Lupercus or Lubercus or Luberkus was a god in

Roman mythology Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans. One of a wide variety of genres of Roman folklore, ''Roman mythology'' may also refer to the modern study of these representat ...

. Lupercus was a protector of the farmers,

harvest Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...

ing and packs of

wild animals Wildlife refers to undomesticated animal species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous to game: those birds and mammals that were hunted fo ...

. Every year on 15 February in honor of him, the Romans held the

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 b ...

. 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 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 ...

; this is why

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 Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...

. 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