Lupercalia was an archaic Roman purification and fertility festival held on 15 February at the Lupercal, the cave associated with the she-wolf and Romulus and Remus, in which members of the priestly brotherhood of Luperci, running near-naked, struck onlookers, especially women, with strips of goatskin believed to promote fertility. It survived, controversially, into the late fifth century CE, and Pope Gelasius I's campaign against it is one of the best documented instances of a Roman festival's suppression under Christianity.
Facts
Reckoning
Calendar SystemIts own record dates it to 15 February, matching Vestalia's already-established roman value in this same fill. Fixed or MovableFixed date in its own calendar 1 Observance
Observance Type Connections
Belongs to Tradition
Source Lupercalia (Wikipedia)
Follows Calendar
Originated In
Source Lupercalia (Wikipedia)
Related To
Sources
1. Religions of Rome, Volume 1: A History
Mary Beard, John North and Simon Price, Cambridge University Press, 1998on Lupercalia and its suppressionView the Source The Oxford Classical Dictionary, 4th edition
Simon Hornblower, Antony Spawforth and Esther Eidinow (eds.), Oxford University Press, 2012s.v. LupercaliaView the Source Lupercalia (Wikipedia)
Wikipedialead section, definition of the festival
Lupercalia, also known as Lupercal, was a pastoral festival of Ancient Rome observed annually on February 15 to purify the city, promoting health and fertility.
- Belongs to Tradition: Roman Religion
Originated In: Italy, Lead
was a pastoral festival of Ancient Rome
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