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Armilustrium
In ancient Roman religion, the Armilustrium was a festival in honor of Mars, the god of war, celebrated on October 19. H.H. Scullard, ''Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic'' (Cornell University Press, 1981), p. 195. On this day the weapons of the soldiers were ritually purified and stored for winter. The army would be assembled and reviewed in the Circus Maximus, garlanded with flowers. The trumpets (''tubae'') would be played as part of the purification rites. The Romans gathered with their arms and armour on the Aventine Hill, and held a procession with torches and sacrificial animals. The dancing priests of Mars known as the Salii may also have taken part in the ceremony. Festivals associated with Mars were mainly held in March, Latin '' Martius'', the month that was named after him, and in October, to begin and end the military campaigning season. These festivals were the Equirria, the sacral chariot races held on February 27 and March 14, and on October 15 with t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Equirria
The Equirria (also as ''Ecurria'', from ''*equicurria'', "horse races") were two ancient Roman festivals of chariot racing, or perhaps horseback racing, held in honor of the god Mars, one 27 February and the other 14 March. Site The Equirria took place in the Campus Martius outside the sacred boundary of Rome ''(pomerium)''. The exact course is debated: perhaps near the Altar of Mars in the campus; or on the Tarentum, the site of the ''ludi tarentini'', which became the Saecular Games; or the Trigarium. When the Tiber flooded, the Equirria were transferred to the ''Campus Martialis'' on the Caelian Hill, a field without permanent structures. On the calendar The Equirria were said to have been founded by Romulus, the son of Mars. Both appear on the oldest Roman calendars inscribed on stone. The Equirria are part of what Michael Lipka calls "temporal focalization" in the Roman conception of deity. The festivals of Mars—the 27 February Equirria, a ''feria'' on the Kalends of Mar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
October Observances
October is the tenth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and the sixth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. The eighth month in the old calendar of Romulus , October retained its name (from Latin and Greek ''ôctō'' meaning "eight") after January and February were inserted into the calendar that had originally been created by the Romans. In Ancient Rome, one of three Mundus patet would take place on October 5, Meditrinalia October 11, Augustalia on October 12, October Horse on October 15, and Armilustrium on October 19. These dates do not correspond to the modern Gregorian calendar. Among the Anglo-Saxons, it was known as Winterfylleth (Ƿinterfylleþ), because at this full moon, winter was supposed to begin. October is commonly associated with the season of spring in parts of the Southern Hemisphere, and autumn in parts of the Northern Hemisphere, where it is the seasonal equivalent to April in the Southern Hemisphere and vice versa. October ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mars (mythology)
In ancient Roman religion and myth, Mars ( la, Mārs, ) was the god of war and also an agricultural guardian, a combination characteristic of early Rome. He was the son of Jupiter and Juno, and was pre-eminent among the Roman army's military gods. Most of his festivals were held in March, the month named for him ( Latin ''Martius''), and in October, which began the season for military campaigning and ended the season for farming. Under the influence of Greek culture, Mars was identified with the Greek god Ares,''Larousse Desk Reference Encyclopedia'', The Book People, Haydock, 1995, p. 215. whose myths were reinterpreted in Roman literature and art under the name of Mars. The character and dignity of Mars differed in fundamental ways from that of his Greek counterpart, who is often treated with contempt and revulsion in Greek literature. Mars's altar in the Campus Martius, the area of Rome that took its name from him, was supposed to have been dedicated by Numa, the peace-lov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roman Festival
Festivals in ancient Rome were a very important part in religion in ancient Rome, Roman religious life during both the Roman Republic, Republican and Roman Empire, Imperial eras, and one of the primary features of the Roman calendar. ''Feriae'' ("holidays" in the sense of "holy days"; singular also ''feriae'' or ''dies ferialis'') were either public ''(publicae)'' or private ''(privatus, privatae)''. State holidays were celebrated by the Roman people and received public funding. Games ''(ludi)'', such as the Ludi Apollinares, were not technically ''feriae'', but the days on which they were celebrated were ''Glossary of ancient Roman religion#festus, dies festi'', holidays in the modern sense of days off work. Although ''feriae'' were paid for by the state, ''ludi'' were often funded by wealthy individuals. ''Feriae privatae'' were holidays celebrated in honor of private individuals or by families. This article deals only with public holidays, including rites celebrated by the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mars (god)
In ancient Roman religion and myth, Mars ( la, Mārs, ) was the god of war and also an agricultural guardian, a combination characteristic of early Rome. He was the son of Jupiter and Juno, and was pre-eminent among the Roman army's military gods. Most of his festivals were held in March, the month named for him ( Latin ''Martius''), and in October, which began the season for military campaigning and ended the season for farming. Under the influence of Greek culture, Mars was identified with the Greek god Ares,''Larousse Desk Reference Encyclopedia'', The Book People, Haydock, 1995, p. 215. whose myths were reinterpreted in Roman literature and art under the name of Mars. The character and dignity of Mars differed in fundamental ways from that of his Greek counterpart, who is often treated with contempt and revulsion in Greek literature. Mars's altar in the Campus Martius, the area of Rome that took its name from him, was supposed to have been dedicated by Numa, the peace-lovi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
October Horse
