October Horse Sacrifice

October Horse Sacrifice

October 15

In ancient Rome, a chariot race was held in the Field of Mars on October 15. After the race was over, the right-hand horse of the winning chariot was killed as a sacrifice to Mars. The head was cut off first, and there was a fight between the inhabitants of two different quarters of the city to see who could seize the head and place it in a designated spot. As soon as the tail was cut off, it was rushed to the king's hearth so that the blood would fall on the hearth. The rest of the blood was preserved until April 21, when it was mixed with other blood in a special ceremony and given to shepherds to burn, since they believed that the smoke would purify their flocks ( see Parilia).
The symbolic elements of the October Horse Sacrifice—the race, the choice of the right-hand horse, the blood, the hearth, and the necklace of loaves that was hung around the horse's head—all have strong associations with fertility. Although the horse sacrifice may have started out as a fertility rite, it later became a martial one.

SOURCES:
DictFolkMyth-1984, p. 811
DictRomRel-1996, p. 168
FestRom-1981, p. 193
OxYear-1999, p. 415

Celebration day: Oct 15