The Lupercalia was a very ancient, possibly pre-Roman pastoral festival, observed on February 13 through February 15 to avert evil spirits and purify the city, releasing health and fertility. It was also to honor the god Pan.^[1] Image File history File links Mergefrom. ... In Roman mythology, Lupercus was a name for the Greek god Pan. ... is the 44th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 46th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. ... is the 44th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 46th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Pan (Greek , genitive ) is the Greek god of shepherds and flocks, of mountain wilds, hunting and rustic music: paein means to pasture. ...

The celebration during the Late Republic and Empire

The festival was celebrated near the cave of Lupercal on the Palatine (one of the seven Roman hills), to expiate and purify new life in the Spring. The Lupercal cave, which had fallen into a state of decay, was rebuilt by Augustus; the celebration of the festival had been maintained, as we know from the famous occurrence of it in 44 BC. The photo released of the recently excavated cave beneath the Domus Livia on the Palatine Hill. ... 17th century aviaries on the hill, built by Rainaldi for Odoardo Cardinal Farnese: once wirework cages surmounted them. ... The Seven Hills of Rome east of the Tiber form the heart of Rome. ... For other uses, see Spring. ... For other persons named Octavian, see Octavian (disambiguation). ...

The religious ceremonies were directed by the Luperci, the "brothers of the wolf (lupus)", a corporation of priests of Faunus, dressed only in a goatskin, whose institution is attributed either to the Arcadian Evander, or to Romulus and Remus. The Luperci were divided into two collegia, called Quinctiliani (or Quinctiales) and Fabiani, from the gens Quinctilia (or Quinctia) viz. gens Fabia; at the head of each of these colleges was a magister. In 44 BC. a third college, Luperci Julii, was instituted in honor of Julius Caesar, the first magister of which was Mark Anthony. In imperial times the members were usually of equestrian standing. Marble sculpture of Pan copulating with a goat, recovered from Herculaneum Pan (Greek Παν, genitive Πανος) is the Greek god who watches over shepherds and their flocks. ... GENS is an open source emulator for the Sega Genesis (Sega Megadrive). ... For other uses, see Julius Caesar (disambiguation). ... Bust of Marcus Antonius Marcus Antonius (Latin: M·ANTONIVS·M·F·M·N¹) (c. ...

The festival began with the sacrifice by the Luperci (or the flamen dialis) of two male goats and a dog. Next two patrician young Luperci were led to the altar, to be anointed on their foreheads with the sacrificial blood, which was wiped off the bloody knife with wool soaked in milk, after which they were expected to smile and laugh; the smearing of the forehead with blood probably refers to human sacrifice originally practised at the festival. Marcus Aurelius and members of the Imperial family offer sacrifice in gratitude for success against Germanic tribes: contemporary bas-relief, Capitoline Museum, Rome For other uses, see Sacrifice (disambiguation). ... The Flamen Dialis was an important position in Roman religion. ... This article is about the social and political class in ancient Rome. ... For other uses, see Wool (disambiguation). ... A glass of cows milk. ...

The sacrificial feast followed, after which the Luperci cut thongs from the skins of the victims, which were called Februa, dressed themselves in the skins of the sacrificed goats, in imitation of Lupercus, and ran round the walls of the old Palatine city, the line of which was marked with stones, with the thongs in their hands in two bands, striking the people who crowded near. Girls and young women would line up on their route to receive lashes from these whips. This was supposed to ensure fertility, prevent sterility in women and ease the pains of childbirth. This tradition itself may survive (Christianised, and shifted to Spring) in certain ritual Easter Monday whippings. Easter Monday is the day after Easter Sunday and is celebrated as a holiday in some largely Christian cultures. ...

The Lupercalia in the fifth century

By the fifth century, when the public performance of pagan rites had been outlawed, a nominally Christian Roman populace still clung to the Lupercalia in the time of Gelasius (494-96). It had been literally degraded since the first century, when in 44 BC the consul Mark Antony did not scruple to run with the Luperci;^[2] now the upper classes left the festivities to the rabble,^[3] prompting Pope Gelasius I's taunt to the senators who would preserve it: "If you assert that this rite has salutary force, celebrate it yourselves in the ancestral fashion; run nude yourselves that you may properly carry out the mockery."^[4] The remark was addressed to the senator Andromachus by Gelasius in an extended literary epistle that was virtually a thesis against Lupercalia. Gelasius finally abolished the Lupercalia after a long contest. Bust of Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (Latin: M·ANTONIVS·M·F·M·N[1]) ( January 14 83 BC – August 1, 30 BC), known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general. ... Pope Gelasius I was the third pope of African origin (more exactly from Kabylie) in Catholic history. ...

References in art

William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar begins during Lupercalia, with Caesar's rejection of the "kingly crown", as reported by Mark Antony, being used to turn the sympathies of the Roman people against the assassins (Act 3, Scene 2). Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Julius Caesar is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. ... Bust of Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (Latin: M·ANTONIVS·M·F·M·N[1]) ( January 14 83 BC – August 1, 30 BC), known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general. ...

See also

• Lupercus
• Roman festivals
• Roman mythology

In Roman mythology, Lupercus was a name for the Greek god Pan. ... Roman holidays generally were celebrated to worship and celebrate a certain god or mythological occurrence, and consisted of religious observances, various festival traditions and usually a large feast. ... A head of Minerva found in the ruins of the Roman baths in Bath Roman mythology, the mythological beliefs of the people of Ancient Rome, can be considered as having two parts. ...

Notes

Lydus was the third king of Maeonia in succession to his father Atys. ... Mestrius Plutarchus (Greek: Πλούταρχος; 46 - 127), better known in English as Plutarch, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist. ...

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
• Pauly-Wissowa
• W. Warde Fowler, Roman Festivals (1899), p. 390 foil., and article in Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (3rd ed. 1891).
• Marquardt, Romische Staatsverwaltung, iii. (1885) p. 438'
• This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913. Gelasius I
• Naomi Conn Liebler The Ritual Ground of Julius Caesar (1988)

Encyclopædia Britannica, the eleventh edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... Pauly-Wissowa is the name commonly used for the Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft, 1894ff, a German encyclopedia of classical scholarship. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...

External links

• William Smith, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, 1875: Lupercalia.
• "The Lupercalia in the Fifth Century", William M. Green in CP:26.1 (January 1931), pp. 60‑69.
• Lupercalia lottery (the story is not true: apparently a recent legend)