In ancient Roman religion, the October Horse (Latin ''Equus October'') was an animal sacrifice to Mars carried out on October 15, coinciding with the end of the agricultural and military campaigning season. The rite took place during one of three horse-racing festivals held in honor of Mars, the others being the two Equirria on February 27 and March 14. Two-horse chariot races ('' bigae'') were held in the Campus Martius, the area of Rome named for Mars, after which the right-hand horse of the winning team was transfixed by a spear, then sacrificed. The horse's head ''(caput)'' and tail (''cauda'') were cut off and used separately in the two subsequent parts of the ceremonies: two neighborhoods staged a fight for the right to display the head, and the freshly bloodied ''cauda'' was carried to the Regia for sprinkling the sacred hearth of Rome. Ancient references to the ''Equus October'' are scattered over more than six centuries: the earliest is that of Timaeus (3rd century BC) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Salii
In Religion in ancient Rome, ancient Roman religion, the Salii ( , ) were the "leaping priests" (from the verb ''saliō'' "leap, jump") of Mars (mythology), Mars supposed to have been introduced by King Numa Pompilius. They were twelve Patrician (ancient Rome), patrician youths, dressed as archaic warriors: an embroidered tunic, a breastplate, a short red cloak (''paludamentum)'', a sword, and a spiked headdress called an apex (headdress), apex. They were charged with the twelve bronze shields called ancile, ''ancilia'', which, like the Mycenaean Greece, Mycenaean shield, resembled a figure eight. One of the shields was said to have fallen from heaven in the reign of King Numa and eleven copies were made to protect the identity of the sacred shield on the advice of the nymph Egeria (deity), Egeria, consort of Numa, who prophesied that wherever that shield was preserved, the people would be the dominant people of the earth. Each year in March, the Salii made a procession round the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Religion In Ancient Rome
Religion in ancient Rome consisted of varying imperial and provincial religious practices, which were followed both by the people of Rome as well as those who were brought under its rule. The Romans thought of themselves as highly religious, and attributed their success as a world power to their collective piety ''(pietas)'' in maintaining Pax deorum, good relations with the gods. Their Polytheism, polytheistic religion is known for having honored List of Roman deities, many deities. The presence of Magna Graecia, Greeks on the Italian peninsula from the beginning of the historical period influenced Culture of ancient Rome, Roman culture, introducing some religious practices that became fundamental, such as the ''Cult (religious practice), cultus'' of Apollo. The Romans looked for common ground between their major gods and those of the Greeks (''interpretatio graeca''), adapting Greek mythology, Greek myths and iconography for Latin literature and Roman art, as the Etruscans h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martius (month)
''Martius'' or ''mensis Martius'' ("March") was the first month of the ancient Roman year until possibly as late as 153 BC. After that time, it was the third month, following '' Februarius'' ( February) and preceding '' Aprilis'' (April). ''Martius'' was one of the few Roman months named for a deity, Mars, who was regarded as an ancestor of the Roman people through his sons Romulus and Remus. March marked a return to the active life of farming, military campaigning, and sailing. It was densely packed with religious observances dating from the earliest period of Roman history. Because of its original position as the first month, a number of festivals originally associated with the new year occurred in March. In the Imperial period, March was also a time for public celebration of syncretic or international deities whose ''cultus'' was spread throughout the empire, including Isis and Cybele. In the agricultural year The ''menologia rustica'' told farmers to expect 12 hours of d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tubilustrium
In Ancient Rome the month of March was the traditional start of the campaign season, and the Tubilustrium was a ceremony to make the army fit for war. The ceremony involved sacred trumpets called ''tubae''. Johannes Quasten, however, argues that the common term for war trumpets being ''tubae'' is not the same as the ''tubi'' form here. He states that ''tubi'' was only used for trumpets used in sacrifices and goes on to show how this ceremony was a feast to cleanse and purify the trumpets used in sacrifices - it is a good example, he argues, of the special connection between music and cult in Roman ritual. The festival was held on March 23, the last day of the Quinquatria festival held in tribute to the Roman God Mars and Nerine, a Sabine goddess.J.Quasten, 1983, ''Music & Worship in Pagan & Christian Antiquity'', p.8 The event took place again on May 23. The ceremony was held in Rome in a building called the Hall of the Shoemakers (''atrium sutorium'') and involved the sacr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quinquatrus
In ancient Roman religion, the Quinquatria or Quinquatrus was a festival sacred to the Goddess Minerva, celebrated from the 19–23 of March. The older festivals were of Etruscan origin and were to celebrate the Spring equinox, the spring rebirth rites of women. According to Varro, it was so called because it was held on the fifth ''(quinqu-)'' day after the Ides, in the same way as the Tusculans called a festival on the sixth day after the Ides ''Sexatrus'' or one on the seventh ''Septimatrus''. Both Varro and Festus state that the Quinquatrus was celebrated for only one day, but Ovid says that it was celebrated for five days, hence the name: on the first day no blood was shed, but that on the last four there were contests of gladiators. The first day was the festival proper, and that the following four were an expansion made perhaps in the time of Caesar to gratify the people. The ancient Roman religious calendars assign only one day to the festival. Ovid says that this festiv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agonalia
An Agonalia or Agonia was an obscure archaic religious observance celebrated in ancient Rome several times a year, in honor of various divinities. Its institution, like that of other religious rites and ceremonies, was attributed to Numa Pompilius, the semi-legendary second king of Rome. Ancient calendars indicate that it was celebrated regularly on January 9, May 21, and December 11. A festival called Agonia or ''Agonium Martiale'', in honor of Mars, was celebrated March 17, the same day as the Liberalia, during a prolonged "war festival" that marked the beginning of the season for military campaigning and agriculture. Purpose The object of this festival was a disputed point among the ancients themselves, but as J.A. Hartung observed, the offering was a ram ''(aries)'', the usual victim sacrificed to the guardian gods of the state; the presiding priest was the ''rex sacrificulus'', and the site was the Regia, both of which could be employed only for ceremonies connected w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
