Today let's talk about my favourite Roman public holiday.
Lupercalia.
Lupercalia was a festival that may have been celebrated annually for about 1200 years.
Let's just let that sink in for a minute.
The roots of this festival were ancient, even to Romans living during the Republic.
The festival began on February 15th, in the Lupercal cave on the Palatine hill.
In Latin, Lupercal, or Lupa, or Lupine simply means Wolf.
The Lupercal Cave is the site where, according to myth, the twins Romulus and Remus the eventual
founders of the city of Rome - were abandoned, later to be found and suckled by a she-wolf.
Even after a millenia, the festival always began in this same cave.
The ritual itself began as a fairly private affair with two colleges of priests alone
in the cave.
Each priestly college was hereditary, kept within a family.
One college of priests belonged to the Quintilii, who were, according to tradition, descended
from the followers of Romulus.
The other college belonged to the Fabii, who were descended from the traditional followers
of Remus.
In a strange quirk of history the Quintiliis, who were the descendants of followers of Rome's
first king and the man who eventually gave Rome his name, were actually a fairly obscure
noble family.
On the other hand the Fabii, who were descended from followers of Romulus's his slain twin
brother, were one of the most famous families in all of Rome.
After the two priestly families gathered in the Lupercal cave, they would begin with a
private feast, and lots of wine.
After this meal, these tipsy priests would sacrifice several goats and a dog and offer
them to the gods.
The sacrifice of a dog is noteworthy, here.
The Romans never sacrificed dogs.
If you consider that Lupercalia simply means Wolf Festival, it doesn't take a stretch to
see that that the dog was a symbolic stand-in for a wolf.
After the sacrifice, two young men were brought forward (standing in for Romulus and Remus)
and a bloody knife was rubbed on their foreheads.
Then one of the priests would immediately wash off the blood with goat's milk.
This symbolism seem obvious, the violent acts of the founders of the city are forgiven and
washed away with milk from a simple agrarian lifestyle, which the Romans always idealized.
If that was all that Lupercalia was, it would be a fairly conservative, normal Roman festival.
Feasts and animal sacrifice were fairly common.
However, after the priests left the cave, this festival took on a life of its own.
The priests of the Quintilii and the Fabii would take the dead goats and fashion whips
with their hides.
Yes, whips.
Then, the priests took off all of their clothes.
Some accounts say that also constructed small loincloths out of goat hide to cover themselves,
but others say that they remained totally naked.
Plutarch says that they wore loincloths, so let's go with that.
The priests from these two families would then exit the cave, still drunk, wearing loincloths,
and proceed to run up and down crowded city streets like maniacs.
When the priests encountered people on the street, they would hit them with their newly
constructed goat whip.
This may sound horrific, but my suspicion is that the whips were never designed to really
hurt anybody.
They probably made a thumping sound rather than a snapping sound.
There is never any mention of any blood, or of anybody in any pain whatsoever.
From all accounts people actually wanted to get hit.
Getting whipped by one of the Lupercal priests was supposed to, bring good luck, make both
men and women extra fertile, and ease the pain of childbirth.
There are accounts of women brazenly running up to the nearly-priests and intentionally
allowing themselves be whipped.
Our sources kind of drop hints that they thought this was a bit unsporting.
It seems that the onlookers were supposed at least pretend that the whips hurt, and
look like they were trying to get away.
By all accounts the city would be filled with laughter for the entire evening.
It was one of Rome's favourite holidays.
And why wouldn't it be?
It's my favourite Roman holiday, too.
These men were famous, drunk, and naked, and hitting strange women with pieces of dead
goat.
What's not to like?