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Lupercalia
Lupercalia was a pastoral festival of Ancient Rome observed annually on February 15 to purify the city, promoting health and fertility. Lupercalia was also known as ''dies Februatus'', after the purification instruments called ''februa'', the basis for the month named '' Februarius''. Name The festival was originally known as Februa ("Purifications" or "Purgings") after the ' which was used on the day.. It was also known as ' and gave its name variously, as epithet to Juno Februalis, Februlis, or Februata in her role as patron deity of that month; to a supposed purification deity called Februus; and to February ('), the month during which the festival occurred. Ovid connects ' to an Etruscan word for "purging". The name ''Lupercalia'' was believed in antiquity to evince some connection with the Ancient Greek festival of the Arcadian Lykaia, a wolf festival ( grc-gre, λύκος, ''lýkos''; la, lupus), and the worship of ''Lycaean Pan'', assumed to be a Greek equivale ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lupercal
The Lupercal (from Latin ''lupa'' "female wolf") was a cave at the southwest foot of the Palatine Hill in Rome, located somewhere between the temple of Magna Mater and the Sant'Anastasia al Palatino. In the legend of the founding of Rome, Romulus and Remus were found there by the she-wolf who suckled them until they were rescued by the shepherd Faustulus. Luperci, the priests of Faunus, celebrated certain ceremonies of the Lupercalia at the cave, from the earliest days of the City until at least 494 AD. Modern discovery In January 2007, Italian archaeologist Irene Iacopi announced that she had probably found the legendary cave beneath the remains of Emperor Augustus's house, the ''Domus Livia'', on the Palatine. Archaeologists came across the 15-meter-deep cavity while working to restore the decaying palace. On 20 November 2007, the first set of photos were released showing the vault of the grotto which is encrusted with colourful mosaics, pumice stones and seashells. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lubercus
Lupercus or Lubercus or Luberkus was a god in Roman mythology. Lupercus was a protector of the farmers, harvesting and packs of wild animals. Every year on 15 February in honor of him, the Romans held the Lupercalia. He was an ancient Italian god, worshipped by shepherds as the promoter of fertility in sheep and protector of flocks. He helped the she-wolf take care of Romulus and Remus; this is why Lupercalia was a celebration that helped pregnant women. Lupercus is sometimes identified with the god Pan in Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities o .... The Roman god Faunus is a variation of Lupercus, also linked to the festival of Lupercalia. References Roman gods Lupercalia Agricultural gods Nature gods {{AncientRome-myth-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
She-wolf (Roman Mythology)
In the Roman foundation myth, it was a she-wolf (lupa) that nursed and sheltered the twins Romulus and Remus after they were abandoned in the wild by order of King Amulius of Alba Longa. She cared for the infants at her den, a cave known as the Lupercal, until they were discovered by a shepherd, Faustulus. Romulus would later become the founder and first king of Rome. The image of the she-wolf suckling the twins has been a symbol of Rome since ancient times and is one of the most recognizable icons of ancient mythology. Origins There is evidence that the wolf held a special place in the world of the ancient peoples of Italy. One legend claims that the Hirpini people were so-called because, when they set out to find their first colony, they were led to its location by a wolf (from the Osco-Umbrian word for wolf: ''hirpus''). The tale of the Lupercal is central to that of the twins, and probably predates theirs. To the Roman god Mars, the wolf is a sacred animal. There is an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Juno (goddess)
Juno ( ; Latin ) was an ancient Roman goddess, the protector and special counsellor of the state. She was equated to Hera, queen of the gods in Greek mythology. A daughter of Saturn, she was the sister and wife of Jupiter and the mother of Mars, Vulcan, Bellona and Juventas. Like Hera, her sacred animal was the peacock.''Larousse Desk Reference Encyclopedia'', The Book People, Haydock, 1995, p. 215. Her Etruscan counterpart was Uni, and she was said to also watch over the women of Rome. As the patron goddess of Rome and the Roman Empire, Juno was called ("Queen") and was a member of the Capitoline Triad (''Juno Capitolina''), centered on the Capitoline Hill in Rome, and also including Jupiter, and Minerva, goddess of wisdom. Juno's own warlike aspect among the Romans is apparent in her attire. She was often shown armed and wearing a goatskin cloak. The traditional depiction of this warlike aspect was assimilated from the Greek goddess Athena, who bore a goatskin, or a go ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evander Of Pallene
In Roman mythology, Evander (from Greek ''Εὔανδρος'' Euandros, "good man" or "strong man": an etymology used by poets to emphasize the hero's virtue) was a culture hero from Arcadia, Greece, who was said to have brought the Greek pantheon, laws, and alphabet to Italy, where he founded the city of Pallantium on the future site of Palatine Hill, Rome, sixty years before the Trojan War. He instituted the festival of the Lupercalia. Evander was deified after his death and an altar was constructed to him on the Aventine Hill. In addition, Strabo mentions a story that Rome was an Arcadian colony founded by Evander. Genealogy Dionysius of Halicarnassus writes that Evander was the son of Apollo and a local nymph of the Arcadians, called Themis. He also mentions that the writers of the early history of Rome called her, in their native language, Carmenta. Strabo writes that the Romans honour the mother of Evander, regarding her as one of the nymphs, and have renamed her Carmen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Faunus
