Equirria

The Equirria were a military- religious celebration of the Roman festival calendar, which was held on 27 February and 14 March with processions and Equestrian Games in the Campus Martius. The determination of the festival to the beginning of spring came the still archaic warfare that limited the campaigns timed to the temperate and warm months. Related festivals were tubilustrium ( also in spring ) and Armilustrium and the October horse at the end of the military season.

In addition, the equirria took place at the turn of the new year ( in the Roman calendar March 1 ), which was symbolized by the expulsion of a goat. In addition to the ritual purification ( lustrum ) of the horses as a possible background of the festival also suspected funerals, as they are known from Homer's Iliad.