Lupercalia (l
pərkāl`yə), ancient Roman festival held annually on Feb. 15. The ceremony of the festival was intended to secure fertility and keep out evil. Two male youths, clad in animal skin, ran around the city slapping passersby with strips of goat skin. Because the youths impersonated male goats (the embodiment of sexuality), the ceremony was believed to be in honor of Faunus Faunus (fôn`əs), in Roman religion, woodland deity, protector of herds and crops. He was identified with the Greek Pan.
..... Click the link for more information. . The festival survived into Christian times and was not abolished until the end of the 5th cent.
pərkāl`yə), ancient Roman festival held annually on Feb. 15. The ceremony of the festival was intended to secure fertility and keep out evil. Two male youths, clad in animal skin, ran around the city slapping passersby with strips of goat skin. Because the youths impersonated male goats (the embodiment of sexuality), the ceremony was believed to be in honor of Faunus Faunus (fôn`əs), in Roman religion, woodland deity, protector of herds and crops. He was identified with the Greek Pan...... Click the link for more information. . The festival survived into Christian times and was not abolished until the end of the 5th cent.
Lupercalia
Ancient Roman festival held each February 15. Its origins are uncertain, but the likely derivation of its name from lupus (Latin: “wolf”) may signal a connection with a primitive deity who protected herds from wolves or with the legendary she-wolf who nursed Romulus and Remus. Each Lupercalia began with the sacrifice of goats and a dog; two of its priests (Luperci) were then led to the altar and their foreheads were anointed with blood. After all had feasted, the Luperci cut thongs from the skins of the sacrificed animals and ran around the Palatine hill, striking at any woman who came near them; a blow from the thong was supposed to bestow fertility.
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