In ancient Roman religion and myth, Faunus was the rustic god of the forest, plains and fields; when he made cattle fertile he was called Inuus. He came to be equated in literature with the Greek god Pan, after which Romans depicted him as a horned god. Faunus was one of the oldest Roman deities, known as the ''di indigetes''. According to the epic poet Virgil, he was a legendary king of the Latins. His shade was consulted as a goddess of prophecy under the name of Fatuus, with oracles in the sacred grove of Tibur, around the well Albunea, and on the Aventine Hill in ancient Rome itself.Peck 1898 Marcus Terentius Varro asserted that the oracular responses were given in Saturnian verse. Faunus revealed the future in dreams and voices that were communicated to those who came to sleep in his precincts, lying on the fleeces of sacrificed lambs. Fowler (1899) suggested that ''Faunus'' is identical with ''Favonius'', one of the Roman wind gods (compare the Anemoi). Etymolog ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Februus
Februus is an ancient Italic god of purifications, who was worshipped by both the Romans and Etruscans. He was also worshipped as the god of the underworld by the Etruscans. For them, Februus was also the god of riches (money and gold) and death, both connected loosely to the underworld in the same natural manner as with the better-known Roman god Pluto. Februus' name could mean "the underground ne in the Etruscan language.Johannes Lydus, de Mensibus, 25 Februus may have become the Roman Febris, goddess of fever (''febris'' in Latin means fever). These are possibly connected with the sweating of fevers, which was considered a purgative, washing, and purification process. Februus is possibly named in honor of the more ancient Februa, also Februalia, festival of washing and purification. Februus' holy month was ''Februarius'' (of Februa), hence the English ′′February′′, a month named for the Februa/Februalia purification festival which occurred on the 15th of that month. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lykaia
In Ancient Greece, the Lykaia ( el, Λυκαία) was an archaic festival with a secret ritual on the slopes of Mount Lykaion ("Wolf Mountain"), the tallest peak in rustic Arcadia. The rituals and myths of this primitive rite of passage centered upon an ancient threat of cannibalism and the possibility of a werewolf transformation for the '' epheboi'' (adolescent males) who were the participants. The festival occurred yearly, probably at the beginning of May. The epithet ''Lykaios'' ("wolf-Zeus") is assumed by Zeus only in connection with the Lykaia, which was the main Arcadian festival. Zeus had only a formal connection as patron of the ritual. In the founding myth, of Lycaon's banquet for the gods that included the flesh of a human sacrifice, perhaps one of his sons, Nyctimus or his grandson, Arcas, Zeus overturned the table and struck the house of Lycaon with a thunderbolt; his patronage at the Lykaia can have been little more than a formula. Long afterward, in the late 3rd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Februarius
''Februarius'', fully ''Mensis Februarius'' ("month of Februa"), was the shortest month of the Roman calendar from which the Julian and Gregorian month of February derived. It was eventually placed second in order, preceded by '' Ianuarius'' ("month of Janus", January) and followed by '' Martius'' ("month of Mars", March). In the oldest Roman calendar, which the Romans believed to have been instituted by their legendary founder Romulus, March was the first month, and the calendar year had only ten months in all. ''Ianuarius'' and ''Februarius'' were supposed to have been added by Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome, originally at the end of the year. It is unclear when the Romans reset the course of the year so that January and February came first. ''Februarius'' was the only month in the pre-Julian calendar to have an even number of days, numbering 28. This was mathematically necessary to permit the year itself to have an odd number of days. Ancient sources derived ''F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ab Urbe Condita Libri (Livy)
The work called ( en, From the Founding of the City), sometimes referred to as (''Books from the Founding of the City''), is a monumental history of ancient Rome, written in Latin between 27 and 9 BC by Livy, a Roman historian. The work covers the period from the legends concerning the arrival of Aeneas and the refugees from the fall of Troy, to the city's founding in 753 BC, the expulsion of the Kings in 509 BC, and down to Livy's own time, during the reign of the emperor Augustus. The last event covered by Livy is the death of Drusus in 9 BC. 35 of 142 books, about a quarter of the work, are still extant. The surviving books deal with the events down to 293 BC (books 1–10), and from 219 to 166 BC (books 21–45). Contents Corpus The ''History of Rome'' originally comprised 142 "books", thirty-five of which—Books 1–10 with the Preface and Books 21–45—still exist in reasonably complete form. Damage to a manuscript of the 5th century resulted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Romulus And Remus
In Roman mythology, Romulus and Remus (, ) are twin brothers whose story tells of the events that led to the founding of the city of Rome and the Roman Kingdom by Romulus, following his fratricide of Remus. The image of a she-wolf suckling the twins in their infancy has been a symbol of the city of Rome and the ancient Romans since at least the 3rd century BC. Although the tale takes place before the founding of Rome around 750 BC, the earliest known written account of the myth is from the late 3rd century BC. Possible historical bases for the story, and interpretations of its various local variants, are subjects of ongoing debate. Overview Romulus and Remus were born in Alba Longa, one of the many ancient Latin cities near the future site of Rome. Their mother, Rhea Silvia, was a vestal virgin and the daughter of the former king, Numitor, who had been displaced by his brother Amulius. In some sources, Rhea Silvia conceived them when their father, the god Mars, vi ... [...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 good relations with the gods. Their polytheistic religion is known for having honored many deities. The presence of Greeks on the Italian peninsula from the beginning of the historical period influenced Roman culture, introducing some religious practices that became fundamental, such as the '' cultus'' of Apollo. The Romans looked for common ground between their major gods and those of the Greeks ('' interpretatio graeca''), adapting Greek myths and iconography for Latin literature and Roman art, as the Etruscans had. Etruscan religion was also a major influence, particularly on the practice of augury, used by the state to seek the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
