Feast of Lupercalia in Ancient Rome

The cultural heritage of Antiquity is not only architectural structures and sculptures that have survived to this day, but also objects of human spiritual activity Greco-Roman civilization gave the world the greatest examples of prose and poetic creativity, theatrical art and mythology The polytheistic religion of the ancient Romans was characterized by the cult of many deities, in whose honor various rituals were performed throughout the year According to Hellenic mythology, Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Athena, Aphrodite, Hermes, and Demeter lived on Olympus The same characters are present among the Romans under the names Jupiter, Juno, Minerva, Venus, Neptune, Mercury, Cercera Deities patronized various spheres of human activity, commanded the elements and nature Thus, in the forests and mountains, in the fields and meadows, lived the good spirit Faun, with whom the god Luperk was identified He was considered the patron saint of shepherds and fishermen, the protector of animals and birds Lupercus's favor was manifested in good harvests, fertility and the safety of grazing livestock, which he protected from wolves (Latin lupus - the basis of the name of the deity) In order to appease him, rituals with sacrifices, feasts and other rituals were held in Ancient Rome Most of them occurred on Lupercalia, which was celebrated at the foot of the Palatine Hill on the third day after the Ides of February - February 13 according to the Julian calendar The traditions of holding the Feast of Lupercalia in Ancient Rome are mentioned in the works of Plutarch and Ovid At the festival in honor of the deity, sacrifices in the form of goats and dogs were made on a special altar by the priests of Luperca, who belonged to the patrician class This was followed by a ritual meal After it, the priests made whips from animal skin and, naked, covering only their thighs with goat skin, began to run around Rome They lashed with whips the women they met along the road, who gladly exposed their breasts and thighs to the blows It was believed that the touch of a scourge on Lupercalia would grant easy childbirth and fertility During the celebration, the women stripped naked, and the celebration turned into an orgy The Romans associated Lupercalia with free love and unrestrained sex Feast of Lupercalia took place from February 13th to 15th It was believed that its celebration helped cleanse the area, improve the health of the townspeople and increase the birth rate Rituals were held in several places - in the Lupercal cave, on the Palatine Hill and the Comitium - a place of public meetings The holiday of naked priests did not fit into the canons of Christianity, which preached chastity and renunciation of voluptuousness In 496, Pope Gelasius I, who actively fought against pagan rituals and other heresies, banned Lupercalia Instead, the Senate proposed to celebrate Candlemas on February 2 However, historians say that Valentine's Day came to replace it One of the traditions of the Feast of Lupercalia was the priests offering hearts of animals killed on the altar to girls they met on the streets of the city This is where the tradition of giving hearts came from on Valentine's Day, which is an echo of the erotic Lupercalia