Lupercalia

The Lupercalia (Latin Lupercalia, German also Lupercalia ) were the main festival of the Italian stove god Faunus, who nicknamed Lupercus (Latin: "Wolf defenders " ) led and on Palatine Hill in Rome a sacred grotto ( Lupercal ) was where his umhängtes with a goatskin image was set up. Emperor Augustus transformed the cave into a sanctuary dedicated to the cult of the city's founding.

The Lupercalia, allegedly founded by Romulus, was a cleaning and fertility festival. It was celebrated on the 15th of February, so on the approach of spring. The day of atonement for the feast day, this meant februatus. The ancient, well-kept in Rome to Late Antiquity customs of the Lupercalia indicate atonement and fertilization of the country, the city, its inhabitants and their flocks.

The celebration began with a goat sacrifice in the Lupercal, on which followed a sacrificial meal. During the sacrifice ceremony two noble young men were brought about and affected by the Opferern with the bloody knife on the forehead, whereupon other the blood -soaked in milk wool wiped again, the young men themselves but had to laugh - perhaps this is a symbol of atonement or a reminder of the elderly victims. After the meal, the otherwise bare priests who Luperci, the skins of the sacrificed goats tied around the hips, cut other skins in the belt and ran around like the city, presumably to the Palatine. Married women they were pleased to get in the way and were beaten by them with the belt in hand, because they are of expected marriage blessing.

The community of priests luperci divided initially into the luperci Quinctiales and luperci Fabiani, including 44 BC in honor of Gaius Julius Caesar still came luperci Iuliani. At the celebration of this year, Mark Antony took part, of the onlookers dictator Caesar offered a royal diadem.

In 494 AD Pope Gelasius I reached that the Lupercalia were lifted as the last publicly tolerated rest of the ancient Roman cult.

Non-fiction

  • Dorothea Baudy: Lupercalia. In: Brill's New Pauly (DNP ). Volume 7, Metzler, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-476-01477-0.
  • Werner Eisenhut: Lupercal. Lupercalia. Luperci. Lupercus. In: The Little Pauly ( KIP ). Volume 3, Stuttgart 1969, 780-783 Sp.

Fiction

  • Saturnian Dance (Original: The Feast of Lupercal ) by Brian Moore ( 1957)
Human sacrifice Brian Moore (novelist)
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